Consumer complaint received 2021-12-02
Company: Upgrade, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Getting a line of credit

Complaint:
Dates and Etc are all most rough estimates. I will include the exact dates when I have them. Estimated dates will include a ~ to be exact. 

XXXX : Placed a loan application with Upgrade. 
XX/XX/2021 : I received an email asking me to update my loan application with two most recent paystubs and consecutive paystubs. I was also asked to appoint my payoffs on the loan through this. 
XXXX : I uploaded documents above that were requested. I appointed my payoffs and tried to indicate that I wanted a current Upgrade loan to be paid off but their system does not allow you to choose to get this paid off. They make you manually pay it off after the loan is dispersed which is quite alarming when they allow this for all external lenders. 
XX/XX/2021 : I called Upgrade ~5 times this particular day at XXXX - XXXX - XXXX. I received 3 to 4 different answers. I was told I needed to now upload bank statements to verify my income. I was told that my application was being received. I was told that I hadn't uploaded documents. I was told we needed to call my bank. So many different things no one was consistent. 
XXXX : I gave up and decided to be nice to myself and show myself some love. 
XX/XX/2021 : I uploaded more documentation which was 1 bank statement which is what I found out I needed. Mind you I had to call and find all this stuff out on my own this lender did nothing to even alert me a bank statement was needed. 
XX/XX/2021 : On this call I was told because my XX/XX/2021 paystub didn't reflect on the bank statement they couldn't accept my bank statements. Yet there were two payroll deposits on the bank statement from XXXX XXXX, their underwriting model is a checkbox and they are not allowed to think out of the box. I felt as though I was being accused of committing fraud. 
XX/XX/2021 : I was told that all the documentation was received and that the manager said the file would be looked at again today because I provided yet more documentation. 
XX/XX/2021 : I received an email that I needed to call within 3 days to answer a couple of questions. So I called. 
XX/XX/2021 : I called Upgrade and once again given the run around. Now all of a sudden their asking for a W2, I informed them of this CFPB complaint being filed. I was sent to verifications where they said I needed to provide a W2. Then the manager gets on the phone and gets rid of the W2 requirement but fails short when she doesn't know how to overcome the additional bank statement and implies indirectly that I am committing fraud I feel. 

Overall this experience from XX/XX/2021 to today has been horrible. I want to refinance out of a loan which as a customer of theirs shows that Upgrade has XXXX XXXX and no customer loyalty. This isn't the second loan I am taking out from them and will never use them again. This bank got an investment of $ XXXX and they do not allow their underwriters to use common sense. As a credit risk and lending professional for the past 20 years this is horrible.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation