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Business Profile

Bank

Climate First Bank

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 1 complaint in the last 3 years.
  • 0 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/01/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I applied for a solar panel loan online with Climate first Bank on October 27th 2023 at 4:23 pm. i was only able to submit one document for income verification at the time. I received an email from ***************************** on Monday October the 30th at 11:53 asking for other income to consider and i said yes. I asked how do i upload the additional income. didn't hear a thing from *******. So i emailed her at 2:20 asking her to send me a link to send the info to, still no response. I called the bank Tuesday morning asking to speak to ******* and the gentleman i spoke to said she works remotely and he gave me her email address and said to send the info that way. ******* should have told me that the day before. I sent the info to her email at 9:08 and at 9:33 she responded and asked if i had a benefit letter from social security and i told her it was included in my pension. i also told her that i'm getting a COLA increase for my pension, social security and VA disability. At 2:01 I emailed ******* and asked if the documents were sufficient or do you need something else. Since she wasn't responding to my emails i called her several times and it went to voicemail stating the best way to contact her was thru email. At 4:11 i received an email from ******* stating we regret to inform you after careful consideration we were unable to approve your application and i would receive a detailed letter regarding their decision. After only 2 business days i don't feel that ******* gave me enough consideration for this loan. I feel that if there was something lacking to approve the loan ******* should have tried to help me get the loan approved. I would think that she would try to do everything she could to get the loan approved. It benefits everyone involved and i expect better customer service especially being a DISABLED VETERAN! I would like to hear from someone at Climate First Bank and hopefully we can resolve this! I'm trying to go GREEN!

    Business Response

    Date: 11/28/2023

    Good evening, sir. I am sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with Climate First Bank. We strive to provide clear and timely feedback to our customers. While we are continually working to create more accommodating underwriting criteria for our loans, as a financial institution we do have to include credit and income assessment as points of consideration when we are choosing whether or not to approve a loan request. We always work to provide a fast credit decision to customers especially on our consumer solar loan product. Since the consumer solar loan application is an online and automated process, we often approve loans immediately within 30 seconds of application. In the event that we are not able to provide an immediate approval it is usually based on insufficient income or derogatory credit report findings that are discovered during the application process. When this occurs we will try to collect additional information from the customer and make a final credit decision as quickly as possible and always well within rules as stipulated by federal banking regulations. In this instance, we provided you a final credit decision within 2 business days of your application date. While I realize that the decline decision was not what you were hoping for, the purpose of providing this decision to you quickly was to allow you the opportunity to seek other means to finance your solar installation. 

    Additionally, it is my understanding that ***********************, Senior Vice President and Director of Digital Banking at Climate First Bank, the department that oversees the consumer solar loan program, personally contacted you via phone on November 2. At that time, she shared the reasons we were unable to approve your application, and that the representative you spoke with (*******) was trying to ensure we captured all of your income before we made a final decision. I understand that she also conveyed to you that we truly appreciate our veterans and their sacrifices, and that *******, the employee who initially helped you, is also a veteran. During that conversation, you told Dema that you were planning to be paying down some of your debts and will also be getting an increase in annual benefits at the beginning of next year. You then mentioned possibly reapplying at that time and Dema let him know that when you were ready to reapply, you could reach out to her directly and she would be happy to assist. She also provided you an email with her full contact information. 

    So, to recap, you applied for a loan with our bank on October 27 a little after 4pm (this was a Friday). After capturing all eligible income information in an attempt to find a way to approve your loan request and not being successful, the bank informed you of a loan decline decision 2 business days later on October 31. You filed a BBB complaint on November 1 and also posted a 1-star ****** Business review on the same date. On November 2, the day after you filed your complaint with BBB, you were contacted via phone by ***********************, Senior Vice President and Director of Digital Banking at Climate First Bank, the department that oversees the consumer solar loan program, and she discussed the reasons for the loan decline with you in great detail and then offered to personally handle your loan request if you decide to reapply next year after you've paid down some other debt and received the increase in your benefits income. She also personally followed up with you via email providing her full contact information. 

    If any of the above is incorrect, please let me know. We address these situations at Climate First Bank with the utmost attention and care. If you have any additional concerns, please contact me - *********************, SVP, Chief of Staff ********************************************** 

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