Consumer complaint received 2017-12-11
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: MO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
In the late summer XXXX, I began to experience extreme financial hardship. I reached out to XXXX for help and to try to keep the accounts in goodstanding and preserve my credit rating. I initially asked for a rate reduction on several occasions and was denied. I was not sure as to why because I have excellent credit. The accounts are XXXX # -XXXX and XXXX XXXX # XXXX. So after the denials, I kept making my regular payments, but it was becoming increasingly hard, due to the change in finances. I called and messaged several times to work with XXXX and enroll in the hardship program. The process was extremely difficult and time consuming, because I kept getting the run around, plus I had to do follow up work after XXXX employees, because they were not correctly processing my request. Prior to financial difficulties, I had and still have excellent pay history. I have a min of 6 cards offered by XXXX, and I have been a customer for over 5 years without any negative occurences. Over the course of 4 months, I have been communicating with XXXX and the experience that I have had has been negligent, inconsistent information, zero % accuracy, and false assurance. Below is a timeline of all the errors that I have encountered and as a resolve for the poor customer care I am requesting that the fees on my account are refunded immediately and well as interest accrued. In addition, I am requesting a detailed response to my letter and not the generic auto response that I have been bombarded with over the last 3 months. I also want proof that my XXXX and XXXX XXXX accounts are enrolled in the hardship program as I have been requesting over a month. 
XX/XX/XXXX- I called and spoke with a rep about the interest on the account and requested a lower rate. I also asked for any help that could be offered, but because my account was current I was denied. I requested that both accounts be closed. 
XX/XX/XXXX- I called a few more times asking for assistance, but was still denied. 
XX/XX/XXXX- I called and spoke with another rep and inquired about settlements and again hardship because I was having financial difficulties. I also sent a secure message explaining my hardship and inquiring about settlement. I also informed that I am working hard to prevent any loss. 
XX/XX/XXXX - I received a message through the online site and was told to submit the request in writing. 
XX/XX/XXXX- I uploaded a signed pdf requesting a settlement for the account XX/XX/XXXX- I received a response that my request has been forwarded over to the appropriate dept. 
XX/XX/XXXX- I called and checked on the progress and I was told that it was not updated/ under review to give it some time- so I waited until the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX - I missed my payment, because I did not have the funds XX/XX/XXXX- It was 1 full month later, so I called and I sent a secure message for an update on the settlement request XX/XX/XXXX- I received a message to call and so I did. I spent 40 mins on the phone consistently explaining and repeating information that I had already submitted online. I was also told to call different depts and when I called I would be transferred back to the other dept. The last rep I spoke with agreed to help me and to enroll me in the hardship program. I was told that a do not collect was placed on my account. I was shocked because I never sent a cease collection letter. I had requested help for a settlement. I told that I needed to send letters requesting that the do not collect hold be removed and that I wanted to enroll in a hardship program XX/XX/XXXX- I went online and sent hardship requests for XXXX and XXXX in letter form and a fee refund XX/XX/XXXX- I received a response declining the fee refund, but there was no indication about the enrollment to the hardship programs. So I replied to the message asking about my enrollment and further explanation Ultimately, I never received a response XX/XX/XXXX-I sent another message asking for a response and I have to explain again my prev conversation- the rep told me to call XX/XX/XXXX- Received another generic auto response and was told to call customer care XX/XX/XXXX- I  spent 21mins and 17sec on phone with rep I had to re-explain everything again and re-request to be enrolled in hardship program- The rep said that she had enrolled me and I even managed to make a partial payment. I also asked specific questions to ensure that I was enrolled in 60mnths no interest and I also was told I would receive written confirmation. I was also told that everything was taken care of XX/XX/XXXX- I checked online and seen that auto payments were set up, but the account still showed past due and it did not reflect any type of hardship enrollment. I never received any documents and I was still receiving collection calls XX/XX/XXXX- I called to inquire because the account did not reflect any changes. I was told that the account was not enrolled correctly or that the enrollment was not set ( cant remember which one ) However, again I had to spend 32mins and 11sec on the phone trying to get the situation rectified and following up on the mishap of XXXX  customer care team XX/XX/XXXX- I sent a letter similar to this, expressing my discontent XX/XX/XXXX- I never received any communication- had to keep sending letters XX/XX/XXXX- I  emailed and called, for late fee refund on both accounts and interest refund, but I only received generic automated responses. I did speak with a rep that confirmed I was enrolled in the hardship program, but I never received any docs. The only docs I received were letters stating that auto pay had been setup on my account. I want to either speak with a rep and settle these accounts and never do business with XXXX again or issue the refund I am requesting, plus a detailed non auto generic letter confirming my enrollment. My accounts are not deliquent, have never been deliquent. The only hiccup i had was the paymemt that was made like 4 days after the due date, bc i did not have funds and i told the XXXX that was the purpose of me enrolling.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation