Consumer complaint received 2020-03-13
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: DC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Can't close your account

Complaint:
( 1 ) In XX/XX/XXXX I requested that Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) close my credit card account. 
( 2 ) I recieved a letter from the bank dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that the account was closed with a balance of {$110.00} ( 3 ) I paid the balance of {$110.00} on XX/XX/XXXX ( 4 ) Two weeks later I checked the account and noticed that Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) had approved addditional merchant charges after the account was closed. 
( 5 ) On XX/XX/XXXX in good faith I paid {$75.00} ( the full amount of additional merchant charges Comenity Bank had approved despite the account being closed ) based on the assumption that the new charges were a matter of timing. I assumed Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) had assumed I had made the purchases prior to the account being cosed. I relied on the XX/XX/XXXX letter from Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) stating that the account was closed to conclude that Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) would begin rejecting charges on the account. 
( 6 ) I checked the account again in early XXXX to make sure there were no finance charges and noticed new merchant charges approved on the closed account after the {$75.00} payment on XX/XX/XXXX. I became concerned that that account had not in fact been closed despite the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. 
( 7 ) Around this time I contacted Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) to confirm that the account was in fact closed. Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) confirmed it was closed as stated in the letter of XX/XX/XXXX. I inquired why Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) continued to accept merchant charges on a closed account and I explained that I did not want Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) to approve any more charges on a closed account and that I expected any future merchant chargest to be rejected. 
( 8 ) In good faith, despite the fact that I did not believe the new charges were valid, I paid the new balance of {$91.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I regret that decision. 
( 9 ) After paying off the account balance the third time on XX/XX/XXXX and speaking with Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) I stopped monitoring the account in reliance on the good faith, competance and honesty of Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ). 
( 10 ) In XXXX I recieved in the mail a new invoice for outstanding charges that Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) had improporly approved after I paid the balance of {$91.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and after the conversation in late XXXX or early XXXX where I confirmed that the account was closed and should not accept new charges. 
( 11 ) I contacted Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) and disputed the charges added to the account after XX/XX/XXXX. I was told Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) would review the dispute and that I might recieve a letter in the mail. 
( 12 ) I never recieved mail from Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) ( 13 ) Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) contacted me in XX/XX/XXXX to inform me that they deemed the new merchant charges approved by Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) on the closed account after XX/XX/XXXX to be valid and that they reserved the right to approve charges to the closed account indefiniately after it is closed even if the account was paid in full at the time of closing. The representative suggested that any firm with my credit card on file would have new charges approved by Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) despite the fact the account was closed, and further suggested that in each case I would have to contact the retailer. The Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) representative attempted to mischaracterize the situation as " I refuse to pay the debt '' and when I took issue with that characterization the Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) representative said they did not want to argue with me. When I objected to multiple occaisions of the person stating " I will record that you refuse to pay this debt '' she finally relentented and offered to refer the matter back to the Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ) fraud department. Such a referral would be improper because the fraud is being committed by Comenity Bank ( XXXX XXXX ), not a merchant.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief