Citibank Mortgage

I have taken my 2 home loans with CITI after some recommendation from my accountant.
I am in the process of renovating my existing home and hence called Citi number three times.
-1st time some customer service personal took the details and said, some one will contact me in next 48 BUSINESS hours ( not sure whether she meant to say 2 days or 6 working days). No one called for 10 days
- 2nd time, some other customer service personal took all the details and transfered the call to some other dept...after a few queries, said, the concerned PERSON is not available, and also said, she will arrange a call back. Which never happended.
- 3rd time, same story, call was transferred to some one in SYDNEY, and the call went unattended and finally disconnected.
-4th time, i managed to get the direct Number of that MYSTERY person and called his desk number and left message. No reply, even after a week.
- Kept trying to contact this person. After a few more attempts, finally got hold of this person (B Mc).
The way this person responded, resembled as if we are in a 3rd world country and dealing with a central govt office. He started complaining 'his computer not working on that day'. CITI had a updated version of the software and hence he was blaming the software etc.

Finally he gave me some information what i was after.

My question was, do one need to put this much effort, to get some information or a query about the process?
No one would have this much time to follow-up one simple query.

Is it because, Citi doen't have many branches/personnel in AUS to give better service for customers.
There is only one branch in VIC and they always reluctant to talk to people rather encourages to speak over phone. It's very difficult to deal with Citi, if you wish to have a one -one chat to discuss with loan options/variations etc.
I would definitely go to Major-4, if there is an option and don't recommend Citi for it's poor customer service.
It deserves NO star actually !!

From the other reviews here that you've read, I too took out a homeloan from Citibank through a broker. I had to follow several times with citibank's customer service people just to get things done ( their fax number wont go through, customer service couldn't really help solve the problem )
I will take my home-loan elsewhere within 12-24 months because they simply just refuse to re-negotiate ( fees or rates )

Took my home loans to Citibank through a broker almost a year ago. A couple of months ago, they told me that they would give a better discount when I wanted to sign up with someone else. Waited for a month and no discount came, then they say they didn't promise the discount. I'm taking my business elsewhere, don't see a need to support an unprofessional company.
Their online banking is worst than NAB & WBC based on what I've used before.

Doesn't keep their promises, online banking the worst I've used.

It maybe a standard practice in the industry and as a first home owner I am unaware of. I am initially offered a low rate which appears to be a good deal but once I signed the contract, in less than a year's time, they increased it on me as the same time keep advertise a lower rate to attract new customers. People considering choosing this bank need to be careful.
Reasonably good customer service
Play tricks on rates

I got home loan with them via the broker. Their product was nothing special other than higher interest rate. They added in new 'admin cost' when there were interest cut, and never remove this fee even after the interest rate rise up again. More interesting is - I found they still claim 'NO admin fee' for this type of loan on the CANNEX report. which is very misleading as when been asked if they no fee why still charge this fee to my loan. They had no good explanation but insist not removing this fee either. I was not satisfied with it found another bank and stopped my business with Citibank.
nothing I can think of.
pretty much everything that one have to experience as customer.

I like the flexibilty of the loan, but I am looking to change to someone who has a lower interest rate.
I have a line of credit, statements come monthly, never had any trouble with paying bills from the account.
I found that the rate is slightly higher than others, and when I called to see if I could get a better rate, was told yes, then at the end of the call was told that it would cost me another $400 to get the better rate. Also, when you ring the call centre, I have always spoken to someone with a thick accent, and find it hard to understand them. Plus, they transfer your call at least 5 times before you get someone to help you.

I was referred to a citybank mortgage by my broker. I was a fist home buyer so quite inexperienced. I first go pre-approval, then when I found the house I wanted put in an offer and sought loan approval.
Citybank caused me much un-needed distress and nearly lost me the house, as they didn't come and inspect the property until two days AFTER the approval was due. They then took another 2-3 days to actually approve the loan. The sellers were ready to sell to someone else!

Futhermore, when I recieved my statement I couldn't understand why so little had come off the principal loan amount. When I added it up it meant that it would take me 60years to pay off my loan! I rang numerous times and spoke to numerous people (none of whome spoke English well) and no-one could explain it to me. I eventually found a family friend that explained to me that it works on a sliding scale. Initially you pay nearly all interest and hardly any off the principal, but towards the end of the loan, you're paying nearly all off the principal and hardly any interest.
I highly reccommend you do NOT use this company for mortgages (or anything else). There are other better companies around.
No too hard to change loan type
Bad customer service, terrible organisation skills, poor communication