New Citi Card Fraud Verification Issues

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

I hope this is the right place to post this but I was hoping to get some input regarding Citi's fraud alerts and ID verification practices. I just received my card today and made a single $5 purchase. Logged into my app after work and was met with a fraud alert and directed to call the fraud department. Due to not having an office or home phone number, they said they had to send me a letter via snail mail and I would have to call back upon its arrival. In the mean time they said I would not have access to their mobile app but the card should work. This is on top of the letter I am already expecting for the same "verification issues" but regarding adding it to a mobile wallet.

I have never had these problems with any other card and was hoping anyone that has experience with Citi could tell me if this is something I can expect to be a regular occurrence or if it's just bad luck and shouldn't be a continuing issue. I was hoping for another card to keep for the long haul but have no plans to wait on letters in the mail once a month to keep my account from being frozen because I only have a cell phone.

Any experiences or input would be appreciated. CSR assured me snail mail was a one time method but did not sound convincing. Weird vibes for day one. Never had this many CSR calls so soon, and deffinitely never had CSRs sound so unsure of what they were telling me.

[trant3]

I had a similiar experience where AFTER approval for the diamond card, I was met with a call from fraud asking if it was me that applied. She did get me on my cell which is the # on file thus everything was fine afterwards.  Citi is uptight with phone number verification

[AverageJoesCredit]

Almost impossible to say what causes this. We know basically nothing about your credit profile and so many factors might be considered by them that could have triggered fraud. Could it have been where you made your first charge? Maybe you live in an area with high frand rate?.

I once had to call when I had used my card in awhile and I tried to pay my health insurance but wouldn't let me. Maybe not Freud but you get the gist. I would sit to see if it happens again to decide whether it's too much a hassle. I'd rather have them be proactive against fraud than be reactive but that's just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

I just got my Citi double cash and they wouldn’t let me activate the card online. I had to call in and answer a bunch of questions from their fraud department.
They kept asking if I received a text or voicemail.

[Anonymous]

You are not alone. In fact, they froze my card even before I used it. I was approved for the Citi Daimond Preferred card and got it about 7 weeks ago. I chose this specific card because of the "no fees/no interest" on balance transfers. During the online application process, they give you an option of entering in accounts you wish to pay off using a balance transfer. I entered in a few of my credit cards that had high interest rates.

When I got my Citi card in the mail, I activated it and created an online account. After doing so, I signed in and immediately I got the message:

"We apologize for any inconvenience, but to protect your account, further charges may be limited until you have contacted our Customer Service Department at 800-825-0393(TTY: 1-800-325-2865)"

I called customer service. They said I should call their fraud department. I called their fraud department and explained the situation to the guy on the phone. He then passed me on to another person - I think the supervisor. She told me they needed more info to verify my identity and SSN and that I should be expecting a letter in the mail in 5-7 business days. I got the letter a week later, signed it, and mailed it back the next day.

Two weeks later...nothing happened. Account is still frozen and no balance transfers have occurred. I called the Fraud department again and they give me the exact same line from before. They said ANOTHER letter is being sent out to verify my identity again and I should get it in 5-7 days. Needless to say, I filled out the form and sent it back. It's been another 2 weeks now and my account is still frozen. I'm going to call them again maybe today or tomorrow but if I need to fill out another form, I'm just going to tell them to go **** themselves and cancel the card.

Luckily I'm not in a dire financial situation or this issue could've seriously impacted my life. I was just re-organizing my finances and wanted to consolidate some high interest cards. I'm never going to use Citi cards again. Working as a technology consultant the last 15 years, I've traveled alot and use credit cards constantly. Citi was not this bad in the past but judging from this recent experience, their business model has changed and it's the worst experience I've ever had with a credit card.

[Anonymous]

Lee_G you have been very patient and tolerant! Afraid I would raised "holly H he**" by now. The whole thing is BS. As to Citi being proactive ... sure ok on one transaction but, who will put up with this on an ongoing basis (sorry for the rant)? Hope you can get the matter resolved!

"but if I need to fill out another form, I'm just going to tell them to go **** themselves and cancel the card"

[Anonymous]

Happen to me twice on my first DC card. Once when I tried to activate and then again when I added it to Apple Pay. It wasn’t really a hassle just an inconvenience having to wait for the snail mail with the dumb code — all because I didn’t have a home phone lol