Consumer complaint received 2024-11-08 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc.
State: VT

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>2024, I applied for a AAA VISA SIGNATURE credit card account. I was given application number XXXX. After applying online, I was promoted to call in to finish application processing. Upon calling in, I was instructed by the phone agent I spoke with to send in a copy of my drivers license, social security card, and a copy of a utility bill or bank statement. I then received a letter in the mail a few days later confirming this information was needed to continue processing my application. The verification process that Comenity uses is not secure. Sending personal documents such as a drivers license and social security card via email is not secure. I originally tried sending it encrypted but was notified by the automated email response that they can not view encrypted emails and I must resend it without encryption, which I did. I had to wait some time to receive a replacement social security card in the mail. After receiving my replacement social security card, on XX/XX/scrub> 2024, I sent a copy of my drivers license, social security card, and a utility bill to XXXX as I was instructed to do on the letter. I called in to account protection on XX/XX/scrub> 2024 to confirm that my information was received successfully and was told that it had been received and uploaded for review by a back office team that account protection has no way of communicating with. I patiently waited and called back to account protection on XX/XX/year>2024 to check the status of the application and was told that a decision had been made on the application and I would receive a letter with the decision in 7-10 days and that there was no way of knowing the decision as the agent could not see that information and that I had to wait to receive the letter in the mail. On XX/XX/year>2024 I receive a letter in the mail stating that Comenity is unable to approve my application because they are unable to verify my identity. I called in to account protection and was told that they have no further information as to why I was not able to be verified. I already have an existing credit card account with Comenity that I opened in XX/XX/year>2024 and I was instantly approved online and had no issues with verification. I used the same address and phone number on this application as I did that application in XXXX. The reasoning of unable to verify your identity is very vague and does not provide me with the specific reasoning as to what they were not able to verify about me. That same day, XX/XX/year>2024, I sent a new email to XXXX and requested to know more information regarding them declining my application for verification and asked what additional information they would need to continue processing the application. I received no response from anyone besides the automated email response letting me know they received my email. Today, XXXX XXXX, 2024 I called in to account protection to see if there was any update or notations added to my application in response to my previous email and I was told that there was not. All that could be seen was that I sent them an email. I requested to speak with someone of greater authority and was transferred to a representative that stated they were an account specialist and all they could tell me was that the documents that I sent in did not meet the banks requirements. The documents that I sent in were exactly what the bank requested of me and all information on those documents ( name, address, date of birth, social security number ) match the information that I inputted on the application exactly as I listed it. I was already very hesitant to send documents containing sensitive and personal information about me unencrypted via email, but I did so as I wanted to continue processing the application, so this is even more infuriating considering the nature of the situation and the results of the outcome. I have checked and confirmed with both XXXX, the credit bureau that Comenity used for this application, and XXXX, to confirm that the information they have for me is correct and matches the information listed on the application. I was told that since my application is over 30 days old, I would have to reapply if I wished to be considered again which would result in another hard inquiry on my credit report, further damaging my creditworthiness. I do not plan to reapply, as I am very disappointed in the banks handling of this situation, and I do not see how me reapplying with the same information would yield a different result from the first time I applied.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation