An Open Letter to Citibank (UK)

By | October 5th, 2005 4 Comments

citibank.gifDear Citibank UK -
I don’t know how far this message will get, but I really would love it if I had the option of NOT receiving paper statements every month. I am happy to consult my statements online, and I’m sure that a lot of your customers would. As it stands, I get a large envelope every month with pricey international postage informing me of my massive account balance of £16.26 – it goes straight into the bin.
I imagine you would save hundreds of thousands of £££ per anum on paper costs and postage if you gave people the option of ending paper mailings. The environment would also win big. Why don’t you offer this?
Many thanks!
Nick Aster
www.triplepundit.com
ED NOTE: Oct. 6 I actually got a reply from Citibank! They were kind enough to say that this was going to their “senior management”, but also mentioned the following:


“Please be advised that if you wish to stop receiving paper statements there are two options- one is a hold mail option for an annual fee of 150GBP. The second option is we can change your statement cycle from monthly to annual or semi-annual or quarterly. This way you will receive only limited statements…”
Umm…yeah, I’ll take the annual statement over the (nearly) $300. Better than nothing, but it sounds like there is some very strange bureaucracy at work there!

4 Comments

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  • http://danbailey.co.uk/ Dan Bailey

    Halifax lets you have online statements instead of paper. Once a month I get an email letting me know that a new statement is available. I really can’t think why a bank wouldn’t provide this when they can save so much money as you point out.

  • http://www.d4v3.net Dave

    My CitiBank credit card account in the US offers a one-time $5 statement credit for going all-electronic. I receive notices of statement availability, balance updates, and payment confirmation via email. I can even pay online. Seems strange that one part of Citibank is able to accommodate this kind of feature while another part cannot, but maybe it has to do with the country you do your banking in?

  • Eric Morgan

    I have had problems with Citibank ever since I opened my accounts (UK£, US$ and Euros) several years ago. I put up with it because I can’t find another bank that provides similar facilities.
    Recently they sent us replacement Credit Cards (chipped variety) but changed our PIN numbers. There is no way we can change them back to our chosen numbers because the ATM’s here in Spain don’t have this option available. Citibank have not offered to pay my airfare to the UK in response to my email of complaint. So we don’t use them, we use Nationwide instead, no currency conversion charges, online copies of statements,fantastic service.
    And yes, I get THREE envelopes each month. One for each account. I would love to know the name of the genius who thought that one up!

  • Farhan butt

    Dear sir.Madan,
    Hope you are fine where ever you are this world.I am an international student and studying MBA in International business Management .I have completed my study.I am doing Thesis on Citibank internet banking and information technology system .The reason of sending this mail to get some information about the Citi bank history and its services and position in the industry.I don’t know how far this message will go but i keep my finger cross.For any information you can contact me on my email.
    Thank you