offers you can't refuse
Mike says
Citibank boosted his interest rate to 20 percent, then said they'd knock off half of it as long as he paid on time and charged at least $750 a month.
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consumerist hotline
"It's the increased cost of doing business," was Citicard's constant refrain when Kent's husband called to complain about their latest pre-
CARD act adverse action insanity: transfer $5000 in balances from other credit cards to this
credit card or we'll double your interest rate. Listen to Kent's message left on the new
Consumerist hotline and/or read the transcript:
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fees
If you're a
Citibank customer who has one of the bank's two smaller checking account plans—the ones where the monthly fee is waived as long as you use direct deposit or their online bill payment—then maybe it's time to consider taking your business elsewhere. Starting in February,
anyone with an average balance of less than $1500 will be assessed a monthly $7.50 service fee, reports the New York Post.
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online banking
For some reason,
Citibank won't let customers using Linux computers log in to their
online accounts. Adam argues that in 2009 this doesn't make sense, especially when no other major corporate website blocks him like this.
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above and beyond
Anthony received a Newegg rebate in the form of a prepaid debit card. When he went to use the $15 card for a $15.93 purchase, he received an unexpected and wonderful surprise.
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too stupid to deal with
Citibank has changed the terms of Victor's credit card agreement, and in the process they've created a bizarre rolling refund arrangement that will make his interest rate jump to 29.99 percent, except that actually it won't, eventually. Maybe.
Update: Another reader sent us a copy of the letter, and the arrangement is even less favorable than we first thought (see below).
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banks
True to its name, we suppose,
Citibank will be focusing its marketing efforts on six major U.S. metropolitan areas and wealthy customers, and not the rest of us deadbeats.
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happy endings
Chuck lost his job several months ago and wanted to continue his
American Express membership, but had trouble justifying the $50 annual fee in his limited budget. So he launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, started his own anti-
AmEx blog and started picketing...
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recession
Acknowledging that skittish consumers are still unwilling to buy big-ticket items,
Sears tomorrow plans to unveil a bold new guarantee: if you lose your job after charging a purchase worth $399 or more to your
Sears card, the retailer will credit 1/12th of the purchase price to your account for each month you are unemployed. If you stay jobless for one year, the debt is entirely forgiven, and the appliance is yours to keep.
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executive compensation
The
AP is reporting that
Citibank will be raising salaries for certain employees by as much as 50% in order to offset the new bonus restrictions. The company faces the restrictions because it took bailout money.
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foreign transaction fees
Banks are increasingly charging
foreign transaction fees on domestic purchases, a dangerous practice that's likely to expand as banks look for new ways to generate profit. Tripso tells us the story of Sunil, who bought tickets with Qatar airlines, which sounds ever so expensively foreign.
Citi charged a 2% foreign transaction fee, even though the tickets were bought in U.S. dollars and processed by the airline's central reservation system based in Washington D.C.
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credit limits
Compared to what some other banks and card companies are doing to reduce their exposure to debt, we guess
Citibank's
cash back offer isn't
that bad—it's sort of a "let us help you help yourself get rid of your debt" scheme. It's funny, however, if only because it's such an elaborate way to get customers to self-select for a reduction in credit.
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above and beyond
"
Above and Beyond" service often comes down to the management of a particular location, rather than an individual employee, no matter how big or otherwise problematic a company may be. Fred had such an experience with Venkatesh, the overseas customer service rep he reached when he called to cancel his ancient Citibank account. Venkatesh not only talked him out of canceling the account, but was so competent and nice in the process that Fred felt compelled to speak to his supervisor
and write to Consumerist.
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fees
Cliff logged on to his U.S. internet connection to use his U.S. credit card to buy airline tickets on
Aer Lingus in U.S. dollars, a transaction he assumed wouldn't incur a
foreign transaction fee. Nope! Citibank slapped a 3% fee on the $2,600 purchase, something Cliff feels the airline should have warned him about.
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wcia 2009
A bailed out bank? Or the ticket scalper's best friend? Who makes your blood boil?
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auto bailout
With a week to go before the deadline runs out on
Chrysler's bailout — it's looking less and less likely that the automaker will be saved from liquidation.
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citibank
Skye is on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without any way to pay for things, because Citibank canceled his card due to a security breach and didn't bother to warn him first. What's worse, they're making him call repeatedly to try to fix it, which is costing him $3.50/minute because he's in the middle of an ocean.
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wcia 2009
A bailed out bank? Or a struggling wireless company? Who offends you more?
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