Consumer complaint received 2025-07-31 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
1. Balance Showing {$0.00} but Status is Charge-Off - A charge-off indicates the creditor considers the account a loss, but a {$0.00} balance means no debt is owed to the reporting entity. 

If the debt was sold, the balance must be {$0.00} with a notation that it was sold. 

Status shows Purchased by another lender, which is correct. 

However, the status still says {$4000.00} written off, which can be misleading unless it's clearly noted that this is historical, not current debt. 

FCRA 607 ( b ) Inaccurate or misleading reporting is not allowed. The report must reflect a clear and accurate status of the account.

2. Double Reporting Risk / Charge-Off Status After Sale Once a debt is sold, the original creditor must not report it as currently charged off or imply that the consumer still owes them.

The account should show : {$0.00} balance, Clear notation : Account sold to another lender or Transferred.

This report has a conflicting narrative account marked closed with {$0.00} balance but also says {$4000.00} written off. 

This could imply continued liability, which violates : FCRA 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) Information furnished must be accurate and reflect updated account status after changes ( e.g., sale of debt ).

3. Payment History Marked CO After Account is Closed XX/XX/ and XX/XX/ are marked CO ( Charge-Off ), but the last payment is listed as XX/XX/. 

It's not typical or accurate to report new charge-off events after the last payment, or to continue updating late statuses after an account is closed and sold. 

FCRA 605 ( a ) ( 4 ) Only accurate delinquency and charge-off dates can be reported. The date of first delinquency ( DOFD ) must be consistent and not reset artificially to extend reporting. 

4. Missing Date of First Delinquency ( DOFD ) The report does not show the DOFD ( the first missed payment that led to charge-off ), which is required for : Proper aging off after 7 years ( per 605 ( a ) ( 4 ) of FCRA ) Preventing re-aging ( which is illegal ) FCRA 623 ( a ) ( 5 ) Furnishers must report the DOFD within 90 days of charge-off.

This date determines the 7-year reporting period limit. 

5. High Balance Exceeds Credit Limit Credit Limit : {$4000.00} Highest Balance : {$6700.00} This could indicate over-limit fees, improper fees, or misreporting, unless properly documented.

This can artificially lower credit scores due to inflated utilization. 

FCRA 607 ( b ) Information must be accurate. If the high balance resulted from fees not agreed to by the consumer, it may be misleading.

6. Incomplete Contact Information No phone number is listed for the furnisher ( Comenity Bank ).

FCRA and CFPB guidance recommend that the furnishers contact information be made available to dispute errors directly. 

FCRA 609 ( a ) ( 1 ) Consumers have the right to know the identity of each person who furnished information, including contact details.

7. Ambiguity in Charge-Off vs. Closed Status The account says " Closed. {$4000.00} written off. '' It's unclear if the charge-off occurred before or after closure, and if a debt buyer now owns the account.

If the account was sold and paid, the continued presence of charge-off language can be misleading unless : It includes : Paid charge-off, Settled for less than full balance, or Transferred/Sold to another lender, balance {$0.00}. 

FCRA 611 ( a ) Consumers can dispute incomplete or misleading reporting, not just incorrect facts. 

I have uploaded a copy of the credit reporting.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation