Citibank Visa Ripoff

Ok lets be realistic people. First of all Citibank is exactly that, a bank. As with any other credit card companies or banks or loan companies they have set rules on the money they loan. The citibank platinum select card Does Not have an annual fee.



There is an interest rate however because the bank is loaning you money to buy things you either dont have the money for or dont want to use cash for.



With every buisness, businesses are there to make money. They dont loan you money for FREE. So you do have an annual percentage rate ie: 12.74%, which means you pay finance charges each month for the money you borrowed. If you pay you account in Full (which means full banace borrowed) each month by the due date there is no finance charge. If you have revolving credit which means you borrow more than you pay back to the bank each month, you do pay a monthly finance charge (interest on the money citibank loaned you). The same as when you buy a house or a car or furniture, etc.



Also there is a such thing called a late fee. Which means when you dont pay you bill by the due on time (not by the due date). Dont get me wrong I have received late fees before but I do take responsibily for being lazy and not sending in my bills on time. Payments are posted within 24 hours after receiving them. By law credit card companies cannot hold payments received. But be realistic you cannot send you payment the day before its due or for that matter 3 days before its due. Average receiving time is 7 days by regular mail from the post office. Did you know that 10% of mail is misdirected every day. We receive bins and bins of misdirected mail every day as well as other large companies. Better to be safe than sorry and mail your payments 7-10days in advance.



If you wish to wait until the last minute to pay your bill there are several convienient payment options ie: by internet, phone, or auto-pay which comes out of your account each month. Also, if you have never been late before and have good credit you can alway call in and ask for a courtesy adjustment as long as your account is in good standing and you have not called in previously to get an adjustment.



Being on vacation is not a good reason to be late. You still have to pay your rent on time every month, even if you decide to go on vacation, right?



We have people calling in every month trying to get their late fees adjusted because their dog died, according to the notes their dog died last month and the month before. I thought only cats had nine lives. There are also people that still call in and say their May payment was late because of September 11th. Come on, give me a break. We hear all of them. We do take a lot of things into consideration though for people who are sincere and have a good reason why they were late. Late fees are there to encourage people to pay their bills by the due date. If you dont like it, pay your Bill on time.



Thirdly, you can only keep you excellent percantage rate if you keep your credit in good standing. Which includes your account with us and other creditors on your credit bureau. If a credit bureau reflects a delinquency of 60 days or more it can affect your interest rate with any company who loans money to you. You become risky to the bank because whats to say that you will not stop paying them next. This make sense?



If you loaned money to someone and they didnt pay you back would you stop loaning money to them? Would you loan money to someone who you knew never payed the people back they borrowed from? Probably not?



Also if you make $30,000 a year and you had four credit cards out there with $10,000 credit lines on them on top of monthly bills and a car payment, would a bank want to give you another card with a high credit line? Probably not because you would owe more than you make in a year. Yes, having too many high revolving credit lines makes you a risk even if you pay you bills on time because how long is it going to take the bank to get their money back? Years? Decades? Especially if you keep putting new charges on there. Say for example you spend $1000 per month for 6 months and you only pay about $20.00 a month. You've borrowed $6000 but only paid $120. This is only 2% of what you have borrowed. At this rate it will take you 25 years to pay off the money you borrowed from the bank. Imagine what would happen if that same person had 6 credit cards that were like that.



Would a bank give that person more credit even though she makes her payments on time, probably not because it would take them forever to get their money back. Keep that in mind when you say "I'll just close the account and apply for another one, I get stacks and stacks of the offers every day".



First of all EVERY one of us gets those no matter how bad our credit is, and even though you get the offer doesnt mean the company will actually approve you when they get your application, even if you are pre-approved. People with risky credit are subject to a higher interest rate. You can imagine how much credit cards lose each year from loaning money to people with risky credit.



The only thing I can suggest for people is first, read your credit agreement before signing it, as with any other paper or signed legal document. Yes the credit card agreement you signed explains about late fees, finance charges, over the credit line fees and defaulting on your credit card. You will be held to this agreement so make sure you understand it before you sign it.



The only other thing I can say is people who make their payments on time, dont go over their credit line, and keep their other credit and creadit bureau in good standing never have a problem with their credit. Good credit will be important for the rest of your life so make sure you know what yours looks like.

Astounding the similarity of the obnoxious tactics and shocking modus-operandi of these businesses. Read the other rip-off reports.

When resolution with a bank seems impossible I would contact them:

E.Mail: Customer.Assistance@occ.tras.gov



Phone: 1 800 613 6743 (toll free)

Mon to Thurs. 9am to 4pm.

Fax 1 713 336 4301



Snail Mail:

OCC/Customer Assistance Group

1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3710

Houston TX 77010



Cheerio now, Flo, Alexandria



EDitor's Comment: Primerica and Traveler's Insurance are also affiliated with Citibank.

Astounding the similarity of the obnoxious tactics and shocking modus-operandi of these businesses. Read the other rip-off reports.

When resolution with a bank seems impossible I would contact them:

E.Mail: Customer.Assistance@occ.tras.gov



Phone: 1 800 613 6743 (toll free)

Mon to Thurs. 9am to 4pm.

Fax 1 713 336 4301



Snail Mail:

OCC/Customer Assistance Group

1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3710

Houston TX 77010



Cheerio now, Flo, Alexandria



EDitor's Comment: Primerica and Traveler's Insurance are also affiliated with Citibank.