Consumer complaint received 2018-09-26
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: MN
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2018, I visited the website for XXXX XXXX with the intention of purchasing a piece of furniture. While going through the checkout process, I was presented with an advertisement for the XXXX XXXX credit card, managed through XXXX XXXX, which has an optional benefit of allowing for 12 months of no-interest on purchases over a specific threshold. As my purchase would be well over that amount, I was interested in this option, and as it was being advertised during the checkout process, with a notation that I was pre-approved, it gave the appearance that the application and potential approval could all be done concurrent with the checkout process. 

I followed the instructions and applied for the XXXX XXXX credit card. I received notification that I was approved for a credit line of {$5000.00}. The site also said that I could return to my checkout at the XXXX XXXX site directly and that they would fill in the credit card information automatically, as I was not given an account number and the card itself would not arrive in the mail for up to two weeks.

When I clicked the button to return to the checkout, an error message appeared, and I was not redirected back to my transaction. When I manually returned to the site, the item was still in my cart, but the new card account information was not there. I checked my email for any messages from XXXX XXXX, and found one again stating that I had been approved for a limit of {$5000.00}, and would receive my welcome kit and card in approximately two weeks. 

Since the particular item I wished to purchase was on sale, and that sale is expiring on XX/XX/XXXX, the card and its benefits will be of little use to me if I have to wait up to two weeks to access it. 

I called XXXX XXXX to ask what I could do in this situation and validated my information through their computer prompts until I reached a live individual. She informed me that she could not give me my account number, but that if I called XXXX XXXX, they could contact XXXX directly and initiate the transaction. I was skeptical that this would work, but allowed the representative to forward my call to XXXX XXXX. 

Once I was connected with a representative at XXXX XXXX, I explained my situation. She seemed unaware of the process proposed by XXXX, but put me on hold while she called them. After waiting for quite a while, she reconnected to me with a conference line to a XXXX representative who wanted to confirm my Social Security Number. I did so, and the XXXX rep confirmed that I had an account, and told the XXXX XXXX rep to call another number at XXXX to initiate the transaction. 

She did as she was instructed, putting me back on hold. When she returned, she informed me that XXXX would not allow her to initiate the order using the account as she was not calling on a secured line. My only option was apparently to go to a physical XXXX XXXX store and ask one of their employees to call XXXX to initiate the transaction/purchase, as their lines were secure. 

As the item I was ordering is only available online and I was not able to go to a store at that time, I thanked the XXXX XXXX rep for her attempts, and gave up. At the end of the day, I was left with a {$5000.00} credit card with features I could not access, and was unable to purchase the item I wanted while it is marked down. By the time the card information arrives, the item will no longer be discounted and may not even be in stock.

My complaint is that the manner in which this credit card was promoted ( directly within the online checkout process ) is misleading, as there was no way to actually use the card or its features for an online purchase. If I had known that I would not be able to use the card to complete my online purchase, I would not have applied or authorized XXXX XXXX to pull a credit report. This was an online-only item, so it is not reasonable to expect that customers have the ability to visit a physical store to complete the transaction, especially when the card itself is being advertised directly within the online check out process.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation