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:07/08/2024

  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.

  Despite my repeated attempts to resolve this issue, I have spoken with five different representatives and have yet to see any meaningful action or resolution.The interest rate I am being charged is outrageously high, especially given my current financial crisis. Every payment I have made has gone solely towards interest, with not a single cent applied to the principal balance. Consequently, my balance continues to grow unabated.I have called and emailed numerous representatives, only to be met with dismissiveness and incompetence. Earnest's complete lack of empathy and refusal to provide any assistance is beyond unacceptable. Most egregiously, I requested a temporary pause on payments and was initially assured by a supervisor that there would be no issue. However, my request was met with an immediate and unceremonious rejection.Earnest's behavior is predatory and exploitative, taking advantage of individuals in financial distress. I demand immediate action to address this situation, including a reevaluation of my interest rate and the implementation of a temporary pause on payments as initially promised.Failure to rectify these issues will leave me with no choice but to pursue further action to protect my financial well-being and hold Earnest accountable for their unethical practices.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2024

  Hello *****,
  

  Thank you for taking the time to provide these details of your situation.

  
  Unfortunately, as previously discussed, we are unable to approve your request for forbearance because your account does not meet the eligibility criteria, which are outlined in our public *********** article and were provided to you at least three times; twice in writing (through previous emails) and once on the request form itself. The specific requirement you do not currently meet is having three consecutive on-time payments. As of July 11, 2024, you have one on-time payment and two half payments: one made before your June 12th due date and one made after. Due to the half payment that was made after your due date, the counter has restarted for any future requests.

  
  We recognize that while your forbearance request was pending review from our team, you requested that a supervisor call you to discuss lowering your minimum payment again. This member of our leadership team advised you of the available options and incorrectly informed you that the pending forbearance request would be processed and added to your account. We have since provided feedback to this team members manager for review. We greatly apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
  
  While we understand your request for an exception to our forbearance policy, we are unable to make one for any of our customers who do not meet the eligibility criteria.

  For your records, Ive attached your completed forbearance form, which you uploaded to your dashboard on June 24, 2024. Please refer to Section 3: Disclosures, bullet point 8. Please note that the exceptions we refer to are instances where other hardship options are used prior to the forbearance request, not the three on-time consecutive payment requirement.  
  
  Ive also reviewed your loan agreement signed on March 8, 2024. I see that you chose a 9.58% fixed rate. I can confirm that this rate is still your effective rate and it will not change unless you enroll in the optional Auto Pay for a 0.25% discount. Since weve passed the 3 business-day rescission period, were unable to make any changes to your loan. However, after youve made 4 on-time consecutive full monthly payments, you would be eligible to apply to refinance this loan with us to see if we could offer a lower interest rate at that time. Feel free to check out this *********** article for full details.

  
  We understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for, and we do take your concerns to heart. Should you want to look into alternative temporary solutions, we have partnered with our parent company, Navient, to curate personalized repayment plans. Our dedicated group is available Monday through Friday, 5 AM to 4 PM PST (8 AM to 7 PM EST) at ************. Feel free to reach out to them to discuss any options you may qualify for.
  
  I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

  
  All the best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21956320
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  

   

  Hello *****,
  
  I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by your response.
  
  I was explicitly informed by a supervisor that my pending forbearance request would be processed and added to my account. This was a clear communication from your leadership team, and it is unacceptable to now dismiss it as a mistake without honoring what was promised to me. Your internal review and feedback processes do not resolve the inconvenience and stress caused by this misinformation.
  
  Moreover, I have already explained my situation multiple times, and it is clear that I am facing genuine hardship. The rigid adherence to your eligibility criteria, without any flexibility or consideration of the misleading guidance I received from your supervisor, is unfair and unjust.
  
  Your message implies that the mistake made by your supervisor is a minor issue that can be brushed aside with an apology. However, this mistake has significant consequences for me. I expect your organization to stand by the word of its representatives, particularly when that word has a direct impact on a customer's financial situation.
  
  Therefore, I insist that you honor the commitment made by your supervisor and approve my forbearance request immediately. Failure to do so will leave me no choice but to escalate this matter further.
  
  I look forward to your prompt action on this matter.
  
  Regards,
  Corey 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/23/2024

  Hello *****,

  As previously stated, the forbearance eligibility criteria were provided to you many times before our team member incorrectly advised you that the request would be added to your account. We recognize that this supervisor made an error, and we have provided this feedback to our leadership team to prevent this from happening again.
  

  That being said, weve approved a one-time, one-month administrative forbearance to be applied to your July 12, 2024, due date to bring your account current. Your account will be updated within the next 2 - 5 business days. Your next payment will be due on August 12, 2024. Your new monthly payment amount will be updated when the administrative forbearance has been processed.
  

  Should you need temporary assistance in the future, please review our options and the corresponding eligibility requirements. If you do not meet the eligibility requirements, please contact our payment specialists for any other options you may qualify for. They are available Monday through Friday, 5 AM to 4 PM PST (8 AM to 7 PM EST) at ************.
  

  All the best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/25/2024

  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.

  The company is not recognizing and following their own payment allocation policy as stated on their billing statement. This statement is attached to this complaint and states "Unless specific instructions are provided,.." I repeatedly asked the customer service agent how to provide my specific instructions and was told "you can't provide any specific instructions, this is how we do it." When I asked to speak with a supervisor or legal department on how to provide my specific instructions, I was told there was nobody to speak to.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/03/2024

  Please see the attachment for the company's response. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/02/2024

  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.

  This bussiness is contacting my work about an outstanding balance and is impacting my job performance. They are calling all day to my cell phone & multiple times to my share office line

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2024

  Hello ******,
  

  Thank you for reaching out and providing these details about your situation.
  

  We understand it may be concerning to receive unexpected calls about your Earnest Student Loan Refinance. In an effort to remain readily available to our clients and reduce wait times, weve partnered with our parent company, Navient, for outbound calls on past-due accounts. As of February 6, ****, your account is 173 days past due, which is the reason why youre receiving these calls. 
  

  Please know that we are not intending to harass you with our phone calls. Our calls are intended to help our clients avoid default. When a payment is not received by the due date, we attempt to resolve the delinquency by making contact through phone calls and letters, intended to remind clients of their obligations, help them avoid negative consequences of missing a payment, and inform them of the options available to help them fulfill their obligation. Although we may try to contact you at various times throughout the day, if we speak with you, our calls will stop for that day.
  

  Because of the extended delinquency, your Earnest private student loan has reached a critical point and is headed for default. The consequences of loan default can be severe:
  

  Immediate Full Repayment After default, we can demand immediate repayment of the entire balance of the loan rather than just the Monthly Payments that you have missed.
  Additional ************* Reporting The charge-off of your loan may be reported to the consumer reporting agencies. The charge-off and any prior delinquency may appear on your credit report for up to 7 years from when the delinquency began.
  Navient Recovery Referral Your defaulted loan may be assigned to **************************** in order to resolve the balance.
  Collection Agency Referral Your student loan may be referred to a collection agency. While at the agency, collections activities will take place to recover your balance in full.
  Attorney Referral Loans not resolved by Navient or a collection agency may be reviewed for referral to a collection attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
  

  Unlike federal student loans, private student loan options vary by lender, loan program, and loan agreement. Some private loan repayment programs may be described in your loan agreement and additional options may be available for your loan.  Options for private loans may include repayment programs, deferments and/or forbearance. Loan forgiveness and discharge may also be available for clients and families in the event of disability, loss of life, and certain other circumstances.
  

  Since we've received your request for no further contact, we have removed you from all optional Earnest communications. I have also forwarded your information to our customer advocate team at Navient to remove you from any other communications as required by your state law. Please allow at least 10 business days for all changes to take effect.
  
  In the meantime, if youre experiencing financial hardship, our partnership with Navient has given them the ability to curate personalized repayment plans. If youre interested in looking into your options, our dedicated group is available Monday through Friday, 5 AM to 4 PM PST (8 AM to 7 PM EST) at ************. Feel free to reach out to them to discuss any payment assistance plans you may qualify for.

  All the Best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2023

  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 loved Earnest at first when I refinanced and consolidated my private student loans. The rate was good and experience fine.The bad parts come after my in-school (for grad school) deferment. My deferment extension was denied (due to being in a business PhD and not law or medical school). This should tell you two things: 1) the company has very poor risk management (they are not able to deal with risk on a more granular level than if you will be a doctor or lawyer - making no use of publicly-available job and salary data) and 2) the customer service agents are inept (a representative told me on the phone not to worry about the extension - which was then denied by a different person).Then they doubled down on their troubling behavior. This is where this complaint starts (the company has, horribly, responded the above at least). When repayment began, the roughly $260 minimum payment the representative quoted on the phone in July (when we discussed what the worst case scenario of an extension application would be) had become nearly $400 by mid-October. How could she be so wrong? How could the company miss the **** that much, by not only encouraging me not plan for much given the chance of an extension and then being off my nearly double?Then the worst part: I received a paper bill indicating $0 due by November 16th. When I log into my account to see why repayment hadn't begun, I notice the $380 payment required by 11/16. This is trickery in its clearest form and a very clear effort to both 1) rack up fees and 2) extend the length of the loan and interest-bearing period.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/07/2023

  Hello *****,
  

  Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns.
  

  Firstly, I listened to the call you had with our Client Happiness team on 9/8/2020. You brought up a hypothetical situation about extending deferment past the maximum time of 36 months, and our team member indicated we may be able to extend it. I do understand that it was not made clear that any deferment time beyond 36 months requires manager approval. I will be personally providing feedback to our team to reinforce that any deferment time that is approved beyond the 36 months is only after a managers review and approval.
  

  I also listened to the 7/6/2023 call that you had with my colleague, ******, and the payment amount she quoted of $247.40 was the Short-Term Interest-Only payment. She mentioned that if we were unable to get managements approval to extend your deferment, we have other options, one of which is this repayment plan. When you asked about the monthly payment amount, ****** calculated it for you based on your loan balance at the time. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
  

  In regards to the most recent billing statement, you are correct that the statement shows a $0.00 amount due, yet your online dashboard reflected a scheduled payment due of $381.98. The amount you are seeing in your online dashboard is due to a known internal issue which is expected to be fixed in the coming weeks.
  

  As of now, your most recent billing statement is correct, and nothing is due for November. For context, your $1,500 manual payment that was made on February 24, 2021, had advanced your due date, meaning since you were not enrolled in Auto Pay during your deferment period and no payments were required, the $1,500 balance was being applied toward your future due dates. See this article for more information (*************************************************************************************************************************************)
  

  However, with your recent enrollment in our Short-Term Interest-Only payment plan and the enrollment of Auto Pay, your due date can no longer be advanced after Novembers due date. What this means is that your November 16th payment is already settled, so the next interest-only payment of $251.45 will be debited automatically on December 16, 2023.
  

  We truly appreciate your feedback regarding our policies, and were sorry that were unable to extend your deferment beyond 36 months. However, were here to help you explore other options. I have been informed that you reached out to our Client Happiness team on 11/2/2023 and requested your loan be placed into our Short-Term Interest-Only payment plan. I was informed that your quoted monthly payment will be $251.45 for the duration of this payment plan, which is three consecutive months. Should you need to extend it, you will need to reach out to our team. Please note that this payment plan does have a 24-month limit over the life of your loan and can be processed in three-month increments.
  

  I truly hope this information helps provide clarity to your concerns. Should you have any additional questions, please dont hesitate to reach out to our team at ************** - Monday through Friday, 5 am - 5 pm PST.
  

  All the best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/07/2023

  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:10/10/2023

  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.

  August 4th: Balance transfer from Earnest credit card to my Citi card in the amount of $1,895.97.August 8th: Citi account reflects accepted payment by Earnest.Late September to early October: I noticed my Earnest account still reflecting the above balance. I contacted both Citi and Earnest who both opened an investigation into the problem. It was found that Earnest made the payment on my student loan account rather than my credit card account which have DIFFERENT account numbers. After several phone calls/emails between both companies, I finally got a final response back from Earnest saying they could not reimburse the amount to Citi due to the transaction being over 30 days old. Given the fact that Earnest placed the payment on the wrong account, I believe they need to rectify the situation and reimburse my Citi account. It was their fault that a payment was made on an account not involved with the transaction (student loan account). The payment on my student loan needs to be reversed and the payment sent back to Citi to be taken off of my credit card. I would not make a payment on my student loans with a credit card. If this is not taken care of my next step will be to contact a lawyer. Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  Hello *****,

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us about this issue. Weve thoroughly reviewed your complaint and would like to provide you with details surrounding this issue.
  

  In your initial communication with our Client Happiness team on September 29, you mentioned that the payment you made was a balance transfer from ********** After discussing this with my team and reviewing the documents you provided, it appears that when ********* made the payment to 'Earnest,' we were the only recipient identified. 
  

  I have confirmed with my team that although we created the application for the Earnest credit card, all support and payments are made via Deserve, which should be listed on your monthly statements. Additionally, it's important to note that we don't share a payment system with Deserve, which means that any payments we receive can only be applied to an existing Earnest loan.
  

  That said, the initial decision not to refund the payment was due to our internal refund policy, which states that we do not offer refunds outside of 30 days. However, as of October 12, we have made a one-time exception for you and submitted the request to refund the payment to *********, which should be completed in the next 7 - 10 business days. By refunding this payment, your loan will recalculate automatically; you shouldnt see any change in your monthly payment, but your next payment will be allocated slightly more to the interest than usual.
  

  Moving forward, should you have any questions about where to send the payment, feel free to reach out to Deserve by email: ************************************** or phone: ************, Monday - Friday: 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. PST, and Saturday: 7 A.M. to 12 P.M. PST.
  

  All the best,
  *********************
  Earnest | Complaints Specialist
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/17/2023

  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:08/25/2023

  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 signed up for a loan with ****% APR. I even discussed it with *******. Once I signed all the paperwork, they raised the APR by almost a whole percentage point.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2023

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for reaching out with your concerns regarding the difference you see between the annual percentage rate (APR) and the interest rate on your Earnest Private Student Loan.
  
  The APR includes not only the interest rate, which remains unchanged on your loan but also factors in other things like fees (which Earnest does not charge) and repayment terms. This provides a more comprehensive view of the immediate total cost of borrowing, as it incorporates both the interest rate and when repayment starts. When there are no origination fees involved in the loan, the APR will not include any additional charges beyond the interest itself.  
  
  Looking over the disclosure documents provided to you during the application process, I see you selected the fully deferred repayment plan (see Loan Approval Disclosure and Final Disclosures) which means you are not required to make payments during your in-school and ***** ******s. Based on the graduation date you entered (May ****), our system originally calculated your loans APR at ****%, and when you accepted your Loan Approval Disclosure and electronically signed your loan agreement for the fully deferred repayment plan, your approved interest rate was set at ****%. This was followed by your school, upon certifying your loan, changing your graduation date to August ****, which resulted in increasing your loans APR to ****%. This ****% APR and the unchanged ****% interest rate are reflected in your Final Disclosure. The reason your APR was increased is due to the shortened enrollment prior to graduation as communicated by your school during the school certification process. When there are fewer deferred payment months, the APR takes into account the shorter deferred payment ****** which increases the APR. Conversely, the longer the deferred payment ******, the lower the APR.
  
  Per federal regulations, Earnest is required to display the APR within marketing materials. Earnest is also required to include the APR and the interest rate applicable to the loan within the Loan Approval and Final Disclosure. Loans in the fully deferred repayment plan can not enroll in Auto Pay until active repayment begins (March 2029).
  Following the initial disbursement of your loan, you will begin receiving monthly billing statements that will reflect the ****% interest rate. When you enter active repayment following your ***** ****** expiration, you will have the opportunity to enroll in Auto Pay and earn a ****% rate reduction on your deferred repayment loan.
  
  I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
  
  All the Best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/31/2023

   
  Complaint: 20521875
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  You claim, "The reason your APR was increased is due to the shortened enrollment prior to graduation as communicated by your school during the school certification process." What shortened enrollment period? I deny that there was any shortened enrollment period. I have 4-5 years to complete the program. This has not changed. I was also never informed of this alleged development prior to or after agreeing to the loan. The lack of transparency is in itself concerning.

  Also, the final contract I signed still shows an APR of ****%, whereas my account shows the higher rate. Your claim that an APR can be lower than an interest rate because of a lack of fees is false, according to my financial advisor. In the rare case than an APR is lower than an interest rate is if that interest rate has potential to decrease over time, which is not possible with a fix rate loan such as the one I took out.

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/07/2023

  Type:Order 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 3/17/21, I sold my federal law school loans to Earnest because Earnest offered VERY low rates. ****%. Much lower than the current rate I was paying for my federal loans. I have been a Public Servant for my entire career, for 19 years at that point. I had tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the **** *************** Loan Forgiveness Program), and each time I would attempt the ****, there were requirements I could not fulfill for one reason or another. As part of my loan application to Earnest, it was very clear I have been a public servant for almost double the required time of 10 years. Because of the attractive percentages offered by Earnest, I sold my loans to Earnest.Less than 6 months later: "Today, the ********** of ********* is announcing a set of actions that, over the coming months, will restore the promise of ****."Had I not been lured to sell my loans privately, my $75,000 in loans would have been forgiven. I have the letter from ****** stating I qualify for loan forgiveness under the ****.Instead, I will spend decades paying Earnest.I am heartbroken and furious. I feel I was tricked into selling my loans, and now I cannot afford to pay for my son's college.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/17/2023

  Hi ******,

  Thank you for reaching out to raise your concerns. Weve thoroughly investigated your complaint.

  Firstly, I'd like to mention that from time to time, we may have advertisements about lowering our overall rates when there are shifts in the market and we welcome prospective applicants who want to take advantage of lower rates. All Earnest marketing materials prior to publication are carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with regulations. Required disclosures including any terms and conditions are clearly displayed.
  
  Earnest makes every effort to help avoid potential applicant confusion by making available our policies prior to the applicant applying and accepting a loan. Our *********** contains articles regarding ************** Loan Forgiveness and information regarding the advantages and disadvantages of refinancing federal loans into a private refinance student loan with a private lender like Earnest. 

  Additionally, when an applicant applies, we make available a Loan Application and Solicitation Disclosure which presents important information on the refinance loan including a section on federal loan alternatives and the loss of federal benefits. If approved for the loan, we present a Loan Approval Disclosure which must be acknowledged, and the loan agreement that must be e-signed. These documents also reinforce the loss of federal loan benefits, including loss of ************** Loan Forgiveness,  with a private student loan refinance. For your reference,  Ive included copies of your Loan Approval Disclosure (see Federal Loan Alternatives), your loan agreement (see section 3. NOTICE ABOUT FEDERAL LOANS AND CERTAIN LOANS THAT I CHOOSE TO INCLUDE WITH THIS PRIVATE LOAN CONSOLIDATION), and your Final Disclosure (see Federal Loan Alternatives.).
  

  We understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for, and we do take your concerns to heart. If you are unable to make a payment towards your loan, feel free to check out this *********** article for a list of temporary solutions we offer.
  
  If there is anything else I can help you with or if you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to our Client Happiness team at ************** - Monday through Friday, 5 am - 5 pm PST. 
  
  All the best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/07/2023

  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 recently updated my bank information with the company because the bank I was using is closed. Their system is very antiquated and so it was a hassle to make the change. However, once I had gotten everything fixed I expected it to run smoothly. But the I got a message saying that my autopsy bounced because the account was closed and I saw that they were still trying to use my old account after I had already tried to update it. And unlike other companies they refused to use the working bank account and thus it was a huge hassle to try to get that fixed. And when I thought it was figured out, I was shocked to find out that instead of communicating and updating my payment method they just dropped me from autopay and didnt even tell me that I had a payment coming up. To make matters worse they just raised my monthly payment without my consent or knowledge. I called and got connected with and ***** who was not helpful at all. And claimed when my late payment was done pending shell give me a call back to figure to out how to enroll me again. Of course she did not call back (and keep in mind I have had a history with this company straight up lying and being misleading and resulting in me dealing with the consequences instead of them owning up to it and being reasonable. Then I got connected with a ****** who seemed to be helpful at first. She said they raised the payment due to me not having the autopay discount (which they dropped me from and didnt tell me). She said she would need to get it approved to backdate me. She talked to the team and I have email proof that she said it was approved and they would back date me but first I needed to re-enroll. I did that and as soon as I did she now started to give me a song and dance as to why they couldnt back date for ***** So they deliberately lied and tricked me again but this time now I have the email evidence. They deliberately withheld information and I demand they backdate the payments as they said they would.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2023

  Hi ******,

  Thank you for reaching out to express your concerns and letting us know the details of your situation. Great care has been taken to review your account events and all communication to understand what happened and provide a resolution for this issue.
  
  During my investigation, I saw that the first concern you raised was that the auto payment did not pull from your new ********** account after it was added to your dashboard. Our records indicate that prior to 4/22/2023, the Chase account was added to your dashboard but not selected as the payment method for your Auto Pay from your settings, so the auto payment was pulled from your **** of America account on the scheduled payment date of 4/22/2023. Please note that simply adding a new bank account to your dashboard does not mean that it will automatically be used for any future payments. As you did back in December of last year, you would need to go to your payment settings and choose the Chase account as your new payment method. Our *********** also has a specific article that outlines the steps to add a new account to your dashboard and then select it as your new payment method.
  
  On 4/26/2023, our system received a notification that the payment failed due to the **** of America account being closed, and we immediately reached out to you that morning via email. Later that evening, our system shows that you logged on and updated your payment method to the Chase account, which was done successfully. However, looking at the account history notes closer, I see that the Auto Pay was in the process of being canceled as you added the account, and the notes indicate that your Chase account was selected exactly one second before the Auto Pay was fully canceled.
  
  That said, your next concern was regarding the lack of notice that your account was unenrolled in Auto Pay and that you were not given a notice about the discount being removed. After checking your account, I see that there was a letter regarding the cancellation of Auto Pay that was uploaded to your dashboard, dated 4/27/2023. In this notice, as your account was now unenrolled from Auto Pay, the first paragraph under your name states, "... If you were receiving an Auto Pay interest rate reduction, the benefit is no longer in effect." What this means is that the interest rate increased by ****% to align with the interest rate listed in your loan agreement. The full APR reflected on your loan agreement is ****%. It is also our policy to send an email notification asking you to log in to view any notice that has been uploaded to your dashboard. These notices are still available in your dashboard. To view, you'll sign in and select Documents from the left-side navigation menu. If you do not see a left-side navigation menu, youll need to select "Loan Details" and then "Documents". Click the downward arrow to view and download your document(s).
  
  You also mentioned that you were not given notice of your upcoming payment that was due on 5/22/2023. However, we uploaded your billing statement for *** to your online dashboard, as we have done with all other notices and billing statements since the beginning of your loan. All monthly billing statements will list your due date, and your due date will not change from the 22nd of each month unless we receive a request from you to change it. It looks like this payment was later made on 5/29/2023, which was a holiday.
  
  Following that, I see that on 5/30/2023, you were transferred over to our *************************** from our Navient payments team to discuss the payment increase and the reason for the Auto Pay being removed. ***** explained that your account was unenrolled from Auto Pay due to the notice we received about your account being closed and that our system doesnt automatically select a new account as the new payment method as that would interfere with specific regulations where you would need to provide your consent for ** to debit payments. Please note that when you open your Auto Pay settings and click Edit **** Account, there is a popup screen that reads, For adding a new bank account, click here, then return to this page to complete your payment. When you return to the page and select your new bank account as the payment method, you would be presented with the Auto Pay Authorization disclosure that you would need to agree to in order to proceed.
  Later in the call, after noticing that your manual payment was still pending, she offered to follow up with you after the payment was posted (25 business days) so that she could help walk you through the steps to re-enroll in Auto Pay. After this call ended, she saw that you called back less than 48 hours after speaking with her, so a call back was no longer needed.
  
  That brings us to your most recent call with ****** on 6/1/2023. You discussed the increase in your loan payment due to being unenrolled from Auto Pay, and you stated you attempted to reenroll, which I addressed above. She said that if there was a glitch or something out of the ordinary that happened on our end, she would ask for approval from our leadership team to possibly backdate the Auto Pay discount. Before disconnecting, she sent you an email to confirm that she would be following up with you as soon as she had an answer.
  
  On 6/5/2023, ****** received approval to backdate your Auto Pay discount and sent you a follow-up. Please note that this decision was made as a good-faith gesture as you mentioned running into issues, but we were unable to find any recently filed dashboard bugs or recent (after 4/26) attempts to enroll in Auto Pay from the history notes on your account. That said, I see that she mentioned that we would be backdating your Auto Pay discount but that your June payment would not change due to your billing statement already being generated. After you asked why the payment amount would not change, she again said that it was due to the statement being generated; however, she clarified that the discount would adjust Junes payment when the backdate request is processed after you re-enroll in Auto Pay.
  
  From 6/1/2023 to now, I see that you had enrolled and unenrolled from Auto Pay three times, and on 6/12/2023, you called to ensure you were completely unenrolled and that we could see your pending payment set to pull on 6/22/2023. I also see that we still have a pending request to backdate your Auto Pay discount, and we can process that if youre still interested in enrolling in Auto Pay and staying enrolled until just after your next billing cycle to ensure the request is complete, which would be after 6/28/2023. If you are not interested in re-enrolling or having the discount backdated, we can cancel the request. Please know that we will not be able to re-request the discount to be backdated if the request is canceled.
  
  I do hope this information helps clear up any concerns you had, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to ** by phone or email. Our email is ********************************* and our number is **************. Were available Monday through Friday, 5 a.m.5 p.m. PST.

  All the best,
  *********************
  Complaints Specialist
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/17/2023

  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, however, my satisfaction is pending on if they actually backdate the payment like they said they would and stop with the games. He clearly admitted that my auto pay update went through before it was fully cancelled. And they DID NOT email me notifying me of being unenrolled, he said that was their policy but that is not what happened and I checked my dashboard its not there.

  I will re-enroll, but make sure it an clear, they need to actually honor what he said in writing and backdate the payments and stop with the shady business practice. This is not the first time they told me something in good faith. So Im not going to hear it, backdate it, and we will be okay.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/26/2023

  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 February 8, 2023, my ex wife received a letter from Earnest dated February 6. ************************ and requesting information for the dispersal of loan funds. I immediately called Earnest notufying it that the loan was fraudulently obtained. Nevertheless, Earnest has allowed my daughter ****************** to add me to her loan of $17,000.00 despite my immediate notice to it, on February 8, 2023, that I didn't know or approve of the loan. I informed Earnest that ******* usurped my information that was required by ******** University for a possible scholarship, and used it to obtain the loan. Earnest knew ******* was not loan eligible since she has no job and lives with her mother in ********. I live in the **************. So it unethically granted the loan based on my information, and refused to take it back after notice the info was stolen. Earnest failed its due diligence responsibilities that would have avoided this mess. It never contacted me before I alerted it of the fraud, or otherwise reasonably resolved this matter after said notice and despite having my accurate information intended for scholarship. It just wants the profit off of the fraudulently obtained loan, regardless of the innocent victim thereof. Today Credit Karma notified me that the Earnest loan is now added to my account. I am researching a predatory lending type action if Earnest fails to delete my name from this phoney loan. I hope the BBB can resolve this matter.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/29/2023

  Hello *****,
  
  Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Great care has been taken to review the information you provided as well as the calls youve had with us. There are a few things I wanted to provide more clarity on.
  
  You mentioned that we refused to take back the loan after you notified us of the fraudulent activity, which is inaccurate. Our records indicate that youve notified us four times of the account that has been opened by your daughter, *******. After the first call you made to us, our team did their due diligence and reported the incident to our Fraud team which is standard procedure. Our Fraud team then did their investigation and sent you a letter that stated the reporting was accurate, however, they also included a packet for you to fill out to dispute the decision.
  
  The packet, titled Identity Theft Affidavit, included a checklist for completing the forms and pages for you to add your details about your situation before returning them back to us. On the second call you made to our Client Happiness team you confirmed that you had received this packet, and although you didnt want to fill it out, you still requested to be taken off of the loan which is not possible as there are specific steps that need to be followed, including completing and returning the Identity Theft Affidavit.
  
  To clarify, our Client Happiness team is unable to take any action on the account as they do not have the authority. All claims of fraud are handled through our Fraud team after an initial claim has been made. Furthermore, our Fraud team had sent you the necessary paperwork for further investigation which has not been returned. If you still have the packet, Id recommend completing it and returning it according to the instructions listed. 
  
  In case you no longer have the packet you were sent on February 8th 2023, or if you have any additional questions pertaining to this claim, please contact our **************** at ************.
  
  Again, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention and we hope that this is taken care of as quickly as possible.
  
  All the best,
  *********************
  Earnest Complaints Specialist
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/07/2022

  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.

  Refund of $360.00 requested November 2, 2022, Was given several different stories how the refund would be handled. Check, or ACH. The payment processing center has no information on the **** (****** Said they did)In summary, they issued a live check, after 3 weeks of not getting it, put a stop payment on it, and reissued a PAPER check again. This has caused me to move my money from my other accounts into my checking account, to avoid bounced check fees. I want the funds returned, ASAP

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/15/2022

  Hi *****,

  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your experience. I have reviewed your account to understand what happened with your refund request. 

  Our records show that a payment was made on 10/28/22 for $360.00 via bill pay (i.e., check). After your Auto Pay went through on 11/03/22, you requested a refund of the check payment. When we process refunds, we do so according to who originally submitted the payment. This means that our team initiated a refund to be sent back to ******** on 11/16/22. We recognize that there was an urgency to receive the funds back and have them direct deposited. Unfortunately, we encountered a processing error when updating the delivery pathway where the system reverted the refund to be sent via check rather than ACH. This resulted in a delay in the funds being received. I can confirm that the refund was successfully processed on 12/08/22 and will be direct deposited into the account ending in ****. ACH deposits typically take 2-5 business days to reflect in the account. Please let us know if you do not receive the refund by the end of the week.
  

  In addition, we are actively investigating how we can mitigate this moving forward. While we are glad that the funds were returned, we regret the obstacles and any inconvenience you encountered. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. 
  

  All the best, 
  ***********************; 
  Complaint Specialist