Consumer complaint received 2026-05-21 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:
I am submitting this complaint regarding retroactive deferred-interest charges applied to my XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXt XXXX by Comenity Capital Bank XXXX A prior CFPB complaint regarding this issue was closed for procedural reasons related to authorization and communication issues because I do not speak XXXX and relied on translation assistance. I am submitting this complaint directly as the account holder so the complaint can be reviewed on its merits. I do not speak XXXX and relied on translation assistance and translation applications to help prepare this complaint and to help understand the financing terms associated with this account. However, this complaint is being submitted by me as the account holder regarding charges on my own account. At the time this financing was presented and agreed to, I did not understand that this was a deferred-interest product with retroactive interest. I understood the agreement to mean that I would make regular monthly payments and that, as long as I made the required payments, my account would remain in good standing without large unexpected charges. I did not understand that interest was accruing during the promotional period or that the full amount of accrued interest would later be applied retroactively if the balance was not paid in full by the promotional expiration date. I consistently made at least the required minimum payments, and often paid more, believing that I was complying with the agreement and avoiding additional charges. Because I do not speak or understand XXXX, I relied on the information that was presented to me at the time of financing. All billing statements, account communications, disclosures, and written materials I received from the lender were provided in XXXX. I was not proactively provided XXXX disclosures or explanations regarding the deferred-interest structure or retroactive interest consequences. I also had no reason to believe that I needed to independently seek translation assistance in order to understand complex financing terms associated with this account. I believed I understood the essential terms of the agreement based on the information presented to me. In XX/XX/year>, approximately {$3300.00} in retroactive deferred-interest charges were added to my account after expiration of a promotional financing plan. This caused my account balance to increase dramatically. If I had understood that interest was accruing retroactively during the promotional period, I would have made different payment decisions or selected a different financing option. Before filing this complaint, I attempted to resolve the issue directly with Comenity Capital Bank through customer service and escalation discussions. I explained that I did not understand the deferred-interest structure because of language barriers and requested review of the retroactive interest charges. I also discussed a reasonable resolution of the remaining balance, including paying the remaining principal balance excluding the retroactive interest charges, but the issue was not resolved. I recently made the required minimum payment of approximately {$200.00} while attempting to resolve this matter and avoid additional penalties or negative credit reporting. I respectfully request that Comenity Capital Bank review whether the deferred-interest terms and retroactive interest consequences were adequately understood and disclosed given my language barrier, and reduce or reverse the retroactive deferred-interest charges and work toward a fair resolution of the account balance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation