Citizens Bank works to fix technical issue causing duplicate transactions
(WJAR) — Citizens Bank said it's working to resolve a technical issue that is causing duplicate transactions on some accounts.
Neal Rapoza of Swansea said he woke up earlier to pay a bill when he noticed several familiar charges on his account.
"Bills that I had paid previously in the month were somehow taken out again," said Rapoza. "Four charges and it totaled $439."
Rapoza showed NBC 10 News his bank statements from February.
On Feb. 1, he made four transactions, including a coffee run and his monthly internet bill. On Feb. 22, he was charged again.
A spokesperson for Citizens Bank sent the following statement to our newsroom:
"We are experiencing a technical issue that is causing duplicate transactions on some customer accounts. Our technology teams are fully engaged and are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience."
Rapoza said he tried contacting the Citizens Bank customer service but never received a response. He was made aware of the technical issue on social media.
"Even now, 12 hours later, I still haven't heard anything," said Rapoza in an interview with NBC 10 News.
Rapoza said the money was put back into his account at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Lori Satre of Quincy received a double charge and a double deposit. She said her father's account was charged $1,000 on Tuesday, but she said the money was refunded the next day.
"He sent the money to his granddaughter on Feb. 1," said Satre.
Satre sent NBC 10 News screenshots of her bank statements. On Feb. 1, she made an ATM withdrawal, a food purchase and received a $1,330 deposit.
Tuesday morning, those same transactions were repeated.
"Withdrawals have been returned back to me but the deposit is still sitting there," she said. "So, I have a duplicate deposit and I'm assuming that they're going to take that money back."
Moments after speaking with NBC 10, Satre said the money was removed from her account.
Rapoza said he is taking his business elsewhere.
"With permission from the wife, we'll be looking to move our finances to a local credit union," he said. "I'm fortunate that it was only four charges. If they had taken my mortgage out, it would have been that much more frustrating."
It's unknown how long Citizens Bank's technology teams will take to resolve the issue.