Citibank is unprofessional
In December 2003, I received a brochure on the Member-Get- Member (MGM) program from Citibank Indonesia. It was mentioned that the grand prize would be a new Philips Home Entertainment system plus a 21" TV. As a Citibank credit card holder, I was interested in signing up for the program and advised my wife and my relatives to get Citibank credit cards.
Up to mid February 2004, I was able to earn nine points in this program. The brochure says if you can collect seven to 10 points, you will get the Home Theater system. I contacted the bank's customer service department for confirmation of the prize but was in for a shock when I was told that I was only eligible for a DVD Player. I then e-mailed my complaint and got a telephone call from the bank saying that the bank had issued a second brochure, which was different from the first. I was promised that the second brochure would be sent to me. Clearly, Citibank has not published a change in policy in the right way.
The second brochure falls short of providing me with adequate information as it does not mention that there are some printing errors on the first brochure. There has been no apology either for this error. The second brochure mentions that the MGM period is extended and that there is a new stipulation about the prizes. So, I emailed my second complaint. The bank responded, saying that it would add one MGM point as a bonus so that I would qualify for a Home Theater prize (on the basis of the stipulation in the second brochure). I thought that solution was fair enough.
A week later, however, I was again shocked when the bank's Customer Service people telephoned me saying that I had only 9 MGM points. I sent a third email to complain about this matter. The reply was more shocking and showed the incompetence of the people organizing the MGM program. I was told that I did have 10 MGM points but that the MGM program for me ended in February 2004, not in March 2004 as the second brochure mentions.
I have sent my email to respond to this but I have lost all patience with Citibank. I just hope that Citibank comes up with a good solution to this problem and will be more professional in running its business.
JOHANES RUDI SISWANTO Jakarta