Complaints

This profile includes complaints for First Century Bank, NA's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  First Century Bank, NA

  11660 Alpharetta Hwy Ste 225 Roswell, GA 30076-4962

• 

  First Century Bank, NA

  807 Dorsey St Gainesville, GA 30501-6619

• 

  First Century Bank, NA

  680 Engineering Dr STE 100 Norcross, GA 30092-2805

• 

  First Century Bank, NA

  680 Engineering Drive Norcross, GA 30092

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:02/01/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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 filled my taxes with turbo tax and was offered to apply for the refund advance thru First century Bank NA/credtkarma I was told that I pre-qualified for up to $4,000 but a determination would be done once I filed my return after completing my return the program started I was approved for $750 of the $7,000 refund if I opened a CreditKarma spend account so I did that expecting the advance to be deposited within 4 minutes of acceptance from the *** my return was accepted but funds were never deposited so I started reaching out to TurboTax who informed that my refund advance had been denied and that I would need to call the bank for further details come to find out I have a tax offset that caused the denial but they had originally said I was approved for tax offset can be seen prior to filing a return I know this as a prior tax preparer so if I was going to be denied for that reason it would have said so early on it would not have given me an approval note I have to wait for my return to go to an account with CreditKarma when I could have had it deposited to my bank account and had gotten it 6 days sooner. I was forced to open an account that I do not want or need under false approval from this bank. This is false advertising as well as a bait and switch they approved me only to turn around and deny me after forcing me to open an account with fees for me to use my own money. This is not acceptable business behavior and the bank should be liable for lying to consumers. I will not be using their service in the near future and I recommend everyone else follow me. needing the advance and received my advance promptly.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  We appreciate the feedback and bringing this to our attention.   We are sorry that the consumer found the process unclear.  We try very hard to make the process as clear and understandable as possible and we continue to look for ways to do so. The screen that the consumer sees after successfully opening a Credit Karma Money account says, if prequalified, Youre prequalified for a ${dollar amount} Refund Advance.  If approved, youll see funds on your Credit Karma Money card in as little as 30 seconds after IRS acceptance.  As noted below, final underwriting, which among other things includes a check for government offsets, does not take place until after the consumer files their taxes.
  
  Pre-Qualification does not mean the applicant is approved for the Refund Advance.  Offer details clearly state, among other things:
  
  Availability of the Refund Advance is subject to satisfaction of identity verification, certain security requirements, eligibility criteria, and underwriting standards.
  Not all consumers will qualify for a loan or for the maximum loan amount.
  You will not receive a final decision of whether you are approved for the loan until after you file your taxes.
  
  The applicant was declined due to information obtained during the underwriting process and which was current at that time. The reason for declination was documented in the communication provided to the customer.  All such decisions are final and cannot be revisited. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2024

  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 applied for the refund advance with Turbo Tax and was prequalified to receive $3000. After I submitted my taxes like I normally do in the past wouldve received the advance right after they were accepted. I signed the paperwork for the advance. After a couple days of waiting on my taxes to be accepted by the irs I received an email about 335am saying I was denied the advance. The email came from First Century bank. In the email it said that I was denied because my refund may be offset. I called the *** and was told I have no offsets. What stood out to me is that I received this letter but my taxes were still not accepted by the *** yet. I called the number on the letter and explained to them that I have no offsets and that the letter was giving false information. After the representative I spoke to started getting rude saying there was nothing more they could do and hung up. I checked my social again for offsets and found there are still none. So why did I get denied? Why did I get this letter telling false information? This bank is very misleading and does not teach their representatives the process and how to handle calls. There are several people I know that filed taxes on the same day 1/22, that received this letter. Instead of investigating to see if there is a system issue they begin to say call the ***. Ive called the *** they said no offsets now what? I signed paperwork for a $3k advance. Where is my money? Turbo Tax will be losing customers due to this.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/26/2024

  We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.
  
  Pre-Qualification does not mean the applicant is approved for the Refund Advance.  Offer details clearly state, among other things:
  
  Availability of the Refund Advance is subject to satisfaction of identity verification, certain security requirements, eligibility criteria, and underwriting standards.
  Not all consumers will qualify for a loan or for the maximum loan amount.
  You will not receive a final decision of whether you are approved for the loan until after you file your taxes.
  
  The applicant was declined due to information obtained during the underwriting process and which was current at that time. The reason for declination was documented in the communication provided to the customer. Receipt of such communication was acknowledged in the customers complaint.  All such decisions are final and cannot be revisited. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21195582
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The reason provided on the letter is incorrect. I have no outstanding offsets with the **** My taxes have been accepted and I have not received any other response about being approved. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  The denial notification we sent to the consumer is correct, since that is the information we received at the time the final underwriting was done that there were government offsets which may reduce their refund.  The fact that the consumer got a different answer later, does not come into play since we can only base our decision on the information we receive at the time of final underwriting.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2024

  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 recently filed my tax return with turbo tax so that I could apply for the refund advance thru First century Bank NA. I was told that I pre-qualified for $1,500 of the $4,000 available so I filed and never received an email nor did I receive an advance. After repeated attempts to get answers by turbo tax, credit karma and first century bank as to why I've not received an email nor received the advance or can I find out what's going on. I have my tax documents proving I applied for the advance, I feel like I was tricked into filing and lied about the advertisement that states advance is available within 4 min of efile acceptance. I have always went thru another company when needing the advance and received my advance promptly. This is not fair because I have not received an answer or solved my issue. I spent 1.5 hours talking on the phone with TurboTax and countless time messaging credit ***************** I've tried calling the bank but can never get them to answer the phone.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2024

  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.  I do not know why this individual had trouble contacting the bank as there is a specific customer service number established for this program and the number is in the documents that the applicants receive during the application process.  That number is ************.
  
  Pre-Qualification does not mean the applicant is approved for the Refund Advance.  Offer details clearly state, among other things:
  
  Availability of the Refund Advance is subject to satisfaction of identity verification, certain security requirements, eligibility criteria, and underwriting standards.
  Not all consumers will qualify for a loan or for the maximum loan amount.
  You will not receive a final decision of whether you are approved for the loan until after you file your taxes.
  
  As to the timing question, on the Prequalification screen that the consumer sees in the application process, it clearly states If approved, youll see funds on your Credit Karma Money card in as little as 30 seconds after *** acceptance.  The date the *** announced they will start accepting tax returns is ******* 29.
  
  This particular applicant was in fact declined and a notice documenting the reasons is being mailed to them this week, within the period of time required for such written notice.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 21178704
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The add is extremely misleading. It said I  was pre-qualified for up to $4,000 upon approval and the irs accepting my return if I filed taxes with TurboTax. After I filed my return with them the refund advance add said $1,500 upon the irs accepting my return the advance money would be deposited on the Credit Karma card. My tax return was accepted by the *** on 01/19/2024 at 4:30 pm. I had not received any email, no notifications whatsoever about my advance being denied.  I spent many hours trying to locate where the money may have been sent or what was going on. I call TurboTax and they say they can see I was approved for the advance, but they have not idea what was going on because irs don't accept returns until the 29th of Jan. I had to explain that a few times . Then when they realized the irs did accept mine on the 19th they told me to call Credit Karma to figure it out. I spend many more hours dealing with trying to through the initial AI stuff before reaching a person only to be told they have no idea what is going on and that the advance was solely between First Century Bank NA and TurboTax to call First Century Bank NA to find out what was going on. I was able to reach a support person on the 800 number I got from the banks website yesterday. The lady I spoke with asked for the account details, I gave them to her. She looked up my account and said that I was denied the advance, this was the banks final decision and I'd PROBABLY get a email or maybe a letter explaining why sometime within the next 30 days. I asked since I have you on the phone can you please tell me why I was denied? She refused and repeated the same thing she had just said. I wasted all weekend trying to figure out what was going on, I still have not got any notification as to why my advance was denied. I was a nervous wreck thinking my money could have placed in the wrong account. Leaving someone hanging like that is down right terrible.  I was lured in with misleading advertising and I was under the impression that when I was offered the $1,500 I was approved. I could have went anywhere else and filed my return and got the advance. I would not have has all the stress I dealt with for days trying to figure out what was going on. Now I'm stuck with no advance and my entire return is going to be deposited onto a card that has fees with about each use. I really was counting on that return advance.  My husband recently passed away very unexpectedly, I have so many things I needed to take care of. When I seen the add for a refund advance with no fees I thought this would be the perfect solution. Instead I will not be getting a advance and when my refund is deposited by the *** to the Credit Karma card I'll be charged to use my OWN money.  The add was very misleading and the way it lures people in with the no fee advance, then no communication whatsoever for days  leaving them to stress and worry is highly unethical. Today is 01-23-24, my return was accepted on 01-19-24 by the ***. I still have not got a reason for the denial.  This situation has been a nightmare. It's happening to several people that filed with TurboTax because of the no fee advance. Many people thought they were approved just like I did and still are in the dark.  several unhappy clients with the entire situation.  The add needs changed to make very clear what is going on and the second part popping up after completing the tax return with a actual dollar amount of $1,500 making the person think the advance was approved upon the irs accepting the return and the fund would be deposited on the card within 4 minutes of being accepted by the ***. The add made it look like I was pre-qualified for up to $4,000 advance after I completed the application and my taxes was filed there was no reason the advance add should pop up and pre-qualify me for $1,500. I did not see anything about the $1,500 being a pre-qualified amount. The original amount of $4,000 was the pre-qualified amount so It looks like an approval. I'm definitely not the only one who says this.
  

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2024

  We are sorry the consumer is not happy with the answer which we have provided, but there is nothing further to explain beyond that which has already been given.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2024

   
  Complaint: 21178704
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  My complaint is not because I'm not happy with the outcome. My complaint is the misleading add. When I filed my return, I was "pre qualified" for up to $4,000. Final decision after My return was filed and the irs accepting it. As soon as I was finished filing the return the amount of the advance changed to $1,500 upon the irs accepting it and would be placed in my Credit Karma money account within a few minutes. At that point it looked like I was approved just waiting on the irs. The time it took me get in touch with someone that knew what was going on was ridiculous. Sure I'm not happy I was denied, I'm definitely not thrilled that today makes *******************************************************************************************************************  My camplaint is due to the false advertising, misleading, confusing add tied to TurboTax. It needs changed, far too many people fell prey to this.   That is my reason for the complaint. I WAS LIED TO BY FIRST CENTURY BANK NA ADD! I do not know how to make that anymore clear.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/16/2023

  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 am unhappy with the fact that I recently filed my tax return with turbo tax so that I could apply for the refund advance thru First century Bank and after I filed was told that I was not pre-qualified but not denied the advance by first century bank rep that I spoke with after I got the response to my pre-qualification and was told that after I file that I could still be approved once my tax return was updated, so I filed and never received an email nor did I receive an advance.After repeated attempts to get answers by turbo tax kredit karma and first century bank the last response I was told by the first century representative was its still in underwriting that was like 3 to 4 days ago, credit karma specialist told me they had seen where they tried to initiate the refund advance deposit but it never finished processing they told me to contact turbo tax and turbo tax stated it was the it's or the bank handling the refund advance. I can't get an answer as to why I've not received an email nor received the advance or can I find out what's going on.I have my tax documents proving I applied for the advance and there should be record of my 2 inquiries to first century where I called and spoke with a representative about it.I feel like I was tricked into filing and lied about the advertisement that states advance is available within 15 min of efile acceptance. I have always went thru another company and received my advance promptly. This is not fair because I have not received an answer or solved my issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Ms. Apple, 

  While at some point the consumer was in a not qualified status for a Refund Advance, when she actually chose her refund disbursement method, she, perhaps unintentionally, chose a different disbursement method which was not eligible for Refund Advance and which therefore withdrew the consumer from the Refund Advance process (there is actually a warning that lets the consumer know that by choosing a different refund disbursement method, they cannot get Refund Advance through the different method they have chosen).  As a result, a completed Refund Advance application was never submitted to FCB to make a final determination for approval or denial.

  Thanks, 

  *********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/22/2023

   
  Complaint: 19415906
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/02/2023

  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.

  Last tax season I participated in the TurboTax/Credit Karma tax advance. The entire process went smoothly and my family was extremely thankful for the financial support, earlier than we expected. In fact, we received the advance within 15 minutes of the e-file acceptance. This tax season has not been the great experience it was when I was being signed up to open an account for the first time last year. Now that I am already a customer, it does not look like I am going to receive the same support from those companies.This tax season, I never received the tax advance. I was patient and waited a few days in case the processing was backed up. It turns out this is not the case, but no one seems to be taking blame. TurboTax said everything was submitted properly to receive the tax advance and that the reason I have not received the tax advance is because Credit Karma wont release the funds. Credit Karma says that they can see I submitted the tax advance application, but it was never processed on TurboTax's end. More than a week later, the new claim is that the reason it has not been processed is because of First Century Bank, NA, which is the loan provider for the tax advance. According to your business partners, this problem that is not only affecting me, but thousands of people, rests on your shoulders for not finalizing the tax advance.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2023

  ************,
  
  We have been in close partnership with TurboTax to understand what has occurred with your Refund Advance. We have received a prequalification for you, however, during your check out process your return was submitted without a completed Refund Advance application. They are going to continue to investigate this issue and will be your best contact moving forward. 

  Thanks, 

  *********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/07/2023

   
  Complaint: 18971008
  
  I am rejecting this response because: even if this was true, this remains a problem on your part. I applied correctly, provided the consent and completed the entire process. The problem is that your system did not complete the application. I do not work for you. I cannot complete application once they are submitted. This is on your system. I want a refund and my RAL. You guys have control over this. It's not like it is out of your hands. I already have an open account from doing this last year (with zero problems), I applied and have proof the correct consent forms were submitted this year and it is as simple as giving me whatever form your system left out and then releasing the funds. Intuit owns TruboTax and Credit Karma. Its not like they cant work with each other. You provide the loan. Let's do it again. Fix the problem. Release funds.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  ************, 

  While we understand the frustration, there is unfortunately nothing that the Bank can do since the Bank has not received nor does it have a record of a completed Refund Advance loan application.

  Thanks, 

  *********************