Consumer complaint received 2024-08-16
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NJ)

Hi there before going through this process know that I have exhausted every other effort to try and remedy this situation both with the bank and the store and got nowhere. I am long-term customer of XXXX and have made many purchases using their charge card. The card company changed hands at some point over the last few years and the new comenity Bank is I believe doing predatory lending. I purchased many items on 0 % interest and always pay off the balance before the expiration date. I have done so and I have records to show that I have done that and alignment with statements that show the amount due and the date due. I recently learned that to XXXX over customers, they have instituted a practice where if I pay off a expiring balance that SHOWS ON MY STATEMENT as expiring, I then have to call and tell them explicitly that I am paying off that particular balance. This is not standard practice as I have many cards w these plans and never have I had to call in as I pay them off.

Many times over the last year or two I have paid off these balances and was not aware that I was supposed to call and tell them this And was charged over {$6500.00} of interest plus compounding. When I spoke to the store about this who I have a great relationship with they had no idea that as a user and buyer of the card that this was something that we were supposed to be doing so they never told customers this. So this was news to them. I have spoken to Comenity Bank many times about this and never get anywhere with the conversation. They are standing on this idea that the consumer has to call in each time and expiring balances paid off and indicate it to them. Therefore this has been happening for years on my account with them without my knowledge. 

I spent quite a bit of time working with a customer advocate XXXX, and she was supposed to speak to her manager and they were supposed to call me back. This was about two weeks ago and despite leaving additional messages, no one gets back to me. I have no recourse. Since early XXXX  when I found out about this, I have had over 10 conversations at this point and they refused to acknowledge that you can not charge customers interest like this without significant awareness of this implication of not calling in. I understand if I was just throwing extra money at a card if I wanted it to go in a particular direction of balance that I would call and make that request however, when the whole formula is set up on the idea that balances are continuing to expire, and they are due on a certain day and you make that payment in addition to your monthly payment that should go to the expiring balance. 

This interest is compounding every single day. what I am asking is that they refund the interest that was charged on all of these expiring balances that I paid off and did not know I was supposed to call about. the store at this point and the management at this point is furious with the bank as well and frankly, theyre embarrassed and going to lose customers over it and are recommending clients not use the card for this reason.