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:01/08/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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 filed a dispute back in November my provisional credit or updates have not been given to me and its January. They will give you the run around , they dont even know the laws themselves.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2025

  Please see attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/07/2025

  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 is a scam business that violates FCRA laws and does not care about customers please be weary of this company, they will DESTROY your credit profile intentionally. They failed to collect payment on the scheduled time in November which led to 103% usage on my credit report. After finding this out I had to call in and manually submit my payment. I requested they update my usage for December they told me they couldnt because they had to report accurate information for that cycle. Now it is January I have a zero balance with them and they havent updated my account for the current cycle, my usage is still showing 103% even though Ive had a zero balance for over a month. My credit has dropped nearly 100 points for a $350 line of credit. This small account has ruined me being able to close on my house. I have expressed the sense of urgency and how they are violating FCRA laws but they seem to not care. Ive sent numerous emails and now they are deliberately violating **** laws out of spite. This company is a scam and I will utilize every legal means available to get justice from this spiteful, disgusting company.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Please see attached response

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/21/2025

   
  Complaint: 22777761
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Im rejecting this because nobody is disputing November payment information. Look at the dates you still have not reported the payments I made in the beginning of December to creditors. At the end of December I had a zero balance and it is now the middle of ******* the information from beginning of December should have been reported to the creditors by now did you even read the report? If you were reporting my information correctly it would reflect payments I made in December on my ******* report instead it still shows November, you skipped a month of reporting and that is my complaint.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2025

  Please see attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/06/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  My cash advance was repaid through direct debit but my profile says that I still owe $100. I emailed the company several times to tell them that I dont owe them anything because they wiggled their way into my bank account and snatched the money that I did owe. The only thing customer service responds with is an email instructing me on how to repay the cash advance. I have receipts that prove I have repaid the advance but they dont seem to care. If I still owe them money then where is my $100 they took?

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2025

  Please see attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/30/2024

  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.

  On October 8th, 2024, I received $50 advance from Empower and it successfully hit my account. ********************** was repaid on October 16th,2024. I thought I could get another advance from them. So, on October 27, 2024, I took out a $50 Cash Advance with Empower Finances with a repayment date of October 30, 2024. I never received that advance. I emailed Empower on October 28, 2024 about never receiving the advance. Empower basically emailed back saying to give it 2-3 days. Empower then repaid $53.00 out of my account for the advance (even though I never received it). I emailed Empower again about not receiving the advance. Empower provided a transaction ID that my bank could not find. I emailed Empower again about my bank could not see the advance. I called my bank to dispute the charge. My bank disputed the charge with a provisional credit of $53.00. On December 30, 2024, my bank reversed the credit because Empower provided them with documentation that they sent the $50.00. My bank is filing another dispute because even with that documentation, they could not see the advance that was supposed to be sent on Oct 27th. This is emotionally draining. I do not recommend doing business with Empower Finance. I need Empower Finance to look into there accounts and figure out what happened with the $50 advance.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Please see attached response

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

  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 since Empower refunded me the $53 owed. Thank you so much BBB for following up on my complaint
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/28/2024

  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 was reviewing past financial history and discovered a monthly debit of $25 since October to Empower. I never once signed up for this service. I subsequently downloaded their app (for the first time) in an attempt to login and cancel whatever account they had for me. Of course it said it didn't recognize my phone or email so I was unable to login to anything. Currently going round in circles with their customer service who claim they can't verify my identity via phone number (they seem to avoid any other attempts to verify identity which feels very much like bad-faith) and as of this posting have not canceled their monthly bill for a service I never once signed up for.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2025

  Please see attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/26/2024

  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.

  Empower was automatically taking their monthly payment out of my account when suddenly they stopped and would only allow mini payments to be made until they stoped that as well. I have called and spoke with a customer service *** and they apparently cant do anything about it. It is now affecting my credit and they put my loan to collections when Ive paid them on time every month. Their app is messed up and I should not have to suffer because of it. Total scam!! Do not borrow from them!! This ************************* my credit and its most definitely not worth it!! Scam!!

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2025

  Hello Gonenc,
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on December 26, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower ceased to process your payments, resulting in your Thrive line of credit being charged off. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On January 18, 2024 you created an Empower account in the mobile app. On the same day, you applied and were approved for a $200 Thrive line of credit.
  On January 18, 2024, you accepted a $200 draw with a $7 instant delivery fee, and scheduled repayment to occur on February 2, 2024. On February 2, 2024, your external bank account was debited and this draw was repaid.
  On March 29, 2024, you accepted another $200 draw with a $7 instant delivery fee, however you did not schedule a repayment date.
  On May 19, 2024, you enabled ****** in the app. ****** is an automated minimum payment feature to help prevent users from becoming overdue on their Thrive account.
  As you had no scheduled payments for the March 29th draw, ****** debited your account $60.71 on May 21, 2024, $35.34 on June 21, 2024, $21.58 on July 20, 2024, and $19.94 on August 2, 2024. However, after investigating your complaint, it appears the minimum payment amounts for which you were debited did not meet your minimum payment each time. Therefore, on August 19, 2024, your Thrive account was charged off with a balance of $110.54 (includes interest and fees) and sent to a third-party debt collection agency.
  Empower is actively investigating the technical issue which caused your account to become delinquent and eventually charge off. We will delete your Thrive tradeline to prevent negative impact to your credit reporting, remove the account from collections, and forgive the remaining balance.
  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 Support team through email at ***************************************************.
  Team Empower

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/23/2024

  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.

  My bank notified me about a overdraft. Empower was authorized to withdraw $275 on or about Jan 3rd 2025 but knowing my account balance withdrew $275 on Dec 23 2024. I tried to call them before calling tthem ***************) prior to contacting the bank yet message stated no one was available to take the call and left me no options to leave message so i called he bank . Bank stopped transaction since seeing my account history showed no depoisits or with draws where ever made like this one, and every transaction prior ended in a balance that didnt overdraft account. I allerted them that Empower knew my transaction history which set off their alarm bells.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2025

  Hello ,
  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on December 26, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint alleged that Empower ceased to process your payments, resulting in your Thrive line of credit being charged off. Empower takes these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.
  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On January 18, 2024 you created an Empower account in the mobile app. On the same day, you applied and were approved for a $200 Thrive line of credit.
  On January 18, 2024, you accepted a $200 draw with a $7 instant delivery fee, and scheduled repayment to occur on February 2, 2024. On February 2, 2024, your external bank account was debited and this draw was repaid.
  On March 29, 2024, you accepted another $200 draw with a $7 instant delivery fee, however you did not schedule a repayment date.
  On May 19, 2024, you enabled ****** in the app. ****** is an automated minimum payment feature to help prevent users from becoming overdue on their Thrive account.
  As you had no scheduled payments for the March 29th draw, ****** debited your account $60.71 on May 21, 2024, $35.34 on June 21, 2024, $21.58 on July 20, 2024, and $19.94 on August 2, 2024. However, after investigating your complaint, it appears the minimum payment amounts for which you were debited did not meet your minimum payment each time. Therefore, on August 19, 2024, your Thrive account was charged off with a balance of $110.54 (includes interest and fees) and sent to a third-party debt collection agency.
  Empower is actively investigating the technical issue which caused your account to become delinquent and eventually charge off. We will delete your Thrive tradeline to prevent negative impact to your credit reporting, remove the account from collections, and forgive the remaining balance.
  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 Support team through email at ***************************************************.
  Team Empower

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2025

  Please see attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/21/2024

  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.

  They to 309 dollars for a cash advance out of my checking account. But in there app it still stated that I owed 309 dollars. I try connecting them several times through email but got the same response that it was a glitch and that I still owed them. I showed them were it was drafted out of my account but I still would get the same message throw email that I missed a payment and still owed them 309 dollars.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Please see the attached response

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2024

  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.

  I have been a long time customer of ******************** advance. I have been eligible in good standing ever since. when I simply asked them to investigate the errors occurring in the app they refused fighting the simply cat manually correct them which I know it's not true also did verify with my bank and the service called plaid which securely connects with light information they have a strong connection and they have the correct information reporting. I am entitled to an advance because I the same reappearing social security deposit everyone finances haven't changed I always pay back on time except one time because of the summer my app is going through some major technical issues they finally fixed it now that it's fixed that I'm trying to salvage worth all be a good finance relationship like the treating their back on me. They try to give a generic message saying that we can't make any corrections or fixed categor issues manually we hope to do this in the future and something like that I really hope let's just someone new because well another a cash advance or technology company is still followed in a regulations. They have offered me in advance in the system but a left amount and then when I try to take advance I got errors everything I try to approach with them either with the evidence they just ignore me.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2024

  Hello *******,

  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on December 16, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint expressed frustration at your Cash Advance eligibility status. We take these complaints seriously and promptly investigated the claim.

  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On December 03, 2024, you reopened your Empower account in the mobile app. From June 2023 to June 2024, you took several Cash Advances and repaid using your linked external bank account. 

  On December 16, 2024, you contacted Support asking why you were no longer eligible for an Advance. On the same day, Support explained that your eligibility is updated based on changes in your linked bank account (including your income, balance, and transactions) and Cash Advance activity and that we cannot manually change your eligibility. 

  Weve waived your next $8 monthly subscription fee as a courtesy. Your subscription remains active. 

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

  Team Empower
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/22/2024

   
  Complaint: 22691435
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have been a faithful and grateful employee of empower financial services until this past summer I started having 10 equal issues with them then they fix that customer service used to be outstanding and it was kind of slacking. I have a good standing relationship with empower in general and grateful that they were there for me during those emergencies when I needed those cash advances but the one thing I'm pointing out that is the glitch is that what really happened is I switched from ******************** to one financial backed by ********************** I even called us a free number to make the *** aware. That shouldn't have anything to do with it anyway I sent screenshots of your own system recognizing the three reoccurring and direct deposits from social security every month totaling ***** and all the sudden like a broken record **** is ours keep saying something about manually adjusting and your system only need text to from one financial oh yes that's correct because the last deposit or the third one would have been from **** right. Nothing has changed plant sites that you have continuous and solid connection and you are getting that . No cash advances are particular okay but unfortunately how long does ability it has very few expenses it's very boring very same every month if you look at the draw and repayment pattern is exactly the same how much you offer usually and then over the summer like I said there were some tentacle issues where I wasn't able to completely accept the advance for like 2 months and then that was fixed and then I came back and then I advise them power I went changing financial institutions other than that nothing has changed. You see the same information I do the same history overview I do. If there was a long financial trust building there and that I really like you I wouldn't be putting so much efforts and to salvage this financial relationship. Now the last representative I talked to is talking to me like I'm a brand new person or at least that your computer is is that I need to see three rear character deposits what's happening sad it's redundant because the rest assistive does reflect those deposits like it's two different things and one application that are controls them not communicating but anyway since you were sending me to courtesy for a monthly fee waiver I will send you the courtesy of one more month that will mark third reoccurring direct deposit with one financial and empower plaid before that it was with **** nothing has changed except the financial institution that's it. I had more bills right now and I was using some of my credit cards which I am not cuz I do have a good credit score score that's showing through ********** I was told is doing its advantage score That's another thing I've been a customer forever a year now on time payments have a good credit score everything's in good standing Good repayment history I just changed financial institution. Over the summer the only issue that was messing up me utilizing the services was technical issues due to the fair credit reporting act. I should be eligible at some point very soon or probably even before for your thrive program and I do not have any delinquencies in my credit My score has increased 12 points in the past 2 months that's the actual score and my checking and empower counts are all in good standing you issued me a denial for thrive only for the reason that you cannot detect a reoccur in the direct deposit which is not only not accurate it as you know it's" illegal statement of credit" I can manually provide the proof and the free no receipt for social security at the Treasury and that stands as proof but you have the name of thrive which I think is a good program by the way I've read it very well and also I rode through the tentacle issues on July and all this then when it was fixed I got offered a $10 advance which kind of was like a slap in the face cuz that's the lowest amount and actually got a social security raise as you can tell also by your system. I hope after this technicality is all it is is that your system will see the third one in reality again is payments have been ongoing and nothing has stopped just the financial institution change instead of processing just general statement of feedback for me I am a customer that is really protective over like my family my finances I really like them empower app you have earned and shoved me that level of trust but also fears developing because it's about to be broken but hopefully within the next *************************************************************************************** the same 

   Please just entertain the idea to pass by your technical support or programming team or the one that writes your code or your algorithms for your your determination or whatever. I mean it's pretty obvious your system that determines eligibility can I even recognize what's in the other parts of the system for example the connections that are constant with my link bank account through class Day with all them show you can look yourself and you can see those direct deposits because there's a screenshots I mean you already know that on the main page you know you under draw and overview you see every repayment and cash as advance as a courtesy one time I even emailed to you a screenshot of what's called a physical pre-note by the treasury for social security just as a simple one-time courtesy they didn't quite understand but that was very nice of them to do that that. The way that your program is designed of technical errors like this not necessarily the decision process but it being able to see and process accurate information. Simply making a very quick within less than 30 days transfer to financial institution and on top of that through the safety and merge through plaid there's really nothing to say you know. Finances haven't changed everything is a good standing still saying disability or whatever. I know you're a financial technology company in other bank and not subject to charters regulations but that being said since you are a technology app you might want to consider some of your competition which I don't use like flows or **** you know when they do their advances or stuff like that they don't correct the decision but if the information is not being detected completely or and I want to rethink down the line reprogramming it or something. And I know you're saying it's completely automated again I get it. I say anything about the decision making process cuz I could probably bet money that if I did not change things which is not a thing but it had it is a necess circumstance I'm not with one of the financial bank. The system like clockwork would always offer me between a 10-and $25 advance every month as long as it's within the 18 days before it's paid. So I'm usually get the offer you know that afternoon pretty precise in that regard so I'm not questioning system's decision. Me doing a simple change to different bank should have not cost such a hiccup. And a headache and a waste of my time. Empower you have a good reputation and you have me as a customer and I'm not easy to impress when it comes to my money or financial tools you know it's that same principal's circle of family and you're in that trust and I want you to remain there surround Thursday or Friday because of the holidays they'll be a third direct deposit on my social security disability for the United States Treasury and because of the technicality pickup Yes this will be three direct deposits at one financial have to present . I know you say you have no manual way to do this kind of do cuz when I first became a customer and it was just updating him your preno information from social security a member of your leadership team could do that. I'm asking about decision making process I'm quite coursewith that when it's accurate. So fingers crossed happy holidays ?? hopefully we can put this behind us you know and move forward. Now I know you don't have to and I'm not going to challenge it because I could but that thrive notice is the is not valid based on the United States regulation of the credit responsibility and accountability and the ********************************************** the reason wasn't even a credit file reason your system just simply said it could not detect any type of income from me 

   Moving forward that being said and bringing it up I would like to be treated fairly and I have that right and I would like someone to manually review that notice because it's wrong because I have the documentation I've been your customer for a year and since you really don't use credits heavy if it did I should be able somewhat to use your thrive program. And that really disappointed me . No of course it was a computer generated denial notice but it was incorrect you haven't come information reported 2003 and reoccurring . Cdvantage score is a 646 this past week alone My credit score has increased by 12 points divided between experian and transunion. Paying off some credit bills early and utilizing credit more.. 

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   A

   

  ssues
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *********

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  Hello *******, 
  
  As previously stated, we are unable to manually approve you for a Cash Advance or adjust the Cash Advance offer amount. Your eligibility may change throughout the day depending on the activity detected in your linked bank account. 
  
  We apologize for your experience, and we are constantly working to improve our product. 
  
  Team Empower

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/13/2024

  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.

  Empower cash advance app has attached a phone number that I do not own to my personal account. When I try to do a cash advance it claimed that that phone number was attached to my account and I had to further with that number. However, I don't recognize this number. I emailed support and they claimed that they're having issues and that I could close my account if I wanted to. I stated that that behavior is illegal. They are now allowing somebody else possible access to my personal and financial information. They refuse to remove the number from my account

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2024

  Hello ******,

  We received the Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint response you submitted on December 13, 2024, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your complaint expressed frustration at an error preventing you from using  Cash Advance. 

  Following our investigation, we determined the following: On October 18, 2024, you created an Empower account in the mobile app. In October 2024, you took two Cash Advances and made payments from your external linked bank account. 

  On December 12, 2024, you contacted Support stating you were having trouble accepting another Advance as you received an error. On the same day, Support informed you of a technical issue blocking your access to Cash Advance and provided instructions for canceling your subscription

  Upon further investigation, it appears another Empower account was created using your device, as both accounts were created using the same IP address. This alternate account has a defaulted Cash Advance. Empower only allows customers to have one ********************** account which is why you received the referenced error. 

  Upon receipt of this complaint, weve reversed the $8 subscription fee charged on December 1, 2024, given your inability to access Cash Advance, and canceled your subscription. 

  We apologize for your experience, and we appreciate the opportunity to address your concern. If you require additional assistance, please contact our customer service team through email at ***************************************************. 

  Team Empower