I never thought I’d become the main character in this kind of story… and I also didn’t realize my procrastination could get this bad...

Citi shut down my cards

At the end of 2020, I went back to China for a while. Since I hadn’t been back in a long time, I had a lot to deal with and completely forgot about my US credit cards. Tragically, Citi ended up shutting down my entire relationship.

I actually returned to the US in early June 2021, but unfortunately the accounts were closed in mid-May, less than a month earlier. If I had been in the US at the time, this probably would have been much easier to deal with, or maybe it wouldn’t have happened at all.

Couldn’t log in

Sometime in the late 20s of May, I tried logging into my account using the Citi mobile app and found that I couldn’t get in. My username and password were correct, and I was using my usual phone. There wasn’t even a prompt to verify my identity by message or email. I thought maybe it was just a network issue, or Citi’s famously terrible IT acting up, so I figured I’d try again the next day or a few days later and didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. As a side note, from within China you can log into the websites and apps for Chase, BofA, AMEX, and Citi directly without needing a VPN. The next day I tried the app again and got the same error: still couldn’t log in.

All cards were closed

I then tried logging in from a computer to see if the web version would work, and it did. What I saw next absolutely floored me. Under every account was a line that said “Account closed,” including 3 Double Cash cards, 1 rewards+, 1 premier, and 1 AT&T More+. I also had around 230k ThankYou Points and about $500 in Double Cash rewards. It was a total bolt from the blue. Once I calmed down, I started checking the details on each card account.

I discovered that the AT&T card had charged the $99 annual fee in March. My plan had been to call for a retention offer and close the card if I didn’t get one, but I completely forgot. After the statement posted, it went past due. I never paid it, and interest plus a late fee were added. Then I checked another card, one of my main Double Cash cards, and to my shock it had a balance of more than $4,000. That one was also past due and had interest and a late fee. At that point I was completely stunned. How could I have forgotten payments on two cards?

At that point, the website was still showing my cash rewards and TYP, so I didn’t rush to deal with it right away. I wanted to contact Citi first to see whether the cards could be reopened and to ask why they had been closed. I checked my email carefully, and Citi had not sent me any email about the shutdown. The friend helping me collect my mail also hadn’t seen any letter about it. However, it seemed I had missed a call from Citi, and there was a Citi voicemail, though it didn’t say what it was about.

Contacting Citi

Website chat

So I first contacted Citi through web chat. But the chat team could only tell me to call the phone number on the back of the card, and they also told me I had 30 days after closure to deal with my TYP. So I first used online banking to pay back what I owed (I didn’t pay the interest and late fees because I wanted to see if they could waive them over the phone).

Calling in

Then I called the number on the back of the AT&T card—actually, I first called the number on the back of the DC card and got the late fee and interest waived. After that I called the AT&T card number and also successfully got the interest and late fee waived. Then I asked why the cards had been closed. I didn’t ask the DC card department about the closures because I figured Double Cash rewards and TYP might not be handled the same way, and the rep might not be familiar with it.

The rep for the AT&T card checked the system and told me Citi had mailed me a letter explaining why the cards were closed, but I said I never received it. He said he would request another copy to be sent. He couldn’t see the reason for the closure, nor could he see the contents of the letter. As for TYP, he also said that after closure I had 30 days to use them. So I waited for Citi to mail the letter again and planned to deal with the rest after I got back to the US.

Citi’s letter

Thinking back, the first letter Citi sent probably did make it to my address. The problem was that my friend didn’t go collect my mail for almost a month, so all the mail was returned by the post office. I really don’t understand that. Even if mail sits in the mailbox for a month, there’s no need to return everything. Even without requesting a vacation hold, most post offices should put overflow mail in the white bins at the post office and let you pick it up with your ID, unless it’s been a really long time. They could also leave a white bin by the house and put all the mail there. But the mail had already all been returned, so there was nothing I could do. I definitely can’t blame the friend who was helping me collect my mail. I can only blame the post office for doing things unexpectedly—and maybe also AMEX for sending too many thick issues of Departure magazine, to the point that I canceled the subscription as soon as I got back.

Transferring points and cash rewards

About two weeks later I returned to the US, but I still hadn’t seen the letter Citi supposedly sent me. At that point I had a bad feeling. On top of that, the 30-day deadline to transfer points was approaching, so I decided I should first move whatever assets I had left. But when I logged back in to Citi, I could no longer see my TYP or cash rewards, even though they had been visible before. That was obviously a bad sign.

So I immediately called Citi and tried to transfer the points and cash out the rewards. But the TYP department told me all of my points and cash rewards had already been revoked/confiscated. I objected and said previous reps had told me I had 30 days to transfer and use them. A kind older rep carefully looked into it for me and eventually found the reason: if you close the card yourself, then yes, you do have a 30-day grace period. But if the bank closes your card, you don’t get that treatment—they’re simply forfeited/revoked immediately. I was absolutely speechless. A rough estimate puts the value at close to $3,000, and on top of getting a bunch of cards shut down, it was just adding insult to injury.

My credit score was affected

By this point, Citi’s account closures had also been reported to the credit bureaus. Because it affected my total credit limit, average age of accounts, and included missed payment history, my score instantly dropped from 790+ to 680+. Not only was that a huge drop with major impact, but both issuer shutdowns and missed payments are very damaging items on a credit report, so it would also be hard for my score to recover anytime soon. The rep sympathized with me for having all my cards shut down and carefully helped me find an appeal route. But incredibly, that department only accepts paper mail—an absurdity in the 21st century. The address was a PO BOX in Sioux Falls, South Dekota, for the card service support unit that handles this kind of situation.

What I did next

At that point, I had lost interest in contacting Citi through normal channels or asking for the cards to be reopened. So I started filing a BBB complain and a CFPD complain. Below I’ll list how to use these two relatively tougher methods to communicate with a bank or merchant.

BBB and CFPB

I first went to BBB to file a complain, figuring that if it worked, I wouldn’t have to do the same thing all over again with CFPD.

About a week after I submitted the BBB complain, Citi replied. But it was a very official response: it listed all my card names and the last four digits, plus the dates Citi had closed them. It did not explain the reason, nor did it agree to reopen the accounts or restore my TYP and cash rewards. So I had no choice but to continue and file another complaint with CFPD.

The result was the same as with BBB. The same Citi department sent back an almost identical PDF response, which was basically useless. At that point the story felt over, but actually there were still more advanced options I hadn’t tried yet: contacting a lawyer and filing in small claim court.

Contacting a lawyer

As for the lawyer option, I got the recommendation from our great group admin, because he had also been shut down by Citi before. I’ll share the contact information for this lawyer who specializes in dealing with banks, in case any reader unfortunately needs it.

Because I emailed the lawyer’s old email address, it took almost a month before I got a response. According to his website, he is experienced in dealing with major banks（arguing and fighting with them）

Alexander Darr: https://www.alexanderdarr.com/ecoacaseinfo

Email: [email protected]

I emailed this lawyer, but after a week I still hadn’t received any reply. I figured there was probably no hope, so I moved on to the final option: small claim. Why save small claim for last? First, that sequence made sense for my specific case. If you can resolve things directly with the bank yourself, that is naturally the easiest and least confrontational route. BBB and CFPD are relatively tougher methods and not nearly as amicable, since you are already escalating the issue to regulatory-related channels. A lawyer takes things to a much more serious level and turns it into a legal case. The reason I didn’t put it last is that a lawyer might be able to help you obtain additional compensation, so there is extra upside there. Small claim only came last because the lawyer didn’t respond, and I didn’t want to keep waiting and wasting time, so I went ahead on my own.

Small claim court

Once you file a small claim, Citi will have someone from a dedicated department contact you by email or mail. Whether they intend to fight you in court or settle with you will be explained in the email or letter.

Outcome

After a few more steps, Citi and I ultimately reached a settlement. Citi agreed to the amount I requested, mailed me a check, and also “repaired” my credit report, but did not agree to reopen my credit cards. One important thing to note is that Citi agreed to my terms on one condition: when I notified the court to close the claim, I had to choose the option that prevents the same case from being filed again: With Prejudice (You cannot sue again on the same cause of action.)

There is another article specifically about small claim.

Summary

It’s definitely awkward to have cards shut down because you failed to make payments for a long time. From the bank’s perspective, closing the accounts promptly to reduce the chance of further losses is completely normal behavior. From the customer’s side, though, it feels very unfair—after all, it wasn’t because I had no money; I simply forgot. Why not just let me pay everything back, principal and interest, and be done with it? So let this be a reminder to log into your bank accounts and check whether you have any unpaid balances.

If you want to check balances from all your accounts in one place, you can consider the two platforms below:

Also, pay attention to emails, letters, and phone calls from your banks. If you don’t mind using automatic payments (auto pay), I recommend setting it up on every card. If the minimum payment is paid automatically, the bank will usually only charge interest and generally won’t shut down your card.

Finally, if something goes wrong, fight for it all the way. As long as you keep pushing, the bank will eventually return the benefits that should be yours. The channels mentioned in this post are all worth knowing about—if you run into a problem, contact all of them.