Consumer complaint received 2023-02-09
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: MD
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Problem when making payments

Complaint:
I have a loan with Citizens Bank. On XX/XX/XXXX, my debit card that was on file to make monthly automatic payments was compromised due to suspicious activity. As a result, I was issued a temporary debit card and a permanent debit card from my personal bank within a XXXX-month timespan. Because my automatic payments could not be made with my initial debit card, I received an email from Citizens Bank notifying me to update my payment information. I immediately updated my card information with the temporary card in XXXX and the permanent card in XXXX. Citizens Bank refused to charge my card ( s ) the day I updated my payment information. As a result, there were XXXX missed payments that appeared on my credit report and my excellent credit score dropped by XXXX points. 

I would like to report that Citizens Bank intentionally did not take out the amounts I owed in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and as a result, my credit score has plummeted. 

I was put in contact with XXXX XXXX from the Office of the Chairman who admitted that there was wrongdoing on Citizens Bank 's part but will not correct the issue. 

It is extremely deceptive to email consumers to their update payment information, but not indicate that a payment will not be made immediately. XXXX took my feedback to improve future communication with customers on her end ; however, refuses to resolve the issue that has impacted me. 

There are other consumers who were in a similar situation who had this issue resolved. Citizens Bank is not a consumer-friendly bank, but rather a collection agency. The company asks customers to put a credit card on file as opposed to the account number of a bank account to take out automatic payments for a loan. 

This is a malicious way to conduct business. There are customers whose debit cards may expire, be compromised, etc. and they are unable to make a payment due to no fault of their own. Citizens Bank intentionally wants to destroy the health of consumers credit with their misleading practices. 

Furthermore, there is nothing in the terms and conditions that states that a payment will not be processed the day that a consumer updates their payment information. 
It's deplorable that Citizens believes in the importance of customer building and satisfaction but has admitted fault in this situation and refuses to correct the issue. 

Please see attachments that convey my card on file was compromised and an email from Citizens Bank that shows the lack of clarity for when a payment will be made once a consumer updates their payment information. 

***It is important to note that on XX/XX/XXXX, Citizens responded to a complaint I filed with XXXX and removed the late payment for XXXX from my credit report but kept the late payment for XXXX on my credit report. Both XXXX and XXXX need to be removed from my credit report immediately! This is a clear acknowledgement that this should have never been placed on my credit report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation