CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile

Earnest Inc.

What 275 consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reveal about how this company handles credit, billing and collection disputes.

275
Total complaints
62
Last 12 months
98.2%
Timely response
37
States affected

The verdict

Earnest Inc. ranks #745 of 3,848 financial companies by CFPB complaint volume, with 275 complaints on record. It answers 98.2% of complaints on time — above the 93% median for companies with 100+ complaints.

#745
of 3,848 companies by volume
98.2%
answered on time
Student loan
most-complained product
37
states with complaints
Earnest Inc. timely response rate 98.2%
Industry benchmark

Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.

Complaints by Product

Student loan — Private student loan 198
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting 22
Student loan — Federal student loan servicing 16
Student loan — Non-federal student loan 11
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting 11
Debt collection — Private student loan debt 6
Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan — Installment loan 5
Credit reporting 1
Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card 1
Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage 1

Top Issues

1.Dealing with your lender or servicer 148
2.Struggling to repay your loan 38
3.Getting a loan 32
4.Improper use of your report 25
5.Incorrect information on your report 7
6.Getting the loan 5
7.Dealing with my lender or servicer 5
8.Communication tactics 4
9.Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem 3
10.Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan 2

Complaints by Year

Year Complaints
2015 2
2016 6
2017 11
2018 16
2019 19
2020 15
2021 22
2022 19
2023 25
2024 68
2025 52
2026 20

Complaints by State (Top 15)

California 31
New York 27
Texas 19
Florida 17
Pennsylvania 16
Illinois 14
Massachusetts 13
New Jersey 12
Virginia 10
Ohio 10
Maryland 10
Minnesota 10
Wisconsin 10
North Carolina 8
Colorado 7

Company Responses

Closed with explanation 268
Closed with monetary relief 4
Closed with non-monetary relief 2
In progress 1

What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Earnest Inc.

The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database has logged 275 complaints against Earnest Inc. overall, with 62 of those filed in the trailing 12 months. Reports have come from consumers in 37 states and territories, making this a multi-regional complaint footprint. The single largest complaint category is "Student loan," which consistently leads the product-level breakdown and signals where consumer friction is most acute. Within that category, the most frequently cited specific issue is "Dealing with your lender or servicer" — a useful starting point for anyone trying to understand what goes wrong most often in the company's consumer interactions.

Earnest Inc.'s timely response rate stands at 98.2%, meaning that share of CFPB-forwarded complaints received a company reply within the 15-day window the Bureau expects. That figure is at or above the industry benchmark and suggests the company's intake and escalation processes are functioning as designed. Consumers formally disputed the company's response in 15.4% of resolved cases, a signal of how often the initial resolution failed to satisfy the complainant. Of complaints that were resolved, 2.2% closed with some form of monetary or non-monetary relief to the consumer.

Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story — larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration (which hints at regional servicing issues or regulatory exposure), and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Taken together, these fields give consumers a reasonable empirical basis for deciding whether to escalate a dispute, and give researchers a starting point for investigating institutional patterns.

Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CFPB complaints does Earnest Inc. have?

Earnest Inc. has 275 total consumer complaints filed with the CFPB, with 62 filed in the last 12 months.

Does Earnest Inc. respond to complaints on time?

Earnest Inc. has a 98.2% timely response rate to CFPB complaints. This is considered excellent.

What product generates the most complaints for Earnest Inc.?

The most complained-about product for Earnest Inc. is "Student loan." You can view the full product breakdown on this page.

What is the most common complaint issue with Earnest Inc.?

The most common issue reported by consumers about Earnest Inc. is "Dealing with your lender or servicer." All complaint issues are listed above with their counts.

How do I file a complaint against Earnest Inc.?

You can file a complaint against Earnest Inc. directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.

In how many states have consumers complained about Earnest Inc.?

Consumers in 37 states and territories have filed complaints about Earnest Inc. with the CFPB.

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Data through March 2026

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