FC: Citizens Bank may have ripped you off

[fairgambit]

Citizens Bank to pay $35m in penalties and restitution
Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY 4:40 p.m. EDT August 12, 2015

Citizens Bank will pay roughly $35 million in repayments and penalties for failing to credit hundreds of thousands of customers for the full amount of their deposits, federal regulators said Wednesday.
Instead, the bank, which operates retail branches in approximately a dozen states, kept the difference when discrepancies arose between the amounts individual and business customers actually deposited and the totals recorded from their deposit slips, the regulators said.
The practice improperly produced millions of dollars in extra bank income, the regulators said.
Citizens Bank shares closed down 3.02% at $26.03.
The Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said investigations found the problem arose across operations of the Providence, R.I.-based bank between Jan. 1, 2008 and Nov. 30, 2013. The regulators said Citizens:

• Credited customers' accounts with the totals on deposit slips, not the actual sum deposited. The bank only investigated and corrected errors when the discrepancies totaled more than $50 or $25, depending on the dates when the discrepancies occurred.
• Failed to verify and correct deposit inaccuracies above the $25 or $50 thresholds even though Citizens told customers that deposits were subject to verification.

"Fifty dollars may seem like a small amount to a bank with assets worth billions of dollars, but it is real money to regular people," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. " Consumers deserve to have confidence that they can move their money around securely without exposing themselves to unwelcome risks, such as a bank resolving an error by keeping the difference for itself."
Citizens said it was pleased with the settlements.
"Like many other peer banks, Citizens employed certain practices to ensure the next-day crediting of deposits in situations when deposit slips contained mathematical errors," the bank said. "However, these past practices and disclosures, principally prior to early 2011, could have been better. Our implementation of a new teller system in the fourth quarter of 2013 has automated this reconciliation process, and we believe our process is now considered among the best in the industry."
Citizens also said the bank is "working with our regulators to make appropriate redress as quickly as possible."
The regulatory settlements require the bank to pay at least $14 million in refunds or restitution to individuals and businesses who lost money as a result of the bank's practices. Citizens also must pay $20.5 million in federal penalties.
The enforcement action began with a whistleblower tip to the CFPB and marked the first time the regulators have taken action against a bank for deceptive actions involving customer deposits. The agencies declined to discuss whether they are investigating other banks for similar practices.

 

[bjf1984]

Citizens Bank to pay $35m in penalties and restitution
Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY 4:40 p.m. EDT August 12, 2015

Citizens Bank will pay roughly $35 million in repayments and penalties for failing to credit hundreds of thousands of customers for the full amount of their deposits, federal regulators said Wednesday.
Instead, the bank, which operates retail branches in approximately a dozen states, kept the difference when discrepancies arose between the amounts individual and business customers actually deposited and the totals recorded from their deposit slips, the regulators said.
The practice improperly produced millions of dollars in extra bank income, the regulators said.
Citizens Bank shares closed down 3.02% at $26.03.
The Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said investigations found the problem arose across operations of the Providence, R.I.-based bank between Jan. 1, 2008 and Nov. 30, 2013. The regulators said Citizens:

• Credited customers' accounts with the totals on deposit slips, not the actual sum deposited. The bank only investigated and corrected errors when the discrepancies totaled more than $50 or $25, depending on the dates when the discrepancies occurred.
• Failed to verify and correct deposit inaccuracies above the $25 or $50 thresholds even though Citizens told customers that deposits were subject to verification.

"Fifty dollars may seem like a small amount to a bank with assets worth billions of dollars, but it is real money to regular people," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. " Consumers deserve to have confidence that they can move their money around securely without exposing themselves to unwelcome risks, such as a bank resolving an error by keeping the difference for itself."
Citizens said it was pleased with the settlements.
"Like many other peer banks, Citizens employed certain practices to ensure the next-day crediting of deposits in situations when deposit slips contained mathematical errors," the bank said. "However, these past practices and disclosures, principally prior to early 2011, could have been better. Our implementation of a new teller system in the fourth quarter of 2013 has automated this reconciliation process, and we believe our process is now considered among the best in the industry."
Citizens also said the bank is "working with our regulators to make appropriate redress as quickly as possible."
The regulatory settlements require the bank to pay at least $14 million in refunds or restitution to individuals and businesses who lost money as a result of the bank's practices. Citizens also must pay $20.5 million in federal penalties.
The enforcement action began with a whistleblower tip to the CFPB and marked the first time the regulators have taken action against a bank for deceptive actions involving customer deposits. The agencies declined to discuss whether they are investigating other banks for similar practices.

LMAO....I can't help but to think they got the idea from the movie "Office Space".

This is the kind of crap - albeit on a relatively small scale - that has always led me to NEVER ASSUME that just because someone has a position of responsibility within a Corporation....they have a reasonable level of intelligence or any redeeming personal characteristics whatsoever.
(You know....like Surma, Peetz, Frazier, and the gang)

 

[LionJim]

That seems to be pretty devious. Remember how Blockbuster cheated? I'd drop off a movie in the drop box before it was due and got charged a late fee anyway. Eventually I started to stand in line to check the movie back in. That guy made millions on shady practices.

 

[fairgambit]

That seems to be pretty devious. Remember how Blockbuster cheated? I'd drop off a movie in the drop box before it was due and got charged a late fee anyway. Eventually I started to stand in line to check the movie back in. That guy made millions on shady practices.

Agree Jim. If you or I did this on a very small scale, as some local business, we would probably see jail time. Still, this is a serious blow to the reputation of Citizens. I have an account with them that I was going to pull sooner or later anyway. I will make it sooner and use this as my reason.

 

[91Joe95]

Peetz knew.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Even if 1-2% of people figure it's not worth fighting, companies that do crap like this can make a bundle on volume.

Crooked insurance companies can reject tons of small claims. If it's a small amount of money, people can figure it's not worth the hassle (time is money). Ex: 1 million rejected claims of $10 - 1% don't fight. Voila, 100k easy.

 

[fairgambit]

Even if 1-2% of people figure it's not worth fighting, companies that do crap like this can make a bundle on volume.
Crooked insurance companies can reject tons of small claims. If it's a small amount of money, people can figure it's not worth the hassle (time is money). Ex: 1 million rejected claims of $10 - 1% don't fight. Voila, 100k easy.

Yep. I changed a Triple Package from Comcast to Verizon because it saved me about $80.00 a month. When I got my bill, my savings were only $70.00, I was temped to say, "what the hell, I'm still saving $70.00 a month" but I had all the documentation with the Verizon Rep in e-mails. I spent an hour on the phone, but I got my $10.00 back which is $240.00 over the course of the contract. That's not bad for an hour's work, although I shouldn't have had to do it at all.

 

[dawgduice]

A "bank" stealing money from consumers? What are the odds on that

 

[jim cummings]

This is all Jays fault.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

The banking industry is crookeder than a dog's hind leg, which is why Aunt Karen and big banks are a match made in hell.

Zillion dollar bailouts with taxpayer money. 0.000003% interest on your deposits. Fees out the wazoo.

If the banking industry disappeared tomorrow, who would miss them? Virtually everybody is eligible for credit union membership. Join one and tell the banksters to bugger off.