Consumer complaint received 2018-04-20
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: NY
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services
Sub-issue: Billing dispute for services

Complaint:
I am writing this letter to file a complaint against XXXX XXXX and Citizens Bank. I began receiving phone calls from XXXX XXXX the end of XX/XX/XXXX. The man on the phone " XXXX '' said that I have a student loan that was past due. He asked me to verify my social security number and address. I refused to give that information because I did not know who I was speaking to and I have no dealings with this company. The man informed me that I have a loan with my daughter which was past due. I informed the man that I no longer have student loans with my daughter. I was told that the loan originated through Citizens Bank and that he is calling from the company that is now servicing the loan. He would offer no further information without verification of my identification using my personal information. I refused and said that I would call Citizens Bank and speak with them directly. I then ended the call. 

I called the phone number for Citizens Bank that I found online on XX/XX/XXXX. There was a young lady named XXXX who answered. I explained that I was looking for information regarding a past due student loan with my daughter. She looked up my social security number and name and could find no information in the system. She gave me the number to the student loan department. She advised that I should call them because they may be able to help me further. 

I called the student loan department. I explained the situation to the woman on the phone. She took the last 4 numbers of my social security number, name, and zip code. She told me that she saw some old loan information but there was nothing further she could offer. The loans were no longer in their system. 

I was receiving random calls from various numbers in different cities and states. I did not recognize them so I did not answer. On XX/XX/XXXX I called and spoke to a woman named XXXX at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. She told me the next time they called to ask for specific information in an attempt to verify who I am speaking with. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a call from XXXX XXXX from Citizens Bank. She told me she was calling from the collections department of the bank and that I had a loan with my daughter that was 116 days past due. I asked her to provide their street address, professional license number and licensing state. She began questioning why and was unable to provide any of the information.-even a street address She put me on hold stating that she was going to get someone on the phone who could give me information. When she came back, she said she had XXXX XXXX on the phone. I told XXXX that she should be able to provide this information about her company for me. I dont need to speak to another agency. She still questioned my reasoning and still could not provide any information. I said if Citizens Bank is the originator of the loan, and she works for them, how can she not provide me with basic information about the company and an origination date for the loan. I complained that she could not give the street address, professional license number or state for her employer. She tried again to transfer me to the person she had on the phone from XXXX XXXX but I hung up. 

I called another number for XXXX XXXX. I spoke to a girl named XXXX. She found nothing in my social security number but was able to tell me that there is a loan in her system originated in XX/XX/XXXX under my daughters information with my name for XXXX. I asked if this loan was consolidated through XXXX  with the others. She couldn't tell. 

My daughter has been out of school for close to 10 years. She was paying her loans off regularly. She then consolidated all of the loans through XXXX. She continues to pay her loans monthly. We have heard nothing from Citizens Bank until now. She had all these other Citizen Bank loans that were being paid without incident before and after consolidation.Therefore, I dont know what is happening now. I have no more student loans with my daughter. We dont know what this loan is that has just popped up and they are trying to charge us with. They are attacking our good name and credit in the process. 

According to XXXX, XXXX and other websites, there is a 6 year statute of limitations on debt. Private student loan debt can have a 10 year statute of limitations. Per the little bit of information they have given me, this loan is 12 years old. Therefore, they should not be contacting us about it at all.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation