Consumer complaint received 2023-11-17
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
COMPLAINT AGAINST COMENITY CAPITAL BANK XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX PURCHASES
Submitted to CFPB on XXXX  
The account with Comenity Capital Bank was opened on XXXX XXXX XXXX by XXXX when I signed a contract to purchase into a XXXX XXXX XXXX. I thought I was purchasing one thing and received something totally different. It was a bait and switch by XXXX salespeople. I was deceived and misinformed as to what I was purchasing. My finances were exploited. It was XXXX XXXX with predatory sales practices by XXXX I did not find out the truth of what I purchased until much later. On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I called Comenity Capital Bank at XXXX XXXX. and was told to call back on XXXX XXXX when they would be open. I called at XXXX XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX and spoke to a Comenity Capital Bank representative named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX) and told her I wanted to file a fraud dispute case with Comenity Capital Bank in the amount of XXXX that was originally placed on a Comenity XXXX XXXX Credit Card by XXXX I asked her to assign a case number. I was told by XXXX that she could not assign a case number but that a legal team member would be contacting me in three days. The conversation ended at XXXX XXXX PST. No one ever called me back, but I did receive a letter dated XXXX XXXX  stating that they had received my claim and were researching it. I called again on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX and spoke with XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX) and told her no one ever called me and that I had received a letter and wanted to send documentation supporting my claim. I asked her for an email address, a FAX number, or a link where I could upload information about the fraud dispute. She said none of these were available and that I had to mail any correspondence about my claim to the Billing Dispute Inquiry at Comenity Capital Bank to a different address than what was in the letter  a POB number with a different zip code. I sent a packet to them on XXXX XXXX at the address provided by US Mail with a required signature receipt to be sent to me XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I have yet to receive a signed receipt acknowledging that they have received the package that included a statement of what happened, copies of emails and other documents. No one has contacted me since mailing the packet to them and still no case number has been assigned. I had asked the representatives if I needed to make payments while this was being investigated and I have not received a direct answer to this question. 
Comenity Capital Bank has consistently made it very difficult to submit documentation to show fraud on the part of XXXX. In fact, I can no longer access my Comenity Capital Bank account on line - it has somehow been blocked. I have also told Comenity Capital Bank representatives that I submitted information to XXXX  regarding the deceptive practices of their salespeople. I have been complaining to XXXX employees soon after signing the contract, but not within their two-week grace period because they did not tell me that I only had two weeks to cancel the contract. Also, I thought everything they promised me would happen and I did not know at the time that they had scammed me and misrepresented what they had presented to me in the sales meeting. I did not even know about a department they have for complaints and was not told about this department until XXXX. I contacted the their Resolutions Department  XXXX XXXX  when I learned about the existence of this department. A representative assigned to me named XXXX XXXX called once and said to contact him anytime. Since that first call, he is not returning emails or phone calls even though the case has been escalated according to XXXX Resolution Department.

DETAILED STATEMENT:

My husband and I came to the sales office on XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX because we won a free one-week trip to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on a spin of a wheel that landed on the free trip. We once had a good experience listening to a Timeshare presentation by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, but we also had a very bad experience with XXXX XXXX XXXX  We were very skeptical, but the name XXXX sounded like it could be legitimate. So, we made the appointment to come in and listen to the sales pitch to get our free trip. We viewed a film and then we were assigned to XXXX XXXX My husband wanted to leave, but I told him I was interested in hearing what the salespeople had to say. There was no interest at first in joining any kind of travel club. XXXX immediately began talking about how we could go to nice resorts or on cruises if we bought into a club membership. I told her we were not interested in resorts or cruises. She asked what interested us. I told her we like first-class train trips and were interested in business-class flights to Italy, as our daughter lives there, and we like to visit her at least once each year. I told her we just got back from XXXX XXXX XXXX  and that we were going to XXXX in XXXX. I told her we wanted to book the XXXX XXXX in XXXX for XXXX for our XXXX XXXX anniversary and my XXXX XXXX. She told us we could do all of this with a membership at great discount or for free using the credits that came with membership. 
I also told her we like bicycling, and it would be nice to be able to stay at nice hotels while biking in XXXX XXXX XXXX or along the coast. I mentioned that we liked biking over to XXXX XXXX and had thought about staying at the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  She said we could stay at the XXXX XXXX XXXX per night. I was really astounded as the XXXXXXXX  is very expensive. I said back to her, I can stay overnight at the XXXX XXXX XXXX a night? She said, Yes. She said it was on a sliding scale and that we could stay multiple nights and even for a week for a little over XXXX. 
I then asked her about other places, like XXXX XXXX, where I do a lot of presentations, hikes, and research for books I write. I told her we lost our rental of 14 years and were looking at paying XXXX XXXX XXXX for motel stays in XXXX XXXX. She said the cost would also be XXXX  per night or with small increments for added nights. So, I got hooked on the promises of XXXX hotel stays anywhere, including XXXX I know what I have paid for hotels, and that really sounded like a deal. She said that I would be able to use credits for flights, train excursions, and hotel bookings. She said that membership would be for life, and we could pass membership down to our children. Then she invited in her sales manager XXXX XXXX  to join us at our table. XXXX immediately brought out a sheet explaining that membership costs XXXX but because we had come in, he could reduce the price. He mentioned a figure around XXXX, and I said way too much, and we were not interested. Then XXXX asked if XXXXXXXX was a XXXX and he said yes. He was a helicopter pilot in XXXX Then XXXX reduced the price to XXXX if we agreed to purchase a membership that day. XXXX wanted a copy of the sheet he wrote on, and XXXX made a copy for him. XXXX  then took the sheet and went to get a sandwich that they offered him and asked when we were going to leave. I told him I wanted to continue the discussion with the salespeople because I thought it might pencil out to be a good deal.
I explained to XXXX XXXX XXXX that I could be interested. I shared with them that my husband has some XXXX  and I wanted to provide some good experiences for him while he could still enjoy them and remember them. I was still not committed because I really was not interested in paying interest on a large sum of money. That is when XXXX said that I would not have to pay interest because the cost could be put on credit cards that were interest free for six months. Then the balance could be transferred to another card so that I would have 18 months to pay off the purchase. XXXX said he would personally call me in XXXX and have the balance transferred so that it would be interest free. I was still not sure, and for over 5 hours they kept pressuring me while my poor husband just kept saying he wanted to leave. He was the smart one.
In a final summary statement I said, if I purchase this membership today for XXXX, I will get everything you promised: hotel stays at XXXX  per night at such places as the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX; business-class flights to Italy or elsewhere at either highly discounted prices from 45-65% off retail or for free by using credits; first-class train trips for much less than advertised retail or free by using credits; discounted car and motorhome rentals (I told them we had a trip planned to see the eclipse on XXXX XXXX and that we were thinking of renting a motorhome to drive to XXXX no interest on payment for 18 months; we could pass ownership to our daughter who would receive the yearly credits; and resort stays anywhere around the world, including our free XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX then said they would each give us some of their own credits to make sure our XXXX vacation was paid for by giving us XXXX  credits that would be posted to our account in XXXXXXXX (I found out later this was an outright lie as they did not give us any of their personal credits  the credits are bonus credits that were coming to us because we signed up). 
After more than five hours of haggling, we went into XXXX XXXX office. By that time another sales manager was in the deal: XXXX XXXX XXXX. As we went through the contract and as I asked questions, XXXX began to question if I really wanted to sign. XXXX had taken away the various sheets he had written on with the original price and the discounts on it. I asked him to give those back to me. He wouldnt, but he brought out another sheet and just wrote information about interest free payments. I have a copy of the original price he said we were getting that he had given to XXXX  that shows the price before all the discounts were added. The back of the sheet shows how points could be used for business-class flights and hotels. He also wrote that retail prices of other travel trips would be discounted 45-65% off retail prices if purchased through the XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX  continued to write on my copy after XXXXXXXX moved away from us. On my copy he wrote each new price before the next discount was added with each of the older prices lined out, leaving the final price I needed to pay for membership. I believe now that XXXX  did not want me to have that copy showing how he discounted every price to the final price. He probably would have picked up XXXX  copy, but he had forgotten about it because XXXX was at a separate table being fed sandwiches. 
I found XXXX copy much later in a file at home. This document describes what we were offered: we were purchasing a XXXX package that was the highest tier that was listed for about XXXX per credit that equals XXXX XXXX at the Platinum level that would provide everything promised, including hotel stays at XXXX per night. It was later that I learned in an email from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXthree months after signing the first and second contractthat the XXXX  is the amount per day to use XXXX XXXX and not the cost for a stay. The actual cost to stay in such places, like the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX would be XXXX XXXX  the cost of the room. I was totally deceived by all salespeople who were pushing me to sign the contract. I have several emails sent to salespeople reiterating and asking for confirmation that I would only pay XXXX per one night stay. They always confirmed verbally.
When XXXX really questioned if I should sign because I was so unsure, I asked XXXX XXXX XXXX if everything that I was promised would happen, and they affirmed. So, I signed. I later discovered that I did not receive what was promised and presented, which was the Platinum tier at a great discount, but instead, I paid full price for the lowest tier that did not have enough credits to really use as I needed and did not include the personal choice needed to obtain business-class flights or specialized first-class train excursions, such as the XXXX XXXX   all the things that I was interested in that they said I would receive with the discounted membership.
The sales team knew that XXXX  and I were leaving shortly for an extended tour of XXXX. No one said anything about having only two weeks to cancel the contract after signing. When I came back from XXXX  and really had second thoughts about how I had been so highly pressured into signing, I called XXXX and asked her about canceling. She said I could not because I would have had to cancel within two weeks, and it was then after two weeks of signing the contract. She said I was stuck with the membership. 
I decided to be positive about the membership because I still believed I had everything that was promised to me and would be able to schedule the XXXX XXXX train trip through XXXX. I even told the sales representative at XXXX XXXXXXXX  that the trip would be booked through the XXXX  XXXX XXXX that I joined. I began telling friends that I would be able to stay iXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and better than that, I could reserve a couple of rooms at the XXXX XXXX  when folks were biking with us, and they could stay there also at the highly discounted price. I told my daughter in Italy that I would pay for flights for her and her husband through our credits to bring them here for XXXX and that we could rent a home or stay at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  for several days over XXXX XXXX. My son-in-law then put in a request to his employer XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  to grant him vacation time during the XXXX I believed everything the sales team promised me that they said was true. I had no reason at that time to think anything else except for an uneasy feeling about how they pressured me and hovered over me like a flock of vultures waiting for a meal. Once I signed, they were done with me. The care I was promised never came. They were off to find another victim. 
I now believe they looked at our age, heard me mention that my husband had XXXX XXXX sensed we had money and credit that they could access and thereby receive a sales commission, and they had assumed I was XXXX and gullible enough to be talked into buying a membership. Well, they were correct there. I stupidly believed and trusted what they presented to me. They made it look like a really good deal. But what they had me sign was not the XXXX package discounted. It was the lowest tier at full price. This was a total, unethical predatory sales scam, or XXXX  fraud, based on deception and false pretenses when they saw my vulnerability because of my concern about my husbands condition, my desire to visit our daughter yearly and provide XXXX  comfortable accommodations on flights, and my need to have a place to stay in XXXX XXXX that was affordable. 
In signing this first contract, no one told me how my credit score would be affected. It dropped from excellent with over an XXXX score to good with a loss of about XXXX  points. I was also told to use the XXXX XXXX XXXX as much as possible to earn additional travel points, although I really did not understand what that entailed, as it was never explained. What I found out immediately was that I could not use the card at all because it was declined as XXXX  was placed on the XXXX  card when I signed the contract (I have separately filed a fraud claim with XXXX I immediately called XXXX  and asked what was going on. He said, just pay XXXX now and they will increase your credit limit so that you can use it. I called XXXX They said that they do not automatically increase credit. They said that there was nothing in the contract from XXXX that said I was promised a higher credit limit. It was also a card that needed to be paid off in six months or otherwise there would be charges of 25.24% interest on the unpaid balance. XXXX  said not to worry because the balance would be moved to another interest free account. I could see that this plan could become a real nightmare trap that could possibly lead to huge interest payments while my credit score would continue to drop. Again, I would have to trust a salesperson. Now I know I cant trust any of them because they are there to make a profit for themselves and will say anything to get the sale. Signing that first contract, I had to use my personal XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX   a down payment. They put XXXX on the XXXX card and the balance of XXXXXXXX  on the Comenity Capital Bank cardthis is the amount I am disputing under a fraud claim with Comenity Capital Bank.

THE SCAM CONTINUED:

I was talked into signing a second contract to upgrade in order to get what I was originally promised. This second complaint does not involve Comenity Capital Bank, which this complaint is about. However, if you need this information about the rest of this scam, it is upload below:

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation