Consumer complaint received 2025-11-01 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
This is a complaint on Citizens bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I was victim of a fraud scam. I was robbed of {$1000.00}. 

I called the citizens fraud department that day and went to a citizens branch in XXXX to report what happened. I was very transparent and told them that a hotel payment of {$540.00} was going to come in and make my account negative. Also that I needed to pay necessary bills and they suggested not using this account. They expedited my claim, but they did not close my account and open a new one right away. On this day they sounded affirming that they would get me refunded. After the fraud my bank account was still positive, about {$20.00}. I had bills to pay and hotel payments to make ( I am helping my client through a housing crisis, I am her caregiver ), so I had my mom deposit {$400.00} into the account on XX/XX/XXXX which I immediately paid {$300.00} to an XXXX XXXX credit card, and {$74.00} to a citizens credit card. The next day on XX/XX/XXXX, I made a sale on XXXX marketplace for {$60.00}, deposited that into the account, and paid {$70.00} to the same XXXX XXXX card to pay for XXXX more night in a motel. I was doing what I had to do to survive, and citizens bank knew that and how I was handling it. My account was still positive at this time, so the payments to the credit cards processed and I used the cards the same day. 

Saturday morning on XX/XX/XXXX is when I saw the hotel payment of {$540.00} had come out and my account was in the negative for the first time. It posted as XX/XX/XXXX so I guess it came out late that night. 

That morning, I went into the same XXXX branch to tell them the account was now negative even know they knew this already. I walked the teller through all the deposits and payments I made to credit cards and they understood. They waved the overdraft fees and said they hoped for the refund to happen soon. 

On Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I saw in my mail that citizens had denied my request for refund of XXXX because I authorized all of the payments, even though it was a clear fraud scam. Because of this I decided to make a police report. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I filed a police report. I went to citizens that day to give them my police report. They put my account on a XXXX  day hold that day for safety of my account. They said nothing would go in or out at all for XXXX  days. I showed them how I had a deposit sent from my mother to which I immediately forwarded to credit cards so I could pay necessary bills while we awaited the investigation on fraud. They understood this. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I got emails from the credit card companies saying that payments I made were at risk of being returned due to insufficient funds, and on the emails it said citizens bank was asking for them to be returned. I didnt understand how this was due to insufficient funds when I had made the payments and they were processed when the account was still positive? And citizens knew about these payments days before when I thought the fraud investigation would refund the account. On XX/XX/XXXX the payments got returned. This put both of my credit cards over balance and overdue, which I am still trying to rectify to date. It also added return fees, late fees, and higher interest rate fees and higher monthly payments I wasnt expecting. I received NO NOTICE from citizens that they were doing this and that this might happen. To make things worse, when I called Citizens weeks later, they went through my payments and said ALL the credit card payments were made and declined on XX/XX/XXXX. First of all they were returned, not declined, and my payments were accepted on the XXXX and XXXX and were not returned until the XXXX. But this made it look like I tried to make multiple credit card payments on a negative bank account which is not true at all. It also made it look like this was an overdrawn bank account case instead of a fraud account case. Also why did this all happen after my account was supposed to be FROZEN? 

I went back to the citizens branch on XX/XX/XXXX since it was the last day of the XXXX  day hold. I brought up my whole case again. They got an agent on the phone. The agent found the frauder and said his account got shut down XXXX  days after he frauded me, and that he got access to EVERYTHING. He said my account HAD to be closed and get a new one and that I scrub all my devices. They put my account on another hold until XX/XX/XXXX and shut down my whole online mobile banking so I couldnt even log on. The agent sounded pretty confident he would help me get the money back that was stolen from me. 
Claim was XXXX. 

Despite this I got a letter from citizens on XX/XX/XXXX saying the same denial as the first time. Either way I waited until the XXXX to go back and inquire. I alerted the citizens credit card numbers as well that my online bank was shut down due to fraud. 

I went back to citizens on the XXXX. They didnt even seem to know my account was on hold or that I needed my account closed. The conversation with the agent didnt seem to be known about. All they told me was that I had an overdrawn account that needed to be paid. I still could not log on to my online banking. I left to look into things. 

I called citizens on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked on the status of my account. It should have been still on hold since I was told this account HAD to be closed and was not safe. I also could not log onto it still even if I tried. Yet when I called the woman on the phone said the account was open and active and overdrawn. I asked if there were any claims. She said she did not see any claims at all. As if all I went through was gone? I asked her to put the account on hold immediately and put a new claim in. 

I called citizens again on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked on the status of my account. The man said it was open and active. I asked if there were any claims. He said he could not find any. I also asked about the deposits that citizens put back into my account from my credit cards which all showed up for me on XX/XX/XXXX, and it was now showing it all happened on XX/XX/XXXX, which made it look like the credit card payment was made and got denied all in the same day which is not true. I told him to put the account on hold immediately. He then found the claim number from before. At this point I was extremely frustrated and decided I was going to go to a main branch to make a customer complaint. I also called the citizens credit card numbers and asked them if I could put my credit cards on hold due to the fraud risk and he said he would put them on a XXXX  day hold and after XXXX  days for me to call back and order replacements, but no payments would be made or activity for XXXX  days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I got a letter saying this was citizens last written request for me to pay my overdrawn account, and if it was past 60 days it would be closed. I had gotten no notices before this and I hadnt been able to log on online banking since XX/XX/XXXX to see any updates. I had no idea citizens was considering the account overdrawn for this many days since it was on hold for most of them and I thought it was going to be closed by citizens way earlier due to fraud?? 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to the citizens bank in GIANT in XXXX. I talked to the manager. I told him everything that had happened and all my frustrations and he filed a customer complaint. He also reopened my initial fraud complaint because I got scammed XXXX and there were no fraud alerts from citizens and I wanted that money back. He opened a new claim. He told me my account was on hold until XX/XX/XXXX. He said after that I could come in and close the account if I chose to, and he would email me details of the fraud team decision. 

On XX/XX/XXXX the XXXX emailed me back saying that the fraud team once again denied me to get my money back. He also wrote that my account had already been closed because it had been overdrawn for too long. 

So now on paper I have an overdrawn bank account that has been closed due to not being paid when the reason is because it was put on hold for so long for fraud investigation? I didnt even know the decision of the fraud team until the XXXX so how could it have already closed before that?? I thought my account was on hold until the XXXX? 

I went through XXXX trying to work with citizens for XXXX months to do everything I could to work through this situation. And the result I got from citizens was putting my account on hold for months with investigations that got denied immediately, payments I had made to credit cards to pay my bills to survive returned to the bank authorized BY the bank, not me, days after the payments were already processed and during a period where my account was supposed to be on hold and I got NO NOTICE BY CITIZENS, and a closed overdrawn account on my record which has already plummeted my credit score. This is not okay. I am extremely disappointed and wish I never tried to ask citizens for help at all. I feel like they did everything they could to just make this look like a closed overdrawn account situation instead of what it was, a fraud account situation. 

I emailed back saying I want to appeal the fraud team decision, and he said I should hear from the office of the customer, and to call the fraud line with any further complaints I have. 

XXXX from the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX called me on Monday XX/XX/XXXX which I missed. I left her XXXX voicemails and an email and have heard nothing back since. I called the fraud line and told them my frustrations with me not getting my money back but also how citizens handled everything and returned credit card payments without notifying me at all. They put in an appeal and another complaint, but I dont expect anything to change. At this point I dont trust anyone at citizens bank and I feel like they are doing everything they can to make this whole situation look like an overdrawn bank account situation, when it is a situation of fighting fraud. Also to date I CAN STILL NOT LOG ON TO MY ACCOUNT TO SEE MY ACCOUNTS OR ANY NOTICES!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation