Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I set up a empower account and everything was fine. They sent money to my bank account. Then took out the first payment. Ok fine. Then borrowed money again. Tried to pay off my account in full before the due date and it wouldn't let me. I spent over 6 hours on and off the phone with customer service on day one sending SC to them still unable to pay through the app. Ask them to take a payment over the phone and they said they couldn't. I have the exact money to try and pay off a couple of loans and they don't want my money. The app will not let me link it my bank account. And they will not tell me when I have upcoming payments or how I can pay them off

  Business Response

  Date: 07/26/2024

  Hello *******,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on July 6, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower couldnt process your Thrive line of credit repayment due to a connection issue with your linked external bank account. ********************** takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  
  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On May 25, 2024, you created an Empower account in the mobile app. On June 4, 2024, you applied and were approved for the Thrive line of credit. On June 4, 2024, you took a $200 draw with a $7 instant delivery fee and scheduled payments on July 3rd and August 2nd. On July 3rd, your partial payment of $112.63 was processed and took another draw in the amount of $99.99 with a $4 instant delivery fee and scheduled two more payments. However, it appears you canceled some of your scheduled payments in the app and there were no subsequent payments made. 

  
  On July 4, 2024, you reached out to Support explaining you were having trouble making a payment on your Thrive line of credit. At your request, Support closed your Empower account, canceled the subscription, and escalated the payment issue you described. On July 8, 2024, Support advised you to relink your debit card and provided instructions, however you responded that the app would not allow this. On the same day, Support requested a screenshot of the error so we could investigate, but we did not receive a response. As such, Support reached out again on July 19th, explaining that we did not see you make any attempts to make a payment in the app following our guidance on relinking your bank connection, and again provided instructions on how to make a payment and requested a screenshot of the error you mentioned. On the same day, you responded asking when your minimum payment was due and in what amount. On July 22, Support responded that your minimum payment amount is $112.52, due on August 21st. 

  Since your initial outreach and our provided instructions, we have not noted any in-app events of manual payment attempts. Please attempt to make a manual payment using Supports instructions. Should you experience any errors or trouble making a payment, please email **************************** with a screenshot (or even better, screen recording) of the issue. 

  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and appreciate the opportunity to address your concern. If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ****************************. 
  Team Empower
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I asked about a loan they didnt say anything about taking eight dollars out of my account. I did not qualify for the loan so it was the end of the phone call. I checked my bank. They had taken eight dollars out of my account and Ive been reading and it says every month for what I never even received alone I dont qualify so they need to put my money back, I never signed anything

  Business Response

  Date: 07/17/2024

  Hello *******,

  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on July 6, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged Empower debited your linked bank account even though you did not qualify for our products. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.

  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On June 1, 2024, you created an Empower account and started your Empower subscription to use Empowers financial products and services provided through our mobile app. Upon creating your Empower account, you began a two-week trial and agreed for Empower to automatically debit your bank account in the amount of $8 on a monthly basis for the duration of your Empower subscription. Following your two-week trial, on June 15, 2024, your linked account was debited $8 for Empowers monthly subscription fee. 

  As a courtesy, we have refunded the $8 subscription fee and deactivated your account. It should take around 1-2 business days to post to your account.  If you would like to re-open your account, you may do so at any time.
  
  If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to us at ***************************** We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.
  
  Team Empower
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/03/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had applied for a loan with Empower, did business with them a few months, and then they took out payment before the due date causing my account to be overdrawn. I revoked any and all payments automatically coming out of my account, followed their info on how to do this, they are still taking money automatically. I have multiple emails with them discussing this and stating that all have had automatic payments stopped

  Business Response

  Date: 07/17/2024

  Hello ******,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on 07/03/2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower processed a Thrive repayment before your due date which caused your external bank account to be overdrawn. You also stated that youve reached out to us multiple times with the request to revoke authorization for any future payments. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  

  Following an investigation, we determined the following: On November 3, 2024, you created an Empower account. On December 8, 2023, you applied and were approved for Empowers Thrive line of credit. Between December 2023 - May 2024, you made multiple draws and repayments on your line of credit. On May 10, 2024, you disabled Thrive AutoPay (MinPay) within the mobile app, but Support informed you that you still had two payments scheduled for June 3, 2024. On May 27, 2024, you reached out to Support requesting to revoke ACH authorization. On May 29, 2024, Support confirmed we revoked all scheduled ACH transactions. However, there was a payment error causing the two scheduled payments to be debited on June 20, 2024. After you reached out to Support, Empower refunded you for these two erroneous debits on June 21, 2024. On July 3, 2024, a similar error occurred causing your account to be erroneously debited again. On the same day, Support issued a refund for this erroneous debit and apologized for your experience. We assure you that this payment error has been resolved. 
  
  If any of these erroneous three debits caused your account to incur overdraft fees, please send Support a screenshot through email at **************************** and we will provide reimbursement. We apologize for the inconvenience. This letter confirms that your ACH authorization has been revoked for all scheduled ACH transactions.We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.
  Team Empower
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Empower closed my account without consulting me then said i couldn't open it again because you can only open an account 4 times a year. Found it strange they didnt even talk to me before closing my account with zero notice

  Business Response

  Date: 07/22/2024

  Hello ******,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on July 2, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower closed your Empower subscription and did not allow you to reopen the subscription. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On October 21, 2021, you created an Empower account which still has an active subscription. However, you created a duplicate Empower account on May 13, 2024. 
  
  Regarding your original account, our records show that you closed this subscription on November 10, 2021, then reopened it on April 21, 2024. This subscription remains active.
  
  Regarding the duplicate Empower account created in May 2024, our records show you closed your subscription on 5/27, reopened on 5/30, closed on 5/30, reopened on 6/13, closed on 6/14, reopened on 6/19, closed on 6/20, reopened on 6/23, and finally closed it again on 6/24. It is Empowers policy that once an account has been closed four times in one year, the customer is not eligible to re-open the subscription for one year. 
  Please note that the original Empower account associated with the email attached to this complaint is still open, however the $8 subscription fee is delinquent. 
  
  
  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and we appreciate the opportunity to address your concern. Please email **************************** with any further questions or concerns. 
  
  Team Empower 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/28/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On April 30th,2024 I contacted empower/thrive to close my account. The account had a zero balance. On May 1st 2024 I asked them about a $4.47 charge after I had requested the account be closed. On May 2nd 2024 I was told the account would be closed and the $4.47 charge removed. On June 26th, 2024 I see on my credit report that the account is still opened and I have a past due balance of 70. *** requested that I get an explanation. Today June 28,2024 Empower told me I have an active account and I need to resubscribe to be able to pay the amount owed. However when I attempted to do this I see that the 70 is actually under their Thrive loans and I cant get into that portion unless I take a cash advance. I dont want a cash advance. I want the 70 gone, even if I have to pay it. I want the account closed ASAP and I want a correction to my credit report.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2024

  Hello ******,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on June 28, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that a small balance remained on your Thrive line of credit account even after you believed to have fully satisfied the outstanding balance. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On December 3, 2022, you created an Empower account in the mobile app. On January 19, 2024, you applied and were approved for the Thrive line of credit. From January 2024 to April 2024, you took draws on your Thrive line of credit and made payments. However, some of your payments failed which caused your principal Thrive balance to accrue interest and fees. On May 1, 2024, you reached out to Support asking why a small balance remained on your Thrive account when you paid the balance down to zero and requested to close your account. Support closed your Thrive account as requested, however your account still erroneously carried a small balance. 
  
  On June 28, 2024, we received your indirect credit dispute. Following the investigation of your dispute, on July 1, 2024, Support issued a final credit of $0.47 to bring your Thrive account balance to zero. This updated account information has been reported to the credit bureaus. Please allow some time for the bureaus to update your credit report. 
  
  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ***************************** We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.
  
  Team Empower
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On June 21, 2024 this company withdrew eight dollars fraudulently from my account. No one has my account information but myself and I can tell you that I most certainly did not download any app or put my banking account information into anything recently. It frustrates me that my routing and banking account information was fraudulently used by a company for eight lousy dollars. I will be closing out this account, which is a headache if its own Because of this. I do not appreciate the way you all do business at all! People pay attention to your bank accounts!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/12/2024

  Hello *******,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on June 21, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower debited your linked external bank account $8 for *********************** monthly subscription fee for an Empower account that you did not open. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On June 5, 2024, an Empower account was opened by someone under a different name, however the account opener linked an external bank account associated with your name for Empowers monthly subscription fee. As such, your external bank account was debited $8 on June 19, 2024. On June 25, 2024, you contacted Empower Support regarding the charge and mentioned that your bank account was compromised. Support advised you to dispute the charge with your bank as there might be an unauthorized individual with access to your external banking information. 

  Following receipt of this complaint,  your Empower account was closed and marked as fraudulent on July 2, 2024. Since you stated you did not open this account, we recommend you check the security of your external bank account with your financial institution.

  We have refunded the $8 subscription fee to your bank account. Please allow 1-3 business days for the funds to arrive. 

  If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ***************************** We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.
  
  Team Empower
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Empower charged me $84.25 multiple times without me signing up for an account. Has scam red flags written all over the company when you call them. Refused to let me speak to anyone who could tell me why I was being charged and insisted on emailing me back. Filed claim with my bank and now bank has an alert so they cant charge me anymore.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/20/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Empower has been taking $8 out of my account every 7 days. I signed up online because they get you because they say you can get a advance. I never was given any advance at all. So thats why they had my account information because they said they needed it if i was approved for a advance. Instead they keep taking money out of my bank account. I have emailed billing and told them to cancel my account. June 18, June 14,May 10 they withdrew $8. Their policy says it charges $8 a month. Which is in very fine print. I would like a refund since they have not done anything for me at all

  Business Response

  Date: 07/10/2024

  Hello ********,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on June 20, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower debited the $8 subscription fee. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On April 2, 2024, you created an Empower account in the mobile app and agreed to be debited an $8 monthly subscription for access to Empowers financial products and services, including Thrive line of credit, Cash Advance, spend tracking, credit score monitoring. Following your two-week trial as a new customer, your $8 subscription fee was scheduled to be debited on April 16, 2024, however Empower did not attempt to debit your account for this fee until we detected sufficient funds in your account. As such, your account was first debited for the subscription fee on May 10, 2024, for the April 16th invoice. Your account was then debited again on June 14th for the May 16th invoice, and then again on June 18th for the June 16th invoice.   The only record of your attempt to cancel your Empower subscription is on June 17, 2024, when you initiated this request within the app. Given this, your most recent $8 subscription fee was refunded to your external bank account on June 27, 2024. 

  As a courtesy, Empower Support has refunded the remaining two $8 subscription fees (totaling $16) to your external linked account. Please allow 1 to 3 business days for the refund to reach your account. 
  If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ***************************** We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.
  
  Team Empower

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started a free two week subscription on 5/21/2024 to be able to borrow $75 for a few days at a time. I ended up borrowing $75 on the 27th with a $4 fee to have the money deposited immediately, and paid back $79 on the 31st, borrowed $75 on June 16th, repayi g $79 on the 21st. I was debited $8 on 6/5/2024 to be able to continue my subscription, but my account was unable to borrow. After emailing empower on June 13th, 14, and 15th, to either give back the $8 for a monthly subscription I couldnt access, or give me access to my account, I was told to re-subscribe to be able to put the $8 to use. After I re-subscribed as told on 6/17/2024, I was debited another $8 for the same month of service. I need the company to stop jerking me around and give back my $8.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2024

  Hello *****,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on June 19, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower charged you an $8 monthly subscription fee though you did not have access to Empowers products. 
  Following an investigation, we determined the following: On May 21, 2024, you created an Empower account and started your 14-day trial, with an automated $8 monthly subscription fee to follow for access to Empowers financial products and services offered within the app. On May 21st and May 27th, you accepted two Cash Advances which you later repaid. Since your Empower account remained open following your 14-day trial, your linked external bank account was debited $8 on June 4, 2024, for Empowers monthly subscription fee. On the following day, June 5, 2024, you closed your Empower account. 
  On June 17, 2024, you reopened your Empower account and restarted your Empower subscription. Upon resubscription on June 17, 2024, you were charged the $8 subscription fee, as only new customers qualify for the ****** trial, as outlined in the Subscription Agreement. On June 17th, you accepted a $75 Cash Advance which you later repaid. On June 21, 2024, you accepted a $100 Cash Advance. 
  As you did not access Empowers app following the $8 subscription fee charge debited on June 4, 2024, we have refunded this charge to your account. Please allow 3 business days for the refund to arrive in your account. 
  We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate the opportunity to address your concern. If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ****************************.
  Team Empower
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/27/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Since January 2024 I have been reaching out to Empower via the support email and the phone number which is rarely answered due to them not reporting my Empower Trive Loan correctly. To date, I have received three credit limit increases in April, March, and June. I pay the balance in full on time every month and I am not benefitting from this good payment history as Empower has refused to update my credit listings for Experian, Equifax and Tranunion since January 2024 with the correct balance, credit limit, and report payment history from January to June for the past six months. I don't understand why Empower refuses to correct my positive payment history and add it along with the correct balances and credit limits to each bureau. If I had a derogatory history they would update it with no hesitation. I have opened disputes and each time for some reason which I'm left to assume is incompetence, they respond with verification that the account is reporting correctly which it has not been for six months. I'm in the process of buying a home and this needs to be corrected asap and it is as simple as Empower doing an AUD Update with the correct credit limit which is $325 as they are currently reporting $250, the correct balance with is zero as the balance is paid in full monthly and I have attached statements to confirm this.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2024

  Hello Butoisha,
  
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint you submitted on June 17, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower incorrectly reported your Thrive line of credit account information to the credit bureaus. 
  We investigated your case and determined the following: On July 8, 2019, you created your Empower account. On December 31, 2023, you applied and were approved for the Empower Thrive line of credit. On January 9, 2024, you took your first draw and continued to take draws and make payments through July 2024. Following your first draw in December, Empower reported your Thrive account information to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax on a monthly basis. 
  As of April 31, 2024, your Thrive account was current with a $0 balance and $300 credit limit, which is what Empower reported to the credit bureaus. However, from a screenshot that you emailed Empower Support on June 24, 2024, it appeared that your Thrive account information was not appropriately reflected on Experian and Equifax. As such, on July 1, 2024, Empower submitted an AUD to Experian and Equifax to update your Thrive account information to reflect your $0 current balance and $300 credit limit. Please allow additional time for your more recent account information to be reflected.
  We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate the opportunity to address your concern. If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ****************************.
  Team Empower
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/08/2024

   
  Complaint: 21863668
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Another AUD Update needs to be done to correct the Loan Type to Line of Credit is this is a line of credit, not other which is how Empower is reporting to Equifax.  I spent 6 Months contacting Empower so called support via Email and phone specifically asking for an AUD Update that they refused.  Empower even had the audacity to respond to credit bureau disputes saying and alledging that the information was reporting corrrectly.  I am requesting compensation as this matter has negatively impacted me and my credit.  Empower has also failed to resolve the error when I try to open an Empower card I get the error that something went wrong. Ongoing issues unresolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Butoisha ******