Consumer complaint received 2021-06-25
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
I made a {$40.00} payment on my Victoria 's Secret card on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, towards a small purchase made on XX/XX/XXXX. I typically don't get online until around XXXX or XXXX. I got the confirmation screen saying the payment was complete but I didn't write down the number because I've never had issues with making payments to them before and just took it for granted that if the confirmation screen showed up, the payment went through. 

Well, no confirmation email ever showed but I hadn't used the card since XXXX or something so I couldn't remember if I even had it set to send me email notifications about payments. I always pay my bills on or just after payday ( twice a month ) and I pay the bills based on what is due that pay period. This is when I also balance my checkbook. Since my bank switched to dual factor identification, I now have to get a code texted to me. I get charged fees for texting, so I only balance the account twice a month on paydays when I pay that pay period 's bills. 

Depending on how each company has their payment system set up, sometimes this means I'm paying the payment on the actual day I'm making the payment, and sometimes it has the date automatically set for the payment due date. I did not change whatever the date was for this card when I made the payment on it. I just take everything out of my checkbook the day XXXX sit down to do my bi-monthly bills so I know everything is taken care of and I can rest easy until next pay period. 

When it hadn't come out of my account I just figured that I must have the due date wrong in my planner since it had been so long since I'd used it. XXXX is a long time not to use a card and I had a habit of paying in store on the day I'd make purchases back when our local store was still open. Well, I got a bill with a {$28.00} late fee and the statement did not show my XX/XX/XXXX payment ( which would have been on time ). I called the company and the girl on the phone asked if I wanted to dispute it. I said yes because I know I got the confirmation page when I made my payment. 

I have not had access to my account since XX/XX/XXXX when I made that ill-fated payment. Every time I try to log in I get an error screen. I've tried using different internet browsers, clearing my cache and cookies, etc. Nothing works. They have me completely locked out of my account. I'm not going to lie, it freaks me out. I don't like being denied access to my own information. To me that is weird and suspicious. The only logical reason I can find for why they would need to lock me out of my account and deny me access to my information is because they have something to hide. I could understand certain features being unavailable or something, but not a total lockout. 

They sent me a letter saying they could find no record of the payment, but I know XXXX well I got the confirmation page after paying. It hasn't come out of the account so obviously the payment didn't go through, but I am really not liking this whole not having any access to my account thing that has been going on since XX/XX/XXXX, or having to pay late fees on something I know I made the payment for. 

Where the XXXX did my payment information go? They use your checking account information, so basically my whole bank account info, my full name, address, etc are potentially affected. Did their site get hacked and now my information is floating around out there somewhere on the dark web? Are they covering up a massive data breech and trying to profit off of it at the same time? It was a Friday night, so were they working on the site? Did they fail to post a message the the site would be down for maintenance? Did site maintenance interfere with the payment processing? Why have I been locked out of my account for 2 months? What are they trying to hide? 

I do not feel their payment website is safe, secure, or working appropriately. The only reason I even made a purchase with this card was solely to keep it active. I didn't want the account to close because I have amazing credit and I want to keep it that way. Now, I wish I had cut the XXXX thing up in anger after they closed our local store, let the account close, and taken the " closed due to inactivity '' hit to my credit score. I hate buying those sorts of things online anyway and the nearest stores are 45 minutes or more away.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation