Consumer complaint received 2023-05-11
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: LA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I wrote a certified letter, with return receipt to Comenty, the issuer of my Victoria 's Secret Card, to alert them that while I was in the process of moving, the home I was leaving had been broken into and that my card had been stolen. I advised that I had filed a police report and would forward it when it was available. I also filed a theft report with the FTC and forwarded that as well. In this letter I asked that Comenty cancel my card, be on the lookout for activity, which at that point would be unauthorized by me, and requested my XX/XX/XXXX statement be sent to me as soon as possible. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I wrote to Comenty again, again by certified mail with return receipt, enclosing a copy of the police report filed and also a copy of a Louisiana Identity Theft Affidavit I filed as well. I again asked that Comenty cancel my card, lookout for activity since XX/XX/XXXX, which at that point would be unauthorized by me, requested my XX/XX/XXXX statement be sent to me as soon as possible and requested confirmation that an investigation had been initiated by Comenty as 10 days had passed since Comenty was alerted to the theft. On this date I also noticed that my account was also now blocked from being accessed via the internet or the Victorias Secret app. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I wrote a third time to Comenty, again via certified mail, return receipt. At this point I still had received no response from Comenty concerning my compromised account, despite evidence that my prior letters had been received and now 45 days having passed since they were alerted. However, Comenty was now reporting me as late on my credit reports and not reporting that my account was under investigation. By this time evidence that my stolen cards were being used started to show up, since, as I mentioned, I was being reported late on an account that was previously carrying no balance. Because of this I filed a second police report, this time in the jurisdiction where I was now residing. I forwarded a copy of this second report and again requested that Comenty do what was required of them by law. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after more than 90 days had passed since Comenty was put on notice of the theft, and yet still had not responded to my letters, I wrote again. By this time, Comenty was still reporting me as late and now that my other card issuers had completed their investigations and forwarded evidence to aid the authorities in their investigations updated police reports were issued. I forwarded these reports to Comenty along with yet another plea to investigate and send me my statements which they had failed to do for the months of XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and now XXXX, while still expecting payment and reporting me as late. 

I wrote nearly monthly until XX/XX/XXXX and never received a response from Comenty. To the best of my knowledge, Comenty never opened an investigation, and to this day I have never received the first statement, neither to my address, as requested, or electronically. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I accessed my credit reports and saw the damage caused by Comentys repeated unjustified negative reporting on my credit reports despite refusing to ever investigate the unauthorized charges causing this negative information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received two ( 2 ) nearly identical letters, one dated XX/XX/XXXX, one dated XX/XX/XXXX, from Comentys Account Protection Team disregarding my numerous prior requests to investigate my account and instead telling me that my account was now with XXXX XXXX and to direct all future inquiries to XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I forwarded a response to Comentys XX/XX/XXXX letter instructing them to remove their tradeline from my credit report if they were not going to investigate my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I forward another letter to Comentys Account Protection Team, this time enclosing copies of the first four ( 4 ) letters I sent to Comenty XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, including copies of all of the certified receipts and signature cards and again, urged Comenty to either investigate or remove their tradeline from my credit. I also forwarded a copy of all of this to XXXX since Comenty maintained that XXXX had sole control of my Comenty account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX responded to this correspondence and advised that they were investigating and had requested more information from Comenty. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an update from law enforcement with respect to my initial theft complaint. I was informed that arrests had been made in my case and I obtained copies of the Bill of Information for the arrestees and forwarded those to Comenty making final demand for results on my account. I also forwarded this to XXXX. 

Subsequent to sending XXXX XXXX a copy of my XX/XX/XXXX correspondence to Comenty, I received correspondence from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX advising that based on a review of their records, likely consisting only of the information copied to them in my XX/XX/XXXX letter, XXXX advised they have closed ( my ) account and ceased collections. ( I ) have no further obligation regarding this account. Three ( 3 ) days is all it took for XXXX to receive, investigate, review and close my account and remove it from my credit reports. It has now been nearly 18 months since I initially wrote to Comenty and yet they still refuse to acknowledge my issue, much less investigate. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received two additional letters from Comenty. One dated XX/XX/XXXX from Comentys Account Protection Team duplicating their letter of XX/XX/XXXX, only updating the date of the letter, but again, stating that XXXX XXXX was in possession of my account and had been since XX/XX/XXXX. The second letter from Comenty is dated XX/XX/XXXX and is from their Customer Care Team. The Customer Care Team wrote to advise that my account was sold to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. The letter goes on to state that they have validated my account, advising that my account was opened by me, on XX/XX/XXXX. It is rather insulting that Comenty, in an effort to again dodge the demand to investigate instead attempt to allege that I stated this account did not belong to me! Unfortunately, the account does belong to me which is why my credit is such a bad state because Comenty REFUSES to secure, protect and advocate on behalf of its customer. Interestingly, I wrote to Comenty from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX before I ever received the first response from Comenty, dated XX/XX/XXXX. Customer Care is now responding to tell me that they sold my account to a third party the day after they wrote their very first response to me. This clearly shows that Comenty was well aware that there was a serious dispute attached to this account and still chose to sell it, wash their hands of it and yet continue to report this account negatively on my credit report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation