Consumer complaint received 2021-01-05
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Original issue starting XX/XX/XXXX ( file of interactions attached ) : I have been a mortgage holder with Citizens Bank ( aka CitizensOne ) for 3 homes, multiple mortgages, and 10+ years. Upon refinancing my existing 3+ year old loan with Citizens in XX/XX/XXXX everything seemed be in fair order and payments have been applied on time throughout. However, after closer examination in XXXX I noticed my escrow balance was unusually high. Upon further investigation I noticed Citizens DID NOT pay out my school property tax as scheduled in XXXX. The repercussion of not paying then is a loss of a 2 % discount fee. I started contacting Citizens on XX/XX/XXXX explaining that if this went unpaid past XX/XX/XXXX it would be an additional 10 % penalty. I have had 18 interactions involving mostly Citizens ( 12 ), local taxing authority, school district, and attorney 's offices confirming this is an issue with Citizens and it should be paid. I'm now receiving delinquency letters from the taxing authority that if not paid by XX/XX/XXXX I am in default. This could result in a lien on my home. This entire situation has been entirely unacceptable as my escrow is fully funded and has paid this tax year-over-year in XXXX successfully. I am seeking immediate payment of my property tax for which only the discount fee which would have been charged in XXXX is billed from my escrow, and any remainder due paid on behalf of the bank as it is their error. I will then not only be removing any and all business from the bank, but encouraging others to do so as well unless this is resolved with a highly satisfactory and timely result. 

Update as of XXXX : Confirmed property tax now paid and penalty portion paid by Citizens, but not until after 42 interactions and over 40 hours of my time consumed over the past 2-months to resolve. 

New issue as of XXXX : Upon confirmation of payment of my taxes I logged into my account both on mobile and web after noticing my XXXX payment had not been deducted from my bank account as scheduled in auto draft. Both the web and mobile interfaces showed my account as " past due '' with no record of auto draft in place. Thus, I paid the XXXX payment directly through mobile app. As of XXXX, when I log in it's now showing me as having auto draft payment and two payments processed with a next payment due XXXX and auto draft XXXX. I do not wish to have two mortgage payments paid. The customer service line does not give option to speak with a representative and the earliest call back available in the auto prompt is nearly a week away from today on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. I have escalated with the contact person I worked with on the tax issue in the " Office of the Chairman '' XXXX XXXX. I called her first yesterday, XXXX with no response. After multiple tries today I got a hold of her and she said she would look into it. 

The mortgage servicing experience has been dreadful with Citizens and I hope it is rectified for future customers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation