Consumer complaint received 2024-11-07 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Applying for or obtaining a modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or deed-in-lieu
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to request an urgent investigation into Citizens Bank due to ongoing predatory lending practices. This complaint highlights repeated misconduct that affects my mortgage and is likely impacting numerous other customers. I believe a thorough audit of Citizens Banks loan modification and escrow practices over the past few years will reveal a disturbing pattern that coerces borrowers into costly loan modifications as their only option. 

Recently, I regained control of my account after Citizens Bank previously attempted to pressure me into a loan modification that would add over 10 years to my mortgage. I successfully resisted this tactic, but upon resuming payments, I faced a new issue : In XX/XX/year>, Citizens Bank informed me of an escrow shortage and increased my monthly payment to {$2700.00}. I agreed to this and paid the amount without issue. However, when I went to make my XXXX payment, I saw that Citizens Bank had unilaterally raised the payment amount to almost {$3000.00}. When I called to question this, I was told they had conducted another escrow analysis AFTER they sent me my statementand put a letter in my online account and you can tell they back dated itthey then decided instead of waiting to have the new payment start in XX/XX/year>, they wanted to apply this higher amount immediately to XXXX payment, despite already issuing a statement for {$2700.00}. 

I requested that I be allowed to pay the originally stated amount for XXXX, with any new adjustment beginning in XXXX, as this analysis was conducted after I received my XXXX bill. Citizens Bank refused, stating that I must pay the full, unexpected increase or they will not accept any payment at all.This is exactly what they did to me previously when I fell on hard times and was trying anything to make something work. This all or nothing approach places borrowers in an impossible situation. 

Due to this sudden increase and Citizens Banks refusal to accept my original payment amount, I now face a choice between missing other budgeted obligations or having my account fall delinquent once again. This will likely result in my account access being restricted, restarting the entire cycle of pressure to pursue a loan modification that I neither need nor want. I am now considering seeking legal counsel, as this situation has become untenable and threatens my financial stability. 

Citizens Banks practices are forcing borrowers into situations where they either must pay these unpredictable increases immediately or face severe consequences, which I believe constitutes predatory lending. Citizens Bank consistently fails to provide proper notification for these changes and leaves borrowers without alternatives. It really scares me, because they are essentially stating if they want to change your payment in the middle of a billing cycle AFTER they already sent you a month statement they can. This could be weekly, monthly, yearlywheneverthey are letting you know that your bill could be different every single month if they wanted it to be and this is scary. I dont know if this is payback for me submitting a previous claim but sure feels like it. They stated they only do an analysis at the beginning of the year, but here we are and this is the XXXX one this year. They told me every XXXX its so weird that my first month back, I would get another random analysis to increase my bill more. 

I urge cfpb to conduct a detailed investigation into Citizens Banks escrow and loan modification practices and to audit the frequency of loan modifications within the past several years. It is essential to identify how many homeowners have been or are currently being pressured into financial hardship by these unfair tactics. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation