If there are two people in a room and one person farts, both people immediately know who did it.  There’s no dispute.  But when you deal with a giant, and they make a big fat poop on your face, they can deny it for ever because they clearly have the upper hand.

Last week I paid off my second Citifinancial loan only to get a statement today saying I was actually late and I now owe an extra $400.  Apparently their system failed to log any calls I made to their customer service, calls I made to determine my DUE DATE and my BALANCE OWING.  Now they advise me to contact their dispute department with my proof.  What kind of proof you ask?  “Well, like the name of the person you spoke with.”  It was an automated system!!!

Yada yada yada – they’re dinks.  If you feel like reading the nitty gritty, you can click HERE and see what I’m sending off to the BBB.

Although, after visiting the BBB MB website, I start to understand why the Citifinancial customer service representative that I was speaking with was indifferent about my threats to trash their name in the hallowed halls of the Better Business Bureau.  Read this:

Your Better Business Bureau is not a consumer advocate which believes the consumer is always right; conversly[sic] it is also not the “Champion of the Business World” believing that business can do no wrong.
Better Business Bureaus are self governing organizations established by the local business community. Each has a board of directors made up of local business leaders. A bureau is supported entirely by the membership fees of area businesses and local installations of national business.

So who is my consumer advocate?  Where is the accountability for these companies who can buy a membership to a “self-governing organization”?  Is the BBB just a ruse to make the angry public feel like they’ve really socked it to “The Man”?  Seriously, can someone please tell me what I can do!

Of course my conversation with the CSR wandered into more existential territory.  Surely the woman I was speaking with could clearly see that I had in fact called but had to follow protocol that forced her to say whatever she needed to say to protect the Pooping Giant.  Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:

Cat: I am shocked that you are still allowed to do business when you clearly deceive your customers.
CSR: If we were so deceptive we wouldn’t still be in business.
Cat:  That’s why I’m shocked!!

Their final offer was to reduce the interest by 60%, but they obviously missed the point.  If I accept their offer I accept responsibility for their error!  How can a customer trust an entity that controls THEIR money when the system can be so easily manipulated in the company’s favor? I know I’m being formulaic in my frustration but who are these people who can lie for a bank and still smile at the busdriver?

Yeesh, I’m getting so emotional about this and it’s only my f***ing credit score.  If you have advice for me, I’d love to hear it.  If you have a similar story, I’d love to commiserate.  If you can restore my faith in humanity, bring it on…