Complaints

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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2022

  Type:Billing 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 have used Acima Leasing to purchase jewelry. I am noticing erroneous charges on my account (incorrect amount, unscheduled payments). I have contacted their customer service MULTIPLE times. I get the same response: “We do not show any charge on that date. Sorry”. After the 2nd time, I simply asked for the payment method to be removed from my account. 2 months later, they are STILL attempting unauthorized charges on the account I have removed!! Long story short, they are breaking the own rules laid out in their agreement by randomly processing charges to unauthorized accounts. Personally, I will NEVER use Acima again worst leasing company on the market.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/05/2022

  Acima (hereinafter “we,” “us,” “our”) received the complaint filed by Mr. ******** ***** through the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) on October 3, 2022. We have investigated his allegations and provide the following response.
  Mr. ***** alleges he “used Acima Lease to purchase jewelry.” Pursuant to our records, on May 14, 2022, Mr. ***** entered an independent third-party retailer – Rafaela Jewelry (the “Retailer”) – located in Los Angeles, California. While with the Retailer, he applied and was approved for our leasing services. On that same date, Mr. ***** selected property to rent described as “10 k gold chain” (the “Property”). Acima purchased the Property, and Mr. ***** electronically entered into the rental-purchase agreement (the “Agreement”) wherein he agreed to rent the Property from Acima. Pursuant to the Agreement, to obtain ownership of the Property Mr. ***** was required to make 26 bi-weekly rent renewal payments of $89.04, plus an initial rent payment of $70.00 for a total of $2,385.00 (the “Total of Payments”).
  Mr. ***** is under the impression Acima is “randomly processing charges to unauthorized accounts.” We have thoroughly reviewed Mr. *****’ payment history and provide the following details. On August 9, 2022, Mr. ***** contacted our customer service department through our online chat service regarding his August 5, 2022, rental payment. At that time, Mr. ***** was informed that his August 5, 2022, rental payment was still processing, however it was anticipated to clear within 3-10 business days. Despite our system reflecting otherwise, Mr. ***** alleged his bank account ending in **** was reflecting a duplicate pending charge, implying Acima had incorrectly charged him for the same rental payment twice. As our records contradicted this allegation, we requested that Mr. ***** provide our customer service department a copy of his bank statement as supporting documentation. 
  On August 22, 2022, Mr. ***** contacted our customer service through our online chat service again, claiming we were attempting to “charge [him] $98 twice every 2 weeks.” Mr. ***** additionally alleged that his failed rental payment of $89.04 from August 19, 2022, had successfully been withdrawn from his bank account. After an additional review of  Mr. *****’ payment history, our agent confirmed that all rental payments had been appropriately scheduled and drafted in accordance to his Agreement. Per our records, the only payments received on Mr. *****’ lease exceeding the amount of $89.04 have been personally made by him as one-time payments. Our agent also confirmed that Mr. *****’ rental payment of $89.04 from August 19, 2022, had not successfully cleared, but rather failed due to “Insufficient Funds.” On August 22, 2022, Acima removed Mr. *****’ payment method ending in ****, per his request.
  Mr. ***** alleges Acima is “STILL attempting unauthorized charges on the account [he] removed.” Pursuant to Mr. *****’ lease history, the last rental payment received from the payment method ending in **** was on August 5, 2022, prior to his revoked authorization. In an effort to assist Mr. *****’ understanding of his payment history, we have attached a copy of his statement of payments for his review. 
  We maintain that Acima has only drafted Mr. *****’ rental payments in accordance with the amounts and payment frequency outlined in the Agreement. Without supporting documentation, we are unable to conduct a thorough investigation into Mr. *****’ claims or provide a refund of the unauthorized payments, if necessary. We again request that Mr. ***** provide us with a full bank statement reflecting the charges at [email protected]. Please note, our fraud department will require the bank statement to reflect Mr. *****’ full name, the last 4 digits of the account drafted from, the date of the transactions, and amounts.
  As we are awaiting additional documentation, we consider this matter closed. If Mr. ***** has any additional questions related to this matter or obtains the requested documentation, he may contact our fraud department at [email protected]. If he has any general questions he may contact our customer service department at ###-###-####.
  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/24/2022

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  
  I have attempted to contact Acima in regards to having my remaining balance removed from my account, as the total payments made have exceeded my loan amount due! Again, Acima agents are of no help via chat. They stated the fraud they have ADMITTED has happened, did not happen on this loan account!! I firmly believe I should not owe a $350 remaining balance, considering I was ILLEGALLY charged $295 on this loan !!!!! Acima leasing is the WORST leasing option on the market.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2022

  Acima (hereinafter "we," "us," "our") received the third rejection of our response filed by Mr. ******** ***** on October 24, 2022, through the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”). 
  Mr. ***** alleges “the total payments made exceeded [his] loan amount due.” For clarity, Acima does not offer loans. Acima is a virtual rent-to-own organization. As of today’s date, Mr. ***** has paid Acima a total of $1,650.44. Pursuant to the Agreement, to obtain ownership of the Property Mr. ***** was required to make 26 bi-weekly rent renewal payments of $89.04, plus an initial rent payment of $70.00 for a total of $2,385.00 (the “Total of Payments”). Alternatively, Mr. ***** could execute any of the two early purchase options (“EPOs”) outlined within the Agreement. The first EPO is a 90-Day EPO wherein a customer can obtain ownership of the property within 90 days of receiving the property by paying the Acima Cash Price. Mr. ***** had a 90-Day EPO purchase price of $1,060.00 which expired on August 15, 2022, and is not longer available. As of today’s date, Mr. ***** exercised his second EPO, and purchased the Property. Mr. ***** has no further payment obligations to Acima. We confirm Mr. ***** has not paid more than the rent amount owed.  
  Mr. ***** expresses dissatisfaction with his communications with our chat department. Acima values our customers and their experience with our service. We have reviewed the chat conversations Mr. ***** has had with Acima and have not deemed any of the information relayed to be inaccurate or inadequate. Acima strives to make every effort to assist customers with their questions regarding their lease, and find it unfortunate that Mr. ***** has had a poor experience.
  Mr. ***** expresses that he believes he “should not owe a $350 remaining balance, considering [he] was ILLEGALLY charged $295.” As explained, Mr. *****’ payment method was placed on a different individual's lease without his authorization. Upon receipt of Mr. *****’ supporting documentation indicating he had experienced payment fraud, we promptly remediated the situation by removing his payment method from the unauthorized lease and have issued him a refund via check for the amount of $295.68. Mr. ***** can anticipate to receive his check refund by October 28, 2022. We apologize to Mr. ***** for any inconvenience caused, however it does not negate his payment obligations to Acima.
  If Mr. ***** has general questions in regards to his current lease, he may contact our customer service department by phone at ###-###-####. Should Mr. ***** fail to receive his check refund by October 28, 2022, we encourage him to contact our fraud department at [email protected] for further assistance.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/01/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 called back in February 2020 to confirm pay for deletion and was advised that I could do so. When I called back I made a payment. *** submitted several request but this company keeps lying saying that I was never given that information. I want this account deleted from the credit bureaus and I think that I have been discriminated against because they have lied and said I was not given that information.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2022

  Acima (hereinafter we, us, our) received the complaint filed by ************************************* through the Better Business Bureau on October 1, 2022, regarding her request for deletion of credit reporting. We previously received a substantially similar complaint from ******************** through an alternative complaint forum and responded in full. Nevertheless, we once again investigated Ms. ********* complaint, and provide the following response to address her allegations.
  
  Pursuant to our records, on April 15, 2017, ******************** entered an independent third-party retailer **************** (the Retailer) located in North Chesterfield, ********. While with the Retailer, she applied and was approved for our leasing services. On that same date, she selected property described as a picture frame, rug and runner (the Property). Acima purchased the Property, and ******************** electronically entered into a lease-purchase agreement (the Agreement) wherein she agreed to rent the Property from Acima. Pursuant to the Agreement, to obtain ownership of the Property ******************** was required to make 26 bi-weekly lease renewal payments of $36.88 before tax, plus an initial rent payment of $50.00 before tax for a total of $1,008.88 (the Total of Payments) before tax. Ms. ********* lease was charged off on October 25, 2017, due to nonpayment. 
  ******************** alleges she called back in February 2020 to confirm pay for deletion and was advised that [she] could do so. This is not true. We confirm that on February 26, 2020, ******************** contacted our recovery department and requested to settle her lease. Please note, Acima is not obligated to offer settlements under the agreement, however, we may do so in order to assist our customers to obtain ownership of the property for less than any of the purchase options available to them. During the phone call on February 26, 2020, ******************** asked whether the reporting would be deleted if she settled her lease. Our agent responded that settling the lease means our reporting would be reported as settled. ******************** asked whether the reporting would be deleted if she paid in full. Our agent responded that no, we would report the lease was paid in full. Our agent provided a settlement offer of $412.00 plus tax, and ******************** indicated she would call back. We confirm Acima did not offer to delete our reporting if ******************** settled her lease.
  
  We additionally confirm when ******************** contacted Acima on June 16, 2020, and accepted our settlement offer, our agent explicitly informed ******************** that settling the lease would not result in the removal of our reporting, but rather that it would be reported as settled. We have record of informing ******************** that Acima does not do pay for deletion settlements, and ******************** indicated she understood. 
  ******************** claims she has been discriminated against. We confirm that providing ******************** correct and accurate information regarding her interactions with Acima does not constitute discrimination. ******************** was informed both in February 2020, and June 2020, that settling her lease would result in it being reported as settled, not that Acima would remove our reporting. Ms. ********* dissatisfaction with this information does not constitute her being provided with differing information during the settlement discussions. 
  Ms. ********* desired resolution is the deletion of our reporting. We will not ***** this request. We investigated our reporting upon receipt of this complaint and confirm some information regarding the months of payment history was being reflected inaccurately. As such, we immediately requested Experian update our reporting, and confirm it is now reflected accurately. We additionally confirm that ******************** was accurately informed that settling her lease would not result in the removal of her reporting. ******************** obtained ownership of the Property for less than any of the purchase options available to her after reaching a settlement agreement with Acima. 
  We hope this response assists Ms. ********* understanding of the interactions she had with Acima regarding the settlement. If ******************** has any additional questions related to this complaint, we ask that she provide a response through the BBBs complaint portal. If ******************** has general questions in regards to her settled lease, she may contact our customer service department by phone at **************.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/27/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  Im been charged for a loan that was not take out by me and they will not remove it from my credit report please remove

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/28/2022

  Acima (hereinafter we, us, our) received the complaint filed by Mr. ********* through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) on September 27, 2022, alleging identity theft. We have investigated his complaint and provide the following response.
  Mr. ***** claims Im been [sic] charged for a loan. Please note, Acima does not offer loan products.  To provide clarification regarding the nature of our services, Acima is a virtual rent-to-own company offering leasing services. Acima offers only one lease model - a lease-purchase agreement (the Agreement). The Acima lease program allows customers to select property of their choosing from an independent third-party retailer. After executing a lease agreement, Acima purchases the property from the retailer and the customer takes possession of the property according to the terms of the lease.
  Mr. ***** is alleging identity theft and claims that Acima will not remove it from [his] credit report. Please note, this is the first notice we have received from Mr. ***** that he believes this lease to be the result of identity theft. Acima takes fraud allegations very seriously. We request Mr. ***** file a police report and provide us with a full and complete copy of the same so we may continue our investigation of this lease. We request he send a copy of the police report, which must include Acima as an affected lease, to ******************************* Or, he may provide us with a ************************ Identity Theft Affidavit (FTC Affidavit). Upon receipt of the requested documentation, we will further investigate his allegation. If it is determined that this lease is in fact fraudulent, we will terminate this lease and remove all reporting of it from the credit bureau. Absent proof of fraudulent activity, we will not terminate the lease or remove our reporting. We have paused our reporting for 30 days while we await additional documentation. Please note, Experian is the only major credit bureau to which Acima reports. 
  As we are awaiting additional documentation, we consider this complaint closed. If Mr. ***** has any additional questions or obtains the requested documentation, he may contact our fraud department at *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2022

  Type:Billing 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.

  credit score report shows Acima Digital Fka Simp account 972368X 12/20/21 balance of $2813 account closed I have no knowledge of this account who are these

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2022

  Acima (hereinafter we, us, our) received the complaint filed by ********************************* through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) on September 27, 2022, alleging identity theft. We have investigated his complaint and provide the following response.
  ******************** is alleging identity theft. Acima takes fraud allegations very seriously. We request ******************** file a police report and provide us with a full and complete copy of the same so we may continue our investigation of this lease. We request he send a copy of the police report, which must include Acima as an affected lease, to ******************************* Or, he may provide us with a ************************ Identity Theft Affidavit (FTC Affidavit). Upon receipt of the requested documentation, we will further investigate his allegation. If it is determined that this lease is in fact fraudulent, we will terminate this lease and remove all reporting of it from the credit bureau. Absent proof of fraudulent activity, we will not terminate the lease or remove our reporting. We have paused our reporting for 30 days while we await additional documentation. Please note, Experian is the only major credit bureau to which Acima reports. 
  As we are awaiting additional documentation, we consider this complaint closed. If ******************** has any additional questions or obtains the requested documentation, he may contact our fraud department at *******************************