Reviews

This profile includes reviews for Fairstone's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Fairstone

  Toronto, ON M5H 1J8

  
• 

  Fairstone Financial Inc.

  160 3355 North Rd Burnaby, BC V3J 7T9

  
• 

  Fairstone Financial Inc.

  100 286 St Paul St Kamloops, BC V2C 6G4

  
• 

  Fairstone Financial Inc.

  77C Second Ave N Williams Lake, BC V2G 1Z3

  
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  Fairstone Financial Inc.

  600 8236 Eagle Landing Pkwy Chilliwack, BC V2R 0R5

  

Review Details

• Review fromAndrea C

  Date: 22/08/2024

  5 stars

  Andrea C

  Date: 22/08/2024

  We were in need of some money for dental bills and looked to Fairstone. The lady Anne R. **** ****** **** ** ** ***** * ****** **** *** **** ****, was fantastic. Easy to talk to, understanding and very helpful and knowledgeable. Overall, I would definitely go with them again.
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 30/10/2024

  We are so happy to hear this, ******. We hope everything went smoothly and you're doing well. If anything else should arise, you know where to find us. We'll always be here to help.

• Review fromNorm R

  Date: 22/08/2024

  1 star

  Norm R

  Date: 22/08/2024

  I do not recommend Fairstone ** *** **** *********** *******. Unless they offer exceptionally high commission fees to retailers for each new customer, their impact on a company's reputation is more damaging than beneficial. Their interest rates are alarmingly close to ********* lending standards in ******. Missing a payment can nearly double your borrowed amount, with interest accruing rapidly. Fairstone does not send statements, and when I called to complain, I was advised to inquire about my balance myself. It seems Fairstone may intentionally avoid sending statements ** ********* ******* ******. Additionally, if you fail to meet their minimum monthly payments, they will call multiple times a day, often without leaving a message. I experienced up to six calls daily, and hang up voicemails despite making biweekly payments and just paid off my balance in full after a month of these persistent calls. Fairstone's business practices are highly problematic, ** * ******** ********* *********** * ****** **** ** ******* ********* ******** ** ******** *** **** *** *** ********* ********
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 26/08/2024

  Hello again. As we outlined in a reply to your ********** review, if our financing options aren't well-suited to meet your needs, we understand if you choose to go elsewhere. But there is nothing about our services that are designed to set our customers up for failure (non-payment).Our interest rates across all of our products are competitive in the market. If you're not happy with the options available with us, we understand, and we hope you find something more fitting for your situation.Missing a payment in any situation will typically have consequences or repercussions of some kind. Any that apply to accounts with us are outlined in your contract. Depending on the type of plan you have and any promotions, missing a payment could simply incur additional interest on the higher balance, it could void an interest deferral promotion, and it could mean all of your deferred interest is now applicable and due in full. The latter appears to be the situation you allude to. This is absolutely possible as it is the promotional contract you agreed to. You then broke the terms of that agreement and voided the promotion, therefore incurring the deferred interest charges.Retail financing account statements are delivered via mail unless/until the account holder registers for online account management. With online account management, statements can be accessed online at any time.The reason we follow up so persistently regarding missed payments is because of the potential consequences. We don't want you to miss a payment and void your interest deferral promotion, costing you more in interest. We call because if we can do anything to ensure that doesn't happen, we will.If competitive interest rates, clearly-defined plan details, and dedicated customer services are 'highly problematic' business practices, that's a label we're wear proudly.

• Review fromKai L

  Date: 08/08/2024

  1 star

  Kai L

  Date: 08/08/2024

  **** *** ********* **** *** *** ***** *** ****** ***. *** lost my job and when I first got this loan, they said there was insurance but wont be willing due to the circumstances of when I got the loan and when I lost my job they dont have insurance, **** ****** *** *** **** ********** *** **** **** ********** *** **** ****** *** ********* ** ** *** *** ******
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 14/08/2024

  Hello ***. Loan insurance is an entirely optional product available to every customer. In order for you to have insurance coverage for your loan, insurance will only apply if you have opted into the coverage beforehand. It does not automatically apply to your loan. It must be selected by signature on page two of your loan contract.If you do have loan coverage, it may not apply in every scenario. As with any insurance product, there are qualifying and disqualifying factors. While we facilitate the purchase of the loan insurance product, we do not manage the coverage and policies; this is done through the insurance company itself and your coverage is outlined in the policy included in your final loan contract. You must refer to these details regarding any coverage and claim inquiries.We exist as a lender to lesser-qualified borrowers because we have limitless compassion for those in need. We provide an option when more traditional lenders simply will not. Our compassion is enabled by us maintaining a sustainable, profitable business that can not only serve you today but will serve another tomorrow and thousands more in the future.

• Review fromMuhammad W

  Date: 31/07/2024

  1 star

  Muhammad W

  Date: 31/07/2024

  I am a customer at **********************. I lost my job and wanted to payoff the loan with a settlement so that I dont pay such a high interest and payments as I will not be able to afford it. Manager at ****** location was **** and ************* my account without giving me a justified reason to do the settlement. All she said "I dont WANT to do it" and hung up the phone. **** **** ****** ******** ********* ********* ** * ***** ******* ** **** *****
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 07/08/2024

  ********, the service you describe here is completely unacceptable and we apologize for the experience. We appreciate you raising your concerns to us so we can investigate further. Discrimination and rudeness have absolutely no place in our business.

• Review fromMark B

  Date: 29/07/2024

  1 star

  Mark B

  Date: 29/07/2024

  Paid off a Credit Card in full April 18. Letter received with balance zero and permenently closed. Have since received a statement with a card in my name with a new limit, and interest balance. Called and was advsied the **** did it. I explained that someone without my authorization created a new limit card in my name. She denied and tried to say it was the Bank and she was ******* **********. Called her out and she admitted Fairstone owned ******* **********. **** about the card remaining open. I provided the letter and she again tried to blame the ****. Fairstone Bank. ****** ******* *** * ***** ***** to have an employee have a card closed reopened without authorization.
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 07/08/2024

  Hello ****. While we understand your frustration and would gladly help, we are simple unable. The ******* Rewards ********** is not a Fairstone Financial product and therefore not a product we can provide account support on. Your concerns must be directed to the ******* card support team at **************.

• Review fromAllison M

  Date: 26/07/2024

  1 star

  Allison M

  Date: 26/07/2024

  ** * *** ** ******* I have been a Fairstone customer for almost 20 years and until a year ago they were great! Unfortunately, I would not recommend them again. A year ago my account was paid in full, by my lawyer, I received a release letter, have a copy of the cheque and the branch receipt. They say I still have an outstanding balance. Despite the effort and diligence of one of their employees, emails with supporting documentation to the branch and regional manager they sent me to collections. This has impacted my credit score negatively and resulted in a higher mortgage rate. Still unresolved, no answers, no recourse.
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 07/08/2024

  We are so sorry for the confusion surrounding your account closure, *******. We appreciate your years of partnership and we will do everything we can to correct any reporting errors made on our part.As you mention you received a discharge letter noting the closure of your account, this letter should provide the details and clarification required to resolve these issues. If your concerns are not being addressed already, please visit your local branch with this letter and the other documentation you have. Your Lending Specialist and Branch Manager will collect this information and gather any copies required to complete a formal complaint. Separately, it may be useful to connect with the Collections team directly to provide this documentation as well. You can reach our Collections team at **************.

• Review fromLisa S

  Date: 24/07/2024

  1 star

  Lisa S

  Date: 24/07/2024

  I entered into a 12 month interest free financing for carpet. I paid monthly and in the last month as I was making the final payment I called the company, asked how much exactly was owing so I could completely clear the account, I made the payment while the representative was on the phone with me through my online banking so that I could give the reference number and I cleared the account. That was on a Friday before the long weekend in May. Much to my surprise, now in July, I got a call from Fairstone saying I missed a payment. I thought it was a mistake and I explained that I cleared the account in May. They are now staying that I owe nearly $400 in interest (on a $1300 original amount) because the payment posted a day or two later due to the long weekend. They are charging an astronomical amount of interest on the original total amount because the payment posted a day or two later - all the while admitting they see when I called and have the notes on the call. **** ****** *** ** *******
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 07/08/2024

  Hello ****. First, we do not offer any 'interest-free' financing plans of any kind. There are always interest charges, though they may be deferred for a promotional period. An interest deferral is what you are referring to and the plan works as you've described. Though interest does accrue during the deferral period, it does not apply to the account - does not become due - unless the terms of the promotion are not met. Those terms can vary from minimum monthly payments being made to the balance of your purchase being paid off by the end of the promotional period. If these terms are not met, the interest becomes applicable and is due. And yes, that means if the due date is July 24 and the payment is not processed until July 26, the payment is late and interest would apply.

• Review fromAkhilesh V

  Date: 15/07/2024

  1 star

  Akhilesh V

  Date: 15/07/2024

  You receive your loqns quickly at very high interest rates. We as consumers are aware of this but when push comes to shove "get the money and deal with the consequences later". I worked super hard to set myself up to pay off my loan in full. The branch I spoke with knew my loan was being paid in full and was never told that my automatic payment will still process . The agent I spoke to today at the branch said there was no notes to support this conversation- of course there's not. Well guess what? My payment came out and when I spoke to the branch, they told me there was nothing they could do with it as my money is now with head office and that I need to wait for 20 business days to receive my money back. I said that is not acceptable, I was told this is because the cheque that paid my balance in full could bounce, ok fair but even banks hold cheques for 5 business days not 20. I was firmly insistent that I want my money back today if possible and after a back-and-forth conversation of company policy blah blah blah I was told basically that was not their problem . I hope we can come to a reasonable solution, and I can have my money returned to me in the same manner that they took it out - electronic money transfer and not a check to the branch where I can pick it up-why wouldn't they mail it to me? IF I was late on my payment there would be interest or penalty fees.....does this work for the customer too when the company take your money? Do I get interest or penalty fee returned to me??? Probably not.
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 17/07/2024

  Hello *******. In a situation where an additional, unscheduled payment like yours is made around the same time (typically within 3 days) of an automated payment, this can occur because processing times overlap. It can take ~3 days for the additional payment you made to be processed, bringing your balance to $0. So, because during that 3-day period, your automated payment is scheduled to come out and there is technically still a balance on the account, it is withdrawn as usual. The only way this doesn't happen is if you cancel the automatic payment ahead of making the payment to pay off your entire balance. Again, you would need to do this quite early to ensure there isn't an overlap in processing times of that request.The information your branch provided is absolutely right. There is a 20-day hold on payments made to the account to ensure it stays in the good standing you intend it to be in. For example, if your automated payment is set to come out tomorrow, but you pay your balance off today, both payments are likely to be processed by week's end. This would of course result in over-payment. You request that the refund is issued immediately, and it is. However, the refund being processed at this time leaves a balance on the account, despite your additional payment (perhaps due to the daily interest accrual). Because we issued the refund, your account is not delinquent and incurring charges it would not have. This is why the hold period exists. It ensures your intentions of maintaining good account standing are upheld.However, there are instances where the refund process can be expedited. If you are able to provide confirmation from your financial institution that payments have been effectively processed ahead of this 20-day hold period, your refund could be issued sooner.

• Review fromSwathi V

  Date: 05/07/2024

  1 star

  Swathi V

  Date: 05/07/2024

  ** ***** ** *** ****** ***** **** * *** **** ** ** ********** **** *** *** ********* I purchased a washer and dryer and took a financial plan from Fairstone. The plan was zero percent interest for up to 12 months. They gave 2 dates on monthly statements they mentioned that the top payment due date was 8th Mar. In the same statement, they mentioned the plan end date as 03rd March. Every month monthly statements were generated on the 8th and I remembered that date and paid my complete payment on the 7th. On March month also similarly I made a complete payment on the 7th and they charged me interest for the complete year saying there was a 4 4-day delay and the plan ended on the 3rd of March. They confuse us by giving 2 dates and this is the big trick they play with us. *** ******** ******* ****** *** ***** **** **** **** **** ****** **** *** They don't know how to talk with customers. ****** ***** *** ******* **** ** ***** ******** *** ***** **** *****
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 08/07/2024

  Hello Balaswathi. We are not 'cheaters' and we do not cheat our customers out of anything. The confusion here is regarding the details on your monthly statement and the difference between the Plan Expiration Date and Minimum Payment Due date.In 2023 we updated retail statements for the No Pay Same As Cash plan to include clarifying details. When a plan is nearing expiration - with two months remaining in the promotional plan - the statement is updated to note that "Your Same as Cash Plan expires soon. Per your Agreement, for the Total Accrued Interest of $__.__ to be waived, pay $___.__ by MM/DD/YY" (the Plan Expiration Date noted below).As you note, this payment was not made by the date listed here, meaning the interest is not waived and it is now applicable to the account, having accrued since the day you initiated the plan. There is no 'trick' here and if there are ever issues interpreting the statement, we are more than happy to assist and provide clarification. Rudeness is not how we want our customer service to be characterized and we apologize for the experience that led to you feeling this way. It is unacceptable and your feedback will be referred to the management team to review.

• Review fromGaylene L

  Date: 03/07/2024

  1 star

  Gaylene L

  Date: 03/07/2024

  Obtaining a loan from Fairstone is super easy and a relatively smooth process. You receive your funds quickly at very high interest rates. ** ** ********* *** ***** ** **** *** when push comes to shove "get the money and deal with the consequences later". I worked super hard to set myself up to pay off my loan in full. The branch I spoke with knew my loan was being paid in full and when I asked that my next payment would not be coming out, I was reassured by the agent I was speaking with that it will not come out. The agent I spoke to today at the branch said there was no notes to support this conversation- of course there's not. **** ***** ***** My payment came out and when I spoke to the branch, they told me there was nothing they could do with it as my money is now with head office and that I need to wait for 20 business days to receive my money back. I said that is not acceptable, I was told this is because the cheque that paid my balance in full could bounce, ok fair but even banks hold cheques for 5 business days not 20. I was firmly insistent that I want my money back today if possible and after a back-and-forth conversation of company policy blah blah blah I was told basically that was not their problem and I could talk to head office. I thought I was speaking to a manager but was told the manager was in a meeting- even though I requested to speak to a manager. The agent I was speaking with told me to have a nice day and HUNG UP ON ME!!! I have since called head office to look for resolution. I hope we can come to a reasonable solution, and I can have my money returned to me in the same manner that they took it out - electronic money transfer and not a check to the branch where I can pick it up-why wouldn't they mail it to me? IF I was late on my payment there would be interest or penalty fees.....does this work for the customer too when the company take your money? Do I get interest or penalty fee returned to me??? Probably not.
  

  Fairstone

  Date: 08/07/2024

  *******, while we're happy to hear that you found our processes as simple and efficient as we intend them to be, it's very disappointing to hear your dissatisfaction with the remainder of your experience.In a situation where regular payments are set up, there can be a situation where the extra payment to pay off your loan and your regular auto-payment will both be processed. This is simply due to processing times and a lack of auto-payment cancellation.It can take ~3 business days for an additional payment to be processed on the account. So if you make a payment today and your regular auto-payment comes out in two days, it's possible that both payments will be processed. This could result in over-payment.In an over-payment situation like the one you describe, a 20-day hold is applied to ensure the account stays in the good standing the borrower intended to maintain. If a payment is returned immediately and the un-refunded amount fails to cover the due payment, it would put the account in a state of delinquency which would lead to increased interest charges. This hold is in place to avoid this situation and protect borrowers. However, if the account holder is able to provide documentation from their bank proving the payment has been processed ahead of this timeline, refunds may be processed sooner.