Citi Private Bank

In the process of seeking to refinance a loan, a representative (loan officer) of Citi Private Bank bragged about how Citi Private Bank has "no origination fees" and gave me a breakdown of the only fees she claimed apply to CPB refinances. She then confirmed a second time, by email, that "currently Citi Private Bank does not have any origination fees" and again purported to give a breakdown of all fees associated with the product.

I thus filled out a refinance application and gathered extensive paperwork to support the application. On submitting the application, the representative completely changed course and said "I do have to advise that there is a 1% origination fee" -- amounting to $3,500. I did speak to a supervisor who declined to waive the origination fee, insisted that the representative was simply confused and misspoke, and pushed me toward a different product (a mortgage modification, rather than a refinance) - which is still far more expensive than the price I was originally quoted for a refinance.

This is not the first time Citi Private Bank has engaged in such practices. Last year, when I took out a loan, I had an issue with a different loan officer's practices about fees. At that time, I complained to the exact same supervisor who -- like this time -- seemed to suggest there was some innocent mistake.