Consumer complaint received 2023-11-10
Company: Tally Technologies
State: WA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Problem when making payments

Complaint:
I have been unemployed since XX/XX/2023 and was barely making my payments with my unemployment, but I made it work because on time payments have always been a point of pride for me when it comes to my credit. Unfortunately, my unemployment ran out in XX/XX/2023 leaving me with XXXX income to make payments. I spoke to XXXX people at Tally and let them know what my situation is. The people I spoke to on the phone were very kind and understanding and they are NOT the issue here. 

Fast forward to XX/XX/2023 and I've finally found a job. I have ( and still do ) every intention of paying my creditors back and getting back on track. I made a payment for XX/XX/XXXX which Tally was happy to take, no questions asked. However, yesterday I received an email saying I could not make any payments unless it was via autopay. I was saying, here take my money! And their response was essentially, umm no thanks jump through hoops first. 

There's an inherent risk that any borrower will default. I understand that, and that's why I spoke to two Tally employees about my situation, letting them know WHY and where I am at in the process to getting back on track ( aka, I'm not enjoying being unemployed and I'm actively working on finding a job! ) I tried to offer some understanding to Tally on how I'm mitigating the risk to the company AND to my personal credit score. Now I'm not sure any notes were placed on my account because the way I'm being treated is condescending, unfair, and abusive. 

On the flip side, Tally wants to get paid, right? Tally believes that inconveniencing customers, who already made one payment to get current, by forcing them to use autopay when the customer is clearly uncomfortable with it ... and Tally thinks this is the best course of action to get paid? Again, I'm saying here let me make another payment, take my money, and Tally said NO. That's crazy to me! I don't like autopay, I have never used it and I don't intend to use it going forward. It's not my thing. Before I lost my job I made 100 % of my payments to Tally and all of my other creditors on time. Without autopay. I don't like it, I'm not comfortable using it, and I should not be forced to do so.

What happens if Tally tries to pull funds before I get paid ( maybe every employee at Tally is well off, but I live paycheck to paycheck ) and I incur a fee at my bank? Is Tally going to reimburse me for that fee because they've forced me to use a service against my will? If the money isn't there, Tally doesn't get paid and I've incurred a fee. NO ONE WINS in this scenario. Tally is trying to cover their butts because they're a business and the bottom line is not the customers but the money. But again, forcing someone into autopay does not guarantee you'll get a payment and frankly it's just forcing a loyal customer to hate your business and use my first amendment rights to shout it from the rooftop how I feel. There's a risk of default sure, but I think companies also forget about reputation risk. It's a thing.

Because I was not given an option, I did set up autopay for one payment that is to come out on the XXXX. However, I don't intend to keep it indefinitely and I've already notified the company in writing that I revoke authorization after this one payment on the XXXX, as is my right. In anticipation of this being a fight with Tally, I am going to reach out to my bank after the XXXX to notify them that Tally can not initiate any further automatic withdrawals. In the meantime, I am prepared to make regular one time payments as I had been doing before I lost my job and unemployment. 

According to UDAAP regulations, an act or practice is unfair when, among other things : 1 ) It causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers ( this is where the fee that could be incurred for me being forced to sign up for autopay. " Substantial '' would come into play if Tally requires this of everyone in this situation, unless they're just applying it to me in which case I have a lawsuit on my hands! ) 2 ) the injury is not reasonably avoided by consumers ( if I'm being forced into this, how can I avoid it? ) 3 ) The injury is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition. ( please explain to me where the benefits are? ) An act is abusive if it takes unreasonable advantage of, among other things : The inability of the consumer to protect its interest in selecting or using a consumer financial product or service. I want to pay Tally, but I am being forced to use a financial service that I am firmly against using.

I have always prided myself in having a decent credit score and I've had a perfect payment record up until two months ago. I'm pretty sure me paying Tally means more to me than Tally does because every financial institution has money set aside for losses. I'm happy to work with Tally and make my payments, I just need to not be emailed and talked to in a condescending manner, nor forced into anything. I may just be an account number to you, but I am a person.

Regarding the account number. It's impossible to find on the app and website. It's not on the statements either. Maybe look into that as well.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation