Citibank U.S - Unpleasant Banking Experiences

Citibank U.S is the most rigid bank I have come across. From the beginning their services have not been good. The first time I issued a cheque from a sufficiently funded  account with them, they provided problems for the person I had issues it to. And unnecessarily because of them I had to pay a fine to the Management of the apartment I rented out. While issuing a cheque from another Bank here for the first time never poses a problem. They do not even agree to give a credit card. I had to get a credit card from another bank even though my entire salary was going to Citibank.

Also, Citibank's phone banking in U.S  is the worst ! Firstly they do not seem to know about their products or services that well. And they do not greet their customers warmly the way Wells Fargo or any other bank do,. If it were left to them they would want everything to be automated and not deal with the customer at all or resolve the queries. Their approach is not at all positive or interactive. Infact Citibank India performs better than Citibank U.S specially where phone banking is concerned.

One has to wait in line for 45 minutes or even more when you call Citibank U.S  to report a fraudulent activity or scam. The so called research they claim to do on a case is not at all thorough and is incomplete because they do not go into details to check the authenticity of the case. So calling their dispute department regarding identity theft in relation to your card or account is pointless ! Calling their dispute department to report a scam is a sheer waste of time as they will eventually dismiss the case just like that without consulting the video recording at an ATM place or shop. They do not have a proper structure for escalation of complaints where the customer could go higher up to appeal if the customer disagrees with a resolution.

Also I have learnt from my experience that truth never works when dealing with reporting a fraudulent activity to Citibank U.S. because they will always refuse to provide you provisional cash as is the norm in times of such emergency leave alone reimburse you for it. They just want to know whether the card was in your possession or not at the time of the transaction. In today's times fraudulent activities on your debit card could occur even without a physical card .It is just black or white with them. They do not even want to investigate matters even if one attaches a police report when disputing a transaction as a result of identity theft,scam or fraud. On the other hand, other banks like Credit Union Bank always is sensitive to it's customers at a time like this.

I have been doing a kind of informal survey amongst people I know and others regarding the services of Citibank. Most people seem to have the same bad impression of Citibank U.S .