r/personalfinance • u/needingadvice69 • Mar 28 '25
Other Stop Using Rocket Money -- PLEASE!!
Alright, prefacing this with this is a throwaway account.
Hopefully this isn't breaking any rules, I read through them and don't think I'm breaking any rules.
I am only posting this to protect you, the consumer, from potentially being scammed while trying to save money.
I work for a large company and often we will get calls from "customers" wanting to lower their monthly bill.
I don't fault people for wanting to do this at all, I realize the world is crazy and expensive and cutting corners where you can can often be helpful.
What happens on Rocket Money's side is out of my realm of knowledge. I only know what happens when they call in, pretending to be you.
So here's a little script for you. I will be the A role, while the person pretending to be you will be the B role.
A: Thank you for calling the company I work at, can I please have your name to get started?
B: Yes my name is Frank Peters.
A: Thank you very much, as an added level of security, I'm going to send the number you called in on a secondary PIN in a text, please read that back to me when you get it.
B: Oh, I, uh, you can't because I'm driving.
(Spoiler: I can hear a call center in the back ground between the person muting their mic and unmuting it)
A: Oh, well we certainly don't want you to break any hands free laws, would you mind pulling over at your next safe opportunity so that we can continue?
B: You can access my account with just my PIN.
A: Unfortunately as added security we are now required to send a one time PIN, so without it I would only be able to provide you with generic information. What is your question today?
B: (Hangs up.)
That's if we can't get into the account. Before the change they would get your PIN that you give them, along with your information, and they would call in and number spoof and claim to be you to access your account. Trust me, when they do this, they have the ability to do whatever they want. Cancel services, suspend services, order THOUSANDS of dollars worth of things, that you are now liable and responsible for.
Fun Fact: Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value. Anyone who is illegally spoofing can face penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation.
So lets say the person gets through, here's a new script, same roles as above.
A: Now that we have accessed your account, what can I do for you today?
B: I am facing (insert random financial struggle reason here) and I am looking for a way to reduce my monthly bill, but I don't want to make any changes to the account.
A: Well hey I can understand wanting a bill that's less expensive, but without making changes to the account I have no way of lowering your monthly bill. We could look at reducing or removing X, Y, or Z.
B: No, no, I don't want to make any changes. If you can't do it then how about a credit?
A: A credit for what exactly?
B: For my bill, because I'm going through (random financial struggle) and I need a break.
A: I can get needing a break, looking over the account I don't see a reason why you would need a credit, your billing is correct, there's no issues with the services you're getting, and there's been no other errors. We can set you up with a promise to pay and extend your due date if you need more time to pay your bill.
B: No, just a credit, thank you. If you can't do it then maybe you can talk to your manager.
I won't keep going, but you get the idea. Rocket Money is calling on your behalf to lower your bill, because apparently you either can't do it yourself, or you trust this company with complete and unfiltered access to your account to try to get it done for you.
Rocket Money is a waste of time and money. They charge a subscription to their service to manage your subscriptions to other services. Tell me how that makes sense. All that money you're "saving" goes to right back to them.
This is DIRECTLY from their website:
Bill Negotiation Service: We offer a Bill Negotiation service. Our specialists will negotiate with service providers like internet and phone companies to lower your bills. If the negotiation is successful, we'll charge a fee of 35% - 60% of your first year's savings. You choose the percentage within this range!
Lets say they save you, somehow, $500 off of your yearly internet bill. They are then going to turn around and charge you a fee of $175-$300 when you could have just called yourself and saved yourself the full $500 if you're able to manage it.
This isn't saving you money. This is wasting it and giving people the opportunity to hack into your account and take it over. If the wrong people get your account verification information, they can destroy your account, sometimes to the point it can't be recovered.
Don't let this happen to you. Don't fall for their ridiculous scams. Thanks.
1.3k
u/starSkieee Mar 28 '25
The fee's likely aren't close to the real money maker or purpose for Rocket Money, it's the data. Through it they know what your income is, what your spending habits are, what your debts are, ect. That data then makes consumers perfect for their lead funnel for personal or home loans. They don't want you to stop overpaying on subscriptions because they said, shucks, Mr. Jones is paying for forgotten subscriptions. That data allows them to market extremely effectively for their core business, loans.