Having a CitiBank Credit card is a nightmare sort. I have a
CitiBank Credit card which I have been using for the past 8 years. Initially
the service was very good and the transactions seemed to be a cake-walk. Oflate, for
the past 2 years the services have deteriorated.
For the past two years I have
been facing problems with the services and each time I called the customer care
to get my card canceled, I was ensured that things would be taken care of but
nothing actually happens. The next time again when I call, I would have to
start from the scratch explaining the problems and time again I would be
ensured but nothing happens. Wonder if they ever maintain a database of the
calls & nature of the calls they attend to because every time I call I am
expected to give a gist of my previous conversations and the complaints.
My recent nightmarish experience: I had issued a cheque dated 29-10-2006 for Rs. 9700/- as the due date for payment was 30-10-2006. However I received a
call on 17-11-2006 and was asked to issue another
cheque stating that the previous cheque has returned. So I issued another
Cheque dated 18-11-2006 on 17-11-2006 for Rs. 18, 500/- which
included a late fee penalty. But to my rude shock when I checked with the bank
statements later I noticed that the first cheque was cashed on 13-11-2006. Then why should they
call me on 17-11-2006, and why should I pay the penalty
for their faults?
Both the cheques were cashed and the
excess amount has been kept as advance. With no fault of mine, I had to
pay for the penalty and my money is kept as advance without my knowledge. Thus
I lose on the penalty and also on the interest on this money.
*The
regular ongoing problems: **I keep receiving calls from the collection team that they would come down to my place to collect the cheques but they never turn up even after 4-5
days. I issue the cheques well before the due date and many number of times it
was cashed after the due date and I was made to pay the penalty for the delay. Many times earlier too, I had been penalized for making my payments on or
before the due dates. So, to my understanding it’s a deliberate failure on
CitiBank’s part to cash the cheques after the due dates (though I drop the cheques in the drop-in box on or before the due date) so that they can extract the late fee and penalty.
The ’Citi’ sleeps -no one listens to you: And every time I call the
customer care to get the card canceled and put forth my issue, I had been promised a hassle-free and
error-free transaction but in vain. And the whole process get so tiring &
irksome
-First, its so difficult to get connected to the
customer care line,
-Then you get to hear someone who cannot speak Hindi
or even the regional language (You either have to speak to this Angrez
or you will be asked to disconnect the call and try calling again - if you are
lucky enough your call would be answered by a guy who can follow the National
Language).
-Once connected everything seems to be new to the guy
who receives the call and you are required to start expressing your concern from
the beginning
-Then the blissfully ignorant customer care guy who
seem to be confused & less aware would never give the right answers to the
queries and appear as if they were trained only on the language and not on the
product & services. All that they would parrot is "things would be
solved at the earliest, please bear with us".
-Finally when you decide to put things in writing and
mail them at the email address(es) provided on the bill statement and the
website under the *Grievences redressal *tag; your mails bounce!
(All the three email addresses are corrupt
-’head.customercare@citigroup.com’; ’indiaservice@citicorp.com’ and
’santhanam.k@citigroup.com’)
Now I am planning to seek the help of my attorney to get my card
canceled.
The only plus point of this card is that one can avail loans any time.
But considering that these days its very easy to get loans through
other sources & banks, the idea of retaining the CitiBank card is futile. Afterall mental peace is more important than the easy loans.