Cynthia sent a message to Michael L. Corbat CEO, Citigroup Inc. – email address that said:
The purpose of this correspondence is to address how I was treated unprofessionally and totally disrespected when attempting to secure a personal loan from One Main Financial in Durham, NC. Mr. Corbat, as the CEO of a very large conglomerate; this may be considered a small matter; however I would like to think that you truly value customer service. I apologize for the lengthiness of this letter and while I know you are a busy person, I hope you value me enough to read this letter.
I recently received notices in the mail from One Main Financial stating that as a valued customer, I qualified for an additional loan. I have been a member for over 10 years and while there have been challenges in the past; I have been fortunate to overcome these challenges to maintain an excellent payment history with One Main. My payments are set-up on automatic payroll deductions.
Recently, I applied for a personal loan to help my daughter who is in college (summer school) and spoke with Meryl, Branch Manager. Ms. Almond informed me after taking my application that I was approved for $3,200.00 but would have to surrender the title to my Honda Element - 2005. I informed her that I did not want to do that and requested if I could lower the amount of the loan to $1,500.00 to avoid having to do this. Ms. Almond informed me that she would check and get back with me. After I did not hear from Ms. Almond for 2 days, I contacted her and actually spoke with her. She informed me that she had not heard back from the head office; wherever this is and that as soon as she heard, she would contact me. Mr. Corbat, an additional day or two past and after I did not hear from Ms. Almond, I called her again and she informed me that she had to run this by her boss who was HAVING MEDICAL ISSUES and she was not able to reach him. I was befuddled at this point as to why she was informing me that her boss had medical issues because I would think this is CONFIDENTIAL AND ALSO when she originally told me that she had to send this through the head office. I explained that I did not want to have to surrender my title for $1,500.00 when my vehicle is worth more and she told me that she understood. Well, an additional 2 days past and after I did not hear from her I called again and this time, I spoke to someone else who told me that she was on another line; they informed me that they were taking a message and would give the message to her which I am confident that they did. I did this for approximately 1 week and a few days and each time, she would not come to the phone.
On Thursday, June 2, 2016, I spoke with Robert and explained the situation and he said I see the notes and informed me that she was on another line but that I should hold. HE then said "Oh, she is off the phone, let me transfer you", but I could also hear him say, "she wants to talk to you". Evidently, she did not wish to speak with me, so he said again in a sharp tone, "she wants to speak with you". Robert said hold on and transferred me. Mr. Corbat, the phone rang approximately 6 times and when it became obvious that Meryl was not picking up, I hung up.
On Thursday evening, I received a letter in the mail from One Main Financial, NOT denying my loan, but informing me of what my credit score is. I was surprised when I am already aware of my score.
Mr. Corbat, I am very disappointed in the way I was treated because if I was behind in my payments, I would be receiving calls on my cell phone, work phone and receiving letters. This is not the way to treat a valued customer whether the loan is $1.00 or $10,000 because I believe that respect goes from the top to the bottom and respect is respect.
I have yet to speak with Ms. Meryl and do not understand why she is continuing to avoid me. I have not been rude or disrespectful in any way. If One Main Financial was approving $3,200, but not approving an unsecured loan of $1,500.00, then all Meryl had to do was tell me that. Her behavior is and continues to be unprofessional, disrespectful and is certainly not a good reflection of your core values and what your company truly represents.
I hope you have an opportunity to review my records and either you call me or have someone from your office give me a call.
