Consumer complaint received 2023-12-02
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
There has been internal fraud happening on my credit card account with Comenity Bank. If you look at their reviews on XXXX, XXXX & etc. you will see similar complaints. In late XXXX XXXX, I set up a hardship plan with Comenity Bank for my XXXX credit card account. It was a 6 month plan that I was initially told would end in XX/XX/XXXX. My first payment was made XX/XX/XXXX. I paid consistently every month from XXXX XXXX XXXX, even making an extra payment in XXXX that was worth almost double the required amount ( which they refused to count towards the hardship payment plan ). I was told after 3 months of consecutive payments the credit bureaus would be notified & my account/credit would be updated ( which did not happen ). On XX/XX/XXXX I called in because my online account did not reflect completion of the hardship program as initially stated. I was informed the first payment made in may would not count and the last payment would be XX/XX/2023 and the hardship program would end on XX/XX/2023 which is not what I was initially told. At which time the account would be updated and the hold would be released. When this did not happen, I called in and got yet again conflicting information from several representatives. I initial customer service reps in the billing & customer service departments were kind and attempted to be helpful ; however, because this issue could only be resolved/addressed by the Hardship Department , they had to transfer me which is where the issue always arises. The Hardship department was deceptive when I spoke to them in XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. In today 's most recent events when they transferred me to the initial rep in hardship, she first misinformed me that my plan was XXXX months and not XXXX when she could not figure out the issue. She later acknowledged the plan is a 6 month plan and despite me making XXXX payments XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, & XX/XX/XXXX the account is still in hardship status and unable to be corrected because of an error in the system. She stated she doesn't know how to fix the error. She also stated she doesn't know anyone who can fix the error, therefore she could not tell me when the hardship plan would end nor when my account would be updated. She said to keep paying on the hardship plan until advised otherwise. Unacceptable. She said there was no supervisor available to speak with. At this point I have made approximately {$1500.00} worth of payments since the conception of the hardship plan. I called customer service back to see if there was a supervisor available in hardship. The rep transferred me over to a man who pretended to be a supervisor, only to later admit he was lying and was indeed not a supervisor. He consistently talked over me and then told me he felt I should extend the payment plan another 6 months. I told him I did not want to and he kept trying to convince me. He then kept exclaiming that the hardship plan would not end until XX/XX/XXXX which yet again extends the life of the hardship plan. When I informed him this was not what I was informed last month he stated I was misinformed and the plan would not end until I made another payment in XXXX. I requested to speak with a supervisor and he kept talking over me and attempting to deflect. He then started saying they will tell me the same thing. I then requested his name and employee number at which time he was then all the sudden willing to transfer me to a supervisor. I asked another 3-4 times for his name and employee ID number which he stated was XXXX. He also began making erratic yelping noise. I hung up and once again tried to find a knowledgeable rep. The young lady I spoke with was nice in customer service. She attempted to call the hardship department and request a supervisor. Each time she did she informed me " the keep releasing the call ''. They refused to allow her to speak with a supervisor. She informed her supervisor and they made a report/complaint to higher-up departments. I verified that " releasing the call '' means they kept hanging up on her, a fellow employee. Previously when I would speak with customer service they were able to see notes on my account. It appeared the man who was previously in the account deleted them because they were no longer visible, and my account suddenly showed I was on a 24 month hardship plan when speaking to the last young lady. Please note : my issue is not with the last young lady in the customer service department, rather the deceptive reps in the hardship department. She was finally able to speak with a non-supervisorial representative who stated the plan indeed was only 6 months and should end XX/XX/XXXX, and the account should reflect this tomorrow. I decided to still move forward with the complaint because I keep receiving misinformation and encountering reps in the hardship department who continuously do and say deceptive things. As of today my account still does not reflect good standing, nor does my credit report reflect that I have completed the hardship program and my account is not delinquent/in good standing after XXXX payments, and {$1500.00}. I never had this issue when my XXXX account was managed by XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. Comenity Bank has been unethical from day one. I previously had an account with XXXX XXXX through XXXX and quickly paid the account in full and closed it because Comenity was so horrible. Other reviews have also stated issues with Comenity on websites like XXXX, XXXX and the XXXX. Some stating they paid their card off in full but their score is dropping each month because Comenity has not reported it. Others referring to them as " deceptive '' or " thieves ''. Something needs to be done about this company.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation