Consumer complaint received 2024-11-19 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I opened a credit card with Alphaeon Credit XXXX at the end of XXXX. This is a medical credit card and I opened this credit card because I was getting a medical procedure done in XXXX of XXXX. The main reason I opened this credit card was to take advantage of their promotion of no interest for I believe was 18 or so months. To pay down the balance and then when the promotion was up, would pay off the remaining amount on the credit card, before the promotion expired. 
Well, when I opened the account, a month or so passed and I still never received a physical credit card in the mail. I called numerous times to get it sent, they told me time after time, it had been sent but they will reissue me a new card and resend it. 
Come XXXX of XXXX, I still never received a physical card but the doctors office was able to look into the account and charge the card without it being physically there. We did that and the card was charged about {$7000.00}. 
After this procedure, I called numerous times again to receive the physical card and I still did not receive it. I had to have called requesting this about 10+ times. 
The reason I cared to still have the physical card after using this credit card was because I was told I was unable to access my online account because I did not have the credit card number. They were also unable to gives me the credit card number or account number because I did not have a physical card. This was incredibly frustrating because I was unable to make payments online or see what was going on in my account and monitor this credit card account. Feeling helpless, I accepted the fact I was unable to get the physical credit card. Moving forward from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, I have had to call the company every month to make my monthly payments. Which I have never been late on a payment and have always paid over the minimum amount. 
On top of this inconvenience, in XX/XX/XXXX I was calling to make my monthly payment and heard from the automated system that my balance had went from about {$2000.00} to over {$4000.00}. I went into a panic thinking someone might have used or gotten a hold of one of the 10+ cards that this company has supposedly sent out. I then recalled to have this automated system tell me when my last charge was. ( they stated no new charges ). I then had to wait until the end of the month for my paper statement to come, for me to see that I had been charged the full amount of interest that occurred since opening the card. 
I then called to explain the situation and stated that I would be able to pay off the full amount that was still owed prior to the interest being charged to the card. I was told they could not help me or take off the interest that was charged. I was not happy with that answer, so they then transferred me to a manager that said I was able to message the company to report what happened. I then explained, I am unable to message anyone since I never received a physical card or had access to my online account. 
The manager was THEN able to give me my account number to make an online account to my account. Which I thought was absolutely insane since I have called multiple multiple times trying to get the account number to be able to monitor my credit card account online but was against their policy to give me that information without having the physical credit card. 
Once I made the online account, I have been going back and forth with messages that I will attach to this claim- asking for this interest to be taking off so I can just simply pay what I had owed before all this happened. They have refused to work with me or take off this interest that was charged at about 28 %... stating and providing documentation that I am XXXX XXXX military and asking them to honor the SCAR Benefits. They have still continued to not work with me.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief