Who is complaining aboutEarnest Inc.?
When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database. A complaint is a consumer's account of a problem; it is not a finding against the company.
Complaints, last 12 months
62
71 in the 12 months before · 308 since 2015 · under 0.1% of all complaints the CFPB received
For its size
No public size denominator
This company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its count cannot be scaled here. Read the count with the company's customer base in mind.
In the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026 the CFPB received 62 complaints naming Earnest Inc., down 13% on the 71 of the 12 months before. Since 2015 the total is 308.
Earnest Inc. could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its complaint count cannot be set against its size here. A company with more customers can be expected to receive more complaints than one with fewer.
75.8% of the complaints in that period fall under the CFPB product category “Student loan”, followed by “Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports” at 17.7%. The issue selected most often was “Dealing with your lender or servicer” (48.4%).
How the company's responses were recorded over the 12 months: 100% closed with an explanation, 0% closed with non-monetary relief, 0% closed with monetary relief. 100% of responses were marked timely; the median among the 18 companies whose complaints mainly concern “Student loan” is 100%.
Among those 18 peer companies the median received 138.5 complaints in the same 12 months. A complaint is a consumer's account and is not a finding against the company; the CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.
Windows end on 1 Oct 2026, the last date in the CFPB file. The latest two to three weeks are incomplete because a complaint is published only after the company responds or 15 days pass.
Compared with peer companies
| Measure | Earnest Inc. | Peer median (18 companies) | All complaints nationally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints, last 12 months | 62 | 138.5 | 6,945,592 |
| Change on the 12 months before | -13% | 1% | 44% |
| Responses marked timely | 100% | 100% | 99.6% |
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 0% | 0% | 31.5% |
Peers are the 18 companies on this site whose largest complaint category is Student loan and that received at least 20 complaints in the last 12 months. Peer companies differ widely in size; a per-size row appears only when at least five peers share this company's size measure, and its median is taken over those peers alone.
Complaints by month
What the complaints are about
Products and issues are the categories the consumer selects on the CFPB form, shown with the CFPB's wording, in the last 12 months.
- Student loan47 · 75.8%
- Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports11 · 17.7%
- Debt collection2 · 3.2%
- Credit card1 · 1.6%
- Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan1 · 1.6%
| Issue (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Dealing with your lender or servicer | 30 | 48.4% |
| Getting a loan | 10 | 16.1% |
| Incorrect information on your report | 9 | 14.5% |
| Struggling to repay your loan | 6 | 9.7% |
| Improper use of your report | 3 | 4.8% |
| Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem | 1 | 1.6% |
| Getting the loan | 1 | 1.6% |
| Written notification about debt | 1 | 1.6% |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 1 | 1.6% |
Student loan
47 complaints in the last 12 months (75.8% of this company's total); 55 in the 12 months before. That is 0.2% of all complaints in the category nationally. 0% of closed complaints ended with relief; 100% of responses were timely.
Issues
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Dealing with your lender or servicer | 30 | 63.8% |
| Getting a loan | 10 | 21.3% |
| Struggling to repay your loan | 6 | 12.8% |
| Incorrect information on your report | 1 | 2.1% |
Sub-products
| Sub-product | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Private student loan | 45 | 95.7% |
| Federal student loan servicing | 2 | 4.3% |
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
11 complaints in the last 12 months (17.7% of this company's total); 13 in the 12 months before. That is under 0.1% of all complaints in the category nationally. 0% of closed complaints ended with relief; 100% of responses were timely.
Issues
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Incorrect information on your report | 8 | 72.7% |
| Improper use of your report | 2 | 18.2% |
| Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem | 1 | 9.1% |
Sub-products
| Sub-product | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Credit reporting | 11 | 100% |
How the company responded
The CFPB records one closing category for each complaint, chosen by the company. Shares are of all complaints in the last 12 months.
- Closed with explanation62 · 100%
The current CFPB export carries no consumer-disputed field, so no disputed rate is shown. The CFPB stopped collecting that field in April 2017.
Where the complaints come from
| State (as reported by the consumer) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| California | 11 | 17.7% |
| Florida | 10 | 16.1% |
| New York | 9 | 14.5% |
| Texas | 6 | 9.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | 6.5% |
| Massachusetts | 3 | 4.8% |
| New Jersey | 3 | 4.8% |
| Tennessee | 3 | 4.8% |
| Illinois | 2 | 3.2% |
| Iowa | 2 | 3.2% |
| Michigan | 1 | 1.6% |
| North Carolina | 1 | 1.6% |
Top 12 of 19 states with at least one complaint in the last 12 months. State counts follow population and where the company does business.
Other companies in the same category
Companies whose complaints mainly concern Student loan, nearest in complaint volume. Listed for navigation, in no order of merit.
Questions and answers
How many complaints has the CFPB received about Earnest Inc.?
62 in the 12 months to 1 Oct 2026 (71 in the 12 months before that) and 308 since 2015. 3 arrived in the last 30 days and 13 in the last 90 days; the most recent weeks are incomplete because a complaint is published only once the company responds or after 15 days.
How does that compare for its size?
Earnest Inc. could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, so its complaint count cannot be set against its size here. A company with more customers can be expected to receive more complaints than one with fewer. The CFPB's own caution: “When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.”
What are people complaining about?
75.8% of complaints in the last 12 months are filed under “Student loan”. The issues selected most often were “Dealing with your lender or servicer” (48.4%), “Getting a loan” (16.1%), “Incorrect information on your report” (14.5%). These are the categories the consumer picks on the CFPB form; the text of complaints is not used on this site.
How does Earnest Inc. respond to complaints?
100% were closed with an explanation, 0% with non-monetary relief and 0% with monetary relief; 100% of responses were timely (peer median 100%).
Does the CFPB verify complaints?
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it. The Bureau publishes a complaint after the company responds, confirming a commercial relationship with the consumer, or after 15 days, whichever comes first. A complaint on file is not a finding that the company did anything wrong.
Where do these figures come from?
From the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database bulk file, counted through 1 Oct 2026, using only the coded fields (company, product, issue, state, dates, company response). Company size comes from FDIC, NCUA or HMDA public files where the company appears in one. Company names are shown as the CFPB publishes them.
Provenance
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, bulk file downloaded 1 Oct 2026, complaints received through 1 Oct 2026. Only coded fields are used (company, product, sub-product, issue, state, dates, company response, timeliness); complaint narratives are never read, stored or shown. Complaints are published once the company responds or after 15 days, so the most recent two to three weeks are incomplete. The company name is shown as the CFPB publishes it. No size measure: the company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files. Companies can respond to the CFPB about any complaint; errors in this site's processing are fixed at the next daily build. Size measures: FDIC BankFind (report date 30 Jun 2026), NCUA call reports (30 Jun 2026), HMDA transmittal sheet (2025), Census Bureau population estimates (2025). All are US government works. See this company's complaints at the CFPB · Methodology · Report an error.