| Product: |
Citibank |
| Date: |
24/07/02 (1810 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: None that I know of yet
Disadvantages: You dont always get what you expect
A short time ago I was approached in a motorway service station and asked if I would be interested in applying for a Citibank Platinum Visa card, which I was assured was a far better rate of interest than my two current credit cards. I was told that if accepted I could transfer the balances from my other two cards and therefore save interest charges. I spent a short time filling in the application form and was told that when my card arrived I would have to telephone Citibank to activate it or if I had changed my mind I could just cut it up and ignore it. I was asked the amount of balance that I would like to transfer and was told that the APR would be 11.9%, which was a fair bit less than I was paying on my other two cards.
About 10 days later without any warning a cheque arrived for £1,800 stating that this was the cheque I had requested from Citibank. I telephoned to find out what this was all about and was told that this was the cheque for my balance transfer. I told them that I had not had my card yet and had not activated the account and was told that the card would follow.
Assuming that by receiving the cheque my application had been accepted I paid the cheque into my bank and waited for the card to arrive. The card did arrive about 5 days later by which time the cheque had cleared and drawn on the new card.
Although the card had no indication on it as to the type of account it was, the booklet that came with it said that it was a capital plus card and not a platinum card. When I checked I found that this was indeed the case and the interest rate on this account was considerably higher. When I telephoned Citibank customer services and complained I was told that if I was not happy I could cancel.
In my opinion this type of selling is totally underhanded. I applied for a Platinum card at a low rate of interest. I was not told that I had not been approved for this card. I was sent a cheque leading me to believe that I had been accepte
d only to find out when it was too late that I would now be paying a much higher rate.
All I can say is if this is the way they do business be very careful of applying for a Citibank card.
Mick Gray
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 23/01/04 I also work in the Credit Card industry and I can confirm that Nicole is correct about 'downselling'. However, she did not point out that the promotional rates offered with a credit card should not be changed. It is standard practice to change the basic rates (cash and retail) associated with a card depending on the applicants credit rating. However, if you have been offerred a promotional rate on balance transfers or an introductory rate for purchases this must be honoured.
In fairness to Citibank these promotional offers are often confussed with the underlying rate of the card because the sales agents don't explain this properly. The blame for this lies with the direct sales company who put the people in Airports and Service Stations, etc. and not with Citibank. Direct sales companies like the one who engaged Mick are often paid on commision for the number of applications they submit and the amount of balance transfers they sell. It is not in their interest to provide quality training to their staff as this would reduce their selling time and no doubt the amount of comission they get.
My advise would be to take the time to understand exactly what the product is before signing up. I would never trust a direct agent who has probably been given minimal training by their sales company on the product they are trying to sell. If in doubt contact the credit card company directly, this way you should always get a straight answer.
The Citi internet site is much simpler and easy to use (www.citicards.co.uk) than engaging in battle with a direct sales agent! |
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- 21/03/03 as an employee of citibank i can tell you this is standard practice. unfortunately it's all down to the term and conditions which - no matter how small - you should always read. 'Downselling' (where you receive a card with a lower limit / higher apr than erquested) is standard and explained in th t&cs. as for the cheque you received - again it's down to tick box on th application. You should have received a copy of the form on application and all this is explained. |
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- 26/08/02 Please accept my sincere condolences for Merlin. I lost 2 of mine and it was heart breaking. Interesting review. If you are after a low APR, EGG(www.egg.com) is part of the prudential. Marbles(www.marbles.co.uk ) has 0% for 6 months and then a very low apr and also Halifax. Let me know if you ever require any free financial pointers, I have moved away from being tied to a bank/insurance company and now work as an IFA in Cambridge.(rachelmerrey@h otmail.com). |
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