Citibank readyCredit - Give yourself a present this xmas

[e_wolfe]

Still waiting on the BFSO ...... Over 10 months since I lodged my complaint with them.....

Hello Everyone. We Won!!!! Merry Christmas - even if it is a year late. The BFSO has found in our favour.

Recieved a letter from the BFSO which says in part:

"As a result it is our view that the bank is liable to credit your account with an amount of $20 for every $500 withdrawn or debited to your account during the promotional period, irrespective of the reason why the withdrawal occured."

I rang Citibank today and they confirmed the full amount with interest will be credited to my account by Jan 5th 2007.

So a win for the people verses the a big bad money hungry bank. Serve themselves right. For once they have been forced to honour their promises.

Any concerns I had about the independance of the BSFO proved unfounded. Thankyou BFSO. It took 10 months, but you arrived at a just decision.

Hope everyone is as happy as I am. I'm not a frequent flyer or a high income earner - so the several thousand dollars I will be receiving means a lot to me. And it also means a lot to me to see the bank forced to financially suffer for once instead of it's customers.

Happy New Year!!!

 

[kaki]

Yes ! I have got the same outcome from the BFSO.

e_wolfe, you are surely quick. It is good to share this feeling all around.

I note that the BFSO remains silent on the interest. Before reading e_wolfe's posting, I was not sure whether Citibank will pay interest.

e-wolfe, please update when you have got the final amount known. I wonder at what interest rate Citibank will be working on.

 

[e_wolfe]

Yes ! I have got the same outcome from the BFSO.

e_wolfe, you are surely quick. It is good to share this feeling all around.

I note that the BFSO remains silent on the interest. Before reading e_wolfe's posting, I was not sure whether Citibank will pay interest.

e-wolfe, please update when you have got the final amount known. I wonder at what interest rate Citibank will be working on.

Hi kaki,
Ring Citibank and they will confirm your final payout amount.

 

[New Chump]

I note that the BFSO remains silent on the interest. Before reading e_wolfe's posting, I was not sure whether Citibank will pay interest.

e-wolfe, please update when you have got the final amount known. I wonder at what interest rate Citibank will be working on.

The BFSO wrote the same letter to me. :mrgreen:

Well done Kaki, e-wolfe and other AFF'ers who stood up to Citibank. (AFF proved to be a very uselful way of communicating amongst ourselves in relation to this dispute with Citibank.)

As for Citibank - as Mrs NC is fond of saying to me the morning after a big night out - you have only yourself to blame.

The BFSO makes no mention of default interest, payable on the amount unpaid by Citibank for (now) over a year. So I am not expecting Citibank to pay interest if the BFSO hasn't mentioned it. We could take the next step and ask the BFSO to review its decision - the BFSO has a formal appeals procedure we could use, and the BFSO's terms of reference clearly allow it to force banks to pay interest on unpaid amounts. However, if Citibank is going to prompty pay what it owes, then I will be happy to let it go. I will be content to finally receive $20 for every $500 withdrawn from my account - which, after all, was excatly what Citibank agreed to do.

It is disappointing, and Citibank should be ashamed and embarassed, that some of its customers had to resort to the BFSO to make Citibank honour its promises.

Victory is sweet.

NC

 

[oz_mark]

Congratulations for winning this rather drawn out affair.

And I do agree that being on this site was useful to you to all compare notes. I think that a lot of companies underestimate the ability of the Internet to allow people to collaborate.

 

[Mal]

Yep congrats as well.

As consumers we are held tightly to contracts we make with companies, yet companies think they can not follow contracts they make with us.

Amazing isn't it!
Congrats once again.

 

[novacatz]

Congrats all round.

<lawyer hat> If CB are prompt in paying the judgement amount, you can expect interest at cash rate for the period concerned but not a default interest rate. Only if CB drag the bucket after the judgement is there a chance you can get more than cash interest rate.

<lawyer hat off> Don't be greedy about the interest! be happy you got what was due to you...

Nice to know peresrvence pays off.

 

[e_wolfe]

Well, as usual Citibank staff have changed their story to what they told me last week. I recieved a letter today from Citibank with an offer to settle the dispute. So now Citibank are saying I need to sign the letter and return it. Last week there was no mention of a letter - they just said the money would be in my account by the 5th Jan. In addition, the interest has vanished and there is no interest payment to compensate for the year we have been waiting. I guess everyone else recieved a similar letter from Citibank today? Should we accept the offer or contact the BFSO and ask about interest?
Let me know what you think.

 

[kaki]

e-Wolfe, I have thought about the interest part and I think it is an individual decision to make.

This is my take (I am not a lawyer). In principle, I strongly believe that CB is liable to pay interest for the amount due in the Dec 2005 from the date of your Dec 2005 statement to the date you formally submit your claim to BFSO, and that for the Jan 2006 from your Jan 2006 statement to the same claim date. It can be easily argued that it is unfair for CB to be liable for the interest while waiting for the BFSO decision.

I have read that BSFO ruling on interest is usually based on the market deposit rate (approx 5%pa ?).

So, the bigggest factor to consider is how large the amount is. I believe taht most of us did not take too long before we make the claim formally. So, the relevant period is probably 2-3 months.

That way you can work out how much interest you can potentially get back without too much stress. I suggest that arguing (for my case) for a 12 months' interest can be very difficult and possibly stressful ... diminishing returns for this effort.

CB had somewhat reversed all the interest I was charged for the Nov2005-Feb2006 period. I am not sure why but I have the feeling that it is relevant to this dispute. The reversal was made well before the BFSO decision was known to me. Perhaps, CB had already known earlier and anticipated further claim and consequently (wisely) reversed the interest.

The difference between my 2 months interest on outstanding cashback (at 5% pa and the reversed interest is quite small. Thta is why I decided to let it go.

Also, my wife had reminded me that the reason for this fight was to prove a point. And I have won and proven my point. My point ? I was very crossed with the stealth manner CB cancelled my life-time-low-interest-balance transfer privilege I had before this scheme. At the same time, CB tried to force us into a corner with the $160 fee. The cashback scheme was a perfect opportunity to not only regain my losses but also to beat CB big time. When they refused to pay, it became a crusade. Now, it's over (almost). I am still thinking whether I should be a social warrior. What about those who are not aware of their rights to claim against CB ? And those who were intimidated to accept the meagre $500 settlement ?

e-Wolfe (and others), you have your rights but there is a cost too.

 

[e_wolfe]

Now, it's over (almost).

I wonder how many days / months / years Citibank will take to pay up? Perhaps it should have been called "Give yourself a present sometime in the distant future after lodging a dispute with the BFSO and having them find in your favour."

 

[pinktori71]

I am so glad that the ombudsman ruled in favour of the customer. This Citibank thing dragged out so long.
It is particulary satisfying given the rude attitude I got from staff in Sydney... when I finally got a number that didn't ring india !

 

[kaki]

I wonder how many days / months / years Citibank will take to pay up? Perhaps it should have been called "Give yourself a present sometime in the distant future after lodging a dispute with the BFSO and having them find in your favour."

I have actually got the money overnight. I wonder how the others are doing.

 

[e_wolfe]

I have actually got the money overnight. I wonder how the others are doing.

Congratulations. I have now received the money as well. Does anyone know what the tax implications are?

 

[bambbbam2]

Can I make a suggestion?

How about all you eventual winners make a small donation to say the Salvos, or some other worthy destination of your choice?

Think of it as a gift from this community..

Cheers

 

[kaki]

It has been a pleasant experience for me. Thank you all for sharing. Thank you for your support. Someone from this discussion group had earlier contacted me directly for detailed information of my correspondence with the BFSO. I am sorry for not responding. Our anonymity had made it rather difficult for me to judge the limit of disclosure so as not to jeopadise my case.

 

[arun]

Congratulations guys. It was worth a fight. Great outcome.