Consumer complaint received 2025-01-07 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I opened a checking account with Citizens Bank. I needed a checking account open and active in order for the funds from the sale of my house to go through ( around {$350000.00} ). They wired everything to my checking account after the closing and everything seemed to go smooth. On XX/XX/XXXX I tried to send my spouse a XXXX transfer, like I did many times before, but it didnt even let me into my online mobile banking account. I called up Citizens Bank and the first person I talked to said they froze my account because I needed to make a deposit into the account to keep it active. I thought that was really odd considering I only had the account for 3 weeks ( give or take a few days ). After I spoke to him he said he would transfer me to someone that could better assist me regarding my frozen account. He transferred me to a lady that said she could help me. I explained my situation and after getting all my personal information she put me on hold. When she came back she proceeded to tell me there was no information regarding why my account was frozen, only that Citizens Bank sent me a letter via snail mail that past Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, and that letter would provide me with all the necessary information and with the next steps needed to resolve the issue. She also told me that I would have better luck going into a Citizens Bank branch and talking to a teller or a manager, but she couldnt give me anymore information. At this point I still dont know why my account is frozen and I still dont know how to unfreeze it or how long anything will take. 
On the next day following, Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I went into my local branch to see if they could resolve the issue. There was a lady that took me to her office. I gave her my bank card and my ID. After looking everything up she said she couldnt see anything on my account either, only that there was a letter that was sent to me that I should get soon. I then proceeded to explain to her that that is a massive problem because I just moved out of my house and I am in the process of having all my mail forwarded to a po box . Since they have to forward my mail it takes awhile to get any mail because everything has to get reorganized and rerouted from my original address to the po box , and thats assuming nothing gets lost during the process. From the time I set up my account with Citizens Bank to the time I had my ATM card in hand was just 1 day shy of 3 weeks because the first ATM card got sent to my old address so I had to order another one and pray it got rerouted to the po box . 
I explained to the lady at the bank that I have no idea when Im going to get this letter that was sent out, that nobody can see, and the money that is in the frozen account is everything that I have to my name. I have pets and XXXX children to take care of that rely on the money and who need this to be resolved ASAP. I need money for food, weve been staying at hotels and air b and XXXX  for the mean time but now I have no money to pay for food or housing accommodations and I have no idea what Im going to do. She said she had no power to do anything or change anything due to the frozen status of my account but she could write an email to Citizens Bank, specifically the department that froze everything, she said that she would expedite it and they would get a hold of me within 24 hours. 
Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, has come and XXXX has came and went and I still havent received any calls from anybody. Im out of money and out of options. I need help.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation