Consumer complaint received 2022-02-18
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (MS)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an offer to open a XXXX XXXX credit card ( managed by Comenity bank ) which advertised a promotional offer of 6 months 0 % APR. This was offered when I purchased directly from XXXX XXXX online, and I accepted the offer to open this XXXX credit card in order to complete the purchase. The total amount was {$640.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. This was reflected in my first statement, dated XX/XX/XXXX, with a due date of XX/XX/XXXX. I made three additional purchases during the next billing cycle ( XXXX {$40.00} ; XXXX {$53.00} ; XXXX {$28.00} ), totaling {$120.00}, and made a payment towards the total balance of {$150.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. The statement I received on XX/XX/XXXX reflected this, and it also indicated no interest or fees were charged ; the balance at the time was {$610.00}, which was correct. I made no other purchases and made a payment of {$100.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, well before the due date indicated. However, the next statement ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) indicated a finance charge of {$3.00}. I emailed the customer service team on XX/XX/XXXX to ask about this fee, and I received a response on XXXX that explained what a financing charge was - it did not address why my promotional offer was not being honored. I replied back on XX/XX/XXXX saying that I signed up for a promotional offer, and on XX/XX/XXXX got a reply from a different customer representative ( a ) misquoting my balance and ( b ) saying that there is no promotional plan. I replied that day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) saying that I believed that was incorrect and requesting clarification as to why the previous statements did not include an interest charge or why the promotional offer I signed up for was not accepted. In an attempt to provide other details, I found the original email with the offer -- the actual link I used to sign up for the card at the time -- and sent it as a screenshot to the bank ( I also realized that the offer was for 6 months, despite thinking it was 12 in my first email, so I admitted I was in error about the duration of the promotion ). I received a reply today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) saying that the company " won't collect the amount in question '' until they can resolve my concern. But it made no indication of why the offer changed, what the mixup was, etc. - so I called at XXXX CST today and spoke with a representative named XXXX, who was very nice and patient, but did not provide clarification. She said I was removed from the promotional offer XX/XX/XXXX due to " my dispute, '' but she was unable to explain why there was a charge issued XX/XX/XXXX. She said the matter will be reviewed and may take up to thirty days ; I was told to wait until then to see how the matter is resolved, though apparently interest will continue to accrue during that time. 
Personally, my next steps are to pay the original balance in full - {$510.00} - today so that I do not get hit with additional fees/charges, and to discontinue future business with this bank, given how difficult it has been to get clear answers or support from them. In general, however, this entire experience seems to be incredibly suspect, and it appears to be an illegal practice, which is why I'm reporting it. Please see below for a transcript of the messages between myself and the bank, as well as the original email they sent regarding the promotional offer, and feel free to contact me for additional information. Thank you. 

Original message : From : You Sent : Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : Comenity Bank Subject : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX I had a finance charge on XX/XX/XXXX but my card is supposed to be 0 % APR for the first year - can you explain why this charge was added? 

I received this reply : From : Comenity Bank Sent : Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( ET ) To : You Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX I ' m with Comenity Bank, which handles your XXXX  account. This card is issued by Comenity Bank pursuant to a license from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I'm here to help with your account needs. 

Thank you for reaching out with your finance charge concerns on your XXXX account. 

Here 's what we found upon reviewing your account. Your balance is accurate. 

Here are the details : The finance charge is the interest assessed to the account when you have an outstanding balance that carries over from one billing cycle to the next. The interest charged to the account is calculated on the average daily balance for the billing cycle. 

Also, if you're interested, we have some great resources available on our website to assist with your credit and financial questions! Check them out by visiting comenity.com/financial-education. 

We hope this provided the information you needed about your finance charges and balance. 

We truly value your business. 

Thank you for your loyalty and have a great day! 

If you have any questions, please click the reply button. 


Sincerely, XXXX XXXX Internet Customer Care Team To which I replied : From : You Sent : Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : Comenity Bank Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX While I understand that is how finance charges typically work, the offer for this credit card was a 0 % APR for the first 12 months - it's the only reason I signed up for the card. It seems to have been fine the first two billing cycles- as you can see, no financing charges were applied during the XXXX and XXXX billing cycles, despite having an active balance - but this past billing cycle I was charged. I'm wondering why that is the case, as I believe it is an error because of the offer I signed up for. If you could correct the matter, I would greatly appreciate it. 


Next response : From : Comenity Bank Sent : Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : You Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX I ' m with Comenity Bank, which handles your XXXX account. This card is issued by Comenity Bank pursuant to a license from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I'm here to help with your account needs. 

Thanks for reaching out to us. 

After a quick review on your account it shows that your account have a balance of {$560.00} is under Regular revolving plan with an APR % of 23.74 % and not under Promotional Plan. 

If you have any questions, please click the reply button. 


Sincerely, XXXX Internet Customer Care Team My reply : From : You Sent : Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : Comenity Bank Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX I believe that is incorrect, as, again, I signed up for this card specifically because of the promotion that was offered. And, as you did not address it in my last message, why was I not charged a fee for the first two months of having a balance? Was the promotional offer nullified for some reason? I know it's a very small amount of money - making it more strange that you won't just reverse the charge - but this is a matter of ethics in my opinion. If you can not provide an explanation as to why the promotional offer I signed up for is not being honored, I plan to contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding this matter. Thank you. 

And a follow up with an attachment showing the email they sent me with which I signed up for the card : From : You Sent : Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : Comenity Bank Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX Attachments : email.jpg See attached - I was mistaken, it was a 6-month promotional offer I accepted. 

Their final response : From : Comenity Bank Sent : Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( ET ) To : You Subject : Re : Late Fees or Finance Charges Message ID : XXXX I ' m with Comenity Bank, which handles your XXXX  account. This card is issued by Comenity Bank pursuant to a license from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I'm here to help with your account needs. 

Until we find the best resolution for your concern, we won't collect the amount in question or report you as delinquent to the credit reporting agencies. 

Please keep in mind that to protect your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act, we need you to provide the dispute in writing. 

See the back of your statement for more information. We appreciate your patience. 

If you have any questions, please click the reply button. 


Sincerely, XXXX Internet Customer Care Team