Consumer complaint received 2025-08-04 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I opened a business checking account with Citizens Bank on XXXX XXXX. 
Since then 18 deposits ranging from {$31.00} to {$1400.00} have been made into the account. Average deposit size is {$570.00}. 

From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, when my account was closed with no reason provided, transfers back and forth to my business savings account at another online bank, salary checks, credit card payments, tax payments, and a loan repayment were sent out of the account. 

I did not keep a big balance in my account. Because I was sending money to my online business savings account at XXXX XXXX XXXX  regularly, as money accumulated in my business checking account at Citizens Bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX around noon, I tried to log into my account from my phone, and the system gave an error message. I called in the customer service at Citizens Bank, and the long story short, they found out that my account was closed by the bank. I was told that the bank decided to end their business relationship with me, and that they do not know, and do not have the authority to give the explanation to me and that I will be receiving a mail soon with the reason. I immediately called the branch where I opened the account, and they told me that there is nothing they can do, that the bank has a right to terminate our business relationship without providing a reason. 

I have excellent credit ( XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ), I never had any issues with a bank, I do not owe anything to anyone, I never took out a loan in my life, I never had any issues with law, my business is in excellent standing, my business does not owe anything to anyone, My company is in business for more than 7 and a half years, all I have is assets and no debts. 

Right before I opened this account Citizens Bank, I tried to open an account at XXXX XXXX. One day after I opened an account with XXXX, that account was also abruptly closed. I went to a XXXX Branch to find out why, I was again told that the bank did not need to provide me with a reason. Because I did not want to spend too much time fighting for the reason, I just went to Citizens the next day and opened the account with Citizens. 

But before opening the account at Citizens, I did XXXX searches for potential reasons for rejections of account openings. There were many reasons listed like suspicious activity, bad credit reports, previously bounced checks etc. But not a single listed reason could have been a reason for me. I went ahead checked my credit reports at XXXX  and XXXX. I discovered that my current address was fraudulently listed as some address that I never lived at. 

Back in early XXXX and also in XXXX scammers tried to steal my identity, filed fake tax return, applied for credit cards, tried to buy stuff from department stores using my information. After those incidents I placed Fraud Alerts on my credit with the credit agencies and secured my account at IRS with a security measure. 

So by XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, after XXXX rejected my account, I found out that my address was fraudulently changed on the credit agencies systems. I went ahead and corrected my address on XXXX  and XXXX, and also put a Fraud Alert on my Credit Profiles. But I did not do it with XXXX. When I placed a Fraud Alert with one Credit agency, that credit agency informs the other 2 and the other 2 also places a Fraud Alert in their Systems Automatically. Fraud Alerts stay there for a limited and expire at some point. So I thought, I got rejected from XXXX maybe because of the address discrepancy. Of course, I did not know for sure, because they never provide me with a reason. I received a letter from XXXX soon after, which contained very vague wording with no reason stated. So I don't know what the reason really is. 

With my XXXX experience, when I received the news from Citizens that the same thing is happening, I went ahead and checked my credit at XXXX  and XXXX. Everything seemed normal. But then I remembered I never checked my info at XXXX. I called Citizens Bank once again, and requested from the Customer Representative to give me the name of the company that they are using to get information about me. After consulting with her superiors she told me that they were getting the information from XXXX. I immediately went to XXXX  's website. And I found out that the fraudulent address that I found out about mid XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX  and XXXX  was showing up as my current address there at XXXX  as well. I immediately updated my current address at XXXX  using their online system. But now the fraudulent address is showing up as a previous address in their record. I was not able to remove the fraudulent address from their system. I contacted them by phone and asked them to remove the fraudulent address. They told me that they received that address from my XXXX Credit card account with XXXX XXXX  and that I had to contact chase to have it removed. Long story short, I called XXXX, and found out that that fraudulent address was in their system for years until XX/XX/XXXX. But because I have not been using the personal credit cards with them for years, I was never aware of such address being in there. And they told me that they can not remove it in their system, but my current address was updated and put in their system by XX/XX/XXXX anyway. 

Therefore my suspicion why Citizens closed my account is maybe because of the address discrepancy. In XXXX  's report, I saw that Citizens made a soft inquiry to my credit account on XX/XX/XXXX. That was 13 days before my account was closed. 
I do not know if it is the address discrepancy that caused the abrupt closure of my account.

One more reason that I think of is the relatively large withdrawal that I made one business day before my account was closed. I transferred {$21000.00} from my online savings account into my Citizens Business Checking account on XX/XX/XXXX, and wrote myself a check the same day for {$21000.00} And 1 business day later on XX/XX/XXXX, my account was closed abruptly. 
I don't know if that was viewed as suspicious activity. I mean because the transactions are relatively small, and then I wrote myself a check that is relatively larger, could have alerted the bank systems. But if analyzed closely, there is nothing wrong with any deposit or any withdrawal from the account. 
Even if it was considered suspicious, as a customer of the bank, they could have called me and asked me about it and I could have provided with an explanation. 

Those are the only things that I can think of as reasons for my account 's closure. 
I really can not think of any other reason. 

Of course, from a banker acquaintance at another bank, I know that they close accounts in that bank without providing any reason, and the unofficial reasons provided to me by that acquaintance is that those customers do not really make money for the Bank, Account holders of those accounts do not get loans or apply for credits or use services that make money for the bank, so the bank closes their accounts without providing any reason. 

For my case at Citizens Bank, if they have the same reason, I am ok with that, and I will not dispute that. I would take my business elsewhere in that case. But I really do not know if that is the reason. I called in the bank branch and told the bank representative there if they are closing my account because I am a very small business, I don't really keep a balance in account, I do not do activities ( like sending and receiving wires etc ) that generate money for the bank, I would totally understand that, and I would take my business elsewhere. But if the bank is thinking that there is fraudulent activity in my account, or if I am the real person who I say I am ( as per discrepancy in the addresses on my credit report ) then there are solutions to those. Because I can prove who I am with documentation, and any activity in my account can be scrutinized and I can provide with all documents for account activity in my account. But because I do not know what the reason is, I feel paralyzed, because I can not bring a solution to the problem. I am running a legitimate business, making an honest living. And I see no reason for my account to be closed. I would like to keep my account at Citizens Bank. 

I also forgot to mention, after making a XXXX search I found out about a company called XXXX XXXX  which provide information to banks about potential customers. I created an account with them to get a report of my profile. I received the report and there is nothing wrong on the report and everything seems normal. 

Also in my credit reports with all 3 agencies, there is no fraudulent account openings or any fraudulent activity other than address change that I mentioned above. 

I really would like to keep my Business Checking account at Citizens Bank. I can provide with all the information the bank needs in order for me to keep the account open. But if the bank tells me that I am too small for them, that the balance I keep in my account, the money movement in the account, the activities that generate income for the bank in my account is not enough for the bank for them to make business with me, I will respectfully accept it and take my business elsewhere. 

But if there is some erroneous data somewhere, causing all this XXXX, please help me identify it and reestablish my account. 


Thank you!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation