Consumer complaint received 2025-04-11 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: MI

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a laptop computer from XXXX and paid it off in six months, in XX/XX/XXXX, through a XXXX Customer Account with no problems. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received an emailed invoice from XXXX Marketing, dated XX/XX/XXXX, for {$74.00}, for a XXXX Annual Subscription. After checking into the validity of this subscription online ( I Googled it prior to this, I had always owned my software. ) I paid this bill via my banks Bill Pay Service, on XX/XX/XXXX. The check had my XXXX account number on it. The check was mailed to the address on the invoice. XXXX XXXX cashed this check on XX/XX/XXXX. I received a statement from Comenity Bank the end of XX/XX/XXXX, for this same item and amount. After several phone calls to XXXX and several attempted phone calls to XXXX, no one could find my XX/XX/XXXX payment. I called my bank to place a stop-payment on my check and I paid Comenity through their online easy pay site, confirmation number XXXX XXXX. It took ten days before I discovered that due to an incompetent bank clerk the Bill Pay check had already been cashed. I never would have paid Comenity if I had known this. ( I no longer have any open accounts at XXXX XXXX ) After two weeks of countless attempted phone calls to XXXX, endless-loops on their computer answering system, getting transferred to Comenity the second I mentioned money, and multiple unanswered emails, I gave up trying to get my extra payment back. My hope was that by the next year Dell and Comenity would have their bookkeeping straightened out. 
In early XX/XX/XXXX, I received a statement from Comenity for {$74.00}, for this years XXXX subscription. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Comenity customer service ( this is an over-seas location, clerks have heavy accents and are sometimes difficult to understand ) and told the clerk that I disputed this charge, that I should have had a credit balance from last year to pay for this. She said I had no credit balance and the payment was due. She said she would file a dispute for me, confirmation # XXXX. On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Comenity, dated XXXX XXXX, acknowledging receipt of my dispute, stating that they were researching it, and if we are in need of additional information to complete our review, a notification will be sent to your address on file. I was aware that there was a significate amount of information on their computer system left by the clerks who I had spoken with from last year ( trying to find my overpayment from XXXX ). This letter also asked for up to 90 days to conduct their review, and there was an address for forwarding correspondence at the bottom. 
My XX/XX/XXXX statement showed no balance due at that time. On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Comenity, dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating that they had found that my balance was correct and the charge of {$74.00} was valid. However, this letter was ambiguous in that it mentioned that I was not yet required to pay, until the investigation is complete, I will be credited for the disputed amount, etc. I had already gathered documentation supporting my double payment and written a letter detailing the order of events, so I sent them on XX/XX/XXXX. I received no acknowledgement and no response. My XX/XX/XXXX statement showed a balance due, but I just thought it was because their system is so screwed up. My XX/XX/XXXX statement showed a {$96.00} balance with a {$20.00} late fee and {$2.00} in interest. I called on XX/XX/XXXX and asked the clerk what was going on. She said the dispute was closed. I told her I would not pay this bill and to close this account. On or around XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from Comenity, dated XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, stating they will continue to send me monthly bills until my balance is paid in full, and they would report this to the big three credit bureaus and XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
I did not purchase anything from XXXX this year and received nothing of value. I tried to close my XXXX subscription online with XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX but their system would not process it. I purchased my annual XXXX XXXX update directly from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX notified XXXX of this purchase and I received an email from XXXX acknowledging this and notifying me they have closed my subscription with them and also have partially disabled my computer!

These people are predators! I you could please help me get back my {$74.00} over-payment and if there are any punitive damages that I could collect for all of the time I have had to spend o
n this and the stress and anxiety. I would like my refund by check. Also please make them correct any negative reporting to the credit agencies, and delete all late fees and interest charges. I have a 812 credit score that I have worked very hard to repair since the recession, when I lost everything. Thank you so much for your help.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief