Consumer complaint received 2026-03-11 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
This complaint concerns retroactive deferred-interest charges applied to a promotional financing account issued by Comenity Capital Bank ( XXXX ) for cosmetic services through XXXX. When I enrolled in the financing in XXXX, the payment plan was explained to me as a 0 % interest installment payment plan where I would make fixed monthly payments until the balance was paid off. I was told that if I continued making the scheduled monthly payments, the balance would be satisfied with no interest. At no point during the sales conversation was it explained that the financing was actually a deferred-interest promotional plan requiring the full balance to be paid by a specific deadline to avoid retroactive interest being applied to the original purchase amount. The concept of deferred interest and retroactive interest was never disclosed or explained verbally. The enrollment process itself was extremely rushed and conducted under significant pressure. I was told that I needed to proceed immediately to secure the promotional offer and appointment availability. During the same phone call I was sent numerous documents to sign and was asked to complete the entire financing process within minutes. Under these circumstances I did not have a meaningful opportunity to review or understand that the financing product differed from how it was described to me. Additionally, during subsequent visits I was upsold on services that increased my financed balance without clear explanation of how those additions could affect the promotional financing terms or potential interest exposure. In some cases I was enrolled in services that I did not knowingly or explicitly authorize, and those services were subsequently added as charges to my financed balance. Because the financing was presented to me as a straightforward 0 % installment plan rather than a deferred-interest promotion, I reasonably believed that continuing to make the scheduled monthly payments would satisfy the balance without interest. I later discovered that retroactive interest had been applied to my account. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I have been assessed {$4200.00} in retroactive interest plus an additional {$1300.00} in ongoing interest charges, bringing the total interest charged to {$5500.00}. I disputed these charges directly with Comenity Capital Bank and requested a review of the interest charges in light of how the financing was presented to me at the point of sale. The response I received did not address the issue of how the financing was represented and simply stated that the promotional plan expired. I am requesting that Comenity Capital Bank review this matter and reverse the interest charges totaling {$5500.00} and remove any additional interest that accrues while this dispute is under review. Upon confirmation that these charges have been reversed, I am prepared to immediately pay the remaining principal balance of {$1000.00} in full in order to resolve the account.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation