Consumer complaint received 2024-03-22
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. (NY)

XX/XX/XXXX On XXXX someone at Citizens Bank made a wire transfer for {$22000.00} ( XXXX XXXXXXXX ) from our online checking account at Citizens Bank XXXX, NY XXXX Citizens Bank did not transfer our money to this criminal until XXXX. They waited three days before they issued the transfer. 
Citizens Bank protocol for wire transfers is a onetime only password code sent to the owner of the account via email or phone to verify that it is a legitimate transfer. My wife learned this when she called the bank on XX/XX/XXXX to make sure her IRA and savings account were secure. The person she spoke with at the bank informed her of this policy. According to him they are required to do this before they transfer funds to an unknown wire transfer. 
She also asked this person to verify our email address ( XXXX ). This confirms that Citizens Bank had our email address on file. Be that as it may we never received a notification of any kind from Citizens Bank that they were about to transfer our funds via wire transfer to a stranger. I did not approve endorse or have any knowledge that they transferred our money without my consent. I am a service connected XXXX veteran and this money was part of our nest egg we used for emergencies like home repairs and my never ending medical bills. 
XX/XX/XXXX I have been very ill and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. My XXXX  placed me on XXXX and my XXXX XXXX XXXX. I am due to have another XXXX XXXXXXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. 
I managed to check our online account on Sunday XX/XX/XXXX. That is when I learned I could not login to my online account at Citizens Bank. I called the online banking number. I connected with a bank manager. He wanted to know my Citizens Account number, SS Number, address, phone number and so on. After I gave him the information he wanted. He then transferred me to another person ; I dont know who she was. 
This person informed me that my account was locked. If I wanted to get into it I would have to report to any Citizens branch in person with my ID and my bank account numbers to prove who I was. This person would not tell me why my account was locked. I asked her what the problem was and if my money had been stolen. She would not respond to any questions I asked her. If I wanted to get back into my account I would need to do as she said. 
I told her that I was in agony and I asked if my wife could go the bank for me. She would not allow it. No, it must be you in person with ID and credentials. Your wife can not do this. Even though her name is on our account I learned my wife is not allowed to do this. 
I dont know when Citizens locked my account. It must have been sometime after they issued the wire transfer, but I dont know when. I had no reason to suspect anything in my account had been compromised. Citizen Bank never notified me of this wire transfer. Not a phone call, email, nothing! I did not approve this transaction! 
Why would they lock my account if they did not suspect they had done something wrong? I did not authorize this transfer. I had no knowledge or warning of this transfer. They did this without contacting us. 
XX/XX/XXXX The next day XX/XX/XXXX, I grabbed my cane, took my pain medication and struggled to Citizen Bank in XXXX NY. I spoke with the teller and ended up talking to the manager, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). Only then did I learn that that Citizen Bank sent our money to an unknown criminal and that Id been scammed out of {$22000.00} ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). It took 10 days before I knew the money was missing. 
XXXX the manager assured me that our money was safe. She said it would take 10 days for us to be reimbursed for their mistake. 
XXXX said I needed to file a claim. She made a phone call to someone that I thought was the insurance company. Little did I know the person I spoke with was an employee of Citizens Bank. This person asked me a number of questions about this claim. One of which was did I file a form with the police department about this crime? I said, No do I need to? ( I had only just learned of it. ) I remember asking this question specifically. His response was, No we just need to ask you if you did. Because I thought it was an insurance agent I didnt really register what they meant. 
They gave me a case claim number ( XXXX ). I asked this man if our loss was covered. He assured me it was. This assurance provided me with some relief. If I had known his statement was false I would have acted that day. 
That same morning when I got home my wife called XXXX at the bank. She wanted reassurance that our money was protected. XXXX stated, The claim is being processed and you will receive your money back in ten days. I heard my wife ask this question. 
Thus far no one had told me that the bank would not accept responsibility for this crime and that we were on our own. 
XX/XX/XXXX I have a severe XXXX XXXX  and I wear XXXX XXXXXXXX. Even with them my XXXX is compromised. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called Citizen Bank XXXX XXXX and spoke with an Oriental gentleman who talked very fast, and because of his accent I could not understand a word he said. I told him that we had always dealt with XXXX the Bank XXXX in XXXX. I demanded to get an appointment with XXXX the next day XX/XX/XXXX. 
The problem was I had an appointment with my XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXXXXXX XXXX. Id been struggling in severe pain for over XXXX months and I needed to show up for this appointment. The XXXX showed I had a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and that is why I was in agony. 
After a long struggle and several phone calls Citizens Bank agreed to let me speak with XXXX the next morning at XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX Because the appointment with my XXXX XXXX went smoothly we were out of his office by XXXX. I told my wife we were not going to wait and we went over to Citizen Bank XXXX around XXXX XXXX When we arrived the bank was empty. XXXX the manger sat alone in his cube. I took advantage of this opportunity and told him he needed to speak with us now! He agreed. 
This is when XXXX told us that we were not insured for their mistake. We were out {$22000.00} ( XXXX XXXXXXXX ) and there is nothing Citizens Bank will do. He said we needed to have our computer Scrubbed by a professional before I would be allowed back into our account. I dont trust Citizen bank. What if there is something on my hard drive that is important? Im not doing anything with this computer until I understand the ramifications of that action. As of XX/XX/XXXX we are still locked out of our account. 
According to Citizens Bank they will issue a decision shortly. XXXX has made it clear the morning we spoke to him they are not going to side in our favor. 
My wife and I are sick about this. That is why we our filing this complaint. 
I am a service connected XXXX veteran. We used that money to pay for my never ending medical bills, home repairs, and to pay someone to help me do the things I can no longer do. 
My wife and I are astonished. We trusted Citizens Bank with our money and they gave it to a stranger without my consent or permission. If this is not fraud what is it? 
*** Addendum : ( The alleged insurance agent asked me a number of questions about this claim. One of which was did I file a form with the police department about this crime. I said, No do I need to? His response was, No we just need to ask you if you did. ) Because the agent at Citizens Bank did not emphasize that I should file a police report it was not a priority issue. I was still in a lot of pain, very confused about what happened, and I did not know how to proceed. I had to figure this mess out myself and I wanted to be careful what I did. I had never encountered this kind of problem before and I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of Citizens Bank irresponsible behavior with our money. Only when I spoke with the Account Manager at XXXX did I learn that it was important that I file a police report. 
On XXXX, XXXX I filed a police report with the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with Sergeant XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX. When we were finished XXXX XXXX told me he was heading over to the XXXX Citizens Bank to finish his investigation. I have since learned he has completed his enquiry. I called him and asked for the police report. He sent me to the XXXX webpage. I have requested the report : Case # XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NY ( XXXX ) Sergeant XXXX XXXX. 
As of XX/XX/XXXX I have not yet received a decision about our claim. Citizens Bank has not returned my {$22000.00} ( XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  ). 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX