Consumer complaint received 2024-12-06 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Foreign currency exchange
Issue: Incorrect exchange rate — 
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
Particulars : In XX/XX/XXXX, we sold our property and had the funds deposited into our account with Citizens Bank. It was our intention to transfer the proceeds of the sale from our account with Citizens Bank to our account with XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX for the purchase of a new home in XXXX XXXX. The funds in XXXX XXXX  in Citizens Bank were to be exchanged to arrive as XXXX XXXX dollars at XXXX XXXX. 

On its website, as well as in other promotional material, Citizens Bank promote their Foreign Currency Exchange Services. They also promote their International Banking Center branches. They boast that they offer international wire transfers in over XXXX currencies and that these can be requested Monday through Friday from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX and that International Wire Transfer requests may be initiated by visiting any of their branches. By promoting the availability of this service it is incumbent on the bank to ensure that their staff receive adequate training and have a level of competence commensurate with the technical nature of the transaction. 

Preparation : Advanced notice of approximately 7 days of our intention to make use of this service was given to the manager of the XXXX XXXX of Citizens Bank to ensure a staff member with an appropriate level of competence who had received adequate training and had gained sufficient relevant experience would be available. 
Established Facts : After six months and the attention of the branch manager ; the regional manager and three officers from the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, the facts of my case have finally been established and agreed by Citizens Bank and are as follows : * That on XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving notice XXXX days previous and assuring me that it was a service they could provide, Citizens Bank failed to provide the service I had requested, namely the transfer of funds held in XXXXXXXX XXXX from my account at Citizens Bank, XXXX, Ohio into my account with XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX and and for the currency to be exchanged to arrive as XXXX XXXX 
* That the process to receive a quote for the exchange rate took XXXX minutes, an unacceptable amount of time. 
* That I was quoted the standard rate of exchange instead of the negotiated rate of exchange not once, but twice, and that regardless of my multiple questions that the rate couldnt possibly be correct, Citizens Bank, XXXX, Ohio branch was adamant that the information was correct and that no error had occurred. 
* That the investigation of the facts by Citizens Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX have now shown that the information was wrong and that I had been quoted the standard rate instead of the negotiated rate. 
* That once it was clear that Citizens Bank were incapable of providing this service, in order to transfer my funds I had to open a foreign currency account in XXXX $ with my XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
* That the transfer of funds in XXXX $ to my foreign currency account on had to be redone as the name of the account with XXXX had been incorrectly entered on to the transfer document. 
* That XXXX, the member of the branch tasked with undertaking my transaction, was totally inexperienced, untrained and incompetent. 
* That Citizens Bank tried to bluff their way through the procedure even though the staff member freely admitted that he had never undertaken this transaction before. 
* That he did not avail himself of the support apparently available to him. 

It has been established that Citizens Bank were entirely at fault and they have offered an apology. Citizens Bank maintain that even though they were at fault, no compensation is required as this is against company policy. 

Had Citizens Bank been straightforward, open and honest about their inability to perform the service I requested I would have had the opportunity to have made the alternative arrangements I ultimately had to make and to have them in place in the week preceding XX/XX/XXXX. Citizens Bank denied me that opportunity and option. 

Because of the delay to the transaction caused solely by the negligence of Citizens Bank, I lost money because of the fluctuations in the exchange rate. I have calculated this loss to be XXXX {$12000.00} and this is the sum I claim as compensation. 

Their sole response is contained in their letter to me of XX/XX/XXXX. ( The letter they are referencing was actually dated XX/XX/XXXX ). 

In an email dated XX/XX/XXXX I corrected the mistake in their letter and requested answers to the following questions : XXXX. Clarification : Firstly, my compliant concerns the information I received from the branch rather than the information given to the branch by XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was not privy to that information as it was given directly to the branch member of staff via telephone. I had no interaction with the XXXX XXXX myself. 

Citizens Bank have yet to provide a response. 

XXXX. Question : In your letter you state that the rates you quote are the standard FX rates. They differ significantly from the rates given to me by the branch therefore I think that the rates given to me by the branch were the standard FX rate and the rates you quote in your letter were the negotiated FX rates you spoke of in our telephone conversation of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. With the amount of funds involved I had requested and was expecting the negotiated rate. 

Citizens Bank have yet to provide a response. 

XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX - the rate quoted to me by the branch was XXXX and not XXXX. This has never been disputed by Citizens Bank. 
Question : Why was I not quoted the more advantageous rate by the branch? 

Citizens Bank have yet to provide a response. 

XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX - the rate quoted to me by the branch was XXXX and not XXXX. This has never been disputed by Citizens Bank. 
Question : Why was I not quoted the more advantageous rate by the branch? 

Citizens Bank have yet to provide a response. 

Experience : It has now been established that the staff communicated incorrect information regarding the exchange rate available to me. They did not understand the process or the relevant systems in place and were unaware that two rates were available and the terms used to differentiate between them. They continue to confuse and conflate the term standard and negotiated, interchanging them multiple times with no consistency or understanding, even by those claiming experience in Foreign Exchange transactions.

I should like these questions addressed and comprehensive answers provided.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation