Shaking my head at Citibank

[redhed1026]

I recently applied for a Citibank Platinum Select card. I received an email stating I was declined due to "Your previous or existing account with us has a
history of late payments." The email stated they received the information from Experian.

Well, this raised a serious concern for me, as I have two cards issued by Citi- a gas card and Home Depot card. I pulled a copy of my Experian report and it confirmed that that I had no lates, etc (no balances as well).

I called this morning and the rep was reading her script to me. I told her that none of my accounts were past due and that I wanted to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor stated that I was declined due to an account from 1995 that was charged off. YES, 1995! Apparently, when I was young and dumb, one of the credit cards I had was an AT&T mastercard that went to collections. I did pay it off after working with CCCS. I told her that I didn't recall the account and thought that it was ridiculous that a 15 year old account was being held against me.

She stated that their decision was based on an internal database, not my credit report. If they went on my CR alone, I would have been approved.

So, should I write a letter, asking them to recon? I think their decision is ludicrous, especially in light of the fact that I have two current accounts, issued by them with perfect payment history for many years.

[Uborrow-Upay]

I think it's worth a shot, especially since the old balance has been paid.  You have nothing to lose on a recon.

Good luck, redhed1026.

[redhed1026]

I think I will sit and draft a letter this evening. Might as well, seeing as how I've wasted an inq already. I'll post the results when I get them.

[Anonymous]

sorry to hear that. They must have change their policy lately.

I was the same. My citibank cc went into collection when I was in college in 1995. The amount was only $600 but I never pay it, it fell off from my CR like 7 years ago. Citi approved my Professional CC with CL $9500 3 years ago, approved my $350K mortgage 2 years ago, and approved my home depot card with $10K CL right after the mortgage. I  almost start the thread to praise it, till I read your thread.

[Anonymous]

Yeah not sure if this is in line with what the OP is saying but Citibank definitely blacklists and they have their own internal recovery unit which does it. I have a paid chargeoff from 2004. Paid it in full in 2004. Applied for the Platinum Select and despite currently having an atrocious credit report the only thing the declined letter stated "The credit privelages on your existing account(s) are currently restricted." Called to inquire and they mentioned my old account and how thats stopping me from getting approved.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious ... has Citibank always blacklisted or is this a relatively recent phenomenon?  I know dozens of peole who at one time or another stiffed Citibank and were able to get back into the family w/o paying off the old debt.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm curious ... has Citibank always blacklisted or is this a relatively recent phenomenon?  I know dozens of peole who at one time or another stiffed Citibank and were able to get back into the family w/o paying off the old debt.

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yeah that was what happened to me, so I think they must have changed the policy lately.

[Anonymous]

I had the exact same situation.  I have two Citicards - the platinum select and the Forward card.  They approved me last year for the CItiplatinum card with no problems.  The current CL is $7600.  Then I applied for the Citiforward card several months later and was declined due to an old charge off from 1999.  The CO was paid in full in 2000.  I called in and asked them to recon.  It worked, and they approved me for the Citiforward card with initial CL of $700, now $2600.  So- I don't think this is a new policy but something that's been there for awhile.

I apped for the Citidividend card last week and was declined for the same reason (same old CO).  This time when I called in the credit analyst wouldn't budge. So, maybe they don't want to increase their exposure?  Not sure.  I was thinking of calling in again and trying a different analyst but I never got around to it. 

BTW everytime there was a "request credit limit increase" option, they increased my CL instantly with no hard pull for BOTH cards.  So, I don't really understand the logic there either. 

[redhed1026]

Well... I have good news to report! I got a successful recon after I wrote them a nice letter. I don't have the exact letter in front of me (on another computer), but I basically stated that I was asking them to reconsider their decision, in light of the fact that the past due account was paid, it's 15 years after the fact and that I have two current, longstanding cards that are issued by Citi.

Got the letter today telling me to expect my card in the mail in 7 to 10 days. $4200 line- not my largest, by far, but still a nice starting limit. So, perhaps worth a try for some others folks who mentioned a similar situation?

[haulingthescoreup]

Good job with the letter, and a reminder that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.