Consumer complaint received 2025-12-22 00:00:00
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect — 
Company: ACIMA CREDIT, LLC
State: ID

Complaint narrative:
I am disputing an undisclosed {$100.00} fee that Acima is requiring in order to close my lease-purchase account. 
I made an early purchase payment in good faith before the 90-day deadline, relying on the payoff amount presented in Acimas customer portal and believing that payment would complete my purchase and close my lease. I intentionally made the payment early to allow time for any issues to be identified. At no point during the transaction was I informed that the payment would only reduce the balance, that a higher payoff amount applied, or that any additional fee would be required to close the account.

After the payment was made, Acima informed me for the first time that my account would not be closed unless I paid an additional {$100.00} extension fee. Acima representatives admitted in writing that this {$100.00} fee is not disclosed in my lease agreement and characterized it as an internal option or policy, not a contractual charge. They are now refusing to allow payoff unless I pay this fee.

Acima has cited the Purchase Terms section of the contract, which describes the Acima Cash Price, Total of Payments, and the formulas for early purchase within and after 90 days. I do not dispute those formulas. However, nothing in the cited contract languageor anywhere else in the agreementauthorizes a {$100.00} fee to honor an early purchase option, extend a payoff window, or condition account closure on payment of such a fee. 
The contract explicitly states that Other Charges must be separately disclosed in the Agreement. A {$100.00} early purchase extension or payoff fee is not disclosed anywhere in my lease. Internal system limitations, internal policies, or internal waiver requirements do not override the terms of a signed consumer contract. 
I acted timely and in good faith based on the information Acima presented at the time of payment. Recharacterizing my payment after the fact and requiring an undisclosed fee to close my account is unfair and misleading. 
After further discussion, Acima stated that the amount required to complete the first early purchase option before 90 days was {$1100.00}, and that my payments, once fully processed, would total {$1100.00}. Acima claims that because the full amount was not paid, they can not honor the first early purchase option. 
However, Acima then stated that they are offering a 7-day extension that allows me to avoid paying the higher post-90-day purchase amount only if I pay an additional {$100.00} fee.

This confirms the core issue of my complaint : Acima is conditioning my ability to avoid a higher purchase amount on payment of a {$100.00} fee This fee is not disclosed anywhere in my lease agreement Acima representatives admitted the fee is not in the contract and is an internal option The contract does not authorize charging a fee to extend, honor, or avoid an early purchase amount The agreement requires all Other Charges to be disclosed in the Agreement, which this fee is not Regardless of whether Acima believes the full early purchase amount was paid, the contract does not permit charging an undisclosed fee to alter or preserve purchase pricing. Internal system limitations or policies do not justify adding fees after the fact. 
I am disputing the {$100.00} fee itself, not the existence of early purchase formulas. Acima is refusing to allow account closure or a contract-compliant payoff unless I pay a fee that was never disclosed or agreed to.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation