On October 12 we purchased living room furniture from Rooms To Go in Grapevine, TX, Shortly after our purchase my husband at the time and I surprisingly separated and started divorce proceedings. We were a two-income family with outstanding good credit which allowed us to financially afford the purchase of this furniture. I was left with a mortgage, car payment and other debts that amounted more than my monthly income.in order to keep my good credit rating I gave the furniture to my dependable friends that were financially able to afford the furniture, with mutual agreement they would make all payments due to this account with the understanding the first payment would be on April 1.
Several months past and I received a past due notice and immediately contacted my friends. After speaking with him we came to the conclusion he had inadvertently dropped the payments off to a store that he thought it had been purchased. The people at the desk accepted his check and he thought the payments had been applied to the account. I explained to him I did not purchase the furniture from that store and the payment was to go to CitiFinancial Retail Services and we needed to get the loan current. He apologized and asked for CitiFinancial's telephone number and said he would call and get everything corrected.
Shortly thereafter he called me with an update on the situation. On September 23 he spoke with CitiFinancial's representative Latoya at 800-552-2343, ext. 4649. He explained to her about our mutual agreement with the furniture, payments, etc., and he mistakenly dropped off payments to the furniture store. Latoya informed him if he would make a payment in the amount of $585.00 that would make the account current to date. She also informed him the payments are due on the 25th of each month with the next payment due on October 24. She went on to say she would put his name on the account and CitiFinancial will be dealing with him in the future if necessary, and not me. On September 24 he made the over the phone payment confirmation #510SER5099762. We were both relieved knowing I no longer needed to concern myself with this loan.
I received a call from my friend and he stated he thought the loan is or should be paid in full and he had called CitiFinancial to get a payoff amount and they would not speak with him only with me. I told him I thought he was on the loan and he stated that is what Citifinancial representative Latoya had informed him and now it was a different story. I told him I would call and get the payoff and get back with him. Much to our surprise the payoff amount was $3487.94, the original loan was $3458.77. We have copies of all the cancelled checks and they were paid on or before the due date of 25th of each month.
On November 6, I spoke with CitiFinancial collections representation Brittany and explained to her about the entire situation and the discrepancy. Knowing I did not have all the information and have been out of the loop for sometime regarding the payment history, I felt uneasy trying to discuss the account to any degree. She agreed and suggested that I fax a letter of authorization to CitiFinancial stating they have my approval to speak with my friend regard the account. She went on to mention fraud was flagged on the account... She not knowing what this was in reference to, transferred me to CitiFinancial Customer Service Representative Sonney to assist me further. Once again I explained to Sonney about the account and why was fraud flagged to the account. She stated fraud was not mentioned anywhere on the account and said I mistakenly misunderstood and went on to inform me I was behind on payments. She also informed me Texas Laws would not allow them to speak to anyone regarding this account only myself or my ex. I again told her CitiFinancial rep Latoya did speak with my friend and with that information my friend the payments on or before the 25th of each month.
I received call after call numerous times each day from the collection's department. I spoke with CitiFinancial Collections Rep Alonzo, Rep ID# 114 and informed him there is a major discrepancy with this account and did not wish to go through the entire routine of explaining the problem and I suggested he read the notes in front of him on the computer and he would know what the problem was. I will say Alonzo was very polite, apologized to me and went on to say he wished he could be of help and suggested I fax a letter to the Dispute Department explaining everything in it's entirety them and maybe that would be resolved. With that being said I felt maybe there would be a light at the end of this never ending nightmare.
I faxed CitiFinancial Dispute Department a letter on November 17 going over every detail. On November 27 I received a letter from them stating... Payment should be mailed at least 7 days before your payment due date to allow for sufficient mailing time. If a larger payment is made during a billing cycle, it does not affect your obligation to make a minimum payment on the next monthly statement.
We have reviewed your request to credit the late fees that have been assessed to your account and have determined that the late fees are valid and, therefore, cannot be adjusted.in accordance with your account agreement, your account will be billed a late fee if the required minimum payment is not received on or before the payment due date.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact a Cus Svc Rep toll free at 800-643-5607... Sincerely Dispute Dept.
They are trying to collect double the original loan amount with bogus finance and late charges. The payments were made on time according to CitiFinancial Representative Latoya. She obviously made a major mistake and because of her mistake, CitiFinancial is responsible for the mistake, not me. To sum it all up, CitiFinancial is financially raping me and others as well.
I welcome any suggestions or help that may be available...
Shirley
Eastland, Texas
U.S.A.
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