allclear

One thing I just remembered which might (or might not) be helpful to others reading this: The Citi Executive Response representative I spoke with was incredibly polite, sympathetic, and acknowledged a big mistake was made by the Citi rep on the 3/24 call, as well as poor communication from the reps I spoke with after. At some point during our call - when I realized Citi was not going to budge on opening the account - I asked for a goodwill adjustment, considering the mistakes Citi admittedly made. She told me Citibank policy has changed and they are NO-LONGER making goodwill adjustments as of 03/31/2021. I wonder if this is in fact the case??? FYI - I nicely "argued" that I filed the complaint and received a case number prior to 03/31/2021 - she wasn't having it.

@cv91915 You are correct! I should have picked up the phone and called them, the situation would have been much better. Thanks for your well-wishes.

@centex Thanks for responding! From September thru March I was aware of the balance (believe me, it was weighing heavily on me), I was not aware the account had been closed. As I mentioned in another reply - my biggest hang-up is that on the 3/24 call a representative whether by mistake or intentionally mislead me. Had they not, I still would have made a payment and honored my obligation to Citi - I just would have scheduled the payments differently and allocated some of the funds that went to Citi elsewhere.

@hdporter Thanks for your comment. The closure definitely happened prior to the 3/24 phone call. I can definitely see things from Citi's POV. I guess what I'm hung-up on is the assurances made on the 3/24 call - assurances that were confirmed made to me on said call by the Executive Response representative that reviewed all my calls. Thanks for giving me hope re. ability to open a new account 6 - 12 mo down the road!

Thanks @brainchasm the goal with keeping the card open was not miles, and more about putting ourselves in a better position to dig out from this mess we created.

@CTSoxFan appreciate the response and sorry for the delay. Agreed. 100% I acknowledge the debt. I also know I went into that initial 3/24 call with Citibank totally at fault and in debt to them. My problem is with what occurred on the call and the assurances made - Account in good standing, Open, Useable/active card - I made multiple payments based on said assurances. Re. opening and closing account 3 months later - you are right that wouldn't have been any different. Having the account open and active would have just made it easier to dig-out and rebuild credit.

Please excuse the lengthy post... hopefully you guys can give us some guidance regarding an issue with Citibank and our Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard. Here is the situation: Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard We had a Credit Limit of $9,000.00 On 9/23/2020 we made an electronic payment of $5,000.00. Due to financial complications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic the payment of $5,000.00 was returned. At no point were we informed by Citibank that the aforementioned credit card was closed. However we also did not communicate with Citibank. We dug ourselves out of our financial issues and called Citibank on 3/24/2021 in response to an email we received about making a payment. At this point our balance was $15,359.93 The issues begin with the 3/24/2021 call: On 3/24/2021 we spoke with a Citibank Representative and arranged to make a payment of $6,360.00 to be processed on 3/29/2021 on the condition that once it cleared the account would be: 1. In good standing 2. Open 3. The card would be active (meaning we’d be able to use it) We verified the above 3 conditions multiple times with the Citibank representative and they confirmed. As a side note, I remember specifically giving the Citibank Representative I spoke with on 3/24/2021 an example of what my definition of open and usable was so there was no confusion. We also agreed to setup automatic minimum payments. On 3/25 we received a message from Citibank confirming that we had enrolled in autopay - no where in this message does it state that the account is closed. In fact it reads as if the account is open and in good standing. On 3/29/2021 the payment in the amount of $6,360.00 processed, cleared our account and posted to Citibank. And in fact based on what the Citibank representative confirmed on our 3/24/2021 call we made an additional payment on 3/29/2021 of $4,000.00. We received an email from Citibank confirming this and again at no point did it state the account was closed, and again it reads as if the account is open. On 3/30/2021 after we confirmed both payments ($6,360 + $4,000) cleared with no issues, we checked our account to make sure the card was active - as the Citibank representative told us it would be. At this point we became worried and began calling Citibank. We spent at least 4-5 hours and multiple phone calls on with different Citibank representatives, none of which could give us any direct answers. Finally, after poking around on the internet and in message boards we found a number for the Citibank Executive Response Unit. We spoke with a very polite and helpful Citibank Representative in the Executive Response Unit who opened a case for us. At this point I sent multiple emails following up and outlining what had transpired on the 3/24/2021 call. We never once received an email response confirming receipt of emails. Every-time I would have to call and confirm receipt. At some point we were assigned a representative with the Citibank Executive Response unit. After multiple emails and phone calls, they called us back on 4/12/2021. On the 04/12/2021 the rep politely told me she listened to all our phone calls with Citibank especially the call in question that took place on 3/24/2021. The rep acknowledged/confirmed the following: That the Citibank Representative I spoke with on 3/24/21, stated multiple times when asked by me (multiple times) if by making the payment of $6,360 it would bring our account; in good standing/current, open, and usable - the representative answered "Yes". She also acknowledged that in addition to answering "Yes" the representative communicated to me in other ways that by making said payment the account would be in good standing, open, and usable. We expressed to the rep that Citibank should honor what they committed to on our 3/24/21 call: An open account, in good standing, and with a useable card. While polite and understanding the rep said there was nothing she could do. After we pressed her and explained we felt Citibank’s behavior was deceptive (We did not use the word fraudulent, although we believe it was) Tanya offered us a $150.00 statement credit, to which we declined. On 04/12/2021 following the call with the Citibank rep we sent a follow-up email, confirming what transpired on our call. We called the Executive Response Unit on 04/13/2021 to confirm the email was received and forwarded to said rep - this was confirmed. On 4/13/2021 we filed a complaint with the CFPB - that read similar to all of the above post. In addition we stated the following would be an appropriate resolution: For Citibank to honor what they agreed to on our 3/24/2021 call. Open our Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard so it is usable again. Bring our account in good standing with all 3 credit bureaus Maintain our Credit-line of $9,000.000 In addition, considering what we’ve been through we’d like them to make a goodwill correction with all 3 credit bureaus. On 4/27/2021 we received a response from Citibank via email. Which basically stated there is nothing they could do, the account would remain closed, there would be no Goodwill correction with the CRA's, and that they would in fact report the account to the CRA's as "disputed by consumer". Also on 4/27/2021 we received an email from the CFPB stating that the company has responded. Status on the CFPB website shows "Closed Company Responded" And here we are today... What do you guys think? Should we push this more? Is there a way to escalate further? Any and all advice/suggestions/comments much appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!

UPDATE - Hopefully my situation is helpful to others going through this process. I ended up speaking with the doctor's (OC) nurse/assistant, we hit it off and she poked around for me. She confirmed the doctor recalled our verbal agreement to charge me $200 for the appointment. In addition she confirmed the doctor called the CA authorizing them to accept the $200 and delete/remove from my credit report. She also said the doctor works with this particular CA and he's not a bad guy. I was hesitant but decided to call the CA. CA confirmed he spoke with the doctor, would accept payment of $200, and delete from my credit report while we were on the phone. I rolled the dice, made the payment, and he verbally confirmed it was deleted. I followed-up with an email to CA outlining our conversation, payment amount, deletion, and agreement with the doctor. CA responded "confirmed on all points". Early this morning I received a notification from Experian that the account has deleted from my credit report - I confirmed this by pulling my credit report this morning. Now, here is the lesson - follow @Why Chat's directions to the T. i.e. when @Why Chat says DO NOT CALL OR GO ONLINE, this should be taken literally - if you read the thread you will see I screwed the process up by signing up for Experian Credit Works. I got very LUCKY! this could have easily gone the other way, and I'd be looking at months of dealing with this. Hopefully this has been helpful for others. A major thank you to @Why Chat for guidance and always promptly responding to my posts. Have a great weekend!

Sorry to spam you @Why Chat. Literally just after posting the above I got the below email from the CA - they must have got my email either from the OC (doctor) or CRA (Experian). Xxxxx, Call me when you have a chance concerning your online dispute and our discussion from the other day. I heard from Dr. Xxxxxx so we can clarify and get this wrapped up. Thanks. Should I call him? respond to the email? Anything I should or should not say? If the doctor is okay with the agreed upon amount - $200.00 - I'm okay to pay it as long as this is completely deleted from my CR - i.e. a PFD. Thanks again!

@Why Chat and everyone else, here is the latest - I really hope I didn't screw things up. 1. As I stated in my first post: I opted out Mailed the CRA (Experian) the HIPAA dispute letter - printed directly from @Why Chat's site on paper with blue sky + cloud background, handwritten in blue ink, sent via priority mail proof of delivery only. 2. This is where I might have screwed things: I signed up for Experian Credit Works - I've been working on some other baddies as well as paying down credit card debt - and wanted a way to monitor results daily. FYI - I did NOT dispute the medical collections account online, thru the app, or over the phone, only using the aforementioned HIPAA dispute letter. 3. Yesterday I received an email from Experian stating: "Your Account Dispute is OPEN" When I log-in to Experian the medical account is now showing as "Pending Dispute" When I log-in on the Experian app. it says: "You have opened an Account Dispute on your Experian credit report." It goes on to say; "The dispute for the account XXX that starts with XXX has been received and should be completed by 05/20/2021." Below that it says; "What now? We'll process the disputed items with the data furnisher or vendor that collected the information from public record. You'll recieve alerts when updates are available and when your full results are ready to view." 4. Today I received a call from the CA - I did NOT answer the phone. They did NOT leave a message. @Why Chat: By signing up for "Experian Credit Works" did I screw-up the entire process? Could the account still be removed? - maybe I'm overreacting? Please advise. Thanks again, in advance for all your guidance.

@Why Chat Sorry to keep leaning on you. Based on the above info, would there be anyway to have this removed from our credit reports using your process? We are located in California. Thanks in advance!

Understood. Really appreciate the guidance. I'll revert back with updates.

Thanks for responding! @Why Chat. Not sure this matters, but just to clarify... 1. I called the doctors billing office and explained the verbal agreement. They said I need to talk to the doctor or the CA - they provided me with the CA's contact info. 2. I emailed the doctor. No response yet. 3. I did NOT call the CA, they called me today and I happened to answer. All I said was that the amount was incorrect and that I would be talking to the doctor. Did I screw anything up? Unless you advise otherwise, I'll hold my horses, follow your advice and let the process play out. Sorry, one more question... If I'm able to get hold of the doctor via email or phone, he acknowledges our verbal agreement - $200.00 for the visit and agrees to accept payment. What would be the cleanest and fastest way to get him paid and get this removed from my credit report? Thanks again!

Hi all I have a medical/doctors bill for $1,400.00 from April 2019 that is showing only on my Experian Credit Report. The "Account Name" is showing as a CA. The "Original Creditor" is showing as the doctor. I've followed @Why Chat's guide; opted out, checked addresses, and sent the pre HIPAA Dispute Letter to the reporting CRA - I'm showing it was received on 4/16/2021. So far I've received nothing from the CRA - I know it's a bit early. Here is where I could use some advice/guidance: While the OC bill is valid it is incorrect. I was very sick at the time of service in question, my doctor was on vacation so he had me go in and see his office mate a doctor who does not accept insurance. I distinctly remember said doctor kindly saying he would only charge me $200.00 for the visit. Unfortunately all I have is that verbal agreement - b/c of my health at the time I left the office without collecting any paperwork or making a payment. 1. I've tried calling the OC's billing department and explaining this but there was nothing they could do other than refer me to the CA. 2. I also emailed the doctor reminding him of our verbal agreement - I've yet to hear back from him. 3. The CA called today, I answered. I told them the amount I owe is $200 not $1400 and that I would take it up with the doctor. Any further action or steps in the HIPAA process I can take now? - I really need to get this off my credit report - It's tanking my score and we are looking to lease a car ASAP. Would I be foolish to dispute online with Experian? - I assume the answer is yes. Would be grateful for any and all advise/guidance. Thanks in advance!

Thanks @cv91915 this is helpful.