Citibank review: Check account - debit card not delivered

I have been a Citibank client for over 24 years and I have been living in the United Kingdom, and more recently on the Isle of Man.

During this period I have always had my correspondence and cards delivered without any problem, despite the fact that the United Kingdom post code is composed of letters and numbers, differently to the US where the zip code is composed only of numbers.

In September 2023 I visited a Washington DC branch and opened a term deposit account, and was informed that my account had been upgraded to Gold.

On September 13 I received an email saying that a new debit card has been issued and shipped by First Class mail and was due to arrive on October 3. The card didn’t arrive so I contact the relationship manager, Akira Kuwada, who promised a replacement card.

Subsequently I received emails dated of 10/26, 10/31, 11/9, 11/13,11/16 and11/17 saying that cards with different numbers have been shipped, with increasingly delayed delivery dates. The latest one says that the card will be delivered in mid-December. I never received such cards. Also, when they decided to send me new unsolicited cards, Citibank cancelled my existing debt card which was valid until 04/24, therefore due to Citibank blunders I have not been able to access my money since September.

I emailed and called Customers Services nd Akira Kuwada, who told me that there were technical issues because my UK post code was composed by letters instead of numbers and he was working with the technical team to solve the issue. This was in October. The issue has never been solved. In addition to Akira, I spoke to two unidentified women at Customers Services, they speak very poor English and were very rushed.

In the meantime whilst I was talking to a customer service representative, I received an email from Citibank saying that the card ending 7899, which I never received, had been unlocked and it was now ready to be used. The email also said that the card had been unlocked by a Citibank representative. The woman at Customer Service said that this was a scam, that I should not be worried and that my card was not unlocked because I have not received it.

Nevertheless, I called Akira who told that the card had been unlocked but that he could lock it again if I wish so. Then instead of locking, he blocked the card.

Due to the email saying that someone at Citi unlocked the card without my permission, I called Citi Fraud Investigation Department to ask them to investigate who unlocked my card without my consent. First I spoke to a man who refused to open a case because he asked for my card number ( which I do not have) and he said that the card had been blocked and he could not open a case. Then he passed me to another guy who dropped the call.

I called again and spoke to Nicole, Maria, and Esther and finally to the worst of all of them, a male called Butner, this one said that I had not passed the verification, despite the fact that I have been verified by Esther who passed me on to him to open the case.

Citibank Fraud Investigation Department is not fit for purpose. Their verification process asks for a passport number which is not in my files, it doesn’t recognize my bank account number, which I provided correctly, and ask for a card number, which I have no access because it has not been delivered.

Then I emailed the CEO of Citibank, Jane Fraser and other Bank executives. My case was then passed to the Executive Resolution Unit. On 11/15 I received a call from a female called Brooke who promised that she was going to issue my card and provide a tracking number. She did nothing, and when I complained by email she called me back on Friday saying that she was still working on the issue and that it was unhelpful for me calling several times. When I call her number and ask to speak to her she is never available. This situation is causing me stress, anxiety and Citibank has deprived me to access my money. I was planning to buy a Thanks Giving present to my son but I do not have a debit card.

I have unsuccessfully spent 255 minutes on the phone trying to get my card, plus a string of unanswered emails