Consumer complaint received 2015-06-26
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: OH
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
We are both in our late XXXX 's, retired, and living on a fixed income. We went to local branch of Citizens Bank in XXXX, OH to open a 14-month CD with a 1.25 % interest rate. We already have a savings account with this bank with approximately {$11000.00} + in it. We were opening XXXX CD 's. XXXX in the amount of {$5000.00} and the other in the amount of {$4000.00}. 
Documentation provided by bank states as follows : " Offer available to new and existing customers with a Citizens Bank XXXX XXXX Banking Relationship '' No definition of XXXX XXXX Banking Relationship on document or on display in bank branch. ( A XXXX XXXX customer has to have a total of {$20000.00} in checking, savings and/or other types of accounts with the bank. ) We were told we had to have a checking account with Citizens Bank to qualify for the XXXX XXXX, regardless of the amount in our savings and CD 's. We were also told that we had to deposit {$250.00} to open the checking account but that we could withdraw all but {$25.00} in a day or XXXX. We already have a checking account with another bank that charges us nothing for the account or for checks or statements. 
When asked about a monthly statement, we were told that we could have a free XXXX each month online but that we would be charged {$2.00} each month for a paper statement. ( That is {$24.00} a year in an unnecessary fee since the work is done automatically on and by a computer, not an employee. ) We told them that we do not for any reason do any online banking or bill paying. They said we could not have a quarterly statement. We also could not come into the branch and have them print us out a statement when we wanted XXXX, say just once or twice a year. We were told that we either have to get a monthly statement online for free or we have to allow them to deduct {$2.00} monthly from our checking account for a paper statement. 
Here are our complaints about this bank and its services, and fees:1. A savings account is just as much of a banking relationship as is a checking account and therefore only XXXX or the other should fit their XXXX XXXX Banking Relationship not a requirement of a checking account. 
XXXX. Banks should not try to force people to do banking online when daily individuals ' accounts are being stolen or hacked into. Until an unhackable security system on paying of bills and doing banking is developed, we are not going to do so. As we choose not to do online banking, we are being penalized {$2.00} monthly for a statement that costs the bank mere pennies per statement to provide. This should not be allowed. Actual human employees are not typing up, inserting in envelopes, sealing the envelopes, stamping them or in any way handling them. This is all done by computers that have been programmed to perform this routine function on a certain day each month. Statements are printed, folded, placed in envelopes, stamped and mailed all with little, if any, human contact.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief