Citibank

I was offered 2 separate bonuses by a manager at this branch for opening an account with $ 200,000 and leaving it in for 90 days. After my 90 days was up, I received one of the bonuses (although I had to ask for it because it was not posted to my account) and then jerked around for over a week about the second bonus. I was given 3 completely different reasons (by the branch and their toll free customer service) why they could not give me the second bonus. Finally, according to the branch manager, I was told I was not eligible for the first bonus and the manager who opened the account should not have given it to me (i.e., the bank’s fault, not mine). I felt the branch manager was condescending and rude. After reading the mostly negative reviews about this branch on Unilocal (including the two reviews that are hidden), I realize I’m not the only person who’s had a problem with this branch.

I am here mostly to sing the praises of Zahra, the branch manager at the Shattuck location, who went extra miles to help us in a pinch. We were actually working with a banker at the Solano Ave. branch to get a HELOC, when she informed us one day via voice message that she was leaving Citibank for another opportunity — the day right before her departure! (This somewhat explained the nonchalance with which she was working; she had one foot out the door, clearly.) Once that banker left, we went from somewhat neglected to completely in limbo. The branch manager at the Solano branch eventually got us the point where we’re signing with a notary, but the notary shows us documents we need to sign with conditions about which no one informed us! They were objectionable conditions, so we had to walk, and we had pretty much given up on the whole endeavor.
In comes Zahra, who, I assume, was just spending some time at the Solano Ave. branch the day I came to complain about the shoddy treatment we were receiving. She was very understanding and very apologetic (despite the fact that it wasn’t even her branch). She gathered my information and asked me to give her a day to see what she could do. Within 1.5 days’ time, she had pulled enough strings to eliminate the objectionable conditions of the HELOC, got us to signing, and now we have a HELOC to help pay for our wedding! (And that’s why now I’m writing a four-​star review of the Shattuck Ave. branch instead of a one-​star review of the Solano Ave. branch.)

I rarely go into the bank. I do all my business online or through the ATM. Almost the only times that I have been into the branch is to speak to loan officers, who were friendly and helpful. They bought out my mortgage, and later refinanced it at a substantially lower rate, which I thought was incredible.
However …
— I was promised a refund of the refinancing closing costs (about $ 2,500), which didn’t happen until I’d filed a complaint with the appropriate Federal Agency. I got my money about a week after notifying Citi that I’d filed the complaint!
— One of the ATMs outside has twice under-​counted cash deposits, and I’ve had to deal with the bank staff to get my money back. Once, I’ll accept, but twice means that they’re not acting on customer complaints. However, I will say that Dean, the branch manager, was very helpful on the second occasion.
— They recently stopped my free checking, and, if I hadn’t changed to a lower-​service type of account, the monthly fee would have been an outrageous $ 30.
On the other hand, I’ve been banking in the US for 37 years, and have yet to find a retail bank that I really liked.
This is an update. I made a huge mistake with my account, went in to the branch and talked to the manager, Dean. She was extremely helpful, and promised to take care of the upcoming problem. I cannot understand the customer who complained about her — I can only assume he had a bad history with the bank.

Let’s just say every visit here reinforces my desire to switch banks. Citibank is the WORST.

This is the worst branch of Citibank I have yet to encounter. I have been banking with them for over 20 years. I went to a teller and asked if I could have a document notarized. He told me to wait and he went upstairs to verify that they could do it.
The bank officer (notarizer) came down and told me it would be another 5 minutes.
20 minutes later I went upstairs, and he told me that he couldn’t notarize the document
as it wasn’t a bank document. I knew that was false as I have had documents notarized at other branches many times. The next day I went to a branch in SF and the bank officer confirmed that this was a service they provide to their customers.
I would avoid this branch if possible.

My husband and I opened our Citibank accounts last July. We were informed that our card would be sent to us but it never arrived. We ordered another card last week in August to be delivered to our address, and it didn’t arrive in our residence. It is unbelievable that this has had to happen twice. It is now September and we still do not have our cards.
Our temporary cards are expired, we have been unable to access my account online due to expired cards, and I have not had access to my funds in the past few weeks. This is incredibly frustrating.
In addition, the banker who opened our account at this bank was unprofessional. We had initially expressed interest in opening a joint account. He instead made us open two individual accounts to go back the next day to open the joint account. We were told by another citibank banker that it was possible to open a joint account. We have encountered to many problems with CitiBank, including Citbank blocking our account due to a mistake that the banker who opened our account had made. We are very disappointed with the service and unprofessionalism. CitiBank has been the worst bank we have ever had to deal with.
I would not recommend this bank or branch to anyone.

Beware of DEAN (Branch Manager)!!! If she at all feels threatened by your presence, she will close your account and note that it was per «customer request.» She likes to play Jr. detective and does not provide answers when she or her staff are asked questions like, «why are you closing my account?» They will discriminate against you based on how you are dressed and how much of your money you choose to access.
There is no sense of accountability for this location and I feel Dean and her staff say who much and when I can access MY MONEY. In the words of J. G. Wentworth, «It’s my MONEY, and I want it now!!!’ Please don’t let DEAN or her staff push you around, take your complaint to corporate and make it known. With 5 more complaints like this, she will be looking for another job because a branch manager should not act in this fashion, no one should!

It’s a bank. The tellers are pleasant. I get money and put in money. End of story.