Does Citizens Bank Intentionally Profit From Customer Mistakes?

In Chicago, a new lawsuit makes allegations that RBS Citizens Bank and its subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, intentionally take advantange of customers when those customers make deposits with errors in the bank’s favor.

Plaintiff Michael Stinson says the bank deliberately cheated him of his money in 2011:

Stinson says that “as an example of one of likely thousands of transactions, on January 31, 2011, plaintiff deposited a single check into his Citizens Bank account noting what he believed to be a deposit of $100.00. Plaintiff erred in its calculation; the actual deposit was $150.00. However, Citizens Bank credited plaintiff $100.00 and credited account number 9344820186 with $50.00. Account 9344820186 is not plaintiff’s account but an account controlled and maintained by Citizens Bank.”

He adds that the bank routinely does this, with “millions of dollars” of customer money going into Citizens’ coffers because bank tellers purposely decline to correct deposit slips presented by customers to match the actual amount of money they’ve been given.

Sounds bad, however: A similar 2012 case against Citizens—brought by the same lawyer now representing Stinson—was later dismissed.