Got the card in the mail today and immediately called Citi to take advantage of the 0% balance transfer offer with no BT fees as detailed in Terms & Conditions fine print.
They refused to honor it, and in a classic Bait & Switch said that BT rate is the standard purchase rate(!) I pointed out that not only do I have full documentation from time of application but that the offer is live right now on the official Citi web page. They said the offer expired in August and that I got to the page through a third party. They tried to say how it's not on their web site but the link below clearly has Citibank as the owner.
I was even told that I was not the only one calling about this, so they know about this and have this web page active to trap us.
Do not apply through this link, it will not be honored no matter what Terms & Conditions say. I post to ask you if there's anything that can be done about this bait & switch.
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3 weeks ago. This is about there being an official citibank web page posted in post #1 of this thread (not another web page that you click through).
You can click on it right now and see the Terms & Conditions. Nowhere does it say that they expired. The page is active and live. They are taking applications *right now* ; bait then switching to standard purchase rate balance transfers with no minimum BT fees and not honoring what the Terms & Conditions say.
Well none of the front page Citi pro offers are offering the 0% anymore... we had this issue with those Premiere Pass and Diamond Rewards card a few weeks ago... it appears a lag in their back end pages.
I and others have had success with sending complaints straight to Vikram Pandit. I got about 40,000 typs doing that last year. You can google for their corporate office address in NYC somewhere.
Yes, Citi used the "it's not on the front page" argument with me. But if you bookmark the offer page like I did, you no longer have to go through the front page. The offer page is active, they are taking applications through it, they have received complaints about it, yet they did not take the offer page down and continue to operate it. There's a name for that: bait & switch and it is illegal.
Call your State's Attorney Office... tell them you need 5 minutes, and access to an internet connected computer. Tell him you have a great "career-enhancing" case for him. Bring your laptop, or at least copy your bookmarks to memory stick (and even print it out on paper).
Go in, demonstrate that the link works, show him copies of your stuff, and say "Let's call Citi right now and ask WHY it is still valid, but they won't honor it!"
Enjoy the ensuing hilarity... especially if the SA records the call... and even better if he identifies himself DURING the call.
*Note... It took me several calls to my SA to get my FIRST apppointment... but that was years ago. And even though my SA has changed several times, the outgoing tells the incoming that I USUALLY have reliable info, and that they should take my calls / schedule appointments. Even if the SA don't act on info, they have record of it, should others come forward with similar complaints.
My SA tells me that I am one of his better consumer advocates... I tell him I am concerned taxpaying citizen that wants to best use our public officials...
According to the T&C, "Rates, fees, and terms may change: We have the right to change the rates, fees, and terms at any time, for any reason, in accordance with the cardmember agreement and applicable law.These reasons may be based on information in your credit report, such as your failure to make payments to another creditor when due, amounts owed to other creditors, the number of credit accounts outstanding, or the number of credit inquiries. These reasons may also include competitive or market-related factors. If we make a change for any of these reasons, you will receive advance notice and a right to opt out in accordance with applicable law. They're giving you advance warning; before you can even get the card!
Headquarters: 399 Park Ave. New York, NY 10043 CEO: Vikram Pandit
When I sent a letter to Mr. Pandit, complaining about some referral credits I never received (and the insane run around they were asking me to go through), I ended up getting double what I should have after a nice lady in the office called me back within 3 days. Just be civil, but firm, and explain that while you understand that promotional offers may expire, if the application link is active, then so should the offer.
I definitely think they should honor it. However, from an IT standpoint, I can see how this link is still active even though the promo is over. Some code monkey probably follow crappy orders like 'take it off the front page!' and ONLY took it off the front page. They didn't consider that people would bookmark or be able to access the direct link.
celes said:I definitely think they should honor it. However, from an IT standpoint, I can see how this link is still active even though the promo is over. Some code monkey probably follow crappy orders like 'take it off the front page!' and ONLY took it off the front page. They didn't consider that people would bookmark or be able to access the direct link.
It doesn't matter if it's a code monkey's fault. Citi has the opportunity and the right to reject the application and properly notify us of the change in terms before opening the account. But once the account is open, Citi has entered into an line of credit agreement with the customer. From a legal standpoint, we are still able to submit applications using those terms and conditions and therefore, if Citi opens an account using that application, Citi is bound to follow the terms, unless there is government law that contradicts it. It's black letter contract law.
It could be a nice class action, if you can't get a SA interested.
IANAL.
Message edited by: LtWaldo on 2009-10-17 11:52:10 CDT
This catch-me-if-you-can strategy was adpopted by many large companies years ago. Basically, they never automatically honor the promotion. If you want your promotion, you have to jump thru' hoops and prove to them that the promotion existed. These are the companies I have fought in the past five years:
AT&T -- the infamous DSL promotion(2 times) AMEX -- auto pay promotion(make sure you save the little promotion postcard) Citibank -- new account signup(3 times) Citibank -- new credit card signup(2 times) Comcast -- cable internet signup Paypal -- use Paypal and get 20% off promotion at Officemax
In general, they are tougher to collect than MIRs.
This is Fat Wallet, so never mind the tough, just tell me the *how*.
One day after the cards arrived, I get a letter stating that "we are unable to provide you with the promotional balance transfer APR as indicated on your solicitation. This is because you responded to an offer that had expired." So that's the official reason in writing.
Terms usually have expiration date or "respond by" date. This one did not and is still active *after* they were notified of the existence of the web page by numerous customers so they are knowingly using it as a trap for bait & switch.
Print out the offer page that's currently active so that you have a time stamped hard copy. Send a letter with a copy of the offer you responded to, directly to the CEO. In the letter (or maybe in a follow-up letter if they don't give you what you want after a nicer letter), tell them that if they don't honor the terms they gave you when you signed up, you're going to report them to their banking regulators, Andrew Cuomo and/or your Attorney General, and retain counsel for a breach of contract suit.
If the terms they gave you when you signed up weren't valid, they should have refused to process your application and not sent you the cards. Since they accepted your application, they should be bound by the terms. If they give you any back-talk about the "we can change whenever we want" language, ask them if they really want that tested in court.
Message edited by: JeebusSaves on 2009-10-17 15:48:53 CDT
Citi did the same thing for me with the ADA affinity card - claimed the promo I signed up with had expired, but the complicated URL I had for it was still active and taking apps. I escalated within their customer service and was given the terms as promised (0%, no fee BT). This was about 6 months ago.
It was the same kind of thing - the offer apparently wasn't reachable from their site's home page any more, but as I said "that's not how the internet works". It was a PITA trying to get the full URL to them as they said they couldn't get any external email or similar. Being persistent & polite got it resolved for me, but it is certainly inexcusable that they continue to do this. It is technically an extremely simple and solvable problem.
You got good SA. Staples changed the term of their Giftcard usage and flat out lied (in writing) about it to our SA. Not much I can do at this point.
Technologist said:ooooh, easy one!
Call your State's Attorney Office... tell them you need 5 minutes, and access to an internet connected computer. Tell him you have a great "career-enhancing" case for him. Bring your laptop, or at least copy your bookmarks to memory stick (and even print it out on paper).
Go in, demonstrate that the link works, show him copies of your stuff, and say "Let's call Citi right now and ask WHY it is still valid, but they won't honor it!"
....
My SA tells me that I am one of his better consumer advocates... I tell him I am concerned taxpaying citizen that wants to best use our public officials...
Just to play the Devil's advocate here, nothing on that page proves that it is live and active and public. Just because it is archived on their server doesn't prove anything, if you can't link to it through the normal set of circumstances. All it is, is a form that is still resident on their server that you kept a link to if, as you say, it is no longer on their front or "current promotion" pages. It's like finding an old promotional mailing on the desk at their office and claiming that since they didn't destroy all copies, they still have to honor it.
There might be section of an ad from Bestbuy on their server from last year that has a price printed on the photo of the item, but if you couldn't get unless had saved the url, doesn't mean they have to honor the price.
I totally agree that they should move the item to a non-externally accessible area, but I don't agree just because you (or whoever) preserved a link to an old document, it is "active".
It would be like finding a promotional mailing, having the order fulfilled, then getting a bill for a different amount explaining that the offer on your mailing had expired.
I tried it with Sports Illustrated (I was in 3rd grade). They didn't give me a subscription for 19 cents an issue or whatever, and they also didn't give me one for 59 or whatever the current price was. They sent a letter explaining that 19 cents was no longer available and that I could subscribe for their current deal if I wanted.
It's not rocket surgery, and the computerized version should be a lot simpler and more reliable than the postcard transaction Si managed to pull off fairly.
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