Consumer complaint received 2023-06-16
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: SC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Sent card you never applied for

Complaint:
I opened a store credit card for the XXXX XXXX XXXX sometime ago & have charged items, received bills & paid each of them in-full before their due date. 

Recently, I purchased an item for {$92.00} at a XXXX XXXX store in XXXX XXXX SC. I received a bill for {$92.00} by mail on XX/XX/XXXX & paid the bill in-full on XX/XX/XXXX - & received confirmatin the bill payment had been received by XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card bank, Cominity Bank . 

One month after making payment, I received another XXXX XXXX / Cominity  Bank  bill for {$120.00}. This balance included XXXX XXXX already paid a month prior, a {$30.00} late payment charge & {$2.00} in late payment interest. 

Based on the foregoing, on XX/XX/XXXX I called the XXXX XXXX Customer Service phone number & was referred to Cominity Bank. After receiving no satisfaction with the agents I spoke with, I explained the situation again to a Cominity supervisor, XXXX Employee # XXXX. 

XXXX explained that Cominity had close my credit card account for due to inactivity, & " somehow '' a new account was opened on my behalf. I told XXXX I'd not been informed of the account closing, & had never given my permission to open a new account. 

She claimed the new account must have been opened by the XXXX XXXX XXXX, BUT I retorted that ( XXXX ) the XXXX XXXX XXXX had never indicated they weren't charging my item to the account I had every reason to believe was active, ( XXXX ) the XXXX XXXX XXXX employee did not ask for, nor did I offer, any information that would be used to open an account, & ( XXXX ) I never received any new account 'fulfillment ' mailing to indicate a new account had been opened for me- THUS I CONTENDED THAT THIS 'NEW ACCOUNT ' HAD BEEN OPENED ILLEGALLY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. 

XXXX went on to explain that I had payed my {$92.00} XX/XX/XXXX bill balance TO MY OLD/CLOSED without my knowledge account & the item purchased was charged to the new ( unauthorized by me ) account. Hence, the supposedly 'closed account ' was carrying a positive balance of {$92.00} & the 'unauthorized new account ' was carrying a negative past due balance of {$92.00} + {$30.00} late fee & {$2.00} late interest charges. 

Emphasizing that I did not 'authorize ' openig any new account & had not been notified of either the closing of my account or the opening of a new account, I alleged this was an illegal account opening & demanded to know how that happened. XXXX said she'd initiate an investigation to determine what happened. 

I also asked XXXX to : ( XXXX ) move the {$92.00} from the old account to the new account to satisfy the outstanding purchase balance, ( XXXX ) reverse the late payment & late payment interest amount - since Cominity 's own records ( I have a payment confirmation ) show my payment was made well before the payment due date, ( XXXX ) provide me with a Cominity Official Letter explicitly stating 'I had not had any late payments, late payment penalty or interest fees charged to me ' which I could use to refute ( directly with credit agencies ) if such a 'late payment ' indication were to appear in the future on a credit report. XXXX agreed to all of the foregoing ( items XXXX above ). 

I next received a letter from Cominity indicating my dispute was under review & interim to final adjudication, I would not be charged for any late payment fees or interest. The letter made no mention of moving my {$92.00} XX/XX/XXXX payment from the old account to satisfy the balance of {$92.00} on the unauthorized new account. It did say I was responsible for all balances ( other than late payment & interest fees ) which I presumed would be covered by the proper allocation of my {$92.00} payment received by Cominity XX/XX/XXXX. 

I called Cominity Customer Service XX/XX/XXXX & spoke to XXXX, Supervisor Employee # XXXX who assured me another Cominity letter was in the mail to me & that ( XXXX ) my XX/XX/XXXX {$92.00} payment would be applied to the unpaid balance in the unauthorized new account, ( XXXX ) the inappropriately applied late payment & interest fees would be reversed - my account balance in both old & new account would thus be {$00.00}, ( XXXX ) I would shortly receive Cominity letter stating I had had no late payments to any account for my use with credit reporting agencies if te need should arise. 

I have never received any further correspondence from Cominity providing any of the information as XXXX promised. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I did received an unsolicited check for {$92.00} from Cominity with no explanation. Recall, I had been twice promised by Cominity Customer Service Supervisors that the {$92.00} credit balance in my old account would be transferred/credited to the outstanding {$92.00} owed balance on the unauthorized new account. Thinking Cominity had decided to refund my credit balance & bill me for {$92.00} to clear the owed balance in the unauthorized new account, I deposited the Cominity check & awaited a new Cominity bill for {$92.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a Cominity bill for {$120.00} - the original {$92.00} owed plus the XX/XX/XXXX assessed late payment & interest fees & a further interest fee for late payment. 

I called Cominity Customer Service, XXXX employee # XXXX & then XXXX, Supervisor, Employee # XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX offered no useful information. When I told XXXX that XXXX XXXX XXXX ( both Cominity Supervisors ) had indicated on XX/XX/XXXX & XX/XX/XXXX respectively that I would not be charged any late payment or interest fees while my case was being adjudicated & yet here was a XX/XX/XXXX statement charging late payment interest beyond that assessed on XX/XX/XXXX, she had no answer as to why that had happened. When I inquire why Cominity had sent me a check for {$92.00} vs simply applying the {$92.00} credit balance in my old account to the {$92.00} owed balance in the unauthorized new account, she had no answer. When I asked why the 'dispute ' adjudication was taking so long - Cominity 's own records ( I have copies of the Cominity bills & confirmation of receipt of my payment in-full of the original balance on time ), she had no answer other than to say it could take 90 days to resolve & in the meantime, contrary to a Cominity letter I received & the statements of two Cominity Customer Service Supervisors ( XXXX XX/XX/XXXX & XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) , Cominity would continue to charge late payment d ] fees & interest until my unauthorized new account was paid in full.

On a recorded line, I reiterated I am fully prepared to pay what I owe ( {$92.00} ) as soon as Cominity renders a bill to me for that amount - that balance appears no where on their XX/XX/XXXX statement - rather it shows I owe a balance of {$120.00}. I am not prepared to pay what is a full balance due ( {$92.00} ) only to have Cominity treat it as a partial payment & continue charging late fees & interest for their 'bogus ' balance due after paying {$92.00}. 

I also inquired of XXXX when I would receive the letter from Cominity explicitly stating I had not had any late payments. She indicated nothing had been done on this matter to date, she'd request such a letter but ws n't su

re Cominity would provide it. BOTTOM LINE : Cominity is closing account without notifying t
he customer, opening new accounts without the permission of customers, & providing no adequate or timely resolution of their errors in billing & payment processing.

To my knowledge, opening accounts without customer permission is illegal & Cominity is doing its ' best to avoid responding to my queries re : how did this happen, & seeking to wear me down such that I'l just pay their bogus late charges to be ride of them. 

In my XXXX some years of transacting with credit cards, & my XXXX  years XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I've never seen anything this egregious. 

This needs to be dealt with quickly lest other no so aware Cominity customers are charged & pay inappropriate fees. 

I look forward to your response.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief