Consumer complaint received 2021-10-26
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: OH
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
On XXXX I applied for a home improvement loan with XXXX XXXX  and was notified about a month later that there was an old lien on my property from XXXX XXXX XXXX who went out of business sometime in XXXX. Westfield needed proof that XXXX was paid. In XXXX I refinanced my home with XXXX XXXX who has since merged with Citizen Bank. I contacted Citizen Bank requesting a copy of the Settlement Statement but was informed that their records retention is only 10 years so they could not provide documentation to me. I also tried to contact the Title Company that did the work for XXXXCitizen but they are no longer in business. I was told that XXXX 's accounts were assigned to XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX and now XXXX. I tried contacting all of them and no one would help me to get the XXXX XXXX released so that I could get my home improvement loan. Ultimately, I have contacted the FDIC, my congressman 's office, XXXX, Citizen 's, XXXX XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Most times I couldn't get beyond customer service because my property address, name or social security number would not bring up an account. I have spent the last 3+ months making phone calls, sending emails, researching and still I am unable to resolve this problem. In XXXX I refinanced with XXXX Bank and was never informed of the XXXX XXXX that showed up on the title search. XXXX XXXX XXXX did the XXXX XXXX refinance so I called them and was told that they no longer have the records either. I was told that one of two things probably happened ... First XXXX either got verbal confirmation or a letter of intent from XXXX that they would release the lien. Either way, XXXX XXXX XXXX failed to make sure the lien was released and I never knew anything about it. If I had been informed, getting the XXXX released would have been easy because XXXX XXXX was still in business in XXXX. XXXX XXXX/Citizen failed to make sure the lien was released when I refinanced with them in XXXX and they supposedly paid off XXXX XXXX , and so did XXXX when I refinanced with them in XXXX. I know that XXXX did pay Charter One according to my settlement statement and the fact there is no XXXX XXXX lien appearing on the title search. Not one of the parties involved says they have the authority to remove the lien so I am stuck in a very stressful situation. Because the home improvement loan was denied and the material had already been ordered by the contractor, I was forced to pay for the large job all out of pocket and now my savings account is nearly depleted. XXXX XXXX XXXX has offered me an atonement but not even half of what is needed and they said they can't remove the lien. I have spoken with an attorney and the cost to file a Quiet Title Claim is very expensive, I can not afford it nor should I have to be burdened with getting this situation resolved. I have emailed XXXX XXXX XXXX, CEO at XXXX and asked for his assistance because XXXX has the Title Insurance I paid for as part of the refinance. As it appears now, XXXX is not sitting in first position according to the title search. XXXX has not offered to help me in anyway that would result in resolving my issue. Next on or about XXXX XXXX, XXXX I paid XXXX {$500.00} to refinance my home again and taking some cash out so that I could replenish my savings. After a few weeks I was informed that the refinance would be getting denied because with student loans in national COVID forbearance, credit reports show a monthly payment amount of XXXX so underwriting uses a % rule. I provided documentation of my past payments and the amount going forward once the loans were no longer in forbearance but that was not acceptable to underwriting and they had to use the % rule which made my debt-to-income ratio too high. I was also told by XXXX that they would not refund my {$500.00} because the appraisal cost {$600.00} but they would not be requiring me to pay the {$100.00} difference. I have a lot more documents from email, my own notes and more that I can produce if needed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation