Consumer complaint received 2020-06-25
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: SC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
In early XXXX I contacted Community Bank in regards to my Victoria Secret , XXXX, and NY Company credit card accounts. I explained to the young lady that I work two jobs and I loss one job due to COVID-19, which significantly impacted my income and I was calling all companies where I was behind or in jeopardy of being behind. I told her that I wanted to assistance with getting my balances paid down without incurring any additional fees. She set me up on a program where i would pay {$45.00} for NYC and XXXX and {$75.00} for NYC for three months. She stated I would not receive any late fees and my card would be suspended until the balance was brought current. She also waived the late fees I had incurred. I made the first payment in XXXX and the next payment in XXXX prior to the due date. When i went to make the third payment I notice the balance on my XXXX and NY Company card had significantly increased. So i only made the payment on Victoria Secret. Today XX/XX/2020, I contacted the company discuss what was going on with my account. I spoke to another young lady who after speaking we determined I was placed on a re age program and the balance had increased due to late fees. Now as a person who is impacted financially by a Global Pandemic why would this program be offered to me if there were other options to help me. The young lady agreed that i should not have been placed in this program and told me there was a financial hardship department she would transfer me to that could lower my payments to {$20.00} and waive any late fees after its completion. When speaking to this department, the call dropped once we were finalizing the agreement. So i called back and spoke to a gentleman whose name I could not recall. When I explained to him that I needed to be transferred back to this department due to the call dropping, he proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions and told me he did not see any notations about a such program, as if it didn't exists. I told him I dont know the name and explained the terms I was given. He still wouldnt transfer me. I asked him if he didnt know what department I was referring to, to simply transfer me to someone else or a supervisor who does know. He told me that he was the financial department and refused to transfer me. He then told me that I had to make a payment today. At this point I am annoyed because I had already been on the phone for 30 minutes. I work from home and was neglecting my job duties to work this situation out. I did suggest that he may have been having a slow day and not reading the notes on my account. He became irate and argumentative, again refusing to transfer me to a supervisor. He actually stated he was a supervisor. He ended up hanging up on me. I called back and requested a supervisor and spoke to XXXX. XXXX was very professional and apologize even though the actions of that agent was not her fault. She assured me that the program was enacted on my XXXX and NY Company card. We also agreed to not enroll the VS card due to it being current. I did let  XXXX know my concerns in the agent I spoke to in XXXX as well as the agent that previously hung on me using deceptive and unprofessional tactics to get customers to make a payment so that they get credit and meet their goals. The first young lady should've offered me this program in XXXX and the gentle I spoke to tried to say that the program did not exist so i would make a payment. With the current state of the world, this is not the time to be shady. I am very disappointment and I wonder how many other consumers have received this treatment. After disconnecting the call with XXXX, I then received a call from the collections team again telling me account is past due and to make a payment. The young lady also did not read the debt collections script, verify my identity with my address/ssn, or advise that the call was being recorded. Not sure if that was needed but it wasn't done. I told her that there should be a notation on my account about the program I was just enrolled in. She proceeded to say it wasn't. So imagine my frustrating. I asked to speak to a supervisor and got XXXX. XXXX immediately saw that I was enrolled in the program and explained that I received a call due to my number still being in the dialer. My concern is why do I have to speak to supervisors in order for things to get done? XXXX and XXXX should not have been inconvenienced because the agents either failed to read the notes on my account or disregarded them in an attempt to get me to make a payment. Training is needed. This should not have gotten this far. Kudos to XXXX, XXXX, and the first young lady I spoke to on XX/XX/2020 for doing their job and putting the customer first especially during these times. The other agents need more training.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation