This is a good one to be aware of as we recently were subjected to this situation and are canceling our citi card account in response.
We made an online purchase from a merchant after thoroughly reading their policies on delivery and terms and conditions. We completed the transaction and paid the final dollar amount including a delivery charge. The product arrived with additional COD charges not stated anywhere in terms and conditions or in shipping policies so we contacted the vendor who stated that they refused to honor our purchase price and would charge us a 40% restocking charge if we didn't accept the COD charges. We contacted Citicards and were told to contact them after the return was completed and the merchant had received their products back which we did. We were then told that we have no protections or chargeback rights on the transaction because we refused delivery. Apparently it is fully acceptable mastercard policy to allow merchant account holders to apply any COD charges after the fact to transactions without notification or statement prior to delivery and acceptance is not grounds for chargeback nor is refusal and you are fully subjected to the merchants return policy.

Now thats one to be VERY aware of when dealing with online merchants, it is only a matter of time before more merchants become aware of this loophole and exploit it for maximum effect allowing for COD charges many times the amount of the agreed upon transaction and refusal to accept can result in a no refund policy ensuring the merchant retains an unaccepted and undelivered product for full resale value as well as collecting full sale value each time he commits one of these transactions.

We would take this to court if the loss was high enough but sadly enough such criminal activity goes unchecked because of the costs of litigation. Its very disappointing to see credit card companies supporting this sort of activity though.

I found out that citibank raised my APR 20% (9.9 to 29.9%). I have never been late on a payment nor have I done anything to warrant this extreme rate hike. I spoke with a rep today and was told that there was nothing she could do about the rate hike. I told her to close my account. I proceeded to tell the rep that I will never do buisness with citibank again because of the way they treat their loyal customers. She then told me that the new rate will be applied to all my previous charges. This is unfair, unjust and legalized theft. If citibank continues to treat the indivuals that actually make their payments this way, they will lose them. Then all citibank will be left with are the ones that default on their payments. What will they do then...oh wait, I know...the government will bail them out!

LIKE A LOT OF OTHER AMERICANS MY SPOUSE AND I FELL BEHIND ON SOME CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS WITH CITIBANK AND OTHERS BUT WE HAD NO INTENTION OF DEFAULTING AND WERE ABLE TO MAKE PAYMENT PLANS WITH REGARD TO AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWALS FROM OUR CHECKING ACCOUNT. EVERYTHING DID GO ACCORDING TO THESE AGREEMENTS. ALL MONEYS WERE WITHDRAWN WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CITIBANK. INSTEAD, THEY SENT US TO COLLECTION DESPITE THE FACT WE HAD A WRITTEN CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWALS AND THERE WERE MORE THAN ENOUGH FUNDS IN OUR ACCOUNT. THEY EVEN THANKED US IN THIS CONTRACT FOR WORKING A PLAN OUT WITH THEM. THIS CONTRACT HAS A CONFIRMATION NUMBER OF ALC6796 AND IS TRACKABLE. BUT ON THE AGREED UPON DATE OF WITHDRAWAL OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, NOT US, RECEIVED CALLS FROM A LAW FIRM THREATENING TO SUE OVER THE CITIBANK ACCOUNT THAT WAS NOW IN COLLECTION. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE HUMILIATION, STRESS AND HURT THIS CAUSED BOTH US AND OUR ELDERLY PARENTS? CITIBANK WON’T EVEN TALK TO US ABOUT THIS MATTER BECAUSE OUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN “GRAYED OUT” WHICH MEANS THEY’RE NO LONGER ABLE TO VIEW IT, JUST THE COLLECTION AGENCY. NOW WE HAVE TO GET LEGAL COUNSEL AGAINST THEM BECAUSE THEY BREACHED OUR CONTRACT, PERMANENTLY HURT OUR CREDIT AND FICO SCORE AND WON’T OWN UP TO IT. WITH VET SCHOOL ON THE HORIZON FOR MY SPOUSE, IT WILL BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO RECEIVE STUDENT LOANS. THIS IS THE KIND OF COMPANY CITIBANK IS AND I URGE ANYONE WITH A CITIBANK CARD TO CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY. AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE WITH THEM DON’T OPEN ONE. DO NOT TRUST THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL RUIN YOUR CREDIT JUST AS THEY ARE RUINING THEIR OWN COMPANY. I WOULD APPRECIATE CITIBANK CONTACTING ME AND I ALREADY PLAN TO POST A VIDEO COMPLAINT ON YOUTUBE TODAY AND LINK IT TO AS MANY SITES AS POSSIBLE. Eric F. [email protected]