Consumer complaint received 2024-06-09
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (GA)

First, please know that I am a person who is honest and always pays her bills. In addition to demanding money from me that I don't owe, I have been treated very badly by XXXX  XXXX XXXX. 

The fact pattern is very simple. This all started during XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX. I have a credit card with XXXX XXXX XXXX with a XXXX balance. 
XXXX. I bought a kitchen hutch with the card. 
XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX 's merchant did not send me the hutch. 
XXXX. I requested a chargeback from XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX. While waiting for them to process the chargeback, I paid {$100.00} on the card, not wishing to go late. 
XXXX. Eventually, XXXX XXXX XXXX agreed to the chargeback. 
XXXX. They credited the amount for the hutch less the {$100.00}, giving me a XXXX balance. They should have credited me the amount of the hutch, leaving a {$100.00} credit on my account. Their error was they simply restored my account to a XXXX balance rather than crediting me the amount I paid for the hutch. 
XXXX. I have disputed this bill several times, each time being asked to write a letter or make a complaint via the portal. This account has been under review about a half a dozen times. When talking with Customer Service, they have always agreed that they should have credited the full amount of the hutch, leaving me a {$100.00} balance. 
XXXX. At one point, they credited me correctly, and I received my {$100.00} refund, which was deposited into my checking account. 
XXXX. They then said the employee who refunded my money wasn't authorized to do so, so they posted it back to my account. 
XXXX. They then put it under investigation again. My account showed the {$100.00} balance, but it clearly stated that {$0.00} dollars were due at this time. 
XXXX. Today, out of the blue, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a " past due '' bill in my email box for {$130.00} ( I have no idea where the extra {$33.00} ) came from. I called about it and was told that if I didn't pay it, they would ruin my credit. Under SUPREME DURESS, I paid the bill, which I clearly don't owe. 

During the chargeback period in XX/XX/XXXX, they had, without my knowledge, reported me to the collections during the chargeback period. It was a nighmare. I had lines of credit canceled and my XXXX score plummeted. I don't want that to happen again, which is why I went ahead and paid the {$130.00} today. 

Worse yet, in order to collect this debt that was under dispute, which I didn't owe, they would send me text messages ostensibly from a medical facility, saying that I needed to call them. As I have a gravely ill son who lives out of town, my heart sank as I called the number. I remember the operator laughing at me when I discovered it was a collector 's trick. She said that to keep this sort of harassment from happening all I had to do was simply pay the bill. 

This company does not work like any other company I have ever dealt with. Again, I paid the {$130.00} today under duress. THEY WON. In all honesty, I am going on vacation soon, and I don't want to risk the inconvenience of not being able to use credit whilst I'm out of town. They threatened to ruin me, and that is without a doubt the one promise I know they are capable of keeping. 

I would like my {$130.00} refunded. I have tried very hard to fix this by working with XXXX XXXX directly. They are either incompetent or criminal. I can't say which -- maybe a suble combination of the two. 

I am by nature a very calm, collected, and patient person. While I'm not proud of it, I have finally lost my temper and my composure over this situation. I spoke very rudely to the collector I spoke with today, and for that I am sorry. What I'm not sorry about is reporting this company and asking for my {$130.00}. I believe that people should be able to solve problems between themselves, but in this case I believe XXXX XXXX is not acting in good faith and all along their strategy has been to wear me down until I broke down and paid them money that I do not owe. I already regret having paid it. I traded my principles for convenience.