Citizens Bank

Dear Complaint Board,

I am writing to file a complaint about the overdraft fees charged by Citizen Bank. I recently received a charge for $144.99 for an overdraft of just $12.00.

I have been a customer of Citizen Bank for many years and have always been diligent about keeping track of my account balance. I was under the impression that the overdraft protection feature on my account would cover any transactions that went through, so I was shocked when I received this charge.

I have contacted the bank to dispute the charge and request that it be waived, but so far I have not received a satisfactory response. I believe that this charge is unfair and disproportionate to the overdraft amount, and I am disappointed that the bank has not been more willing to work with me to resolve the issue.

I am writing to ask for your assistance in resolving this matter. I hope that you will be able to help me get the overdraft charge waived and ensure that I am treated fairly as a customer.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jitendra Patel

Loan #[protected]
Letter Dated Jan 19, 2021

This letter informed me that I am charged $349 for an unneeded flood insurance policy. The flood insurance proof was faxed to your [protected] number on Oct 19, 2020 by the manager of Citizens Bank in Gloucester, MA. Despite that, I received another letter dated Dec 17, 2020 that informed me I did not have coverage.

I then spent another 2 hours with Bank Manager Derek Sprague on Dec 30th, trying to sort this out with some main office that refused to provide anything in writing but told us not to worry. "All is OK," according to Taylor Kidd at your [protected] number provided in the letter.

On Jan 25, 2021, after receiving the letter dated Jan 19th, Derek Sprague managed to have the issue escalated. I was to expect a call from Stewart Sturgin by Jan 27. He did not call.

I am seeking this to be resolved by the refund of $349, plus any interest that has accumulated because of this charge and by being provided with a written confirmation.

This is not a first time abuse by Citzens Bank. In 2015 I had a similar scenario which I could not resolve with Citizens Bank and contacted Senator Elizabeth Warren's office.

I quickly received a letter from Tiffany Capron, Office of the Chairman at Citizens Bank on Jan 29, 2015. The letter assures me that the excess flood insurance was revised and my money was refunded. I expect immediate remedy or I will not hesitate to contact Senator Warren again.

Thank-you,
Melody Phaneuf
[protected]

03/17/2020
Re: Invoice #: 918931

Citizens Bank
One Citizens Drive
ROP 210
Riverside, RI 02915

I called Citizens Bank at [protected] and spoke with Lisa West, a Manager in the subpoena unit regarding a $25 fee I was charged for a information subpoena request which was issued by Buffalo City Court. I called to dispute the charge for the following reason: 1) the subpoena was served on 11/15/19 (I have an affidavit of service); 2) it was received by Citizens on per its stamped date on the returned subpoena form; and 3) Citizens response was not mailed until 8 days after its receipt of said subpoena. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE SUBPOENA AND ALL OF ITS TERMS IS PUNISHABLE AS A CONTEMPT OF COURT. Per the Court Ordered subpoena, the response was to be mailed NO LATER THAN 7 days after receipt of the subpoena, not 8. Not to mention, Citizens charged me $25 - stating that it took a full hour to determine the defendant did not have an account with its bank. I do not know how one could justify an hour of time typing in a name and SSN and getting zero results.
In any event, Lisa West did waive the charge to invoice number 918931 (or so she said she would); however, in the one minute I was on the phone with her, she hardly gave me two seconds to speak. She spoke over me abruptly in a demeaning tone and said something alone the lines of "you are not getting any special treatment . . . everyone gets charged". While I tried to say "I understand that, but Citizens did not comply with the time restraints of the request, Ms. West responded, "you tell yourself whatever you need to believe - BYE!" and hung up on me.
I then called back and asked for her last name. I am blown away by her lack of professionalism and disrespect. Is this the type of customer service Citizens has and wants for its bank?
If you would like supportive documentation, please contact me and I will provide it to you. Thank you for your attention. I hope this gets addressed with Ms. West.