Consumer complaint received 2017-05-19
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Citizen 's Bank did not perform their fiduciary duty by paying the full taxes on our XXXX home, so XXXX County in XXXX sent them back the checks, as they were not full payment. Citizen 's did not tell us. We found out by a neighbor who read our name and that the XX/XX/XXXX taxes were sold to someone as a lien. Now the second ( certificate ) will be sold next week. We keep trying to get this straightened out by the bank and getting nowhere. Following is most if not all of the information you may need : The following is a brief summary of the timeline for the above issue : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Received a call from our son who lives in the same community as the above address in XXXX , because he received a call from our neighbor that our house was in the paper, listed as having two years delinquent taxes. I told him we have an escrow account with Citizens Bank, but I would look into it the next day. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX county tax site showed that our taxes were two years delinquent ( XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ), and the XX/XX/XXXX was sold as a certificate to an outside investor. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX ( owner ) called XXXX at Citizens Mortgage Department to notify her of the delinquency. She told XXXX it would take 15 Business days to look into the issue. She was told that we did not have 15 days before the next certificate would be sold. XXXX also acknowledged that {$6400.00} was sent to the XXXX County Tax Department on XX/XX/XXXX, but the check was sent back. It was the wrong amount. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX called XXXX County tax Department to get further clarification on why the check was sent back to Citizens Bank. The tax agent said the check was for about {$2500.00} less than the actual tax and their policy is to send checks back if they are not the correct amount. She also told XXXX that the XX/XX/XXXX delinquent tax certificate was sold at a premium and the XX/XX/XXXX tax delinquency could be sold at any time. She recommended we pay the XX/XX/XXXX certificate of {$9100.00}. immediately, which is higher than the original amount. The XXXX county policy is to put property up for auction if three years taxes are delinquent and we already had two years. Also, if the XX/XX/XXXX tax certificate was sold it can not be bought back without paying a premium. We have been advised not to pay this, as federal law states, because it is the fault/mistake of the bank, they have to pay all expenses incurred. Besides, it was already in our escrow account. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX Called Citizens again and spoke to XXXX who said the matter is being looked at and takes 15 days to investigate. XXXX told XXXX that we do not have 15 days before the second certificate would be sold before that time. XXXX told him that the whole problem was because Citizens has not paid our full taxes out of our escrow, but paying partial payments which were sent back by XXXX Co, as they do not accept partial payments. Our check was sent back without explanation. XXXX was obstinate and said only that thats our policy. XXXX told him that Citizens is responsible for all costs incurred by their mistake ( Federal law ). XXXX finally forwarded the call to XXXX in customer service. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX told XXXX that she would get someone to expedite this. She also said she would send it to the chairmans department as an expedited complaint. XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX Message on our home answering machine from XXXX of the Office of the Chariman @ Citizens bank, who said she would be there till XXXX, Monday through Friday. XXXX XXXX. XXXX returned XXXX call at and left a message on her voice mail leaving her cell number and our office number and that XXXX would be there by XXXX or to call XXXX. About XXXX XXXX, XXXX called again, explaining that it was imperative to get back to us. XXXX XXXX : XXXX placed a third call to XXXX and left a message that he would be in his office until XXXX XXXX. ( XXXX ). He received no call as of XXXX XXXX. Weve called XXXX and left messages on her voice mail seven times between XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX and still have not heard from anyone. IMPORTANT POINTS : 1. Why werent we informed we had a problem with the tax account prior to XX/XX/XXXX? 2. Why did we have to hear this through a neighbor? As we are trying to set up a XXXX XXXX there, this issue can cause big problems, as our name was in the paper. 3. Had the neighbor not informed us of the delinquent taxes our home would be sold from under us. 4. How did Citizens Bank underestimate our taxes by over {$2500.00} per year? 5. By federal law, Citizens Bank has a fiduciary responsibility to calculate our escrow accurately and pay our taxes in a timely manner. They were told that they were short. 6. Citizens Bank is legally responsible for late fees and penalties for these taxes, however what are they going to do about the embarrassment and damage to our reputations by allowing this to happen and become public knowledge? XXXX is a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX State. He has practiced for 40 years in XXXX XXXX State and has an excellent reputation. He obtained a XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX with the intent of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX or obtain part time work in XXXX. This is certainly going to cause harm for that possibility. XXXX is a XXXX XXXX who has worked since XX/XX/XXXX in that field and also has an excellent reputation. This will hurt any possibility of her opening a XXXX in XXXX. 7. We have obtained legal counsel who advised us to give Citizens a reasonable chance to rectify the issue. If this is not resolved in a fair and expeditious manner we are prepared to pursue legal action including damages, and report this to the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau. They know that a second certificate will be sold next week. 8. Addendum : XX/XX/XXXX : On XX/XX/XXXX our lawyer said that if we did not hear by the end of today, Friday, he will call Citizens Bank on Monday. This will incur more expense for us. Thank you for any helpp

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation