Consumer complaint received 2026-04-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against Citizens Bank XXXX Citizens Credit Card Services for what I believe is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act / Regulation XXXX. Citizens repeatedly denied my credit card application and gave the reason : Identity verification could not be completed. That is the exact reason stated on the adverse action notice I received dated XX/XX/year>2026. The notice does not identify any consumer reporting agency, specialty bureau, or third-party database used in making that decision. I had already opened checking and savings accounts with Citizens, which required identity verification. After being denied again for the credit card, I went into a branch in person to find out what was wrong. I was told by credit services that Citizens uses several third-party bureaus and databases to verify identity. I then specifically asked for the names of those companies so I could contact them, review my information, and correct any errors. Citizens refused to provide the names of those companies or databases. If Citizens used a consumer report or other consumer reporting source to deny my application, then Citizens was required to tell me and provide the name, address, and telephone number of the agency that provided the information. That disclosure is required under the FCRA adverse action rules. In addition, Regulation XXXX requires a creditor taking adverse action to provide specific reasons, and those reasons must accurately describe the factors actually considered. The official CFPB interpretation also makes clear that vague explanations or reasons that do not accurately reflect the actual basis for the denial are not sufficient. If the real issue was that Citizens needed more information from me to complete identity verification, Regulation XXXX also provides for notice of incompleteness, which must specify what information is needed and give the applicant an opportunity to provide it. Instead, Citizens denied the application while refusing to tell me what outside source was causing the issue or what information needed to be corrected. My complaint is that Citizens appears to be using undisclosed third-party bureaus or databases to deny my credit application, while refusing to identify those sources so I can verify or correct the underlying information. That prevents me from resolving the problem and subjects me to repeated denials for the same unexplained reason. I believe this is unfair, nontransparent, and in violation of federal adverse action and disclosure requirements. In addition, this does not appear to be an isolated problem. The CFPBs own Consumer Complaint Database shows many complaints involving identity-verification problems and adverse action issues in consumer financial products, which is why I am asking the Bureau to review whether Citizens is using the same unlawful or nontransparent process with other applicants. The CFPB publicly maintains this complaint database so complaint patterns can be identified and reviewed

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation