Citibank customers say their accounts have been closed without warning
This great banking institution has just been struck by a new trial.
These days, most of us do not bother to carry money . Instead, we are counting on Our banks To make everything away while we access our funds via cards and other technologies. Unfortunately, this type of confidence launches the problems of certain people when they report recent problems with large institutions. Read the rest to find out more about Citibank customers who claim that their accounts have been closed without warning.
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Customers in California say their accounts have been closed without warning.
Mary Smbatienne , a residential loan broker in Encino, California, recently told THE Los Angeles Times That when she started hearing rumors a few years ago that Citibank closed the stories of Armenian Americans in the San Fernando Valley, she never thought it could or would happen. But despite having been a customer for more than a decade, she received a letter from the institution on February 1, 2022, on this subject.
According to Smbatian, the letter informed him that all his accounts and cards with Citibank were closed without giving any reason why. The Encino resident had both corporate and personal accounts, as well as credit cards issued through the bank.
"It was a mess. It was horrible. It was so depressing," she told the media. "I was so stressed, I literally started to cry."
Karl asatryan , a real estate agent and developer, told the Los Angeles Times that he also received a letter from Citibank last May, informing him that his accounts would be closed in 30 days. As the Smbatian, Astryan said he had no reason why the Bank closed his accounts after being a customer for about 20 years.
"It is a lack of respect for the customer," he told the media. "And for a client like me, it's ridiculous."
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They now file a complaint against the bank.
The two customers suspect that their accounts have been closed due to discrimination. The Smbatian and Asatryan are now the main complainants of a project of collective appeal filed on November 17 before the Los Angeles Federal Court against Citibank for discriminatory practices, according to the Los Angeles Times . AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB
Lawyer Tamar Arminak , of which the company of Glendale filed the trial, told the media that it had signed more than 100 customers who wanted to participate in the collective appeal, which aims to compensate the complainants due to losses suffered by alleged injustices, including Damage to credit scores and financial difficulties. She said that customers told her that they had checks, savings, business and store accounts closed for no reason, and that their money was linked for weeks or months accordingly.
Damage caused to Citibank customers are "very important" depending on what the company hears its customers, according to Arminak. "It really destroyed them," she said.
This is not the first time that Citi has been accused of discrimination.
However, this problem goes back more to the new trial. On November 7, Citibank signed a consent order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) agreed to pay $ 25.9 million in fines For alleged violations of fair loans laws, the Los Angeles Times reported. The CFPB claims that from 2015 to 2021, the bank discriminated against the brand credit card candidates in store which they suspected were of Armenian origin according to their family names.
According to the agency, Citibank suspected that these candidates would be more likely to commit fraud and not to pay their accusations - with some of the employees of the bank who even call them "Armenian villains" or "Armenian mafia of Southern California ".
As a result, Armenian Americans were subjected to a thorough examination and many were refused or were closed at random. The CFPB also found that the bank had taken "corrective measures" against employees who did not identify and refused these specific candidates.
But now, the prosecution led by the Smbatian and the Asatryan alleges that the discriminatory practices of Citibank have caused greater damage than what was even detailed in the order of the CFPB.
"People have suffered much more than a macy account that is not approved," said Arminak Los Angeles Times . "And I don't think the beautiful deals with the humiliation involved."
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The bank apologized to candidates who were "unjustly evaluated".
Better life Contacted Citibank about the new trial of customers who say that their accounts have been closed without reason, and we will update this story with their response.
But in response to Los Angeles Times Report, the bank directed the media to a declaration which it had previously published on the regulations of the CFPB where it did not deny or admitted to the agency's conclusions.
"Unfortunately, trying to thwart a well -documented Armenian fraud ring operating in certain parts of California, some employees have taken unacceptable measures. Although we prioritize the protection of our bank and our customers against fraud, it is unacceptable To found credit decisions on national origin and. We sincerely apologize to any applicant who has been unjustly evaluated by the small number of employees who have bypassed our fraud detection protocols, "said Citibank in his declaration previous, according to the Los Angeles Times .
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