Citibank Credit Card Complaint

Citibank Credit card department,

Credit determination Arizona

- - - Twice now I have submitted an application to obtain a Macy 's Department Store Credit Card and have been declined for failure to clear an initial fraud alert I have placed on my Credit Bureau. I work in the financial services industry and understand how Fraud Alerts work. I have very good credit ( - score ), and should easily be able to obtain an approval for a store credit card. As a result of my good credit and in an effort to keep it that way, I have placed an initial alert on my credit report to contact me at my primary cell phone number ( home number secondarily ). The first time I applied ( around - 2015 ), I was standing in the store and submitted and application at the point of sale. As I stood there for several minutes with my cell phone in hand waiting for a call to clear the alert, I eventually had the clerk call the credit department who informed me that I was declined because I did n't answer the phone when they called. My cell phone was in my hand the entire time and had maximum signal


you get one try only ''. After arguing with them and asking to speak to a supervisor, I eventually gave up due to the line forming behind me in-store. I was told that I had to wait 30 days ( I believe ) to reapply - at the time, my frustration about the situation made me think that there is no way I would ever reapply for a Macy 's card. A couple months later I decided to try again, because without a Macy 's card you are forced to pay higher prices for purchases - which is a primary concern of mine here. My second attempt in - 2015 was around - Pacific time from my home computer. I reapplied online and had my cellphone sitting by my side the entire time, waiting for it to ring. It did n't. I soon received an email saying my application was suspended until further information could be obtained - it included a customer service number where I learned that they were only open until - EASTERN time ; and therefore, I had to wait until the next day. Sometime around - the next day, Macy 's credit call while I was in the shower ; no message was left, but I reverse dialed the number and confirmed it was in fact Macy 's Credit Department. I then called the customer service line and was told the same thing again - one try to clear the alert and then you 're declined. I again argued with the CSR and eventually asked to speak to a manager. - ( supervisor ) came on the line and explained to me that their system prevents them from clearing an alert after the one-attempt had failed and that I could reapply in - '' days ( I do n't remember, I think he said 30 day ). I asked to speak to a SVP or higher, which was declined. I hung up in utter frustration. My concern here is that I 'm being forced to pay more for items at Macy 's because of their inflexible and unfair credit issuing practices ( generally Macy 's card holders save - % on purchases ). I have great credit, a lot of disposable income and am a very responsible credit user. Macy 's practices are flawed and they need to be investigated and corrected as a result. Can you please let me know what you can do for me ( and countless others ) in this situation? I question the entire industry practice of discounting for Store Card holders if they 're not going to apply fair lending practices. Thank you - -, I look forward to the CFPB 's response. - -, 2015 - incident number from Macy 's Credit Email Ref # -. I no longer have the reference information from the first incident sometime around - 2015.