Citizens Bank

CONSUMER BEWARE! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. BAIT AND SWITCH TACTICS USED.
Allow me start this review by saying I am not a spiteful or angry person. I try to be a very fair and patient individual. This branch of Citizens Bank brought me to the absolute brink of sanity and should be thoroughly reviewed by its corporation and or the BBB. Having recently moved to MA, I have been looking for a local bank to start depositing my paychecks. After receiving incentives to start checking accounts at various banks, I decided to go with Citizens Bank as they mailed (to my new address) an offer of $ 200 to open an account.
After visiting the in-​laws for Thanksgiving, my fiancé and I decided to stop by the CB branch in Norwell (inside Stop and Shop) to start my account and deposit several checks I had accumulated. I was assisted by the teller Mallory, which despite the scathing review to follow, was a very polite employee and I don’t hold her accountable for what follows.
Upon handing her the offer for $ 200 (that had been mailed to me as part of the USPS change of address package), she had her manager, Cynthia, review it. Cynthia’s first issue was that my address was not printed anywhere on the offer. I explained that it came as part of a package from USPS, but she still seemed unsure. I showed her a pay stub with my address in Springfield, and she begrudgingly told Mallory to go ahead and that they’d «make an exception.» In my opinion, no exception needed to be made. Any employee, a manager or assistant manager especially, should be aware of what promos they are sending out to people and how they’re being distributed.
Mallory and I went through all of the paperwork to set up my new account. She had me sign some paperwork and took the pile of checks. She informed me that FOR ALL NEW ACCOUNTS, CHECKS DEPOSITED WILL NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR USE UNTIL 5 BUSINESS DAYS LATER, FOR THE FIRST 25 DAYS ON THE ACCOUNT. I really wanted the funds available ASAP; however, I went ahead with the deposit, and Mallory scanned the checks for deposit.
AFTER THE CHECKS HAD BEEN DEPOSITED (I have a receipt showing date and time) Mallory quietly asked me if I had «seen this» on the back of the offer. Turns out the offer had an expiration date, less than a month from the date I officially changed my address with the USPS. It was in small print and hadn’t been noticed by myself, Mallory or Cynthia (who both held and reviewed the offer that was mailed to me). I asked her if they could still redeem the offer, as I hadn’t moved to town that long ago. Cynthia (after calling some other superior) said no, that the offer was no longer valid. There was «no way» she could give me the $ 200 (mind you they send these out ALL THE TIME, my fiancé got one just the other day).
So I politely told Mallory: ok then I’d like to change my mind. I decided on CB partially on the incentive they offered and since they weren’t willing to come through on their offer, I would like to take another incentive from a different bank. And I’d like my checks back please. Mallory talked to Cynthia, who told me she couldn’t do that so easily. The deposit had already been made and could not be reversed just like that, that the funds were likely already being distributed (funny, because it takes 5 days for it to be accessible to me).
As both Mallory and Cynthia were aware, I was just visiting Norwell, I don’t live there. I informed her that I could not possibly leave without my checks, and Cynthia proceeded to call someone to see if the deposit could be stopped. She then said I could have my checks back «within an hour, but likely sooner than that» and that I could not, under any circumstances, be given back the checks until the deposit was cancelled.
Now, let’s review. Both Mallory and Cynthia saw/​held/​reviewed the offer that had been mailed to me. They had the opportunity to tell me BEFORE I DEPOSITED THE CHECKS AND SIGNED THE PAPERWORK that the offer for $ 200 was no longer valid. They did not. They waited until they had deposited almost $ 700 worth of checks. And now I needed to wait an hour til they could correct the mistake. All I want is my $ 700 worth of checks to take my business elsewhere. We talk with Cynthia, explaining to her that we have to leave. I had work this afternoon (in Springfield) and we had to leave. She continued to say there was no way she could return the checks to me and that I’d have to wait. My fiancé continued to question why no one caught the expiration date until after I’d signed the paperwork, and why they couldn’t return my checks. Cynthia told him that she didn’t have to talk to listen to him because he wasn’t her customer. No, he’s not, but that’s my husband to be and my money is his. She pretended she couldn’t hear him and interrupted him. Over an hour later, she finally handed me my checks back but informed me that the deposit still hadn’t been cancelled. I’ll have to wait for a call. I’M SPEECHLESS. BEWARE.

I generally always write positive reviews. I am not a negative person. HOWEVER
I am soooo angered with Citizens bank in Norwell ma. I was applying for a equity loan. I have had one before, but needed to reapply after purchasing a new condo. They ran me around forever, just when i thought i was done, they tell me the flood policy I purchased from Travelers and backed by the government was not good enough. This is wrong and bad business. I had a policy that was compliant and would pay.
So much for being a preferred customer. I am now a former preferred customer.
I know this happens all the time with banks, has it happened to you. I can point to several cases. A class action suit should be started.