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Citi is usurious. I once made a mistake in the payment by entering a slightly smaller amount than the balance - I detected the mistake after the due date and se

Citi is usurious. I once made a mistake in the payment by entering a slightly smaller amount than the balance - I detected the mistake after the due date and sent the remaining balance that day. I was still charged interest for 2 more payment periods, which their CS stated was in the card terms (I confirmed) so she couldn't do anything.

gnicholas 3y ago
> Citi is usurious I have had both good and bad experiences with them. I recall they charged a ridiculous fee for a cashier's check when I was in law school and needed to move my student loan money. I seriously considered withdrawing it all (tens of thousands) in cash and walking it down the street to WaMu. Another time, they completely refunded a several-hundred dollar charge for a hotel that misrepresented itself as a boutique luxury spot, yet lacked many basics. The hotel fought the chargeback and was going to make it a miserable process, so Citi just refunded the whole thing (we had only asked for a partial refund). What I've found with banks and others is that lower-level people will say that it's impossible to help you, and that if you speak to a supervisor they will say the same thing. But most of the time, supervisors do have more power, and are able to make things happen. There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random!
- bombcar 3y ago
  > There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random! It comes down to being polite, persistent, and professional (and lucky) - the CSR has certain buttons they can press for you (for example, most banks/credit cards let the first-level hit the "refund one fee" button), and the higher up you get, the more discretion they have. If you're not yelling at them, you can often get what you want via some other method (which only they know) - like them reclassifying the problem to something else they have leeway for.
- sirspacey 3y ago
  I’ve learned to play customer service roulette. Don’t get the answer I’m looking for? Hang up and call back. I suspect I’m just looking for the reps who aren’t entirely jaded yet, because they haven’t yet learned you get punished for doing the “right thing by the customer.”
selimthegrim 3y ago
Can confirm. Have encountered this.
projektfu 3y ago
My experience has been that banks are very forgiving when you're otherwise generating income for them, but strict when fees are their primary source of revenue to them. So, you have a large installment loan, they give you a better checking relationship. You do a large volume of credit transactions, they waive fees pretty easily. But if you have $30 in checking and a card with a $500 limit, it's fees on top of fees. These introductory accounts used to be ways if getting students in the system so that they could maintain the relationship, but now all thinking is short-term and they just want the money up front.

gnicholas 3y ago

> Citi is usurious I have had both good and bad experiences with them. I recall they charged a ridiculous fee for a cashier's check when I was in law school and needed to move my student loan money. I seriously considered withdrawing it all (tens of thousands) in cash and walking it down the street to WaMu. Another time, they completely refunded a several-hundred dollar charge for a hotel that misrepresented itself as a boutique luxury spot, yet lacked many basics. The hotel fought the chargeback and was going to make it a miserable process, so Citi just refunded the whole thing (we had only asked for a partial refund). What I've found with banks and others is that lower-level people will say that it's impossible to help you, and that if you speak to a supervisor they will say the same thing. But most of the time, supervisors do have more power, and are able to make things happen. There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random!

bombcar 3y ago
> There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random! It comes down to being polite, persistent, and professional (and lucky) - the CSR has certain buttons they can press for you (for example, most banks/credit cards let the first-level hit the "refund one fee" button), and the higher up you get, the more discretion they have. If you're not yelling at them, you can often get what you want via some other method (which only they know) - like them reclassifying the problem to something else they have leeway for.
sirspacey 3y ago
I’ve learned to play customer service roulette. Don’t get the answer I’m looking for? Hang up and call back. I suspect I’m just looking for the reps who aren’t entirely jaded yet, because they haven’t yet learned you get punished for doing the “right thing by the customer.”

selimthegrim 3y ago

Can confirm. Have encountered this.

projektfu 3y ago

My experience has been that banks are very forgiving when you're otherwise generating income for them, but strict when fees are their primary source of revenue to them. So, you have a large installment loan, they give you a better checking relationship. You do a large volume of credit transactions, they waive fees pretty easily. But if you have $30 in checking and a card with a $500 limit, it's fees on top of fees. These introductory accounts used to be ways if getting students in the system so that they could maintain the relationship, but now all thinking is short-term and they just want the money up front.