Consumer complaint received 2022-04-13
Company: Upgrade, Inc.
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
I am writing about a poor experience with Upgrade, Inc credit cards because the company is deliberately misleading consumers. I was looking for a XXXX XXXX credit card and did some research and came across the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card. I have excellent credit and it was listed as providing a high rate of cash rewards so I applied so that I could put all of my XXXX charges onto one card and know how much I was spending in that category of my expenses. I applied in XX/XX/2021 and was approved right away and provided with a digital card to use until the physical card came in the mail. I was impressed with how smoothly the application process went. Little did I know that this company is all too smooth. I immediately set up autopay for the card balance, which I have done with all of my other credit cards. I provided electronic signatures to several documents including the ACH transaction agreement that includes the statement " The amount debited from the Designated Account will be the total monthly payment due for all outstanding draws under my personal credit line plus any applicable fees including late payment fees or returned payment fees, as listed on my personal credit line monthly statement '' or another amount that I choose. I took this to mean, as I have with all other credit card companies, that the full balance of all the charges I'd made each month would be paid NOT just the minimum payment due since it didn't say minimum payment, it says " total monthly payment. '' I was using the card at doctor 's offices and for prescriptions in XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Just today, XX/XX/XXXX, I thought to check the balance, since I only signed up for a {$3000.00} limit ( which was my choice ). When I signed in and went to the card dashboard, I was confused to see that the next payment due on XX/XX/XXXX was only {$31.00} while the balance was {$810.00}, which seemed like it was the minimum payment due. I thought maybe that was due to the grace period that most cards start with, but I thought I'd check my autopay settings to be sure that I'd set it to pay off full balance and not just the minimum due. When I clicked on the autopay settings icon, the message I got was that in order to adjust the settings, I had to CALL customer service. That is incredibly inconvenient in this day and age and reeks of putting up a barrier to people trying to pay their card off. But I called and got XXXX who told me that the only autopay option is the " payment due '' option, which is neither minimum payment or total balance. I asked her how that could be when every other card company offers XXXX autopay options- pay a set amount, pay the full balance, or pay the minimum payment due. She said they didn't have those options. So, then I asked, will I be charged fees? And she said that I won't be charged fees but interest does accrue DAILY, which I hadn't known, and that interest had been accruing on my account. I asked her how much and she said that SHE COULDN'T SEE THE AMOUNT! Which shocked me. I also couldn't see the amount on my dashboard ( see attached " Upgrade Card '' dashboard screenshot ) I asked if I could speak with someone who could see the amount and she said she could get a supervisor but they couldn't see it either. I don't understand this- how is a person supposed to be able to pay off their loan by CALLING customer service which is the only option and the customer service rep can't see how much they owe?? She also informed me that the Upgrade card is a loan not a credit card, which makes no sense to me. It's marketed as a credit card and all of their language speaks to it as a credit card. XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX have all reviewed it as a credit card. I have a physical credit card and number. Also see the attached dashboard screenshot and note how just above the " Upgrade Card '' info, there's language about how I could be approved for a personal loan- if I already have a personal loan via the card, why would I need another? It's a credit card! But somehow it being a " loan '' in their mind makes it different somehow. I told XXXX that I wanted to dispute the interest accrued since I'd made every effort to pay off my balance via autopay and that the language was misleading to make me think I'd be paying it off when I was in fact not doing that at all. She didn't think that was possible and so I asked to speak with a supervisor. She put me on hold and advised me to reread the ACH Authorization Agreement where it discussed the payment amount and eventually transferred me to XXXX XXXX who is a " Team Lead '' at Upgrade. He proceeded to tell me that the interest charged can not be disputed because I signed the ACH Authorization Agreement. I asked him which statement specifically describes the payment terms and he referred me to the " total monthly payment due for all outstanding draws under my personal credit line plus any applicable fees including late payment fees or returned payment fees, as listed on my personal credit line monthly statement '' sentence. I pointed out that " total monthly payment due for all outstanding draws '' sounds like " total balance of all charges '' that I pay off every month on all of my other credit cards so how was I supposed to understand it as something else? Also, that it does not say " minimum payment due '' anywhere, which is what I wound up paying. He did not see my points and continued to tell me I could not dispute the interest charged. I fully disagree- the language is clearly misleading. I asked him how much I owed and he was able to tell me that I owed {$820.00}, though my balance was just {$810.00}. I am fortunate that the interest accrued was only {$8.00}, but if I hadn't checked today, I could've easily paid more. I only earned {$0.00} in rewards, too, so it was a complete waste of money. I am complaining because I know there are Upgrade customers out there who are also getting misled and are paying more in interest and that is outrageous and unfair of this company to continue doing. This type of loan product should be outlawed. I asked to speak to someone else in the company and XXXX XXXX refused. I wound up paying off the amount due in full ( {$820.00} ) that XXXX XXXX processed over the phone. I also asked to close the account. I am concerned that they may not close the account fully or will find other fees to charge me, based on reviews I have since found online.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief