Consumer complaint received 2018-10-08
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: SD
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
On XXXX, we entered the XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) store in XXXX, AK. We were under strict time constraints, as we needed to return to our cruise ship to set sail. XXXX 's staff and the store manager engaged in very aggressive sales tactics to pressure us into agreeing to the purchase of a ladies " XXXX XXXX  XXXX '' diamond ring. XXXX 's store manager represented to us that the ring was worth {$70000.00}, but he could " let us have it '' for {$53000.00}. When we expressed reluctance, XXXX 's staff and store manager pressured us to make the purchase and thrust documents in front of us and directed us to sign. Given our time constraints, and the extreme pressure we were under from XXXX staff, we did so. We were not given any time whatsoever to read the sale documents, XXXX staff did not encourage us to do so, and we were not advised to review, and so we were unaware of, the fine print on the back of the document. XXXX staff did not disclose to us any XXXX return policy, did not show us or refer us to any place where we could read/review any return policy, and did not give us any opportunity to ask questions. The ONLY thing XXXX staff said to us about any XXXX return policy was the store manager 's comment to us that, " if 20 people do not compliment you on this ring today, bring it back to me! '' The transaction left us very unsettled and upon our return home, we consulted with a reputable jeweler in XXXX XXXX, SD who stated they would sell a ring such as this at far less than what we paid. We decided to return the ring, cancel the sale, and have the {$5000.00} down payment we put on a credit card refunded. We did exactly what we thought would be proper under these circumstances by returning the ring to XXXX 's XXXX store along with a letter requesting cancellation of the sale and a reversal of the charge to our credit card, all via insured U.S. Mail on XXXX. Ultimately, the package containing the ring and our letter was returned to us unopened and marked refused. 
In response, we obtained a formal appraisal from XXXX 's XXXX in XXXX XXXX, who appraised the ring at {$40000.00} full retail price ( XXXX 's indicated they would actually sell such a ring for {$32000.00} ).  We sent copies of this appraisal and the letters to our credit card issuer, XXXX, and after their investigation, they agreed we had been defrauded by XXXX and reversed the charge on our credit card. We sent multiple letters to XXXX and to the XXXX-branded credit card issuer on our accounts, XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX, OH ( XXXX ), setting forth these facts and including a copy of the appraisal, but XXXX 's and XXXX 's responses merely claimed that we had failed to follow their return policy ( which they failed to disclose and prevented us from reviewing at the time of sale ) and/or claimed they would not accept returns due to buyer 's remorse, failing on every occasion to address our claims of fraud. 
For over a year now, we have sought to rescind this transaction due to XXXX 's fraud and offered to return the ring to XXXX 's address of choice at our expense. XXXX and XXXX have failed and refused to do so. In early XX/XX/XXXX, we became aware that XXXX and XXXX had begun to file false delinquency notices against both of us with the three major credit reporting agencies, without referencing in any way our dispute with the transaction on the basis of fraud, despite having full knowledge of our claims of fraud against them. In response, on XX/XX/XXXX, we sent letters via Certified U.S. Mail, return receipt requested, to both XXXX and XXXX objecting to these false, inaccurate, misleading, and illegal filings. We again reiterated to XXXX and XXXX our claims of fraud and the specific facts and circumstances pertaining thereto and issued our demand to XXXX and XXXX to cease filing negative reports against our credit files and to withdraw their earlier delinquency filings. We received return receipts confirming that both XXXX and XXXX received our letter, but both XXXX and XXXX failed to respond to us in any way and ignored our demands to cease filing negative reports and to remove the negative reports they had filed against us. In fact, XXXX and XXXX have continued to file false negative delinquency reports against us on a monthly basis, all without any effort whatsoever to disclose our objection to the debt on the basis of fraud. We deem these filings to be in bad faith, malicious, and designed to try to bully us to pay them. Moreover, the actions of XXXX and XXXX clearly violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, specifically 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692e ( 8 ), which prohibits a debt collector from using any " false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt, '' including specifically, " communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. '' ( emphasis added ) In addition, we have filed multiple claims with all three credit reporting agencies disputing XXXX and XXXX 's false delinquency reports against us and asking that said reports be removed from our credit files, but their responses have been wholly inadequate and they continue to unjustly and unfairly lower our credit scores as a result, even despite having notice of our claims of fraud. 
More recently, in response to the appraisal we submitted earlier, XXXX has asserted a requirement that any appraisal must be from an independent appraiser who is certified to appraise " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' diamonds. We conducted an exhaustive search and located XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX, TX, who is certified to conduct appraisals of XXXX XXXX XXXX diamonds. We presented the subject ring to him for a physical examination and appraisal. On XX/XX/XXXX, Mr. XXXX submitted his report appraising the subject ring at {$10000.00}, a price which is {$60000.00} less than the amount represented to us by XXXX, and {$43000.00} less than XXXX 's " discounted '' price. 
We have found evidence online of MANY similar customer complaints against XXXX and strongly believe that what has happened to us is consistent with XXXX 's regular tactics. We seek only to have this transaction rescinded and the negative delinquency reports removed from both of our credit reports. In exchange, we will return the ring, which has at all times remained unused and securely stored in a safe, to XXXX at the address of their choosing. 
Respectfully submitted, XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief