Consumer complaint received 2023-10-25
Company: Continental Finance Company, LLC
State: GA
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill
Sub-issue: Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship

Complaint:
I have XXXX and have been in the hospital I had missed a payment and my finances are struggling. So I did not slip further into delinquency I was advised to enroll in the re-age program. I did this in XXXX. The offshore ( XXXX XXXX? ) agent advised that it would stop my account from being further delinquent and all I had to do was make reduced payments of {$35.00} over a three month period. XXXX, XXXX, XXXX. I was told that it would stop any further delinquency if I made the {$35.00} dollars payments as agreed and once completed my credit would be updated to reflect paid as agreed and all the late fees that I had incurred up to the entering into the re-age program would be refunded. 

Since then I was just notified by my credit monitoring that my account was reported as further delinquent. Despite making the agreed payment early XXXX reported further delinquent and charged another late fee. Despite being in a hardship program and making the agreed payment early ( I have now made all three re-age payments as of today XXXX ) my credit was reported as further late 90 days ... .an another XXXX late fee. Once I recived the staement today reflecting that I called and reached another offshore agent in the XXXX she said she was a supervisor " XXXX '' agent id XXXX at approx XXXX EST. She was very rude. She informed that although I was in a reduced payment re-age plan that I would still be reported late and incur late fees. I said that made absolutely no sense. I stated I had not been told that and I would not have agreed to a program that further damaged my credit and continued to charge late fees! What would be the point of a reduced payment plan if they continue to charge late fees and ruin your credit. 
This is very misleading. It is completely different to what the agent told me that enrolled me in the plan. I was very clear about not wanting my credit to be further damaged. He assured me this plan would reflect immediately and once the plan had completed my account would update to show current for past late and I would not go further delinquent from the point of enrollment. 
this appears to be a scam. they lower your payment but still charge a late fee and still reflect increasingly late delinquency. The agent XXXX said that I would have had to make the full three reduced payments at once {$110.00} to avoid being reported as late and a late fee?? 
I asked to be transferred to a Manager. I was on hold for a long time and was then dumped to another agent. just a standard agent " nolie cuerdo '' id XXXX that was at XXXX EST. The agents in the XXXX just transfer from one to the other. This is misleading how can this be legal. they are taking advantage and not doing what they clearly stated. i clearly made the agreed reduced payment plan amount and they still reported me as late and charged a fee even though I was paying what was agreed and I paid early. I am still on hold with offshore representatives now it has been 1 hour 32 minutes. the CFPB needs to address this issue. This has now resulted in a 90 day late when I would have made alternate arrangements if I had not been misled. I have an audio copy of my calls. I finally spoke to XXXX said he was a super id number XXXX he said no manager available. only managers work in the morning! After 1 hour 40 minuted it was a cold call he had no idea why I was calling.He was no help.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation