Smart Choice Reviews

Our family has been doing a flexible spending account for years with no problem. My husbands company switched over to alight smart choice account and ever since then it’s been one bad experience after the next. Recently I called in to get reimbursed back for dependent care that we paid out of pocket for. Have had to call in multiple times wait times 1-2 hours and keep being told misinformation. Seems like they make you jump through hoops just to get your money back. Would never recommend this company. .

There is simply not enough time or space to give a complete review of this company that manages my high 5-figure retiree medical reimbursement account. This Company, their App, their Telephone Support and the Extraordinary wait-times, their Incompetence, their Process difficulty, etc. etc., is likened to two high speed trains continually crashing head-on, and on and on and on. I am bewildered that any corporation would contract with ‘this firm’ to manage employees and retire medical savings accounts and associated payouts, unless the ultimate goal is simply to delay, and create extreme difficulty for the payee to exercise what these accounts are intended for the benefit of the employee/retire.

Our employer, with over 150,000 employees, gives us no option for our HSA funds, we are forced to use Alight Solutions/this app. I don’t know what’s worse, the Customer Service call center or SmartChoice . Both are worthless, unprofessional and incapable of doing the job correctly. How can we TALK to an educated, well-trained customer service rep at Alight Solutions/this app about our money and get help?
Many others at our company have same complaints and we would all take our HSA funds elsewhere, if we could.
Please improve your training and your App!

After years of having same HSA account my employer switched to Alight. It’s like we went back to dark ages! App is not user friendly and is constantly locking up so you cannot see what you are trying to submit and then you loose all your info. HSA cards a month delay in shipping so I submit claim to reimburse myself. Claim says processed and paid and my bank acct was confirmed. Called multiple times as my bank shoes no deposit yet App and website show withdrawal. CS says idk looks ok? I ask to speak to manager. They ask foe my contact info and someone will call me in a few days!!! What? Where is the assistance? You cannot even submit help email contact or call back. And be prepared if you call you have to answer 5 min worth of validation questions and menus to go thru. I hope our HR Dept requests feedback for this new vendor as this is the worst! Running balance in your account isn’t even real time.

I tried to login today to submit a receipt and it said my password was incorrect. I followed the steps to reset the password, including answering all the (proven insecure) security questions correctly but SmartChoice refused to accept the new password. After trying a couple of times, I called the customer service number provided. The CS rep basically tried to gaslight me and wanted me to believe someone else had my user name and the exact same answers to all the security questions?! They suggested I open an entirely new account. Knowing that would likely cause even more issues, I went to the website instead, logged in with zero hassle and was able to submit the receipt there. Skip the headache and avoid using SmartChoice at all costs. Faxing would be easier, and I’d have to drive to Staples to do that.

Seems design by engineers (ie difficult to use). To log in it asks what sign-in I want to use, like I’d have more than one. Only exercise services (eg gyms) listed under Service Category Codes when filing a claim. No choice to add/remember favorite providers. Back button during the claim process will erase all the details entered previously.l, instead of just going back one step. Check item eligibility only works as a bar-scanner, with no other way of looking at a list of items, forgetting that it’s the year 2020 and people can buy things online without looking at the physical item in hand first. UI is ugly, sad colors used (grays and dark greens)

The IRS may want proof that expenses are utilized for qualifying medical items, but, the services rendered by the company demanding this “proof/receipts” should be responsible for the gathering of this documentation.
Here’s where being an ill patient and a gofer differs greatly.
Most people use the same doctor(s) dentist etc, for years. Doctors, dentist etc have what’s called residency and a practice located at specific locations for years if not decades. They are not a band of roving trucks or ambulances parked under shade trees with no real hone base.
Because of this anchoring base it should be easy to cross check out of a historic record that the doctor(s), practice location have not changed from the previous submission of receipts.
Yet this company and SmartChoice have zero interest or motivation to change, develop or grow with modern communication and records keeping,
For years I have expressed this same opinion as fellow coworkers have. Zero response, zero change, zero cooperation, zero improvement, zero customer service to we the patient, we the ill, we the recovering.
Why is this?
You ask for input, yet talking to oneself or a wall is as effective.
Regards

I called the number in SmartChoice to get my “account unlocked”.

The first time, They answered the phone asked for my information then i got hung up on. I call back, thinking it was an accident, the lady ask for my information again and the transfers me to another department, then i get hung up on again!

So at this point I’m upset, i call one final time. When the person picks up, i immediately explain the situation. He insisted he needed my information even though i asked him i to transfer me to the “smart-choice” department. I give him my information for the third time. He places me on hold then says he can fix it. Asked me to tell him if i get an error message, try’s to escalate the “ticket” but ultimately he couldn’t do anything.

Now mind you, i called this same number months ago and asked for someone to call me so i could get my account unlocked.

NO-ONE EVER CALLED!!!

Yes, i could have tried to find another number after that. I have a million things I’m constantly doing! I’m just trying to be an adult and i fall short some time.

That is why iam relying on the legitimacy on these app. Now I’m worried my information is being misused! This is RIDICULOUS

My company just switched to this FSA after using another one for years. I am used to be asked to validate a couple things here and there (but most were validated through my insurance automatically), but with this FSA provider I am being asked to validate EVERYTHING charged to my FSA.. and they are ALL charges that were copays through my insurance that this is tied to!! Super annoying and inconvenient when offices are closed/have limited hours for COVID and you need an itemized receipt. What really aggravates me is they send emails that say “Every attempt to automatically validate you recent card transaction had been made.” LIARS. I hope my employer ditches this FSA provider soon. I will be sure to pass this feedback to my company’s HR Team as well.

There’s really no point in keeping SmartChoice on my phone. This company has created multiple apps in recent years, but functionality has been removed. The newer app even requires the presence of SmartChoice, but somehow my access credentials seem to be different. My login information is almost never “correct”, even after resetting with the call center, and I’ve had to complete the reset process hundreds of times now. I recommend just keeping a list of payments on your own, so you have an idea of the current balance. This company simply isn’t able to do what you need it to do, and I’m done trying.

Why is this a separate app from the Alight mobile app that I was already logged into? Why is it a separate account that I have to create when the Alight website doesn't require a separate login for the reimbursement account function? Why is it so very very slow? Why are account names limited to 12 characters so I can't match my Alight account name? Why do I have to go through all this instead of being able to just email my receipts? Why did I still have to search through SmartChoice instead of having a handy alert or button visible as soon as I logged in for the ONE thing I needdd to do?

Medical item accepted by HSA from drug store and accepted and paid for with debit card. One medical accepted item clearly shown on November 2021 receipt. Now in February, 2022, I get a notification that that transaction is now denied because there is no receipt. They got the receipt when the transaction was done n 2021. If a debit card accepts the item … why is it denied 5 months later…and then asking what the charge was for. My dentist bill and a medical office visit were denied, yet cleansing wipes ok. I have given up on many medical
charges… just not worth the hassles. Why are they making it so user unfriendly when we are spending our own money?

SmartChoice is poorly designed, clunky, font is super small and to see your balances you need to go through several screens. Of course the company has a captive market I assume by low balling other players so they have zero incentives to redevelop SmartChoice . I work for a major fortune 500 company and me and my coworkers constantly and publicly complain about their choice . We will get enough momentum to make a change, I am sure.

SmartChoice is ok but antiquated. The signup process is very laborious and still asks for things like my Grandma’s name as a security question (security questions were found insecure and dumped years ago). Then I had to Enter my 16 digit debit card number by hand (though the rest of the world allows you to scan that in via the camera on your phone). It didn’t remember me the next time I opened SmartChoice by default on my own phone (this isn’t a shared PC in the library). Then the thing keeps pushing me to allow it to track my location. Huh?? Supposedly this will allow them to recommend ‘savings’. SmartChoice is supposed to reimburse my medical expenses - which I do in my own home. How will that spying help me? What’s next - they want to listen to my calls. Tons of room to modernize SmartChoice and improve the user experience.

Really bulky use of many functions. Does the job but not user friendly at all. Two main issues to work on:
1) Better message handling - all for bulk acknowledgement of messages versus opening each open - really don’t have to open a message of Transaction Approved each time.
2) Have messages as a sub icon - not popping up on sign on. Use the annoying red circle count to indicate messages
3) Ability to hide Accounts - scrolling through previous years to find the active accounts isn’t necessary

I am still getting the hang of SmartChoice. Not very user friendly. The i buttons haven’t worked, so when I need info about a task it doesn’t tell me when I try to tap on the “i”

It will eventually get the job done. I agree with other users, SmartChoice does not multi task. Make sure you have everything you need before starting or you’ll be logging in every time you change to another screen.

I’m not sure how it logged my transactions, however it would be nice to not need a receipt since it already logged my transaction as reimburse-able.

Love the idea. User interface isn’t smooth. Lots of delay when navigating between pages. Confusing manner to show which items are deposits and which are debits. Items show as posted but it takes more than a month for my doctor’s office to get the check. By then they have issued a second bill showing a late payment! When I call the office to check on it, they tell me it has cleared. So I end up with multiple copies of the same bill, an HSA app that shows the check was sent but no way for me to know that the bill was paid unless I call and verify with the office. It’s confusing, time consuming, frustrating. SmartChoice has potential but needs a lot of love and attention to make it worthwhile.

As far as the medical expense capabilities of the product goes, this is a decent application - easy to use and submit expenses. However, the way alight processes payments and notifies you makes this a 1 star app for me.

The issue is that alight appears to process payments around 1:20 am PST. You then get an app notification as well as a sms if you are signed up for that for expenses you have submitted. If the notifications could be queued to be delivered at a humane hour, this would be a good app. Fortunately you can turn this off - which I recommend you do if install it.

App is easy to navigate and the information is presented in a clear way. Some fonts could be bigger. App response is sometimes slow especially when accessing notifications. Details on my investment elections are not included in SmartChoice . Not including this information requires me to go to multiple places (app and website), which is inefficient.

The new transition was not without challenges but I have received help from the many agents I spoke with. The frustrating thing was I would be told something different each time I called but finally I think everything is in place. I have had several claim submissions & it is a very easy process. SmartChoice & website are easy to navigate which is a plus for a 77 yr old! Thank you for transitioning to an updated system where claims can be submitted as they occur. I am so grateful, the love of my life, my deceased husband, provided me with this life-saving benefit from Raytheon! Marilyn Shook

SmartChoice is only good is you want to check your balance. You are not able to submit claims as the service category field contains no drop downs which are required.

Don’t waste time with app unless you want to check your balance.

Trying to sign up. According to my company literature, the company name should appear in a drop down menu, it doesn't. So here I am unable to register. This isn't my 1st poor experience with Alight! Strike 2. I hope my company finds a better company soon!

I tried to enter claim . Won’t work - get an error that it requires value in a field, but that field is populated by a drop down with no values; the support phone number does NOT say what hours support is available- it makes you call and push a lot of buttons before telling you no support available.

This was either written by idiots who don’t mind wasting customers time, or it was designed by insurance companies to discourage us from filing claims.

I changed employers and a had a nominal amount in a flexible dependent care savings account. I’ve called multiple times and was told they would mail me a claim form. After the 3rd call they actually did mail it. After I mailed the claim form I called 2 weeks later to confirm it was received- and they said it wasn’t and I needed a different claim form. .... now I’m trying SmartChoice , and it says I already have an account but there’s literally no way for me to login to SmartChoice .

SmartChoice requires you to type everything in. Other comparable apps allow a photo of bill with receipt. SmartChoice has a required field whose only option is a drop down menu with no items to select. It then refuses to continue because all required fields are not completed. The developers of SmartChoice should take a look at EZ Receipts for some ideas to improve this

Most pointless application. I haven’t found a single place my card they gave me is accepted. Not a single feature on SmartChoice works i.e. voice assistant or camera to check item eligibility. Won’t allow me to submit claim for reimbursement just says option not found again and again.

Not responsive, selections lead to nowhere. I’ve wasted literally hours trying to navigate SmartChoice all to no avail. Seems to not be professionally developed....with misspelled words, double entries etc. The company I retired from used to use WageWorks and it worked much, much better. I wish they had never changed to Smart-Choice.

SmartChoice is not updated to show current transactions. No option to get rid of history. Shows transactions where I’ve received checks as still pending or denied. Organization as a whole is not customer friendly. Stay on top of them and good luck.

Registration drags you through two screens before telling you there is an issue and makes you start over complete with different list of security questions to choose from. Message when error is meaningless. Support number is useless.

I was not able to find my account number in SmartChoice . I had to login to website to get account number

SmartChoice is alright. Does what I need to but the problem is the it doesn’t support multi-task. You can leave SmartChoice and come back to continue your claim. If you need to look at a calendar before submitting a claim make your you use another device. You can switch between them really annoying

I like SmartChoice , but it is not clear if your claim has been approved, it shows the same balance i do not see a deduction.

Love SmartChoice! Very easy to use.

One of my favorte apps! Can see family spend instantly, alerts for payments and deosits... Great way to manage your HSA!

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