Consumer complaint received 2023-04-27
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: OH
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
LETTER TO COMENITY ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) -- written XX/XX/XXXX : Re : ( Every-changing ) Late Fee Cut Off Times To Whom It May Concern : I am writing you today to express my frustration with your cut-off time policies and web site login pages. 

My life pre-covid, was also financially strained, and during that time, I was deeply grateful for the credit that you had accorded me through your brands XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I worked to try and cover those payments without late fees as best I could. 

I am a single mom with full custody. Before the lockdowns, I already had a lot to juggle, and would always find myself, late in the evening, during a few moments of calm and silence, sitting down to pay bills. This is always a last minute thing as gig work doesnt usually receive a set salary on a set date. With the XXXX lockdowns I found myself navigating more than ever before, with the kids remote learning or on awkward learning schedules, my own work schedule destroyed, clients not paying, many things falling through or being on hold, my unemployment benefits inexplicably rescinded ( still working through that ). During this time, I still found my evening time to see how much I could pull together to pay bills. 

That is when your company began what feels like an insidious campaign to crush debtors with late fees with your constantly changing cutoff times. I believe when I received my first cards with you, the time was XXXX. From there XXXX, then during the pandemic when Ive had less time than ever before, it became XXXX, and now XXXX? And for what reason? In a 24h world of moving money online, what could possibly be the explanation of changing your cut-off times ( OR EVEN HAVING THEM )? Not to mention that your apps have zero payment integration, and when redirected to another site, the loading and waiting is heavy and long. Or the fact that I cant receive any text/email reminders about payment due. 

Of course, I wish I could single handedly organize everything in my life, so that my expense account could easily accommodate my various payments, and that I could pay them a week or two in advance, as any good card holder should. But then, if that were the case, I probably wouldnt actually use or even need any credit cards, right? 

So now, to my horror, a simple XXXX XXXX transaction of {$69.00} has incurred over {$130.00} in late charges. If you were to check my login times, sometimes its a matter of seconds after the cut-off time. And this is what is most painful for me. Certainly if I simply forgot, or just dont have the money, sure, I deserve the late fee ( yet one so egregiously high -- I don't think so ). But attempting to pay, and missing the time, because I needed to pull over, my internet is being too slow ( like today, when your took XXXX minutes to load ), etc. is excruciating. 

I havent used my XXXX XXXX card since this summer, and hope to never use it again. 

Regarding the online logins : not only is my account *never* found on the date that the bill is due -- even after answering security questions -- my name has been changed to all caps. This tactic feels as though it is a conscious effort to make me late, as I have to wait for a confirmation email and set up the login all over again. All three accounts I have with you behave exactly the same. The fact that I can't even pay my card on the store app simply blows my mind.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief