name: V. S.

city: 70124

problem: 02/17/2002

Not only is Citifinancial aka Associates) a predatory lender, it is impossible to get any problem resolved. The customer service department is trained to be evasive and will never give you a manager to resove a problem. When I refinanced my existing mortgage with Citifinancial to another lender my payoff figure was higher than my original amount of loan. After paying $890.67 since August of 1999, my payoff figure was higher than the original amount and no part of the principal was payed off. They would not provide me with an amortization schedule as requested. They claim my mortgage is a daily accrued interest account. This means that if the mortgage is 1 day late they charge $28.28 per day until the payment is received. After reviewing my Promisory Note, it clearly states that I have 15 days grace period after which a late fee of 5% will be assessed. No where in this note does it state that this is an accrued interest loan. I have requested an audit of my account and after 2 months have received nothing. The customer service reps are rude, evasive, and never note your account files that you have a problem or request. There are numerous class action suits against Citifinancial and a major suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. There must be millions of consumers who not only are paying high interest rates to this Terrorist Company but are paying all kinds of illegal fees and additional interest to these Greedy Pigs. Something must be done to stop financial terrorism in this country. Enron is a perfect example of this and Citifinancial is guilty of the same kind of greed.

name: S. W.

city: 22405

problem: 12/05/2001

I HAD A LOAN WITH COMMERCIAL CREDIT,NOW CITIFINANCIAL,AND IT WAS A HOME EQUITY LOAN. I GOT INTO ALOT OF FINANCIAL TROUBLE AND ENDED UP HAVING TO FILE A CHAPTER 13. CITIFINANCIAL WAS ONE OF MY CREDITORS FILED ON THAT CHAPTER 13 IN 1997. AS OF FEBRUARY 2001, I HAD PAID ALL MY DEBTS AND MY BANKRUPTCY WAS DISCHARGED. NOW, IN OCT. I DECIDED TO CHECK INTO REFINANCING MY HOME. THE BANK DID A TITLE SEARCH, AND WOULDN'T YOU KNOW, CITIFINANCIAL STILL HAS A LIEN ON MY HOUSE. SO I STARTED CALLING THEIR 800# TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS AND NOONE THERE COULD EVEN FIND MY NAME OR ACCOUNT.SO I FINALLY GOT THE LOCAL OFFICE THAT ORIGINALLY HANDLED MY LOAN. THEY STILL SHOW MY ACCOUNT WITH A BALNCE EVEN AFTER THEY RECIEVED A NOTICE FROM THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE STATING THAT MY DEBT WAS PAID IN FULL AND DISCHARGED.SO I FAXED TO THEM MY DISCHARGE PAPERS AND A COPY OF THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE'S PAYMENT RECORD. I HAVE TALKED TO THE MANAGER OF THIS OFFICE 1 TIME IN 4 WEEKS. SHE WON'T RETURN MY CALLS AND SEEMS TO NEVER BE IN THE OFFICE, AND BELIEVE ME I HAVE CALLED ALMOST EVERY DAY FOR 4 WEEKS. I AM SO FRUSTRATED WITH THIS WHOLE SITUATION. TRUE, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PAY THE LOAN WITHOUT BANKRUPTCY BUT AT LEAST I DID PAY THEM.I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS MANAGER IS HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME FINDING OUT ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AND WHY SHE DOESN'T AT LEAST RETURN MY CALLS TO HER. WHEN I CALL THE MAIN 800#, WHICH I DO ALSO ALMOST EVERY DAY, NOONE CAN HELP ME BECAUSE THEY SAY THE LOCAL OFFICE WHERE THE LOAN WAS HANDLED MUST RELEASE THE LOAN AS PAID BEFORE THEY CAN RELEASE THE LIEN. I AM GETTING NO WHERE FAST WITH THIS COMPANY.I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN HAVE A DIFFERENT AMOUNT OWED TO THEM WHEN I ASSUMED THEY AGREED TO THE AMOUNT THAT WAS FILED IN MY BANKRUPTCY WHEN THE CLAIM WAS MADE. IF ANY ONE CAN HELP ME I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.

name: C. B.

city: 99202

problem: 11/30/2001

In Feb of 2000 I purchased over $2000.00 worth of furniture on one yr same as cash option. The finance company was Citifinancial retail services. When the year was up I paid the full amount off. I thought the due date for the pay off was the 25th, I guess I was wrong because a few weeks later I get a bill for $532.00 in interest charges. I tried to dispute the matter but was informed I was 7 days late with the payoff. During the time I was trying to get it straightened out, I had late charges on the $532.00 so went ahead and paid an extra $79.00 to avoid further late charges. So in all I paid over $600.00, a fee I had thought I would avoid all together. Much to my surprise, 5 months later I got a letter from Citifinancial informing me that my check had not cleared the bank, and that in addition to the original amount I also owed the interest for the 5 months, plus late charges, plus returned check fee of $45.00. What really got me was that I had evidently over-paid them when I sent in my check and they had been sending me a statement each month showing a credit of $79.00 on my statement for the past 5 months. I called my bank and asked if they had sent back a check to Citi, I knew it certainly wasn't bounced, but thought maybe some mix up. My bank had not even received the check. After waiting on the phone for over 45 min to talk with Citi on their 800 number, I explained that my bank did not return the check to them, and asked them why they sent me the statement that included their receipt of the money. The woman informed me that my bank must have put in the wrong account number because the check was returned to them with the statement stamped on it "no such account" I demanded a copy of the check sent to me, to verify her claim, she then said "we destroy all returned checks" I asked to speak with her manager, after about 15 min she came back on the phone and had mysteriously resurrected the "destroyed" check. I told her I would not pay a dime until I received my check in the mail. She said they would send it to me, I also said I refused to pay late fees, returned check fees, etc...... as I had paid them on time. Over a month went by, no check, then another bill informing me I was being charged another $45.00 finance charge on top of everything else for failure to pay, also to avoid collection agency and bad credit report should pay full amount immediately. I called again, spoke with a gentleman, explained my plight and asked for at least a copy of the check before I would pay them anything. I finally got a copy of the check in August, 6 months after I had paid them the interest that I thought I had avoided to begin with by paying full amount of loan. Citi took copy of the front and back. The front had stamp "maker account not found" the back was stamped with "Harrison Finance" my bank had no idea who they were and said they had never even received the check to begin with. By this time another statement, another threat to take me to collections, and more finace charges. I called again and demanded my original check back, this time I was rudely informed that they did not have to send me anything, and that if I did not submit the full amount I would be taken to collections. I was furious. Here I had paid them in full for the loan, only to find out I was supposedly late 7 days, then I pay off the amount IN FULL they charge for the interest for the year, plus a late fee. Now they tell me 5 months after the fact my check was no good and I was being taken to collections. After going back and forth with "Adriane" for 30 minutes, I finally had them agree to drop all the finance charges, returned check fees, and deduct the $79.00 I overpayed to begin with. He said if I sent the payment within 10 days it would be cleared, he refused to send my originial check back, stating by law they didn't have to. I was so frustrated, I mailed them a check that day. The next month I received a bill again, this time for all the finance charges, late fees, returned bank fee. I thought I was going mad,another call, another rude, uncaring voice on the other end. Explained everything "again" to this new person and was he would go ahead and clear the charges off the system right then and there. Finally! justice done in less than 10 minutes. Well, I just received a bill for 94 cents in finance charges on the amount of $108.00. Where this $108.00 is from who knows, here again they want payment for money I never owed them. I am so sick of this harrassement from Citifinancial. I should have retained an attorney over 8 months ago when it first began. My friends tell me just pay the 94 cents and be done with it. I am so beyond cooperating with this sleazy company. This is long and drawn out, much like the never ending nightmare I have experienced with dealing with this finance company. I urge everyone to ask who is doing the financing on any same as cash purchases. BEWARE OF CITIFINANCIAL RETAIL SERVICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will end up sending them a check for 94 cents to get them, hopefully off my back for good. I have been harrassed my them since March 2001. Sadly, I don't have the energy, or the space to write of the numerous calls made to them in hopes to get this resolved. When told it would be taken care of, I would only get another threatening statement that I better submit payment or be taken to collection. I have (had) A-1 credit. Sorry to go on so long to relate my tale of woe. Please never do buisness, in any way with them.

name: V. S.

city: 70124

problem: 11/09/2001

I purchased a refrigerator on a 12 month same-as-cash agreement which was underwritten by CitiFinancial Retail Services. The monthly statements I received from them were for a $15.00 payment which, of course, if I had paid only that amount I would never had paid off the amount owed in 12 months. I tried to pay one-twelfth of the total owed each month, but I missed a due date a few times. Then I would double or triple up on the payment. At the end of the twelve months I had paid Citifinancial $87 dollars over the original amount and they said I still owed another $119 because the late fees of $29.00 on each of the late $15.00 bills were going to trigger the full interest charges at 22.99%. This is outrageous. I have offered to settle the dispute for another $91.96 (the full amount of interest that could have been charged on the original amount). They refused that offer and want the whole amount now due of over $210. These people are unconscionable.

name: D. E.

city: 12303

problem: 11/04/2001

Citifinancial financed a loan for furniture I bought on a 12-month, same-as-cash plan. No interest if I paid by Oct. 5. I mailed the check a week before the deadline and they sat on it for two-three days, not posting it until the 7th, so that they could collect their $250 interest. It only takes one day to send mail from NY to NJ (pre-anthrax). In addition, the 7th is a Sunday and my contention is that the Post Office doesn't deliver on Sundays, although they claim they receive mail seven days a week. I filed a complaint with FTC and NYS Atty General, but I am worried if I do not pay it will ruin my credit. Like a stupid, I didn't send it registered, which I should have. Has anyone got any info that would help?

name: J. T.

city: 54961

problem: 10/23/2000

I purchased furniture on a 6 month SAME AS CASH PLAN. The financial company was CitiFinancial. For 6 months their billing statement had a paragraph stating how much interest I was saving each month. After a couple of months I stopped reading that paragraph, because I intended to pay the bill off at the end of the 6 months. However, their 6 month SAME AS CASH due date is always in that paragraph & in no way is it high lighted. The regular due date is always at the top, like any other billing statement & very easy to see.

I paid by the regular due date & they posted my check on 9-5-00, the due date for my bill. The SAME AS CASH due date was 8-28-00. I was late. The next month I received notice that I owed the interest I thought I had saved. Now the SAME AS CASH due is high lighted (capital letters)& written in a short phrase easy to see!

I called CitiFinancial to try & talk to someone about the problem. I called 2 times. No one could/would discuss this problem with me. The 800 number is useless. They gave me an address to write to & that was the only way to handle the problem they said. The 2nd person that I talked to, was extremely rude. I wrote, but of couse received only a form letter back. I received another 800 number to call. Nothing personal that said they even cared about me, the consumer.

I called the furniture store that I purchased the items from. The office controller returned my call & told me that I wasn't the only person that was having problems. She stated that they are looking for another financial institution to do business with. They are trying to help me.

Why is the regular due date not the 6 month SAME AS CASH date? It's the end of 6 months either way. How many other people have been caught this way & ended up paying CitiFinancial the money they thought they had saved!

These practices should be done away with. The consumer is left to deal with everything at the company's discretion.

I want to warn others to read all parts of a billing from CitiFinancial every month -- NEVER SKIP ONE WORD. Better, yet think twice about doing business with CitiFinancial.

Update:

problem: This is an update on my dispute with CitiFinancial.

Talking with the Cline & Hanson Office Controller today, we discovered that CitiFinancial states one thing on the billing statements & follows a differet rule when figuring the due date for a bill.

When you have a SAME AS CASH pay agreement it is likely you will end up paying the bill late.

On each statement it says 6 MONTH NO PAY/SAC followed by a date. However, the 6 months they work on is 180 days. Anyone counting 6 months straight is going to come up short on when they pay their bill & then be charged extra interest for missing the due date.

Even the office controller did not know until today that this was the way that they worked their billing cycle. The office controller was told that was the way it was written and it was in her instruction booklet. She didn't know this either. She was very upset also, as she felt they had been giving customers the wrong information for the entire time they have worked with CitiFinancial.

When it says 6 months, IT MEANS 180 DAYS. Anyone doing business with CitiFinancial should never count by full months, but by days. How many people would even know this?? I doubt anyone does, except for those that work at CitiFinancial. This ia a deceptive practice which works against the customer. And in the end costs the customer money.