CDNN sports hit by CITI Bank

[lrb111]

Someone at Citi Bank hates the second amendment.

CREDIT CARD PROCESSING COMPANY REJECTS FIREARMS INDUSTRY

REFUSES TO PROCESS TRANSACTIONS . . . Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp. are refusing to process any credit card transactions between federally licensed firearms retailers, distributors and manufacturers -- a move which will severely limit available inventory of firearms and ammunition to military, law enforcement and law-abiding Americans.

The first company to be affected by this decision appears to be firearms distributor CDNN Sports Inc.

"We were contacted recently by First Data/Citi Merchant Services by a June Rivera-Mantilla stating that we were terminated and funds were being seized for selling firearms in a non-face-to-face transaction," said Charlie Crawford, president of CDNN Sports Inc. "Although perfectly legal, we were also informed that no transactions would be processed in the future, even for non-firearms. I find this very frightening."

To voice your concern to Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp., please contact June Rivera-Mantilla at 631-683-7734 or her supervisor Robert Tenenbaum at 631-683-6570.

To change to an NSSF-affiliated credit card processing program, contact Payment Alliance International at 1-866-371-2273 (ext. 1131).

There are three places to look at this that I know of.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1949910/posts
http://www.nssf.org/news/fromBP.cfm?BPseq=704
http://www.nssf.org/share/images/letter.jpg

[WarHawk-AVG]

Who the HELL do they think they are

Telling a person how they can or can't spend their own money

Time for a new bank

[gregthehand]

Is this for real?

[WildBill]

This sounds bogus, but I decided to do a little checking. I did see this on the NSSF website. I have sent emails to NSSF and CDNN to ask them if it's true.

[Mike1951]

http://www.nssf.org/news/fromBP.cfm?BPseq=704

I've been following this in the Yahoo Gunsmithing group. Some say it's a hoax. Some say it's real but was resolved years ago. One member there claims to have called CDNN and confirmed it.

But unless someone has fabricated the above site, it looks real.

[Kalrog]

The dates in that letter http://www.nssf.org/share/images/letter.jpg are from the end of December of last year...

[Charles L. Cotton]

I just spoke to someone at CDNN. He could not comment beyond confirming that this termination letter is true. He also authorized me to post this information.

Chas.

[dihappy]

The NSSF reports that Citicorp’s Merchant Services Division is refusing to process gun-related customer credit-card sales. This applies both to legal firearms transactions conducted through licensed FFLs as well as ordinary sales of firearms accessories. The first company to be affected by this decision appears to be firearms distributor CDNN Sports, a large retail operation based in Texas. Citi Merchant Services and First Data notified CDNN that its merchant services account would be terminated and funds seized. (Citicorp Merchant Services employs First Data Merchant Services Corporation to handle credit card transactions.)



Charlie Crawford, president of CDNN Sports Inc., explained: “We were contacted recently by First Data/Citi Merchant Services by a June Rivera-Mantilla stating that we were terminated and funds were being seized for selling firearms in a non-face-to-face transaction. Although perfectly legal, we were also informed that no transactions would be processed in the future, even for non-firearms.�

If you have a Citigroup credit card, or use Citibank for your banking services, you may want to consider shifting your accounts to another financial services provider — and be sure you tell the Citibank representatives why you are making the shift. If gun owners act in solidarity, other credit card companies may think twice about following Citigroup’s lead in refusing to handle gun transactions. To voice your concern to Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp. directly, you can contact June Rivera-Mantilla at 631-683-7734 or her supervisor Robert Tenenbaum at 631-683-6570.

If you run a firearms-related business and wish to shift to an NSSF-affiliated credit card processing program, contact Payment Alliance International at 1-866-371-2273 (ext. 1131).

[TX_TLC]

I have a good friend that works for CDNN I will have to ask him.

I wish they had a store front here in Abilene...but they don't. That sucks impo. I think I might have to change CC processors at my store and I can't wait to give my reasoning.

[The Marshal]

Now wait a second.

I googled this and found that Citibank REVERSED their decision on this back in 2000.
I you SURE that it is not some stupid email that keeps floating around?

I call HOAX until it can be verified by Citibank. (Which someone said that Citi 'denied the policy', which can be true if they settled the issue 8 years ago.)

'SAF Boycott of Citibank Successful 2003-05-2000 [LINK]'

[stevie_d_64]

"funds being seized"???

By whom and under what authority could this ever be possible???

For lawful, legal transactions, and CitiBank is seizing peoples money that is transacted at a private business, or by private citizens???

If this turns out to be true, I just added a new resolution to my stack of stuff this year...I will refinance my truck note with someone else other than CitiFinancial...

I think CitiBank could really screw up and go the way Bank Of America did by issueing credit cards and bank accounts openly to illegal aliens...That would complete my reasonings for dealing elsewhere...

[frankie_the_yankee]

"funds being seized"???

By whom and under what authority could this ever be possible???

For lawful, legal transactions, and CitiBank is seizing peoples money that is transacted at a private business, or by private citizens???

This is the part of it that doesn't pass the smell test.

I also have a dim recollection of this issue surfacing years ago and being resolved.

Something doesn't seem right about this whole thing to me. I hold a Citibank card and I'm holding off on dumping it until I am convinced that this is a real and current issue.

[Kalrog]

I'm finding lots of articles about this, but they all point back to that NSSF page as the source. So we have no independent NEWS confirmation of it. We do have Charles speaking with CDNN though.

[Kalrog]

I just sent CMS / FDMS an email and we will see if/how they respond.