Date Received: 2016-11-04
Issue: Using a debit or ATM card
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I 'm filing a dispute for {$300.00} because my money did n't dispense out the XXXX, this happen on XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 151XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-11-04
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-11-02
Issue: Shopping for a loan or lease
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Applied for an installment loan to purchase a new XXXX and was denied because I 've filed for bankruptcy 3-1/2 years ago. I 'm NOT able to file for another bankruptcy until 2020, so where is the risk on a 2 year loan..? I 'm sick and tired of being treated like a criminal or delinquent. The bankruptcy law is there for those like myself that due to an economic downturn ( for which we were NOT responsible ) did fall behind on our dues. There are individuals, using corporations, that make a living ( and fortunes ) using the same law. My credit score is now up to almost XXXX points. Is this a case of blatant discrimination..?? Financial institutions like Citizens One do not deserve to be part of our community.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92656
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-11-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-11-02
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: We opened a HELOC account at Citizens Bank in XXXX. At the time, we opened a checking account as well to avoid having fees on the HELOC account ( Citizens had a deal ). Our checking account had minimal money ( around {$1100.00} ) that we only used to pay the HELOC loan. In XXXX, we finished paying our loan and over time forgot about our checking account. Citizens bank began charging {$9.00} per month once we did not meet the XXXX transaction minimum in the account. We had originally signed up for paperless statements, but we were not told that we needed to also sign up for alerts to actually be told when the paperless statement was available. We have not used this account now for 26 months ( no atm withdrawals, no checks used or ordered, ... ) In that entire time, we have received no communication from Citizen 's Bank about our account ( since we did not have the Alerts feature turned on ). For 26 months, Citizens Bank has collected a {$9.00} fee for a total of {$260.00} of our {$1100.00} balance ( 23 % ). Again, they never marketed to us about the alerts, we never received any information about the account ( we had to know to go online and check ). We recently found this out as we were looking to possibly use our HELOC account again for a home project. When we called to see if our line was still active, we were also informed about our checking account. While I understand that these fees were disclosed when we first opened our account, the fact that we received no communication, were not told about alerts, and were basically ignored while our account continued to just be a source of funds for Citizens is appalling. We used no features of the account, Citizens was able to lend our money, and yet they charged us {$260.00} - if we finally had not called, they would have taken the entire balance over time. In my mind, these practices are unfair and deceptive. There is a full lack of responsibility to do what is right for the customer - ie marketing a different product that is more in line with the needs of the customer or viewing inactive accounts for possible communication or upgrade. I contacted Citizens after learning these facts and they agreed to waive {$40.00} ( XXXX late fees ). Again this is {$40.00} out of {$260.00} of fees on an inactive account. I would appreciate any assistance in reviewing their policies on inordinate fees, communication, and account review policies.
Company Response:
State: DE
Zip: 19702
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-11-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-10-26
Issue: Problems caused by my funds being low
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: This is a constant practice by Citizens Bank ( Citizens Financial Group Rhode Island ). I will pull my statement online and on that particular day I have a current positive balance. Knowing my payroll deposit is going to occur the very next day, I am not concerned knowing that there is a pending check that will be covered when or if it comes in the next day. However, when I pull my online statement the very next day I see that Citizens processed that check the day prior overdrawing the account even though I check the online balance the day before and it was positive. I have even printed my online statement which clearly shows the date on the printout and the positive balance and then the next days printout showing that check somehow mysteriously coming thru the day prior overdrawing the account and have taken it to the branch manager. They say they process checks all day and even though that check may not show up they had it and was processing it that day but I would not see it or know that. If a bank is spending an entire day to process a check then that check should not be processed until the next day. Do not fool customers by showing them a positive balance and then surprise them the next day and say " you did n't realize that all day we were working on that check but you could not see this so that counts as it actually being processed that day so thus we will charge you an overdraft even though your account clearly shows a positive balance all day ''. This bank is constantly being sued for its processes and I hope someone is looking into this backdating check scheme.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 151XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-10-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-10-26
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Dear XXXX I purchased a home XXXX XXXX, XXXX with a {$84000.00}, 30 year fixed rate mortgage from XXXX Mortgage. XXXX subsequently sold my mortgage to XXXX, who in turn sold it in XXXX to Citizens Bank. Citizens began reporting the mortgage as a home equity loan in XXXX - not a fixed rate mortgage. Four years ago I developed a XXXX illness XXXX. Additionally, I have a XXXX, which has kept me from continuing my career in XXXX field. I am currently on appeal for XXXX and can not make more than $ XXXX while waiting for benefit approval. This has caused me serious financial harm. I asked Citizens to lower my interest rate from 6.74 % to help me keep my payments on time. I was told they would do a loan modification if I missed a couple of payments. It would essentially induce them to modify the original mortgage. With limited funds, it was easy to agree to do that. Then they told me not to make any payments over the summer, while they worked out a loan modification agreement. They suggested it would not impact my credit scores and they would simply add the missed payments to the modified loan. When I received their proposal though, they said they were modifying a home equity loan to an ARM. My original mortgage was a fixed rate loan, not a home equity loan. I have no recollection of refinancing the original XXXX fixed rate mortgage with Citizens. When I asked them for documentation of the home equity loan, they sent me a promissory note dated XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, for XXXX payments of {$700.00}, at an interest rate of 6.74 %. Not a fluctuating rate dependent on market conditions, but XXXX payments of {$700.00}, at a rate of 6.74 %. I asked them for a settlement statement : if they actually did refinance my loan, there would have been XXXX. They told me the promissory note WAS a settlement statement! Further, the promissory note originally showed payoffs of {$9900.00} to XXXX Bank, and {$82000.00} to XXXX. Those figures were crossed out, and the XXXX balance was penned in as {$9200.00} ; the XXXX balance was penned in as {$83000.00}. There are no initials beside those figures suggesting that I or my ex-husband agreed to the changes. Our signatures do appear ( undated ) XXXX pages later on that document, but neither of us remembers refinancing the original mortgage. The only XXXX loan I ever had was a home equity loan for {$10000.00} taken out in XXXX XXXX. I assume the XXXX payoff was to XXXX. But again, I have no recollection of ever having refinanced my original mortgage. Furthermore, XXXX has continued to bill me, and I have continued to make payments on the XXXX home equity loan until present. If there was a refinance, suggested by Citizens ' promissory note, what happened to the funds that supposedly paid off the XXXX loan?? Now my credit report shows I am 90 days late on my mortgage, and owe {$5300.00} in " new money. '' My credit report also shows that I am {$3500.00} past due. Citizens has been unable to answer my questions. They ca n't tell me how the fixed rate loan they bought from XXXX became a home equity loan. They ca n't document that. They ca n't explain what happened to the XXXX payoff. They can provide a promissory note showing a fixed rate loan paying off XXXX other loans, but they ca n't tell me why there are no initials beside the changes, and no dates beside the signatures of my ex-husband and me. XXXX seems anxious to hustle me into a step-rate ARM from what they claim is a home equity loan. In my current circumstances I ca n't afford an attorney. I am humbly asking for your assistance in getting to the bottom of this financial morass. Sincerely appreciative of any assistance you can provide!
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 166XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-10-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-10-25
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: In XXXX 2016 I was sent a letter with an attached check for {$50.00} from XXXX XXXXXXXX, Citizens Bank, with no return address so I was unable to write him a letter about my situation. The check is made out to XXXX XXXX, the name of my business, now closed because I retired. I no longer have a XXXX XXXX account at Citizens, but all my other banking accounts are still with Citizens. The letter says to stop by my local branch " where XXXX of our bankers will be happy to assist you. '' I did just that, and I was told by a teller to call the XXXX phone number mentioned in the letter. She was not " happy to assist '' me. But I did as she said, and I got a recording that was no help at all. I also went to various web sites, all to no avail. I think this is actually a ruse that allows Citizens to say they tried to refund money owed to a customer, but the process is so convoluted this customer is ready to give up. It 's hardly worth the time, effort and aggravation. Just thought you should know about this.
Company Response:
State: RI
Zip: 028XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-10-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-10-24
Issue: Application, originator, mortgage broker
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, my husband and I locked in a mortgage interest rate of 3.25 % with .125 % credit, for 60 days with Citizens Bank. This rate was contingent on my opening a Citizens Bank account, which I proceeded to do. However, when we received the closing disclosures for my mortgage on XXXX XXXX, the interest rate was listed as 3.5 % ( or 3.375 % with a Citizens Bank account ). When I inquired about this discrepancy, my loan officer told me that there were utilization ratio issues, but that she had taken the needed steps to get the rate I had originally been quoted and had submitted all necessary documentation for approval of the originally quoted rate. My loan officer later confirmed via phone that this had been approved. We received the final closing disclosures the evening before our closing ( which was scheduled for XXXX on XXXX XXXX, after having been delayed by Citizens for several days ). The interest rate had not changed. I emailed my loan officer multiple times but received no response until I reached her by phone the next morning. She told me she was working on getting the rate adjusted as promised. However, a mere two hours before the scheduled closing, she informed me that she would NOT be able to give us the rate that had been locked in. She suggested postponing the closing on our purchase until after the closing on our sale ( which was scheduled for the morning of the next business day ). Because it was only two hours before the closing and we 'd had issues even getting the seller to the closing table, my lawyer strongly advised against postponing the closing. Doing so would have put me in breach of contract, and we had no viable options for postponement or alternate loans at this late date. I was forced to close with a difference in the mortgage interest rate that increases my costs over the lifetime of the 30-year loan by about {$30000.00}. My loan officer loan officer told me that the best she could do was to refund the closing costs ( {$840.00} XXXX, which she requested to be expedited. Unfortunately, it 's been over two months and we have yet to see this credit or even have an update as to when I can expect it.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 10030
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-10-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-10-24
Issue: Problems caused by my funds being low
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I opened a Checking account # XXXX and Savings account # XXXX with Citizen 's Bank and I have been doing all my transactions online or using debit card over the course of 2 years. I never received emails, text messages, or phone calls from Citizen Bank regarding my account balance and I have been responsible and current in all my banking transactions. On XXXX XXXX, 2016 I received a letter dated XXXX/XXXX/2016 from Citizens bank indicating that my account was overdrawn by {$180.00} urging me to make a deposit. I looked online to see why I was assessed an overdraft charge, assuming a fraudulent activity had occurred to make my account balance excessively overdue. It showed that my account was overdrawn by {$25.00}. The bank charged an overdraft fee, and then XXXX additional sustained overdraft fees within 5 days of the initial overdraft charge, without notifying me of the first overdraft charge or giving me the opportunity to rectify the matter. Another deposit and charge was automatically debited to my checking account two weeks later which then triggered another overdraft fee. A total of {$160.00} was charged to my account without letting me know by phone, text message, or email that my account was overdrawn. I visited a branch and was told that my account is only eligible for a one time overdraft reversal so the initial overdraft fee no longer applied and I just have to pay the 2nd overdraft fee and XXXX sustained overdrafts ( {$120.00} total ) to bring my account current. If the bank had informed me of the original overdraft right away, I would not have had to to pay any overdraft or sustained overdraft fees, but the bank did not call, text message or email me and kept charging sustained overdraft fees over and over again within a period of 5 days. The only letter I received is dated XXXX XXXX, and arrived on XXXX XXXX, 2016 ( 3 weeks after the initial overdraft charge ) which did not allow me the proper time or consideration to rectify my account before all the sustained overdraft fees occurred. I feel victimized as a result of the banks improper notification procedures. I also feel that the overdraft charges and sustained overdraft charges were excessive considering my previous flawless record and history of banking with Citizen 's Bank.
Company Response:
State: MA
Zip: 02072
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-10-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-10-24
Issue: Taking out the loan or lease
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, I applied for the iPhone Upgrade Program through Citizens One Bank and was denied because the information on my application did not match the information on my XXXX credit report. I called Citizens One on Sunday, XXXX XXXX, and had them file an appeal. I was told the appeal would take five business days to complete. The following Saturday, XXXX XXXX, I called because I had not heard from them. This resulted in me calling almost daily for the next week to inquire about the status of my appeal. Ultimately, I got frustrated by the lack of progress and filed a complaint with the OCC, who forwarded it to the CFPB. They sent the complaint on to Citizens One, who called me to inquire about the complaint. The following Monday ( today ), I received a call from their appeals department who researched the matter. Ultimately, I was told I had incorrectly entered my birth year in the application, which caused the denial. They told me that my denial had been overturned and that I could reapply for the program. However, I would have to do it in-store. Their system would not allow me to do it again online. I told Citizens One that I live two hours away from an XXXX and asked if I could do it at another store that sold iPhones ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, etc. ). I asked them if there was any way that I could do it online and they said that I would have to wait until XXXX XXXX and apply again, which would result in a second hard pull of my credit. I believe this to be discriminatory against those who live in rural areas that do not have access to an XXXX XXXX. Furthermore, I see little-to-no reason why the online shopping systems could not be upgraded to handle such an issue or why Citizen One could not process this loan application over the phone. After all, many financial institutions process far more complex loans over the phone. Citizens One may be one of these banks, assuming they provide mortgages. Furthermore, nowhere in the iPhone upgrade program 's terms and conditions states that I would have to go in to a store if denied. Had I known that, I would have probably sought to purchase my iPhone with XXXX Next program because of the local availability of a store.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 62301
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-11-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-10-20
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, 2016, I submitted a home equity payment to a Charter One Bank Account that had been closed for 15 years. Realizing my mistake, I notified, on XXXX XXXX, Citizens Bank, who had purchased Charter One Bank, but they could not locate the check. I submitted all documentation they requested ( proof of electronic payment made and cashed from my XXXX checking account ). See Attachment. XXXX also issued a case number XXXX and contacted Citizens on my behalf. After hours of conversations with bank personnel, I endured a quagmire of misinformation and constantly found myself back to square one. Finally the check was found on XXXX. I was issued Citizen 's case number XXXX and told the check would be mailed out in three weeks. On XXXX XXXX, I was told the check was sent out and would be received in 3-5 days. The check did not come and after another call a manager, XXXX, told us the check would be sent out XXXX and to allow TWELVE DAYS for delivery. To this date I am not in receipt of any funds. This has been an aggravating and costly ( emotionally and financially ) experience involving either incredible incompetence or out and out lying. The bottom line is that a reputable institution would have immediately returned a check written to a defunct account in the name of a non-existent bank. Citizens Bank has had XXXX dollars for 50 days to this point and has not made a good faith effort to remedy the situation. Again, I have yet to receive reimbursement and all but one phone call was made by me to their institution. I think their shoddy, questionable banking practices warrant investigation.
Company Response:
State: VT
Zip: 054XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-12-06
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No