CITC - Citbank Customer Experiences

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2007/11/03 Citibank Divulged Private Info to 3rd Party

This is an update to Citibank Spams Customers - Violates Privacy which I first posted on 2006/03/04.
Please review that section for important background information.
All of the conclusions in that section apply here as well.

When I received This email I started to investigate further. Here are my conclusions:

1. There is no doubt that information in the email originated with Citibank.
2. The email address in this email (and another identical email) are private and confidential email addresses that have never been posted, distributed, or otherwise communicated except on Citibank's secure online system.
3. Based on the timing of the creation of these two addresses is it clear that this unauthorized disclosure has been ongoing for several years.

Below are my questions. Please note the following expectations:

1. I believe that each question is important and appropriate.

2. I expect a complete and detailed answer to each question.

3. If you intend to answer the question but need to do research then state the approximate date by which I can expect a suitable answer.

4. If you do not intend to answer the question then so state this as your reply and give a specific reason and provide a responsible contact person in authority.

5. If you do not understand the question then:
5a. Forward it to a responsible officer for answer AND
5b. Notify me that you have done so.
5c. If you cannot understand the question then reply to me and ask for clarification. You must reply by email.
5d. WARNING Failure to answer or decline with a reason will be taken as an explicit attempt to evade responsiblilty under applicable civil and criminal statutes and will be vigorously pursued.

Here are my questions.

1. What is the the relationship, if any, of Citibank to spidergate.net and brigetrack.com?
2. Who is responsible for using my ALERT email address for non-ALERT use?
3. What controls does Citibank employ to assure that customer email addresses are not used inappropriately?
4. How did part of my Citicard number get into the email?
5. How did my FIRST and LAST name get into the email?
6. Citibank replied to me Ref: 8733X55T on 2007/03/26 and stated:
   "Citibank is also working with law enforcement on the issue."
   Please provide explicit law enforcement contacts as I have significant information that may assist their investigation.
7. When, and how, has Citibank informed customers of this problem?
8. California law requires that any unauthorized disclosure of personal information be reported.
   To whom and when was such disclosure explicitly reported?

Quick Links to Other Pages

Document Index

• Go to Top of document
• HotStuff    Subject to change daily.   Check it out now!
• Document Index
• Introduction and Overview
• Citibank Divulged Private Info to 3rd Party
• How Long Will it Take For You to Listen
• Citibank Spams Customers
• ATM Security Problem in NYC - India Again
• Citibank Commercial Mortgage Problems
• Flood Insurance Problems With Citimortgage
• Citibank Spams Customers - Violates Privacy
• Citibank Directions to Phantom Branch
• Citibank Authorization Code Process Sucks!
• Citibank Call Us Gives Incorrect Office Hours
• Test Links Not Ready to Use. Caveat Emptor!!!
• Go to Bottom of document

Introduction and Overview                      Back to top

2004/12/02 OK, So why did I make this page?

Why today? I was simply fed up!

I had two completely unrelated contacts with Citibank and both turned out to be infuriating beyond belief.

It's going to take some time to get all the facts and details organized and presented. I'm on vacation in New York City right now and don't have access to all of my history and assets.

A brief summary will have to do for now. Stay tuned...

How Long Will it Take for You to Listen                      Back to top

I have been a Citibank Direct Access customer since 1990.

I think it time that Citibank pays some attention to my needs.

Below you will see my most recent statement. It is of significant interest because it shows my typical activity and makes my COMPLAINT very clear.

As you can see, every payment has a clear and explicit payee except for payments designated to ... be continued ...

Citibank ATM Security Problem in NYC - India Again                      Back to top

2004/12/01 New York City

After a fabulous evening with my friend (You don't care but...
   Selected Shorts at Symphony Space - Broadway at 95th Street
   Dinner at Saigon Grill - Amsterdam Avenue at 90th Street (or 91st)
   After dinner drink at a bar on 72nd Street near Columbus Avenue
I stopped at the Citibank ATM office at 170 West 72nd Street
New York, NY  10023 (exact address is part of this amusing story)
to deposit a check.

I very rarely use ATMs.  I live in San Francisco and do most of my
banking in person.  Citibank offices and ATMs are rare in San Francisco.

The first thing I noticed was the person sleeping on the floor under
one of the many ATMs.  We have many homeless folks in San Francisco.
The weather is much milder than New York and there's no problem sleeping
on the street, in the park, etc.  I'm not fond of this situation, but
I don't get bothered except for rare circumstances:
  They invade my building and sleep in the hall or basement.
  They sleep on or mess up my house front steps.

So sorry, but invading a secure ATM facility is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Being a diligent do-gooder I picked up the phone to talk to a Citibank
person.  This was at about 12:43 AM EST -- it's now Thursday, December 2nd.

I left the bank at about 1:25 AM when the New York City police arrived.

Oh yes, the details.  They are written on bits of scrap paper and ATM
deposit envelopes.  These are the details to come...

You might rightly ask:  "Jeffrey, Why are you so upset?"
It's a good question.  The story actually starts at 10:17 AM 2004/12/01.

I called CitiMortgage Insurance in response to a letter I received
regarding some flood insurance.  (Not a problem in New York!)

After a useless conversation with Tyrone I was transferred to
Citibank Mortgage where I spoke with Ranjan Padhee, somewhere in India.
Mr. Padhee was polite but useless.  Really folks, how is someone in India
going to be able to help me with the details of mandatory flood insurance
for a house in Mill Valley, California.  Duh!
I also spoke with another polite Customer Service Supervisor in the USA
named Belinda Harris.  She insisted that I again speak with the absolutely
clueless Tyrone.  We spoke briefly.  The line went dead.
I sent a written communication to Citibank regarding the issue.

OK, back to midnight in New York.

The homeless guy gets up in response to my heated conversation with Anna,
a supervisor in Texas.  Oh, did I forget to tell you about the first
conversation with the person somewhere in India who answered the phone?
The person who took more than ten minutes to get the facts that there is
a Citibank ATM at Amsterdam Avenue and 72nd Street in Manhattan?
Who expected me to know the F@#$ zip code of the ATM and the street address?
Dorothy, what planet are you on?

Oh, so sorry.  This is supposed to be the short version --
I'll fill in the lovely details later, after I hear from Charles Prince.

Here's the quick closing.
  I've a very long relationship with Citibank.
  I opened the building at 111 Wall Street as a consultant to Citibank.
  I've been a retail customer for about 30 years.
  I piloted on-line banking with Citibank in their very first attempts.
  I have over one million dollars in mortgages with Citibank.

You may have found this diatribe at
     http://www.CitiSucks.info
  or http://www.CitiBankCust.info
I'm trying to be balanced (my friends say this will never happen) so I have
created two sites.  (CitiBankSucks was already taken by someone else.)

Citibank is still the best banking deal for my needs, thus the title
of this page "CitiBankCust" -- CitiBank Customer.
I've got a year free with both domains.  Let's see how Citibank responds.

If you have an urgent need to contact me, please email
    CIC7L03 at CitiBankCust dot info
Yes, they are real email addresses and, depending on my mood and the
content of your email, I will respond.

Citibank Commercial Mortgage

2005/06/22 Mortgage Payment Deleted by Citibank

On Monday I got a very disturbing telephone call from someone (Mr. D) at Citibank Commercial Real Estate. They are the folks who process my $750,000 apartment building mortgage. Apparently they did not receive my June mortgage payment.

I was disturbed because I had set up automatic recurring payments from my Citibank checking account in December, 2003 and all my payments worked fine. I checked the on-line bank system and, indeed, all my other recurring payments went out as scheduled, but not the one for this mortgage.

I rushed over to the bank with a check for the payment and the representative waived the late penalty. (Thank you Mr. D!)

I continued my research and what did I find? On 2005/05/17 I updated the recurring payment for the new interest rate and tax impound amounts. In fact, I saved a record of the transaction for reference. Click here to see the update record.
Note that some numbers have been altered for privacy.

It appears that Citibank not only lost my update but they lost the entire recurring payment. This is definitely not something one should have to consider when doing on-line banking.

Furthermore, I note in my logs that on 2005/05/16 at 23:06:47 PST I got this error message from the system:
"We're sorry. This feature is not available right now. Please call Customer Service at 1-800-374-9700 for further assistance and give this number:00854"

At 23:07:34 I called as instructed and, after four minutes on hold at 23:11:59 I spoke to a Citibank Customer Service person located in Banaglor, India. My intent was that the service representative could make the change on my behalf since I could not access the system. I was clearly delusional in expecting such service. For now I'll skip the gory details. The result of the call was that the system came back up around 23:47:48 so I just changed the amount myself. My last comment to the representative was "We are done. You are useless people." I hung up at 23:49:59

Oh, and on 2005/06/10 I opened new accounts at Washington Mutual.
Putting up with this (expletive deleted) for nearly 30 years is enough!

I'm sending an email to Citibank via their messaging system, but I wanted this public copy to share with other Citibank personnel who have been good to me over the years. Perhaps they might have some influence on the corporate morons.

Citimortgage Flood Insurance

2004/12/01 08:59 PST My Email to Citimortgage via Web Site

I spent nearly an hour on the phone trying to get some answers
regarding my flood insurance. The connection failed.  I'll not say
they hung up, but I didn't.

I've had this loan for 10 years.
My flood insurance premium has DOUBLED in that time.
It is no longer acceptable.

1.  I wish to SELF-INSURE for this risk.  How do I do it?

2.  If I continue to maintain insurance it will be ONLY for the BANK's
risk, e.g. the amount of my outstanding loan.  How do I do this?

3. Where, very specifically, are YOUR rules (anything with Citi...
in the name) and the REGULATORY rules regarding required insurance?

Do NOT telephone.  Please supply any questions and answers via email.

For emergencies, my "Work Phone" in the profile is about 7 years out of
date.  I could find no way to change it.  Please set my "Work phone"
to my cell phone at 415-994-2562.

Thanks.

P.S.
Considering the screen real-estate on my computer, this text box is
OBSCENELY small.  It says to me, quite rudely "Citibank does not want
to hear from you."

2004/12/06 07:47 PST Citimortgage Reply via Email

Thank you for selecting the Internet as your means of
communicating with CitiMortgage, Inc. Our response
to your Insurance inquiry is below.

Please contact our Insurance Center at 1-800-442-8774*
for assistance. Representatives are available Monday
through Friday from 8:30am to 6:00pm, Eastern Time.

The mailing address for our Insurance Department is:

CitiMortgage, Inc.

P.O. Box 7706

Springfield, OH 45501

We hope that you found www.citimortgage.com
helpful. Please consider using other features of this
Website.

Sincerely,

e-Servicing Division

CitiMortgage, Inc.

* Calls are randomly monitored and recorded to ensure
quality service.

Citibank Spams Customers - Violates Privacy Agreement

2006/03/04 Marketing Message Sent to Citibank ALERTS email address

I use a special email address exclusively for critical email such as bank alerts. The email address is used for no other purpose, nor is it otherwise distributed or published.

When I received This email I was sure it was a phishing expedition or other spam.

Before concluding the obvious, that this was not an alert and was not related to any other account transaction I did some research. I used SpamCop.NET to check the email headers and here is the spamcop report.

The email headers show the return address as From: "Citibank - Service"
Citibank.Service@serviceemail.citibank.com

SpamCop resolved the source of the email to spidergate.net

SpamCop attempted to located an email target emailspoof@citigroup.com but mail to this address bounced.

There is no doubt that information in the email originated with Citibank.

There is no doubt that web links in the email go to Citibank domains.

Here are my questions.

1. What is the the relationship, if any, of Citibank to spidergate.net?
2. Who was responsible for using my ALERT email address for non-ALERT use?
3. What controls does Citibank employ to assure that customer email addresses are not used inappropriately?
4. How did part of my Citicard number get into the email?
5. How did my FIRST and LAST name get into the email?
6. To what authorities has Citibank reported this problem?
7. When, and how will Citibank inform customers of this problem?
8. Will I ever receive such non-ALERT emails in the future?

I will likely add additional questions to this list as they arise.

I will await a timely and thoroughly researched reply from Citibank.

Note that in California, any unauthorized disclosure of personal information must, by law, be reported.

I'm sending an email to Citibank via their messaging system. I will publish, in its entirety any reply from Citibank.

Citibank Directions to Branch Violate Reality                      Back to top

2007/02/01 No change to the web site in more than one month

I checked the web site today. No change since 2006/12/23. In addition, I've saved the driving directions. Driving directions

2006/12/23 Just How Stupid, Careless, and Lazy Can You Be?

On Tuesday, Dec 19th I arrived back home in San Francisco from a
trip which started Nov 15th.

I got buckets of mail at home and from my post office box.

I made up my monthly rent deposit as usual.  I couldn't get it ready sooner.

I made a brunch appointment with my friend who lives on 20th Street in
Potrero Hill.  I live South of Market, at Rausch Street and Howard Street.
I usually bank at the Market and Main or Post and Gough branches.

Today, I'll try to find a branch on my way to my friend's house.
Lo, the Citibank Locator gave me "Potrero Hill"
350 Rhode Island Street, Suite 140
San Francisco, CA 94103
How absolutely fabulous -- it's right on my way.  Right?
      See the map. 
Wrong!  There is hugh construction on Rhode Island Street.
There is no bank visible from the several times I drove by.
The bank entrance is actually on Kansas Street, the NEXT BLOCK.

It only took me a few more minutes to get to my friend's house.
We looked it up on his computer.  I called the Citibank phone
and, after wading through seemingly endless menus, I finally spoke to
a nice lady who told me that the bank was at 350 Rhode Island St.
She didn't want to hear from me that there was no there there.
I waited on the phone while she called the branch and I spoke to
Doug Hong, 415-252-6700.  He assured me that the branch was open until 1pm.
He told me (thanks, Doug) that the entrace was on Kansas Street.

I got back in my car and drove to the branch to make my deposit.
I've been making rent roll deposits of about $30,000 per month, about 30 items.
This time I had 33 items totalling a bit over $30,000.
On all other occasions Citibank has insisted that such a large number
of checks be deposited as "free work."  Not today.
The teller, Adrian Borrero insisted on scanning each item of the deposit.

He returned to me a check for $150.00 which my tenant had written,
erroneously, to my business name, not my name.  I will take that matter
up separately.  I'm sure the teller was doing his job.

I asked the apparent branch manager Gustavo Manzano -- his card says
he is a "Personal Banker" why they didn't do it the other way -- I could
not remember the term "free work" today -- he refused to answer me.
He refused to tell me the term.  He said that he wanted me to leave the
bank.  The teller, Mr. Borrero was kind enough to remind me of the term.
Mr. Manzano didn't like my tone of voice.  I was, indeed annoyed.
Mr. Manzano  actually called the San Francisco Police Department.
I did leave the bank after completing my transaction, just in time to
see the police car arrive.  

I was to have met my friend at about 11:15, after the bank.
I note the time on my "FREE WORK" receipt as 12:02.
I was the only customer in the bank until near the end of the transaction.
This was a serious waste of my time.

Were it not for consideration of my friend's time I'd have stayed to
deal with the police and your manager.
That might have been a very interesting story, too.  Ask your lawyers.

If I get some time I'll take, and post photos of the phantom branch.

Citibank Authorization Code Process Sucks!                      Back to top

2007/02/01 No change to the web site in more than one month...

     Here are two entries from my logs:
2007/01/03 19:28:43 Request AuthCode    19:29:59 Receive AuthCode
2007/02/01 12:27:xx Request AuthCode    12:29:38 Receive AuthCode

Citibank Call Us Gives Incorrect Office Hours                      Back to top

2007/10/20 Citibank Call Us Gives Incorrect Office Hours

I applied online for an AmericanAirlines Credit Card offered by Citibank. For some whacky reason they rejected my application with Report Code 26 and told me to call New Accounts Processing Center at 1-800-733-2654.

They give the hours of operation as "Monday through Saturday: 7am-3am EST" but I called today, Saturday, 2007/0/20 11:24:31 PDT and got a recording that said the office was closed and to call Mon-Fri 9AM to 8PM EST. Duh!

Test Links Not Ready to Use.     Caveat Emptor!!!

CFHCITC.HTM 2007/11/03            Go to top