Unsolicited CitiBank Cards: Perfectly Legal?
Most of us have gotten unsolicited credit card offers in the mail, but what if you got an unsolicited, working credit card with your name printed on it?
It actually happened to several inactive Macy’s card holders. Macy’s sold their customer information to CitiBank, who mailed notifications to the customers telling them they had to let CitiBank know if they didn’t want a MasterCard. Those customers who didn’t respond (some said they never received the notice) had CitiBank MasterCard accounts opened in their names. This was potentially harmful, as credit scores take a bruise when new accounts are opened.
However, since CitiBank merely replaced inactive Macy’s cards with CitiBank cards, they didn’t break any laws. Customers have the right to cancel the cards. Let’s just hope they find the cards before tossing the envelopes into the trash!
Charles M said,
November 2, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
This happened to me - even though I returned the opt-out card. I called Citi, canceled the account and insisted the card - which I had declined and never activated - be removed from my credit report. They refused.
Several days later, I called back with the same demand. After I explained the situation (again) to a supervisor, she agreed to purge my credit report and agreed to send me a letter stating this fact. I have received the letter. I’ll know about my credit report in a couple of weeks.