Consumer complaint received 2024-01-26
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (MA)

To whom it may concern : I'll get right to the point : I am writing to you today because it appears to me that Comenity bank is committing fraud. In the following paragraphs, I will surmise what has happened to me, my evidence, and my conclusions. 

I have a Sony Visa Credit Card that is currently ( unfortunately ) being serviced by Comenity bank. It wasn't always serviced by Comenity ; I do believe that they are the third bank servicing the card since I've had it ( the last servicing bank was XXXX XXXX ). 

Anyways, in XXXX of XXXX I purchased a postal money order for {$420.00} and sent it in on XXXX, a little later than I usually sent in a payment, but I didn't think that it would be a problem as according to the Post Office, it only takes three to four days to send a letter from where I am ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) to where the payment processing center is ( XXXX TX, XXXX ). The due date for payment for that month was XXXX. 

When I received my XXXX statement, I got something that was not deserved : a late fee charge for {$29.00}. I immediately called their service center and explained to them that I had indeed sent in my payment 4 days early and that the post office assured me that it would reach them on time. Additionally, I had my postal money order receipt, which clearly show a date of XXXX. 

I was able to get the charge reduced down by {$15.00}, but I was not happy that I still had to pay {$14.00} for something that wasn't my fault. But I decided to let it go. 

For XXXX 's payment, I made sure to send the payment in earlier, this time sending the payment on XXXX. For reference, the due date for this month was XXXX, which gave the payment eight days to reach Texas from Massachusetts. Additionally, I took a picture of the envelope I sent the payment in after the postal clerk stamped it with the dated post mark, dated of course for XXXX. And also, I have the receipt for the postal money order as well with the same date ( XXXX ). 

However, when I received my credit card statement/bill for XXXX of XXXX, I was shocked to find a {$50.00} late fee charge on this month 's bill. Of course, there is no way that they did not receive my payment on time. According to my bill, Comenity bank received my payment on XXXX, which is highly unlikely because as I stated before, it only takes three to four days for a piece of first class mail such as a letter to go from XXXX, Massachusetts to XXXX, Texas. 

Additionally, I have the receipts for all of the postal money orders that I have used to make payments to my Sony card since it has been serviced by Comenity bank. In reviewing these receipts I have found several instances where I have made payments on the same date ( the XXXX ) or later and did not incur a late fee ( Again, the due date is always on the XXXX of the month ). These payments are listed below, in chronological order : Payment for XXXX of XXXX, sent on XXXX, for {$320.00}, money order # XXXX Payment for XXXX of XXXX, sent on XXXX, for {$100.00}, money order # XXXX Payment for XXXX of XXXX, sent on XXXX, for {$500.00}, money order # XXXX Payment for XXXX of XXXX, sent on XXXX, for {$220.00}, money order # XXXX Payment for XXXX of XXXX, sent on XXXX, for {$500.00}, money order # XXXX Anyways, the following month, XXXX of XXXX, I decided to send in the payment using certified mail so that I could both track it and document exactly when the payment was received. Unsurprisingly, it got to them on time. 

I figured that this would be the end of this, but unfortunately, Comenity bank has seen fit to hit me with additional undeserved late fees. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Comenity bank a {$100.00} payment, postal money order # XXXX. As usually, as always, the due date for this payment was on the XXXX of the month, giving the payment 9 days to reach them. As I have stated earlier, I have been told repeatedly by the post office that it only takes 3-4 days for a payment sent from my location ( XXXX, Massachusetts ) to reach the payment processing center for this credit card, which is located in XXXX, Texas. 

But again, despite sending in my payment with more than enough time to make it to the processing center with time to spare, they falsely claimed that it was late, and again assessed me a {$30.00} late fee. I called the service center and complained again, and I did successfully get the charge removed, but I shouldnt have had to do that. That is my time and effort that I had to waste for something that was there fault. 

So as I did before, I sent the next few payments in via certified mail. I sent out my XX/XX/XXXX payment on the XXXX via certified mail ( again, so I could track it ), and wouldnt you know, despite it going out roughly the same time as the previous months payment, I didnt get a late fee. I also sent out XXXX payment on the XXXX via certified mail ; again, no problems with them receiving that one either. Thinking that they might have learned their lesson, I let my guard down and sent the next couple of payment in without using certified mail. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent in a {$200.00} money order payment to Comenity bank, postal money order # XXXX. This time, they claimed that they didnt get it, and hit me with multiple fees. 

To be clear, I am one hundred percent sure that they got it ; there is no way that they didnt. In the 15 or so years that I have had this particular credit card, I have always sent in my payment using the envelope that has been provided. I have never been told that they didnt receive it..until now. 

But of course, Comenity bank being who they are, they have decided that they were not done messing with me. 

The latest incident happened in XXXX of XXXX. The bad news is that it happened ; but the good news is that I now have clear and concrete proof that Comenity bank is committing mail fraud. 

Here is what happened this time : I sent in yet another payment on XX/XX/XXXX, postal money order # XXXX, this time using certified mail to ensure that it reached its destination on time. Postal records clearly show that it reached its destination- XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX , Texas on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. Yet despite this, on my XXXX statement Comenity bank claims that it received my payment on XX/XX/XXXX, which is a blatant lie. 

So of course, again, I received a {$30.00} late fee, despite the fact that I have concrete proof that the payment reached them with 9 days to spare. I am not amused. 

This of course, belies the problem with many of these big banks : they can say and do anything that they want to we the people, unchecked, and usually, they get away with it. And if they are doing this to me, then they are doing this to thousands of other people as well. 

Long and short of it, here 's what I believe is happening : Comenity bank is simply sitting on mail that it receives on time, and then arbitrarily sticking people with late fees as they see fit. Maybe this isn't the case, but I think that you will agree that something here is definitely wrong. After all, if I am making a good faith effort to send in my payments on time, why I am ( and probably thousands of other individuals ) being charged late fees that I do not deserve? 

I feel that an investigation should be launched into the practices of Comenity bank for the fraud that they are committing. I have documentation backing up everything that I have written in this letter, including the receipts of the postal money orders that I have sent, my credit card statements for all of the months in question, and the certified mail receipts. 

And if they are found guilty, they should be forced to pay back all of the late fees that they have illegally assessed to their customers, plus interest. Additionally, the people who are directly responsible for these actions-such as the CEOs- should be held responsible for the actions of their bank and be criminally prosecuted. 

I thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing back from you on this matter. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX