Citi Communication

I have posted this on several boards that I am a member of, but would love others opinions.

I am working hard to work out agreements with all my creditors and have been extremely successful, with an occasional setback.

I am attempting to work with creditors and pay my own debt through temporary or long-term low (or no) interest agreements.

I made an oral agreement that was verified (in writing) by Citi regarding a $9K cc debt. I am paying $100 per month at 0% interest for a year and then we will re-evaluate my financial situation. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the payment in January and resigned myself to eventual charge-off and increased collection efforts. However, I spoke with Citi and shut down the January ACH deduction from one of my checking accounts. They called me several times explaining I was in violation of my agreement and if I did not make good on the payment, I would lose the agreement.

After a few days, I received a call from Citi telling me that they would like to continue to work with me. I returned the call and recorded the entire conversation (Completely legal in Oregon.) They said they could "ignore" the missed payment in January, and I could make it up in the future (beginning April) by adding an additional $20 for five months. I agreed and confirmed that they would only take the $100 payment this month (February) and they specifically stated that they would not deduct the missing $100 payment also. We could work this out at a future time. I clearly stated their offer of continuance in the program and asked for a clear verbal statement that they would only hold me accountable for the Feb payment, and we could discuss the missing payment in April. In addition, they clearly stated our previous agreement was Not In Jeopardy. Keep in mind, I recorded their very CRYSTAL CLEAR response.

Today I received a phone call demanding the $100 January payment by the 10th of Feb. I explained that I already spoke with and reached an agreement with Citi. They stated my agreement was in jeopardy! I asked to speak with a "supervisor" and informed her I had a solid recording of the previous conversation allowing me to make ONLY the Feb payment and begin making up the missing Jan payment in April. She repeated that I must make the Jan payment by the 10th. I again explained that I could not make 2 payments in Feb and had recorded evidence that Citi already understood this and verbally agreed to the makeup payment in the future.

Does anyone have an idea of how to proceed? Should I cancel the February payment and forget about dealing with Citi. In my mind they are now in breach of their own agreement of which I have recorded. Or, should I return the call again, and record them telling me a different story (I was traveling today and didn't record the call that "my agreement was in jeopardy.)

I'm assuming that if I am sued, I could present evidence that Citi made one agreement and then reneged. The recorded .wav file is clear and very explicit as to what they would allow. Who is in violation of contract law here?

Today, they stated that there was nothing in their notes that suggested they would accept additional $20 payments beginning in April, for 5 months, yet I have a clear recording of them agreeing to just these terms.

Should I consult an attorney? Should I call them once again and get recorded information related to their immediate demand for the missing payment, and then submit both recordings to a consumer advocate attorney?

It seems that Citi has no sense of what they have or have not agreed to.

Iw askind to everyone involved today, and clearly expressed my frustration that "we already have an agreement that was recorded."

I'm beginning to think that the call was some "commission" employee only interested in gathering the $100 January payment and did not have the mental capacity to understand the previous agreement from mid-January. However, I have never backed away from the fact that I owe them money and am willing to work within their parameters.

I'm wondering what a district court judge would think of Citi if they sued and I submitted my recordings as evidence that I bent over backwards to accommodate Citi and they agreed, only to back away on a clear verbal agreement.

What are your thoughts? Should I ignore the call today and see how this plays out, but be prepared to find a high-powered attorney who might take this on?

Is Citi so disfunctional that they have such poor record-keeping ability to read their own notes on an agreement? Or, did the representative who agreed to the additional $20 payments beginning in April not bother to make the correct notes?

Who is "in violation" of a contract/agreement here?

Thanks!