I ran out today to take care of some projects around the house. I spent $20 or $30 at Lowe's, had some breakfast, and got a text from my wife that I needed to deal with a payment issue for some furniture (I had product changed the card that I originally authorized the payment with.) Since I was out for some quick errands, I only brought my Citi TYP to finish up the minimum spend.
I got on the phone with the furniture vendor, explained the situation, and got put on hold. They came back and told me they weren't sure why the items hadn't shipped, so I explained it again. Back on hold, rinse, repeat, escalate, until I eventually got someone to understand that I owed them money! I gave the card number, they told me the purchase authorization went through succesfully, and I rolled on home to get to work.
A couple hours go by and I've knicked my saw blade on an errant piece of concrete. Home Depot is closer to the house (under a mile) so I run back out. I grab a blade, hit the register, and go to pay the $15. Declined. I figure the chip just wasn't all the way in, so I try it again. Declined. Charming. I run back home, grab my phone and another card and get a saw blade. I try to log into the Citi site to see if I somehow was at my limit (which I was 100% sure I was below.) No dice; I'm locked out of my account. I get back home and call the number on the back of the card. Verification is typical, with a text sent to a phone number I gave them. Here is where the bemusement begins.
The customer service rep wants to verify transactions. I explain that I can't verify amounts because I can't log into the website. She lists them anyway, and I say yes to all of them (they're definitely all me.) She gets to the furniture order and gets snippy with me for not giving them a large purchase alert! I explain that this is totally normal spending for me, and that I don't ever have to do that with other vendors. She tells me that I will always have to verify any and every purchase over 2k with Citi. At this point, I take a deep breath and explain to her that I'm not upset with her, but that I won't be continuing to spend on the card after these purchases clear.
Silence over the line.
She asks me why I said that, and I explain that no other vendor puts that restriction on my spending. She explains fraud prevention, and I explain that Chase is kind enough to send me a message while I'm still on the phone that allows me to deal with it immediately. It doesn't disrupt what I'm doing, doesn't require me to escalate for 20 minutes to find the right CSR again, and doesn't get in the way at all. I further explain that AMEX just lets it go through without bothering me until after they've already given approval. She's unswayed (of course, she can't do anything about it. Totally not her fault.) I tell her, amicably, that I respect that she was willing to listen and note my frustration with the company. She wants to know if I have a mobile number (uh, yes? see prior paragraph...) so they can get in touch with me if this happens again. I thank her for her time, explain that it really won't be a problem again, and call back on the furniture.
Now, I totally understand that companies are going to verify potentially fraudulent purchases. I further understand that sometimes those will take time to identify. In this case, they told me they identified it immediately, but declined to inform me. They blamed me for not knowing my spending habits, for actually using the new account, and for not calling in advance. They further got upset that I would expect prompt communication on their part. Perhaps I'm unrealistic, but I think if they've suspected for at most 30 minutes that they should have reached out to the customer already. They don't need to know my habits if they would make an effort to communicate!
So, I don't know where to go from here. I'm interested long term in the Prestige for the 4th night benefit, but that would have to be the only spending on the card. I'd do it all over the phone with CS. I can't dedicate one of two personal card slots in my wallet to a card that I can't use effectively. Does any else have experience with Citi regarding reasonably large purchases? It would be encouraging to hear that they relax after a few months...
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