Consumer complaint received 2026-01-11 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Money was taken from your account on the wrong day or for the wrong amount
Company: Chime Financial Inc
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
i bank with chime, who offers a feature called my pay where you are allowed to borrow a certain amount of money which will be repaid immediately upon your next direct deposit. i regularly use that feature and have always had my balance paid in full with every paycheck. this last payday, my balance was paid in full as usual and i since borrowed the money again for the current pay period. to my surprise when i transferred some money from XXXX XXXX to my chime account in order to purchase some much needed prescription medication, all that money was immediately taken and put toward my balance. after looking up the policy on chimes website, i suspected that perhaps the mechanism that restarts the loan cycle to determine whether your payment status is on time or late failed to reset upon my balance being paid off, as i saw no reason for this to occur other than a balance not being paid off by your direct deposit. and again, to be clear, my balance was in fact paid in full on my last direct deposit. 

the first call center employee i spoke to was apologetic and courteous, explaining that even though the error was on their end that he couldnt undo what happened. i was transferred to a supervisor, who was dismissive of my issue, telling me that this was their policy and everything worked as normal. after getting off that call i knew that didnt seem correct by what they have posted on their website and policies so i once again read through all of the relevant sections. i was able to confirm that their policy says money will only be taken by methods other than the normal direct deposit if a pay period passes where the balance wasnt paid in full. the current balance was started during this pay period so we havent even reached a payday yet, so as i suspected, per their policy they shouldnt have taken that money. it seems like what i was thinking all along, that some error prevented the cycle from being reset when my last direct deposit paid off its corresponding balance. i called support again and this time got transferred to a supervisor right away. she was incredibly rude and unhelpful. initially she told me everything worked as it should and this is the policy. this time i had the relevant information at hand so i read their exact policy to her, specifically pointing out that these methods of collection dont begin until the estimated pay period passes. it seemed like she realized that there was a real issue, but instead of recognizing that something was done erroneously here, she got very defensive and unreasonable while telling me the relevant pay day had passed already, so i simply asked her so am i correct that my last direct deposit on the XXXX paid my balance in full? she confirmed. i then asked so regarding the loan in question, can you confirm it was taken on the XXXX? she confirmed. finally i asked so if these collection methods dont start until the estimated pay date passes without the balance being paid off in full, and since we agree my last balance was paid off in full on time, and since we agree that i started this new one on the XXXX, can you give me the exact date of the estimated pay date that youre telling me that already passed regarding this balance? at this point she seemed downright furious because her answer was the XXXX and she must have realized how silly it sounded to say. which obviously doesnt work without time travel, and when i asked her to explain how that could be possible, she told me she gave me the info already and will be ending our call. i asked if there was anyone above her i could speak to, or any actual chime employee ( their support is contracted out to call centers overseas ). she told me that she was the highest up the chain that someone like me will have access too, refused to let me speak to anyone else, and hung up. 

this could have been easily solved. the amount that was taken was under {$30.00}, and all i wanted was the transaction reversed so id get my money back and then when the scheduled payment date arrived, i would pay it then as i always have. this was such a problem because this was money i had set aside for my prescription medication, and the reason i transferred it to my account at all was just to be able to make the purchase with my debit card literally right then. this meant i was not able to buy the meds at all and im not even sure when i will be able to if that money isnt restored soon. the way i was treated by customer support has convinced me, however, to begin researching other banking options, as i cant rely on a company that conducts business this way. 

to be clear, their website very plainly explains their policy, and its what i rely on to make my decisions financially. this money being taken this way is not in line with that policy. ive loved chime for years and recommended it to so many but im afraid ill have to leave them as a customer over this, and i suspect many friends will leave as well when i tell them what happened

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation