“Dear Steve,
I had a Citibank Credit Card. Last year in december, I went to their collections office in Dubai and told them that I wanted to pay off my dues and close the card for good. After taking their time, a woman came out of her cabin and told me to pay 4207 Dirhams and my card will be closed. I went to the teller and made the payment. I reiteriated that I wanted to close the card for good to which she said once I made the payment it will reflect in the system after 30 days. Now, after almost 6 months, I get a message from the Bank that I need to pay 825 Dirhams. Isnt that cheating?? I went there with good intentions and they misled me and now are asking for more money in the form of finance charges, lete payment fees etc. The collections department is non-responsive on the phone. What happens If I dont pay them the amount which they are asking for. Do I have a case?
I have paid enough to all the banks and also settled my cards with the rest of the banks after paying sums of more than 3-4 times of my actual borrowing. I am tired and want to close this chapter of banks and loans in my life.
My advice to everyone, please please stay within ur limits and spend only by debit cards or cash. Throw away your credit cards or they will haunt you later in life. Say No to Credit Crads.”
The Answer:
Cheating? Hum, interesting statement.
It sounds to me as if the account was not in fact paid off in full and closed. It might have been that a finance charge or last purchase came through after your payment date and that left the account open. Regardless, an account is not to be assumed closed. You need to check and make sure it is in fact closed.
You can check the status of the account either by receiving a final statement showing that it is closed or requesting a letter in writing that the account is no longer open.
If Citibank at the time of your payment had given you such a letter then you would have a case but as it stands now, with what you shared with me, it sounds like you need to pay the 825 Dirhams ($94).
Please update me on your progress by posting updates here in the comments section of your question. I’m very interested in how this works out for you.
If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.