Citi Shell Mastercard closed account without notice

I am a Shell Mastercard customer with Citi. I have been having problems recently with the card being declined, although I still had over $1100 of available credit on the card. Yesterday (10/16) I tried using my Shell Mastercard to pay for a meal at a Big Boy restaurant, and it was declined. I then tried to use the card today (10/17) at a Big Lots; again it was declined.

I called Shell Mastercard; I was told that my account was closed because of something that was on my Equifax credit report. I pulled up all 3 credit reports; Equifax, ironically, was the only one of the 3 that still listed my Shell account as "open"; Experian and Trans Union listed the account as "closed at card issuer's request". What puzzles me is that I was never late with a payment, never went over my credit limit, and often paid above the minimum payment. Apparently, Citibank NA had a bad third quarter, and decided to use this "Equifax" excuse to close thousands of Shell Mastercard accounts.

I am not the only one complaining; others are complaining about declined cards and closed Shell Mastercard accounts as well. I certainly hope that Citi doesn't charge me overdraft fees or ask me to pay what I owe on the card in one lump sum. In that case, I do have another credit card to transfer the balance to, just in case. And my credit is still in excellent shape judging from my credit reports...everything is "paid as agreed". Citibank NA is doing a huge disservice by closing thousands of credit card accounts, most in good standing, without notice.

Comments (69)

1. Written by William Childs, on 04-02-2010 18:43 Although not a Citi specific issue...my Grandma died last Fall with her $30,000 US Bank 'guarded' trust (intended for her grandchildren)ravaged down to under $20,000 in a few short years. NOT as a result of the Market, but rather US Bank's 'maintenance fees'. She was suffering with dimensia while US Bank stole money from her! I agree strongly that citizens should remove ALL saving funds and keep just enough in checking to cover bills. This goes for ALL BIG BANKS! Also, Obama is on the right track by prohibiting Banks from being 'speculators' in the stock market and restrincting their activity to the business of LOANING! Report

2. Written by Kevan, on 30-11-2009 13:33 I am yet another Shell Mastercard account holder who had the same thing happen. I am at least glad to see I was not the only one being targeted. I actually found out because they didn't pay me a rebate. Once I questioned the rebate, they closed my account. They said because of a negative collection on Equifax, which was on there when they gave me the account in the first place. Major setback for my building credit history, and missing out on such a great deal from Shell. I am definitely through with Citi as now I have first hand experience on how dirty they are. They still owe me the rebate, FYI. Report

3. Written by Nikki, on 12-11-2009 00:46 I had the same thing happen to me and as far as I am concerned. I will get my high balance paid off whenever I do and as far as shopping and shell or using a citi card again. It will not happen. They lost out on my money. I will take my business to kwik trip or BP or other places and they can sit and spin. Report

4. Written by Terrible Bank, on 30-10-2009 12:45 I 've used Citi Shell Mastercard for 3 years. I used it for gas only averaging about $150 / month. Suddenly they closed my account. The letter stated I have no loan information. That's right I have no loans. And I never had loans for the past 3 years I had this card. This is ridiculous! My credit score is also near perfect at 780! Report

5. Written by Think About It, on 29-10-2009 21:24 Would just like to throw my .02 in:  BofA skewed my credit score when they lowerd my available credit to my balance. This started the domino effect for me. Citi and Chase followed. I had a PERFECT credit score, until now. I am formally in bankruptcy.    With that, has anyone thought that it is the CREDIT SCORES that also figure out what you pay on INSURANCE. Car insurance isn't about how many accidents you've had, or how many tickets. Whether you've had a DUII or parking problems, neither is your homeowners insurance. I am now wondering JUST HOW MUCH MY INSURANCE will be next year because of this credit mess. Report

6. Written by Karen, on 29-10-2009 18:42 I got THE letter also. I have perfect credit, am a homeowner, never been late with a payment,and Citibank effectively ruined my credit. When I called the csr at Citibank he said that Citibank raised their threshold, their term for their numerical scoring system. Evidently, they raised their score and lowered mine. Thank you Citibank for hmm, screwing me over. Rot in ***! Report

7. Written by goodguygonebad, on 29-10-2009 16:10 A lot of the problems are caused by the bailouts and the fact that you lib. government decided to get involved to protct you from those bad credit card companies. Now since the new laws don't go into affect unitl 2010 the banks and credit card companies are going to do what they can to get the money they will loose. Again, everyone wanted it and now everyone complains of the results. Report

8. Written by Disgusted, on 29-10-2009 13:22 I have been with a credit union for 40 yrs and was never so glad>>> Report

9. Written by DianaB, on 29-10-2009 11:28 I am so glad to see that we were not the only ones...we pay off the balance every month and have never been late or gone over in the past 2 years. We use that Citibank card for everything instead of a debit, and again, we pay it off every month...one morning like 2 weeks ago my husband was out with our daughter and tried to swipe the card to buy a $10 Dora umbrella...and he was declined. He knew something wasn't right so he called right there and we got the "it's been closed by us" excuse because of something from Equifax. So I got all riled up and checked our credit report...PERFECT!!! So I called and got the same thing...closed because of something from Equifax. A few days ago we finally got a letter from Citibank (which is interesting considering they said Equifax would be sending us a letter)...that said they closed our account because of too many inquiries in the past 12 months?!?! Are you kidding me?? We bought a house a year ago and a car about 7 months ago...both were done with large down payments and have low monthly payments...and those "inquiries" haven't even dinged our FICO score?!?!?    Whatever Citibank, we just assumed it was because they weren't making any money off of us, and apparently we were right.    They could have at least warned us instead of secretly shutting off the card at midnight so the next morning we would have the lovely surprise of a declined card. What if that card had been linked to automatic payments?? Screw Citibank. Report

10. Written by Tina, on 29-10-2009 11:21 I am not a Citi Shell card holder but I did have a Citi card. I just shut it down because I am one of the many who was hit by the 24.99% interest hike in May and just got hit with the 29.99% due to hit in Nov. I also was notified of an increase in my Best Buy card to a flex rate. Yesterday I closed every single account I have. I am DONE with credit cards. The business is down right thievery. I did carry a balance and I did pay every month on time, more than the minimum so they were making money on me, apparently just not enough.  This seems like price gauging in the financial emergency the world is going through and at the very least it is loan sharking. They hold your credit score hostage. When will someone do something (especially since we own most of citi anyway. Now I am robbing myself??? Report

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