Consumer complaint received 2025-12-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Company : Comenity Bank / Bread Financial Product : Credit Card Issue : Unfair billing practices, excessive fees/interest, inaccurate reporting, refusal to provide complete account history, and inability to resolve account despite repeated good-faith efforts. 
Complaint Details : In early XXXX, I had a Comenity credit card with an original balance of approximately {$150.00} {$170.00} that was too small to include in a debt consolidation program ( anything under {$750.00} was excluded ). I made consistent monthly payments for over a year. 
Around late XX/XX/XXXX/early XXXX, I called Comenitys automated system to check my remaining balance. The system reported approximately {$27.00}. Believing I was nearly paid off, I immediately made XXXX additional payments of {$20.00} each, which brought the balance to zero in my understanding. I received no further statements or notices indicating any remaining balance, so I reasonably believed the account was paid in full and closed. 
Several months later, I discovered negative marks on my credit reports showing the account as delinquent ( multiple late payments ) and a growing balance. This was the first indication anything was wrong. 
I attempted to contact Comenity repeatedlyeasily more than XXXX timesto resolve the issue. Each time I was placed on hold for XXXXXX/XX/XXXX only to be disconnected without ever speaking to a representative. After multiple failed attempts, out of sheer frustration, I eventually stopped trying for a period, though I later resumed making minimum payments when I could to try to mitigate damage. 
When I was finally able to reach a representative, they were unable to tell me what the original debt amount was or provide a complete account history. I specifically requested validation of the debt and full statements dating back to the original balance ( approximately XXXX years prior ). Comenity only sent me XXXX year of recent statements, which is entirely insufficient and does not validate the original debt or explain how a ~ {$150.00} balance ballooned to {$990.00} through late fees and interest. 
This {$990.00} current balance is almost entirely punitive late fees and interest that accrued solely because of Comenitys inaccessible customer service and refusal to provide proper account documentation. Their phone system systematically prevents customers from resolving issues, then punishes them with fees when they inevitably fall behind. 
I recently contacted Comenity again to explain the situation and request a goodwill waiver of the fees/interest. The representative refused any relief whatsoever. 
I disputed this account with XX/XX/XXXX, providing the full context, but the dispute was denied because Comenity verified the information as accurate.

Comenitys practices here are predatory : they make it impossible to reach anyone, refuse to provide complete debt validation, pile on exorbitant fees, and then report the manufactured delinquency to the credit bureaus. A {$150.00} {$170.00} balance should never become {$990.00} because of their own customer service failures.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief