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:06/12/2024

  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 received an offer from Rategenius in my mailbox stating that I qualified for a 3.75% APR on my car payment instead of the 3.95% I pay now. The provided link directed me to submit my information to take advantage of this offer. After submitting my information, Rategenius pulled my credit report. Two days later, an agent called and informed me that the 3.75% APR was not available, and the lowest rate they currently offer is nearly 6%. The advertisement sent to my mailbox was misleading and false, and it negatively impacted my credit score. Rategenius was not truthful about the best rate they could provide and should stop sending such deceptive offers.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2024

  We appreciate the opportunity to review this customer's concerns. We strive to provide full transparency to our customers by presenting all disclosures on the back of our mailing letters,on our website, and prior to the application submission as the customer must select I agree to proceed. A member of our management team has reached out by phone to this customer, but we have been unsuccessful in reaching them.
  
  RateGenius is a third-party broker and we must submit the application to a lender for final approval.Prequalification estimate letters are based on public and limited information available, they are not guaranteed or pre-approvals. We refer this customer to the back of the mailing letter for Terms and Conditions or to our website FAQ.
  
  Once an application is complete and an official credit inquiry is made by a lender, these estimates are recalculated according to what the lenders can offer. While we understand this customer's concerns, the customer must meet certain qualifications for alternate offers. At this time, the customer does not wish to proceed with the offer they qualified for.
  
  If the customer has any additional questions, please call our main line at ************. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/06/2024

  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 called rategenius in early May to refinance my call. My first question was is there a fee for using you. I was told no. I worked with ************************* after this and asked him if there was a fee, he said. What I signed through docusign didn't show a fee. I would never have used them if there was a fee. It was not a 1% saving in my current rate, so it made no sense to do this and pay a fee. I got sent a document with the breakdown on June 5 but never saw this when I docusigne it. This fee was hidden and lied to me about. I would've never did this refinance if I knew of this $549 fee

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/07/2024

  We appreciate the opportunity to review this customers concerns. ******************** strives to provide full transparency regarding our process and we are disappointed to hear this customer may not have received such at this time.

  Our loan specialists are required to disclose any fees associated with our refinance process and provide them in writing within the contract for full transparency. Upon further review of recorded calls, our findings conclude our representatives were within compliance regarding the disclosure of any fees involved.
  
  A member of our management team reached out to this customer by phone and discussed his concerns. Due to the signed contracts and disclosure of the APR which includes any fees, we cannot reimburse this customer. Should this customer have any additional questions, we invite him to give our escalations line a call at **************. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/10/2024

  Complaint: 21810847
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I asked beimfore starting this if there were any fees with refinancing with you, I was told ni.   I don't remember being told on our phone conversation that  the $549 was rate genius fee I thought what I signed was to start process, not the final contract. I got text a week later asking to get a payoff amount which continue ne to believe they were putting the final numbers down for me to sign. Please listen to their call to see if they said finance fee. I also to to split fee 50 50 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2024

  Upon a thorough review of this customer's calls, there were no calls found wherein the customer asked about fees, either prior to the application being completed and submitted to lenders for approval per the customer's request, or during the contracting process with the loan specialist. 
  
  After the application was completed and an offer was made by a lender, the loan specialist called the customer to confirm details of the application prior to providing final numbers in the offer. The loan specialist informed the customer that this included the need for obtaining a payoff, which the loan specialist was able to do after the call with the customer.
  
  When the loan specialist called the customer back to present the offer, the loan specialist did offer the interest rate as well as the APR (annual percentage rate) which is interest plus fees. The customer acknowledged the rates presented, as well as the change in monthly payments, and accepted the offer as presented. The loan specialist then provided next steps for moving forward with the offer, which included signing contract documents.
  
  During the signing process, the loan specialist walked the customer through the electronic signing and remained available for any questions the customer may have had. One of the main documents presented to the customer was the Truth in Lending Disclosure. This provides all details of the loan, including but not limited to: the APR, doc processing fee, the loan term, and the monthly payment amounts. The customer advised that he did not have any questions and did sign this and all other required documents.
  
  Again, the loan specialist was in compliance regarding disclosure of fees and of the fact that the customer was signing contractual documents for a new loan. The customer was also instructed to print, sign and have notarized, documents allowing for the title to be transferred into the new ************************* name, which the customer did do.
  
  For these reasons, we are unable to provide the requested reimbursement. A member of our management team did speak with the customer to explain the process and answer his questions, however he has indicated that he would remain dissatisfied unless reimbursement was issued. As such, we are unable to fully satisfy the customer, having done all that we can do to assist, and therefor consider this matter closed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/17/2024

  Complaint: 21810847
  
  I am rejecting this response because: my first contact t with them, I did ask about a fee.  If i was told there was afee, i wouldve hung up and be done with it. A follow up call I had with them after my complaint with BBB, I referenced splitting the fee 50/50.  Can BBB listen to the tapes they have because both sides are far apart. The tape won't show i was told rate genius fee was the $549. I have never refinanced before where I signed a contract and was asked to get a payoff amount, never.  What if my payoff was more than my contract
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/22/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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 applied to refinance my vehicle through Rate Genius mid February. After uploading what was needed, the process began. On February 26th, 2024 *********************** gave me the payment quote and terms for my refinance through ******************** I replied with a few questions in regards to the interest rate and she quickly replied on February 29, 2024. On March 4th I confirmed that I wanted to refinance at 60 months at 6.59% with no optional coverage. As soon as I opted for no optional coverage the communication and customer service began to lag drastically. My documents were messed up 2 times by the company with no apologies for the running around they had me doing. The final paperwork had been sent in on March 25th and after confirming receipt of the documents, I inquired if I should hold off on my first payment. I was told specifically to make the April payment as it may take a few weeks to send out the payoff. On April 18th I got this message "Hi ********, bad news the approval expired. We would need to resubmit you for a new approval. Assuming the approval comes back the same all we should need is like a new doc u sign. But, we would need to pull credit again and there is always a chance it comes back declined." I did everything that was asked of me and was diligent in trying to get this refinance finalized. My financial advisor called on 4/19/2024 to see if we could use the old credit report, since it was no fault of my own that it expired. We have had no communication or help at all. I would like this refinance to be finalized ASAP without another credit pull.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint.
  
  Our primary goal here at RateGenius is to provide the best customer experience possible while assisting with their auto financing needs. We are saddened to hear that this customer's experience was not to the standards we strive for.
  
  A manager has reached out to the customer to discuss and address this complaint. Through working with the customer we were able to resolve the issue and assist the customer with completing the refinance process.
  
  We again apologize to the customer for the confusion and inconvenience. We thank the customer for their patience and understanding throughout this process. Should the customer have any additional questions or concerns, we invite them to reach out to our escalations line at ************ and we would be very happy to assist the customer further.
  
  Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2024

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/22/2024

  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 applied for an auto-refinancing loan over a month ago. March 15th. I submitted ALL of the necessary documentation with 2 days. I spoke with ********************* on the phone shortly there after and the application was submitted and accepted by the lender. I let **** know my phone availability because he insisted going over "numbers" on the phone. Crickets from **** for several weeks or he would randomly call at times I had told him I was unavailable. I reminded him of the exact times I was available and again, no response to my text messages and no calls for several weeks. After we finally we're able to connect via phone then insisted that I sign documents *while on the phone. I said no, I will review these and sign them within 24 hours, which is what I did after asking several unanswered questions via text. (I found the answers myself) I printed papers, notarized, and dropped in ***** on APRIL 12th! He received them last Monday, the 15th and stated shortly thereafter that all was good, I sent latest paystubs as requested immediately and he said lender had approved everything. More crickets until Saturday, April 20th, when **** texted saying the loan offer had expired... and we needed to sign new documents and they needed to do ANOTHER hard pull on my credit. I asked how it had expired and **** didn't directly respond, simply said "I understand" and then WITHOUT my permission I received an email saying "We're sorry you declined our loan offer". I didn't decline anything. **** refused to communicated properly and execute the loan in a timely manner. I spent hours collecting and sending information, there were SEVERAL hard pulls on my credit AND I spent $20 on a notary with these papers. He couldn't answer me how the loan had expire and on whose end had it expired!! If you get **** as a loan specialist, request a different one because this has been a HUGE PAIN and I cannot reapply for other refinancing now because it will affect my credit negatively now!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2024

  We appreciate the opportunity to review this customer's concerns as we strive to provide the best possible experience to our customers.We are disappointed to hear this customer did not receive such an experience from us at this time. A member of our management team has attempted to contact this customer by phone, however, we have been unsuccessful in speaking with her.
  
  We invite this customer to give our escalations line a call at her convenience at ************** and we would be happy to discuss her concerns. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2024

  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.

  Same complaint as others here - the RateGenius website clearly states that only a Soft Pull occurs with no impact to credit. I got a credit notification today that my score had decreased by 5pts due to a hard pull by guess who? None other than the lenders that work with RateGenius. I called into RateGenius and the agent confirmed that YES there had been a hard pull and congratulations we have lenders for you! But guess what, I did not agree knowingly, key word is knowingly agree or consent to this hard credit pull. Your business had become familiar what are called Dark Web Patterns, which are practices by business like yours to deceive a customer online into taking an action they do not want to take.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/01/2024

  
  Thank you for the opportunity to review this customer feedback. We strive to provide the customer with full transparency regarding our process, and a member of the management team addressed this customer's concerns by phone.
  
  We are a third-party broker and must ultimately submit the application to our lenders for final approval. The customer did not qualify for alternative rates at this time and has declined to move forward with the only offer we received. RateGenius does not offer pre-approvals or guaranteed offers, and certain qualifications must be met for alternate terms. Until a lender performs a credit inquiry, they do not have all the details necessary to make an informed decision on the potential loan.
  
  While we understand this customer's concerns, this can be the outcome during the refinance process. We refer the customer to review the terms and conditions presented below, as well as through email directly.Additionally, the credit disclosure is provided before applying, to which he must check the I agree box in order to proceed.
  
  RateGenius Terms: (on the website *********************************** )
  Electronic Document Policy: Within Terms of Use section B
  Terms of Use: ***********************************terms-of-use/ 
  Privacy Policy: ***********************************privacy-policy/ 
  Legal: ***********************************legal/ 
  
              You authorize us to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency for the purpose of evaluating your credit options for financing your vehicle through our network of lenders, lending partners and third parties (Lender Network);
              You authorize any party in the Lender Network, to which we have submitted your application for credit, to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency in order to evaluate your application;
              You acknowledge that we and any party in the Lender Network may retain your loan application information in order to comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations;
              You agree and acknowledge that any information provided to you by us is for reference and informational purposes only and cannot be construed as any form of guarantee that any mentioned results will be achieved. You agree and acknowledge that any statements we make do not constitute a personal recommendation, a professional opinion, or financial, legal, or any other type of advice, is not binding, and has not considered all of the specific circumstances, metrics, and/or objectives that apply to you. You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for your own financial research, decisions,and actions. Your use of any information and/or materials from us is entirely at your own risk, and we cannot be held liable or responsible for any decision or action you take or authorize any third party to take on your behalf based on information you receive from us while using our Website;
              You acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy;
              You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that that you will meet the approval criteria or creditworthiness for any particular offer or that a lender will make you an offer to finance your loan;
              You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that a lender will finance your loan at specific terms and conditions, including a specific interest rate or APR;
  
  Due to the above agreed upon terms and conditions as well as service provide, RateGenius will not remove any hard credit inquiries. If this is a case of identity theft, we advise the customer to file a police report and provide us with a copy to remove inquiries. Should this customer have any additional questions, we invite him to contact our escalations line to speak with a representative. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/27/2024

  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 received a sales flyer from RateGenius stating Ia 5.28% Car Loan. I have a 830 credit rating and sent in all the paperwork which took me over an hour to complete the process. A representative from RateGenius offered me a 6.8% Loan. Why do companies send consumers in our State false advertising offers?

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/28/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to review this customers concerns. We strive to provide full transparency throughout our refinance process and are concerned to review this feedback.
  
  Rategenius is a third party broker who must submit the application to a lender for final approval. All pre-qualification estimates on the mailer are not guaranteed or final approvals. Until a lender performs a hard inquiry, we do not know what the customer will qualify for. This is disclosed on the back of the mailing letter and presented prior to the submission of the application, to which the customer must select I agree to proceed.
  
  At this time, the customer was approved by one of our in-network lenders, however, he declined to accept this offer. This customer must meet alternate qualifications to receive alternate terms from our lenders.
  
  We have attempted to contact this customer however; we have been unsuccessful in reaching him. Should this customer have any additional questions or concerns, we invite him to contact us at **************. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/29/2024

  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.

  This occurred earlier today. The Rate Genius website CLEARLY states in bold print that there is no impact to credit score to find out what you qualify for yet they immediately hit my credit with a hard inquiry. This is VERY deceptive with relation to ethical business practices. While I am told that there is fine print that if not read includes wording that by entering your SSN, that gives them permission to run the hard inquiries. I get that and I've likely harmed my score without the possibility to get them to delete those inquiries. This business needs to be more forthcoming. My primary reason for posting this now is to WARN others to STAY AWAY... unless you don't care about your credit. Also, pay attention to any details they give you about potential offers. The loan specialist I was dealing with paid ZERO attention to my requirements.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/01/2024

  Hello and thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint.
  
  When completing an application on RateGenius' website, the system does perform a soft-credit pull in order to determine if we have a high likelihood of getting an approval from one of the lenders in our marketplace and what those rates and terms could be. The system provides rates when, based on the information provided, there was a pre-qualification (not necessarily an approval) for a rate that was better than the customers current loan. This soft-credit pull does not affect customer's credit scores.
   
  However, prior to moving forward with submitting this application to a lender, the customer must complete the entire application and then agree to the terms provided by way of a check box. These terms include a hard-credit pull disclosure stating that by submitting the application the customer was agreeing to having their application sent to our lender network with the intent of obtaining an auto loan. A customer cannot submit the application without checking this box.
  
  In this way, RateGenius is doing everything we can to minimize impact on customers' credit scores while still finding the best rates and terms in the market today. 
  
  We did receive a completed application from this customer, with authorization for pulling credit, with the intent to obtain an offer for an auto loan. We are obligated to treat all applications without bias under the assumption that the customer understood what they were agreeing to and truly desired for us to seek out an offer. For these reasons we are unable to remove any inquiries the customer received.
  
  We understand the customer's concerns and are saddened to hear that we were unable to assist them with their auto financing needs. Per the customer's request, we have refrained from making any contact, closed his application, and put him on do-not-contact.
  
  Should the customer have any additional questions or concerns, we would be very happy to assist him! We invite him to give our escalations line a call at ************ and we would be happy to help!
  
  Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2024

  Complaint: 21216491
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  While the system requires the check box, it does not clearly state that a hard pull will be performed.  However, both the offer i received, and the website both state no impact to my credit when applying.  This is the data I went off.  The unprofessionalism of the loan specialist I dealt with was not acceptable.  Please rectify and make your site more DIRECT.  Make your loan specialists accountable for how they treat people.  Your simple response does NOT address the issues.

   

  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  Our primary goal at RateGenius is to provide the best customer experience possible while assisting with their auto financing needs. This includes providing clear and transparent information as much as possible for our customers. We have done this in the following ways.
  
  When going through the application process, our system is able to pull a soft credit inquiry so as to determine the likelihood of obtaining an offer from one of our lenders and what those rates *** be. This soft credit inquiry done while applying does not affect credit.
  
  However, in order to obtain an actual offer from a lender, the application must be submitted to a lender for an official credit inquiry. This is explained on the submission page online under "Terms":
  
  "By submitting this application, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (Terms); that you are at least 18 years of age and that all the information provided is true, correct and complete and you grant ********** to RateGenius and/or its Lenders to obtain a copy of your credit report."
  
  It is below this disclosure that the check box appears asking the customer if they agree to the terms.
  
  The word "Terms" links to a comprehensive disclosure page describing in detail what all the terms are that the customer is agreeing to, including the following:
  
  "By submitting an application, you represent that you have read, understand, and agree to the following...
  
  ...You authorize us to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency for the purpose of evaluating your credit options for financing your vehicle through our network of lenders, lending partners and third parties (Lender Network)"
  
  This information is also provided on all mail advertisements that customers *** receive providing pre-qualification estimates.
  
  As it pertains to the customer's loan specialist, we do apologize for any and all lack of professionalism that *** have been provided. Again, our primary goal is to provide the best customer experience possible, which includes the utmost professionalism and respect. 
  
  The customer did speak with their loan specialist's manager who was made aware of the matter so as to address it with the loan specialist accordingly.
  
  Being that the customer requested no contact, ******************** has done all that we can to address this complaint and assist the customer. Should the customer have additional questions or concerns, we again invite him to contact our escalations line at ************ and we would be very happy to assist him further. Otherwise, we are considering this matter closed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/02/2024

  Complaint: 21216491
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  while I appreciate the response about the specialist, regardless of the terms being hidden in a document stating the authorization to pull credit. I get that. But it still does not address the deception. Everywhere I went on the site and in the offer letter received, it specifically mentions that it will not affect my credit. The. You hide that phrase inside a document. 
  

  What I want you guys to do is to simply REMOVE the wording stating no affect to credit or put an asterisk in it with wording on a foot note stating that proceeding with certain agreements or check boxes your credit will indeed be pulled  it IS deceptive to hide it in a document yet broadcast everywhere that it will not affect me  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/12/2024

  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.

  I refinanced my auto loan through them. They tacked on gap insurance without explaining to me that they were doing that. Instead of reducing my loan the new loan raised my principal by $2000. When the loan paperwork came and I realized this. I called ******* and left her a message. She never called me back. I have been trying to cancel the gap insurance since and just keep getting the run around. It's been 3 months.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to review this customers feedback. We strive to provide our customers with the best experience possible and are disappointed to hear that she did not receive such an experience from us at this time. Per recorded calls, the *** coverage was disclosed accurately and within compliance guidelines. A member of our escalations team has reached out to this customer to discuss her concerns and provided all requested information.
  
  Should this customer have any additional questions or concerns, we invite her to call our escalations line at  **************. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2024

  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 applied for credit with this business for an auto loan refinance. The business contacted me to tell me I was approved and my loan professional's name is *************************.. She told me she could save me one percent (to 6.5% APR) on my interest rate with the same term that I currently have but my payment would increase. I was confused so I asked why and she said there were costs associated with the offer to which I said well it doesn't seem like it makes sense if you charge high fees she then hung up and sent me an email confirming me declining my offer. I called back because I wanted clarification on the fees they were charging and the representative told me the offer "INCLUDED GAP COVERAGE" To which I said I would decline it - she then told me my payment would go down and I said yes I would take advantage of that so she passed my file to a new representative. This representative called me and informed me he could not give me any better deal than I currently have on my auto loan and could not see where the previous representative offered me 6.5% APR. I feel as if this is a shady business practice and needs to be addressed by removing the inquiry from my credit. I do not feel like lending or credit laws were being followed during this interaction.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/12/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to review and address this customer feedback. We strive to provide the customer with the best possible experience and are disappointed to hear this customer did not receive such at this time.
  
  A member of our management team has contacted and resolved this customer's concerns by phone. This customer declined to move forward with the offer received at this time. Due to the authorization received at the time the application was submitted, and agreed upon terms and conditions, we are unable to remove any credit inquiry at this time.

  Should this customer have any additional questions or concerns, we invite him to contact our escalations line at **************. Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/15/2024

  Complaint: 21103239
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  the management personnel who reached out to me did not provide me with a reasonable resolution and instead told me I was in the wrong. Even though this manager states they heard the loan representative NOT disclose the price of products they were offering without telling me they say it was my fault. The manager who reached out was argumentative and had no desire to help me and instead told me why I was wrong and their employee was right.  
  

  another manager reached out to me aside from this BBB complaint and admitted wrong doing on behalf of their employee. This credit inquiry should be removed. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/15/2024

  We have further investigated this customer's concerns and consider this complaint resolved. We are a third-party broker and must ultimately submit the application to our lenders for final approval. The customer did not qualify for alternative rates at this time and has declined to move forward with the only offer we received. RateGenius does not offer pre-approvals or guaranteed offers, and certain qualifications must be met for alternate terms. Until a lender performs a credit inquiry, they do not have all the details necessary to make an informed decision on your potential loan.
  
  While we understand this customer's concerns, we cannot remove an inquiry due to dissatisfaction with the service provided. We refer the customer to review the terms and conditions presented below. Additionally, the credit disclosure is provided before applying, to which he must check the I agree box in order to proceed.
  
  RateGenius Terms: (on the website *********************************** )
  Electronic Document Policy: Within Terms of Use section B
  Terms of Use: ***********************************terms-of-use/ 
  Privacy Policy: ***********************************privacy-policy/ 
  Legal: ***********************************legal/ 
  
  You authorize us to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency for the purpose of evaluating your credit options for financing your vehicle through our network of lenders, lending partners and third parties (Lender Network);
  You authorize any party in the Lender Network, to which we have submitted your application for credit, to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency in order to evaluate your application;
  You acknowledge that we and any party in the Lender Network may retain your loan application information in order to comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations;
  You agree and acknowledge that any information provided to you by us is for reference and informational purposes only and cannot be construed as any form of guarantee that any mentioned results will be achieved. You agree and acknowledge that any statements we make do not constitute a personal recommendation, a professional opinion, or financial, legal, or any other type of advice, is not binding, and has not considered all of the specific circumstances, metrics, and/or objectives that apply to you. You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for your own financial research, decisions, and actions. Your use of any information and/or materials from us is entirely at your own risk, and we cannot be held liable or responsible for any decision or action you take or authorize any third party to take on your behalf based on information you receive from us while using our Website;
  You acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy;
  You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that that you will meet the approval criteria or creditworthiness for any particular offer or that a lender will make you an offer to finance your loan;
  You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that a lender will finance your loan at specific terms and conditions, including a specific interest rate or APR;
  
  Due to the above agreed upon terms and conditions as well as service provide, RateGenius will not remove any hard credit inquiries.Should this customer have any additional questions, we invite him to contact our escalations line to speak with a representative.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/16/2024

  Complaint: 21103239
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  the business states:

  The customer did not qualify for alternative rates at this time and has declined to move forward with the only offer we received in their reply but this is false information. In my online portal there were several options with different terms and the original rate that was offered to me after I called back was not available. So the original rate with an undisclosed service slammed into the total payment was then never offered to me. This makes me think they were only offering me a lower rate if I buy an extra service from them. So I am not dissatisfied with the service provided, I am dissatisfied with dishonest business dealings. I am asking for the inquiry to be removed due to dishonesty, this is a YOU problem that you are trying to make a ME problem. YOUR representative was shady and I was not given full disclosure on a product represented to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2023

  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.

  I filed out a pre-qualification application on their website that clearly states no impact on credit score which is a soft inquiry. I agreed to the soft credit inquiry that they advertised. I got notifications from my credit monitoring that a lender did a hard inquiry on my Equifax credit report. I contacted the lender Pentagon credit union to see what was going on with the hard ************** advised me that it was rate genius that submitted it to them. Once i heard this i contacted rate genius immediately about this & clearly explained to them that i did NOT authorize them to do a hard inquiry on my credit i agreed to the soft inquiry just to see what rates they have on their auto refinancing offers. They told me they will not have the hard inquiry removed even after i clearly explained to them that i didn't agree to that & it was only supposed to be a soft credit inquiry. I called several times to try & get this resolved but they refused to help fix this situation. I just want the unauthorized hard credit inquiry to be removed from my Equifax that's since i did not agree to that.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/18/2023

   

   

  All pr

  Thank you for the opportunity to review this customers feedback. All pre-qualification estimates are based on limited and public information, as disclosed prior to submitting an application. Until a lender performs a hard inquiry and considers further information, we are unable to present customers with final numbers. Alternate qualifications must be met in order to receive alternate financing terms.
  
  We did receive a completed application from this customer from our website with authorization and desire to send to a lender for pulling credit for the purpose of obtaining an offer for an auto loan. Unfortunately,our lenders were unable to assist this customer with an offer that improves on his current loan. Please know this is not the outcome we expected, however this can be the result during the refinance process.
  
  A member of our management team has reached out to the customer via phone to explain the process and address all of the customers concerns. At this time, due to the services provided and the agreed upon terms,we are unable to remove any inquiries. The customer was provided with the managers direct contact information. If the customer has any additional questions or concerns, we invite him to reach out and we would be happy to assist him.
  
  Please note that our hours of operation are 7:00am-7:00pm MST Monday-Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm MST on Saturday with no hours on Sunday.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/18/2023

  Complaint: 21009971
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Im very knowledgeable on credit i have 800 fico scores across all 3 credit bureaus. I read the website clearly I've even attached the email that shows where it said my credit score will not be effected if they simply just run the numbers so they can show me. Why would i agree to terms that are worse than my current loan that wouldn't make any sense. Spoke to several customer service members & none of them could answer why would someone accept worse loan terms than what they currently have. Im not new to purchasing vehicles & refinancing vehicles. A soft inquiry supposed to mean just that. I got no email from the female who was supposed to be a manager or something earlier. I've waited for it & never received it. I wouldn't recommend doing business with rategenius if you are someone who cares about their credit history. I told all of my family & friends about this experience & explained to them how they tricked me with false advertising on their website & the email they sent me & wouldn't even help get the unauthorized hard credit inquiry. Will have to higher a credit repair agency to get this resolved. Apply for financing & refinancing directly with banks & credit unions.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/27/2023

  We have further investigated this customer's concerns and consider this complaint resolved. The customer submitted the application with full authorization to pull credit through our website. Pre-qualification estimates are not guaranteed offers or pre-approvals, and pre-qualification offers are based on limited public information, as disclosed when applying.
  
  We are a third-party broker and must ultimately submit the application to our lenders for final approval. The customer did not qualify for alternative rates at this time and has declined to move forward with the only offer we received. RateGenius does not offer pre-approvals or guaranteed offers, and certain qualifications must be met for alternate terms. Until a lender performs a credit inquiry, they do not have all the details necessary to make an informed decision on your potential loan.
  
  While we understand this customer's concerns, this can be the outcome during the refinance process. We refer the customer to review the terms and conditions presented below, as well as through email directly.Additionally, the credit disclosure is provided before applying, to which he must check the I agree box in order to proceed.
  
  RateGenius Terms: (on the website *********************************** )
  Electronic Document Policy: Within Terms of Use section B
  Terms of Use: ***********************************terms-of-use/ 
  Privacy Policy: ***********************************privacy-policy/ 
  Legal: ***********************************legal/ 
  
  - You authorize us to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency for the purpose of evaluating your credit options for financing your vehicle through our network of lenders, lending partners and third parties (Lender Network);
  - You authorize any party in the Lender Network, to which we have submitted your application for credit, to pull your credit report and obtain related information about you from one or more consumer reporting agency in order to evaluate your application;
  - You acknowledge that we and any party in the Lender Network may retain your loan application information in order to comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations;
  - You agree and acknowledge that any information provided to you by us is for reference and informational purposes only and cannot be construed as any form of guarantee that any mentioned results will be achieved. You agree and acknowledge that any statements we make do not constitute a personal recommendation, a professional opinion, or financial, legal, or any other type of advice, is not binding, and has not considered all of the specific circumstances, metrics, and/or objectives that apply to you. You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for your own financial research, decisions, and actions. Your use of any information and/or materials from us is entirely at your own risk, and we cannot be held liable or responsible for any decision or action you take or authorize any third party to take on your behalf based on information you receive from us while using our Website;
  - You acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy;
  - You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that that you will meet the approval criteria or creditworthiness for any particular offer or that a lender will make you an offer to finance your loan;
  - You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that a lender will finance your loan at specific terms and conditions, including a specific interest rate or APR;
  
  Due to the above agreed upon terms and conditions as well as service provided, RateGenius will not remove any hard credit inquiries. Should this customer have any additional questions, we invite him to contact our escalations line to speak with a representative.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/28/2023

  Complaint: 21009971
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As i stated before im someone who takes credit very seriously. Anybody how continuously work on their credit profiles know what a soft inquiry is versus a hard inquiry. I got a REAL soft inquiry from a honest & truthfully site like *********** for auto refinance & guess what everyone? It did NOT effect my credit score at all. I advise everyone to read their negative reviews like i wish i did beforehand. Take your business elsewhere & to truthful companies thats not going to disregard their own advertised steps. They wont go from step 1 to step 4 immediately without your knowledge. I have done business with many companies that are truthful & i have never had to make a BBB complaint on a company. This is my first ever BBB complaint so that should tell anyone who reads this i was truly deceived & still upset about it. For a company to not take accountability & STILL refuse to fix this simple issue just imagine if it's something more than this. You'll be left high & dry to fix it yourself on your dime.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************