UPDATED 1/21/23:   Another 20-mile trip to the post office, got NO card, but a Citi statement WITHOUT the PO Box #.

Seriously?

Citi CONFIRMED my address when I called last week!

So now I’m on Citi chat.  Their bot does not understand “human.”

Finally got to a human who asked me to confirm my address.   I wrote:

So I just found out that DESPITE confirming my address, statements are sent WITHOUT the po box #

It’s the address on my statement PLUS #858

Next, he required my entire address and I dutifully typed it all.

Joseph: Thanks for confirming, The card is not yet returned, and it is updated as the card got delivered on 01/13

Was this card sent by certified mail?  Never got an answer.

When Joseph “confirmed” my address and AGAIN left the box # off, I demanded a supervisor.

Grace changed the address, but I had to request a replacement card and needed to get some security code and there was my phone number from 2019.   Strange, since last week they recognized my current phone number.

All in all, 58 minutes WASTED.

Since yesterday I tried numerous times to order a lime course.  The FRUSTRATION.  First no error message, then a CVC error, then a DECLINE today.

Called Citi and wasted over 33 minutes, speaking to about 5 different people.   We established that my card was declined because they mailed my new card on 1/7/23.  Nobody activated the new card.

My current card doesn’t expire until the end of February.   I have NEVER had an unauthorized transaction.

It obviously wasn’t at the post office last time I went about 10 days ago and I promptly reinjured my foot tripping over rocks.

I couldn’t understand several of the people I talked to because they had very heavy accents and the longer I was on the phone, the worse the connection got.

It’s 2023 and we don’t have the ability to make a clear phone call as we did 50 years ago.

I believe that these companies deliberately use ultra-cheap VOIP lines to frustrate their customers into hanging up and giving up on whatever they called about.  It’s a great way to increase revenue through late and other fees and to discourage transaction disputes.

Additionally, they hire all these people you can’t understand for this same purpose.

I’m a foreigner and I wouldn’t want to answer phones. Put these people on email or chat support!

Every new person I spoke with required my complete card number etc., my name, and my secret word.  And often twice because they couldn’t understand me.  Notably, my phone # is in their system and I only needed to provide the last four digits the first time.

Michelle finally advised that all transactions would continue to be declined until I activated the new card. 

The post office is obviously closed today, Sunday, and tomorrow, MLK Day.

I really don’t want to have to go out until my foot got better.  Fortunately, I have other cards.

Imagine if I was out to go shopping or in the hospital or on vacation and I really needed to use the card — only to be DECLINED for no good reason whatsoever.

Incredibly, there is NO notice online with my account informing me that charges will be DECLINED.

DISCRIMINATION against rural residents:

I’m aware that many banks decline all credit applications with post office addresses.

I have the option to get mail delivered to a mailbox in the middle of the desert about three miles from my home, with my  physical address.  Of course, mail theft is rampant!

Or, I PAY for a PO Box, which is obviously much more secure than a mailbox in the middle of the desert and in my case, it’s a 20-mile round trip to get my mail.

I’ve had people call me a LIAR, claiming that every US resident gets mail delivered to their home.  Don’t I wish!

And exactly WHY do I have to pay for a PO Box when the postal service REFUSES to deliver to my home?

We have to ensure that the PO Box # is added to the street address or mail will be returned undeliverable.  Often corporations drop the PO Box # and I’ve had so many problems with returned mail and subsequent account shutoffs.  Synchrony (Amazon store card) is the worst.  It’s not possible to change the address online and they shut off the account every time a statement is returned undeliverable.

Exactly WHY do we constantly have to deal with this crap?

Every trip is about $15 in vehicle expense PLUS an hour of my precious time.

IMBECILES.  Everywhere I look. It’s 2023 and they’re not happy until they gave us strokes or heart attacks with all this constant stress they DELIBERATELY and MALICIOUSLY inflict.