Consumer complaint received 2024-08-20
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. (VA)

In XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, my vehicle was totaled by XXXX ( referred to as insurance ). My insurance rep reached out to Citizens Bank ( referred to as bank ) to get a payoff amount of {$540.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, the check was signed by insurance. On XX/XX/XXXX, it was mailed by insurance to CITIZENS BANK XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX CA XXXX XXXX as provided by the bank. On XX/XX/XXXX, the check cleared from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  account. 

On the week of XX/XX/XXXX, I logged in to my online banking and saw a payoff amount of {$460.00} was still on the account. I reached out through the online portal and customer service phone number and was given evasive " answers '' by multiple bank representatives. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to a XXXX XXXX who told me she would file a report with the " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' for the missing check in the amount of {$540.00}. I did not hear back, so I called the office again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to a XXXX XXXX XXXX informed me that the payment was applied to my account on XX/XX/XXXX. This is incorrect as the check was not signed until XX/XX/XXXX and there was no postdated application of {$540.00} showing on my end. I informed her this was inaccurate and she filed another report with the XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have yet to receive an update from her about this. 

On the same day, XX/XX/XXXX, I called and explained the most recent development to my mother, who is a cosigner on the loan. She then called and was able to speak to a XXXX. XXXX informed her that I had XXXX late payments and was now being charged with late fees. My due date is the XXXX of the month and I have never made a late payment nor was I informed by the bank through mail, email, or system/website notification that I had late payments. XXXX did not answer a call back to the line he shared on XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I made the payoff payment of {$460.00} in order to preserve my own credit report with the knowledge that any over payment would be returned to me ( as advised by XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. I recorded myself making this payment stating I was doing so only to preserve my credit report because Citizens failed to apply the payoff check from insurance, and that it was not me admitted that I actually owed this money. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the helpline again and was transferred to the same XXXX my mother spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX. He explained that the late payments were not payments that I had made after my due date, but that on XX/XX/XXXX Citizens applied {$210.00} as a regular payment, which does not satisfy my loan payment amount of {$250.00}. When I expressed confusion and stated that I would go through my records to verify that, he then said he could see a {$50.00} payment was made to the principal balance on the same day. I told XXXX that I would not have done that manually, and he said he would email his finance department to ask them to reapply the {$50.00} payment as a regular loan payment which would satisfy regular payment and erase any subsequent late charges. He said he could not guarantee this would work as they typically only go back 6 months, but that he would try. XXXX also told me this type of payment where a percentage goes to a regular payment and the rest goes to principal is no longer an option because of issues like this. This is not industry standard, and I did not approve this appropriation of my payment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to the bank in which I have my checking account and pulled my bank statement from XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, Citizens Bank pulled a {$300.00} payment from my checking account, which more than satisfies my {$250.00} regular payment and totals more than the two payments Citizens is claiming I have made. I have not yet pulled all statements from the beginning of my loan in XX/XX/XXXX, but so far I have been made aware of these to instances. 

I have had at least one payment applied incorrectly in XXXX of XXXX and I am owed at minimum the {$540.00} check that was cashed by Citizens and never applied to my account as well as erroneous late fees.