Consumer complaint received 2025-11-04 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
Company : Comenity Bank ( issuer of XXXX XXXX credit card ) Product : Credit card Issue : Failure to provide notice of credit limit reduction, Incorrect billing, refund misapplied as debt, unlawful interest, pressure for payment, refusal to provide written resolution. 

What happened : My XXXX XXXXComenity credit card was paid in full on XX/XX/XXXX, with a {$7000.00} credit limit. Without any required notice, Comenity reduced my limit to {$300.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. This violated the Credit CARD Act, which requires advance notice of adverse changes. I did not learn of this until attempting to use the card in XXXX XXXX. I closed the account and received written confirmation of a {$0.00} balance. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Comenity mailed me an official notice stating that they owed me {$3.00} in unclaimed property, and that if I did not claim the funds, they would be escheated to New York State. I never received a refund check, so on XX/XX/XXXX, I called Comenity. On the recorded call, the representative confirmed that the refund would be issued via ACH. 

However, instead of issuing the refund properly, Comenity posted {$3.00} as a charge on my closed account, and then began adding interest. I then received emails from Comenity stating I owed money : XX/XX/XXXX : Email showing {$3.00} balance XX/XX/XXXX : Email showing {$8.00} ( principal + interest ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I called to dispute this. I spoke with multiple agents and XXXX managers. Several claimed they could not access the XX/XX/XXXX call, and I was repeatedly told I needed to pay {$3.00}, while they would waive the interest. I was pressured multiple times to pay even though this was a refund owed to me, not a purchase or valid debt. 

Eventually, an agent named XXXX XXXX employee # XXXX ) confirmed she was able to access the XX/XX/XXXX call and put me on hold to listen to it and then came on the line pressuring me to pay the {$3.00} and refused to awknowlege the previous call what was said or share it with me. She then stated that Comenity had ACH-credited {$3.00} to my bank on XX/XX/XXXX, but also stated that since my account had a XXXX balance and XXXX credit, they had to post {$3.00} as a charge to process the refund. This explanation is contradictory and inconsistent with lawful refund procedures : a refund does not require creating debt, especially on a closed account. Comenity then charged interest on this invented balance. 

After I requested compliance escalation and mentioned filing complaints with regulators, a supervisor suddenly agreed to remove the {$8.00} and restore the account to {$0.00}, but refused to provide written confirmation of the call and what happened or why it happened and disconnected the call. I was told I must wait until XX/XX/XXXX for a statement, even though the FCBA requires written confirmation of dispute resolution they refused to provide this. 

Why this is illegal : Charging interest on a refund owed to a consumer is a billing error under the Fair Credit Billing Act Posting a charge to a closed account is not permitted Pressuring payment during an active dispute violates FCBA Refusing written confirmation violates FCBA dispute requirements Lowering my credit limit without required notice violates the Credit CARD Act of XXXX The conduct appears to be unfair and deceptive under federal consumer protection law ( UDAAP ) I am requesting the CFPB require Comenity to : Remove the {$3.00} and all related interest/fees Confirm the account is closed at {$0.00} balance Provide written explanation of the issue and confirmation of the correction Furnish corrected information to XXXX XXXX, and XXXX Provide the ACH trace ID for the alleged XX/XX/XXXX refund, or reissue the refund properly Confirm compliance with CARD Act notice obligations Ensure this refund-as-debt practice is not applied to other consumers Harm : I spent significant time disputing false debt ; was repeatedly ignored and pressured to pay money I did not owe ; risked inaccurate credit reporting ; and was denied lawful written resolution of a dispute. The refund owed to me was converted into a charge and interest, and I was told documentation would not be provided until a future billing cycle. 

Documentation I will provide : XX/XX/XXXX refund letter stating Comenity owes me {$3.00} Emails dated XXXX and XXXX showing they claim I owe them and interest was added Dispute email to Comenity dated XXXX Any account statement showing the {$3.00} + interest

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief