Consumer complaint received 2025-07-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
Dear Sir or Madam, I am reaching out to you today urgently requesting your help as the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I accepted an offer to finance a medical procedure using XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/year> with no interest for 24 months. I have since discovered that XXXX offers patient credit through Comenity Bank and also operates as Bread Financial. All appear to be owned by XXXX XXXX XXXX, a private equity company. I was never told that the monthly payment would result in a substantial balloon payment at the end of the promotional period of approximately half of the amount originally financed or that making the required monthly payment would not pay off the total amount owed. I quickly discovered this with some quick calculations, however, and immediately began working diligently to pay off extra each month to minimize the balloon payment at the end of the promotional period. I never missed a payment. I often paid extra or multiple payments in a month. With an original balance of {$12000.00}, I reduced the balance to {$1600.00} in less than two years. Due to extenuating circumstances, including health issues, childcare complications, and generally being overwhelmed with many distractions over the last few months that I will not detail at this point, I did not pay the remainder of this balloon payment on time. I was never late on a payment, to be clear, but did not pay enough in addition to clear this balance in time, thinking the deadline was in XXXX rather than XXXX a simple oversight. As a result, I was charged interest of {$6700.00} ( at a rate of 29 % ). I have contacted XXXX many times and each time I am either transferred or given another phone number and eventually disconnected I believe intentionally. I have very politely and professionally requested to speak with supervisors or asked to have my account escalated to someone who can discuss a resolution to reverse this unethical interest charge. I have offered to pay the account in full or even compromise and pay the interest on the unpaid promotional balance of {$1600.00} accepting responsibility for my mistake but have either been rudely refused or transferred and immediately disconnected. I have spent hours bouncing from one department to another with each representative repeating a clearly rehearsed statement and refusing to negotiate or compromise and/or then being transferred and intentionally disconnected. Yes, phones drop calls, but the number of times and the point in the conversation when the call is disconnected can not be this coincidental this many times. This company and their web of departments are following a playbook and engaging in deceptive business practices to prey on patients who do not understand the terms due to a lack of explanation at the time the account is initiated ; become unable to pay the balance in full be the end of the promotional period ; or for some other reason do not fully completely pay off the promotional balance resulting in an interest charge that often increase the balance by 10X ( 1000 %! ). This deceptive business model is intentional. Adding nearly {$7000.00} to an account that will suddenly charge 29 % interest will take yearseven decades to pay off. A charge such as this is detrimentally life-altering, especially for someone who has an annual income of only around $ XXXX without even considering the significant cost of living increases over the last few years. I implore you, sir or madam, to intervene on my behalf and persuade XXXX and its parent company or ownership entities to reverse this interest charge. I have made arrangements and am able to secure other private funding ( from a family member ) to make a payment of any amount up to and including the total account balance less this interest charge if the lender will reverse this charge. I humbly and respectfully ask for your help to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief