Consumer complaint received 2024-04-24
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem accessing account
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. (NY)

This begins with our father entering XXXX  XXXX  and my sister and I spending many XXXX  in legal fees to have appropriate power of attorney documents drawn up which multiple branches misprocessed because of training issues. Our father died this past Saturday. The most egregious is an actual rep of Citizens asking for us to make XXXX a power of attorney on our dads estate, again on a recorded call. To reiterate, that is a paid employee of Citizens asking for us to give her legal POA of my fathers estate. A supervisor jumped in to apologize for the training issues.It ends with the chairmans office saying they did not have time to listen to the offensive calls because they have too many calls coming in. Again, all calls have been recorded. 



When my fathers health declined, my sister and I along with my father drew up power of attorney papers. They were notarized and Citizens said we could drop them at any branch. We were later informed that because of training issues we could not actually leave them at any branch but needed to be there together in the same branch. I had already filed the POAs here in XXXX but received a call that because of training issues the rep had not scanned the double sided document accurately and that I needed to leave my fathers beside to start again. My sister and I took a painful several hours away from our dad to try to follow your reps insistence that we appear in the same branch at the same which we did at your XXXX, XXXX  branch at XXXX XXXX XXXX where I went many times to speak to your banker XXXX. 



The weeks leading to my fathers death involved multiple lockings of his online account as he tried to make charitable donations online. In fact, his account is still locked as is my access as well as my sisters as they were when XXXX XXXX was still living. We have heard a range of excuses from Citizens legal is not the same as Citizens Bank to Have a nurse bring your dad from XXXX  to the branch ( this was after I had informed him that my father could not walk or talk ), to we are looking into all these training issues. 



While we of course will not be doing business with you, I do want to make sure you can prevent putting anyone else through this, particularly during a time of grief. I understand your rep XXXX saying that if I threatened to report the issue to oversite or the XXXX, she would refuse to talk to me, and that is exactly what I was told by your XXXX XXXX today. We are now unable to close the account at my fathers home branch and will incur further legal fees in order to do so. 



Your rep from the XXXX office was clear that she did not have time to listen to any calls or to fully investigate and your other departments have simply refused to engage with our amicable attempts to resolve this without going public because it was already being handled by the chairmans office. She also said she had not heard any reports of any training issues despite our having been told about them by almost 30 Citizens reps on recorded calls. 



Here is a nice article about my dads commitment to social justice. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX I beg you to do better, not only for families in grief, but for all your customers at all income levels. I am sorry that our level of wealth did not warrant serious efforts on your part to resolve. 



Thank you sincerely for your time. 



XXXX XXXX Update XX/XX/24 My sister brought my dad 's death certificate to her branch per your rep 's instructions but was told that because of another training issue, the account could not be closed unless we made the trip to XXXX  ( where neither me nor my sister reside ) to close the account. Worse, your chairman 's office rep XXXX said specifically, that branch would not communicate with us at all so I am of course hesitant to make the 7 hour trip to close an account which has me as POA and beneficiary. 

This customer service is unconcionable and offensive. 

Thank you. 

XXXX XXXX