Fighting the Good Fight?

I don't know if you can call this fighting the good fight, but I will carry on fighting anyway. I have a dispute with Citibank/Citigroup that has run off and on for over a year now. My latest step involves a letter to the President of Citibank/Citigroup, Chuck Prince. I have attached the body of the letter below:

This letter confirms a telephone conversation of 02/15/2007 between the approximate hours of 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm CST. I spoke with three representatives and offered to continue making payments on my account as I have been doing for over two years. I explained that I would continue making payments as I have, or that I would make none at all. That offer still stands, however, your manager refused it.

I believe you have dealt with me in bad faith. I telephoned your customer service number to ask about the difference in my minimum payment for the February bill from the January bill. I learned that after having completed my agreement to make payments of $223 per month for 12 months, my interest rate has gone up to roughly 32%. You have rewarded me for meeting my 12 month commitment to you by more than tripling my interest rate from 9% to 32%. Now you want me to pay $307 per month. I don’t approve of that treatment

Last year I had a dispute with you about your treatment of me when you raised my minimum payment according to some new Federal law that allowed you to do so. At that time I offered to pay $223 per month, but everyone I spoke with refused my offer. Not until I had missed a payment did someone call to make arrangements. I told her that my offer still stood, and she accepted it right away. We agreed that I would pay $223 per month, and that you would draft my checking each month on the 25th. She also agreed to lower my interest rate to 9% which I much appreciated. Why did you have to wait until I had missed a payment to accept my offer?

In January of 2007, I called your customer service department to request that we extend our agreement for another 12 months, because I felt it had gone very well. The person I spoke with refused saying that I had met my commitment, and I couldn’t extend it, because my account had a good standing status. My minimum payment last month came to $158. I went ahead and made a payment of $223 instead, because I intended to continue my payments as I had offered to do.

Tonight, I prepared to make another payment for $223, when I discovered what you had done to me. I called again to attempt to continue my payments of $223 per month, but each person I spoke with consistently refused my offer. Why would you do this to a customer who has always met agreements with you? I also learned that “the bank” had closed my account unilaterally in June 2006 without informing me. Why would you do that to someone who had met every commitment made to you? A manager told me that I could request that Customer Service re-open my account. He said that if I did that, you would lower my interest rate, but the minimum payment would remain larger than what I have paid for so long. Why can’t you continue the agreement from last year? You closed the account, I didn’t.

I am confident that you have notes in your account record that will reflect what transpired. My offer still stands. If you would like to accept it, I will need a response from you accepting said offer. If you do not want to accept it, I will make no further payments on this account.

Thank you dear readers for indulging me on this. I hope to count on your support.