Citibank review: Closing my account

I have been a Citibank Costco cardholder in good standing for over 20 years. It was my go-to card.

Recently I went to Costco to use it and it was denied. I was told by Costco that my card was cancelled by Citibank. When contacting Citibank I was told that I would receive a letter within 10 days explaining why my card had been closed. Finally I was advised by mail that I had missed two monthly payments.

I pay my card via auto-pay and I pay off my balance each month.

I had changed banks within the past few months and had called Citibank immediately after that and gave Citibank my new bank identification and new account number. I called because I didn't want to put it in writing for fear of having my account hacked. I had set up auto-pay with my new bank for payments to Citibank.

In addition, I have been using a different email address than that used by Citibank to withdraw funds from my account. Consequently, I did not receive notice of the missed payments until I contacted Citibank.

I notified Citibank about this change at the time I paid my outstanding balance. As soon as I found out about the missed payments, I had funds transferred from my new bank to cover my outstanding balance.

I reported all this to Citibank orally and in writing to Citibank when I requested the reinstatement of my card. Responses by Citibank have been officious and bureaucratic. I was told a response would come in the form of another letter. I received the letter telling me that my request for reinstatement had been denied and another letter would be forthcoming explaining why I had been denied.

I think it is telling that Complaintsboard.com, when the question is posed "Is Citibank trustworthy" the response is:

"Citibank ratings vary from low to satisfactory. Customers complain about sudden account closures, credit card blocking, and lack of communication. We would suggest caution dealing with this company."

This is not what I call a ringing endorsement. I would add to that customer loyalty is not one of Citibank's strong suits. If it were not the fact that love shopping at Costco, I would just walk away from this debacle.