Consumer complaint received 2021-05-25
Company: Self Financial Inc.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: CD (Certificate of Deposit)
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, Self Lender Help at cancel@self.inc with the message below : Greetings, I would like to pay off my self account early. Having the account has not helped my credit, rather it has caused as much as a XXXX point reduction at the beginning that I have worked to bounce back from. It's become clear to me that self was not the best situation to help my credit as it also negatively hurt my " average length of credit history '' drastically. 

Can you tell me how I can make a single payment to cover the interests and fees, so as not to owe self ANYTHING upon ending the relationship with self? 

Lastly, I would like to pay it off on or around the XX/XX/XXXX. 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - On XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX I received an automated response. Later, at XXXX I received the following email from help@self.inc : Hello, Thank you for reaching out to us in regards to paying off the account early. Our records indicate that the buy out amount to satisfy the account in full is : {$390.00}. We apologize for the experience you have received. The way that the credit builder works is to help you build credit and save money at the same time. I am sorry to hear that your score was impacted negatively, however we recommend that you reach out directly to the 3 bureaus to see how your score is calculated and comprised. Please follow these instructions to make a one time manual payment : 1. Login to your Self Account 2. Go to the " My Account '' tab 3. Click " Make a Payment '' Please let us know if you have further questions. 

Regards, How would you rate my reply? 
Great Okay Not Good -- XXXX I continued to email back and forth because their responses were not consistent with what was presented in the application on my cellphone. For instance, when attempting to close out the account, nowhere did it show a final payment amount, just the option to pay {$25.00} or you could enter an amount. I entered {$390.00}. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - On XX/XX/XXXX I paid the remaining balance of {$390.00} via the Self Lender App on my phone as I had made precious payments. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I received an email from help@selflender.com with the message below : " ACH payment successfully submitted Hi XXXX, Thank you for your payment on your Self XXXX XXXX  Account. Payment ID XXXX will apply to your account, pending final authorization from your bank. The electronic debit in the amount of {$390.00} will be deducted from your bank account on XX/XX/XXXX. 

If you did not make this change please call us at XXXX. If you have any questions, you can contact us at help@self.inc. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I received the following email from no-reply@self.inc : CONGRATS your credit builder account is complete Congrats! You completed your credit builder account! 

You've saved an estimated {$520.00} and have established 4 months of payment history with the credit bureaus. 

We will electronically deposit your savings into your XXXX XXXX XXXX account ending in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. You will receive an email from us once we've sent your electronic deposit. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - XX/XX/XXXX, {$390.00} posted to my XXXX XXXX XXXX account ending with XXXX as having been withdrawn just like every other previous Self Lender payment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX after having received every payment prior to receiving my final payment, and the funds withdrawn on all instances including funds for the final payment, I received this message from Self Lender : Self - Supporting Documentation Required Hi XXXX XXXX During a routine review of your Self account we have determined that well need some further documentation from you in order to complete that review. Verifying your identity and payment information helps us keep your account secure and is required by law. In order to complete this request, please upload the listed documents to your profile here. 
State Issued Driver 's License Bank Statement ending in XXXX If youre unable to provide one or all of these documents, see this Help page which lists alternatives and explains our requests. 

In order to verify your account and complete our review, well need to receive your files within 15 days of this request. If we dont receive your documents by the 15 day deadline, well need to close your account. Please dont hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns. 
Thanks, The Self Team self.inc P.S. Have you downloaded our app yet? Manage your account while on-the-go, anytime, anywhere. 


Upon receiving this email I submitted front and back copies of my license, a picture of me holding my license, a front copy of the payment book for the account XXXX issued by the XXXX  XXXX XXXX along with a 'still-attached ' payment slip of a payment made where I wrote " PAID '' and " VOID '' across the front. This payment book cover and slip provides all of the information necessary to verify that I am who I day I am. Because my statements are XXXXXXXX, I made a video of me logging into my account and scrolling to every Self debit/payment in the account. I did not email the video to them because I am unable to do so on the form they provided, and sending it via email is a great risk as all of the account details are present for thieves and hackers or any person lacking integrity. 

I have emailed Self repeatedly, they have not responded. I have called, the message I receive simply says, 'if I'm calling because I have to verify my account, they will only respond via email, and it will take three days from the time I submit my documents for my account to be reviewed [ Paraphrased ]. After that, it just hangs up. Self has not responded to any of my emails or requests for a representative to call me. 

Self has stated in its email : " Verifying your identity and payment information helps us keep your account secure and is required by law. '' It would seem to me that Self did not follow the law when it established my account by appropriately verifying my identity as the other financial institutions that I bank with have. To make matters worse, after making ON-TIME payments for months, informing them that their credit builder services did not work in my case and rather severely hurt my credit, hence the reason I decide to payoff the balance and end the relationship with Self. In response, Self is now treating me like I have committed a crime. They have limited my access to the account. They will not respond to my emails or calls. They have taken my money and by their actions seem to be attempting to punish me possibly for raising awareness that their system of building credit did not work for me. Their actions seem quite retaliatory. If Self had verified my identity as required by law for me to establish an account, why now, after I have paid them that they are doing this. They have not offered any explanation, they have simply taken my money and shut me out. I have done nothing to deserve this treatment. If Self violated the law that they themselves supposedly enforce, I believe they should be held account to the standard and an infraction imposed on them for violating the publics trust by not fully verifying ones identity when first establishing an account. 

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Included in Self Lender 's computer generated emails : All XXXX XXXX Accounts made by XXXX XXXX Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender or XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. Subject to ID Verification. Individual borrowers must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident and at least XXXX XXXX XXXX. Valid bank account and Social Security Number are required. All loans are subject to consumer report review and approval. Results are not guaranteed. Improvement in your credit score is dependent on your specific situation and financial behavior. Failure to make monthly minimum payments by the payment due date each month may result in delinquent payment reporting to credit bureaus which may negatively impact your credit score. This product will not remove negative credit history from your credit report. All loans subject to approval. All XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( XXXX XXXX are deposited in XXXX XXXX  Member FDIC, XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX FDIC or XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX FDIC. 

XXXX XXXX Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender XXXX XXXX, XXXX. Member FDIC, XXXX Housing LendeXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender XXXX Self Financial , Inc., XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX, XXXX, TX XXXX. All rights reserved. 
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Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation