5 star: | (27) | |
4 star: | (6) | |
3 star: | (7) | |
2 star: | (6) | |
1 star: | (89) |
This has to be one of the worst banking experiences I have had. I opened a CD with them last year. Their default setting is to auto-renew CDs. They would not even allow you to set your preference. I asked them to close my CD a month before its maturity date. Then they asked me to pay a fee to get my own money back as a check. While we were in discussions of how to transfer my money out, they renewed my CD on their own because apparently, the grace period had passed. They did not have the courtesy to remind me of the grace period. And because I had asked them to close the CD, I didn't think they would just renew and lock my money. Customer service is horrible. When I asked for my money back, they suggested I pay an early withdrawal fee. These are all tactics to keep your money. They are fraud and use unethical practices.
CD matured and I asked that the matured money be moved to the savings account with the same institution. The money was moved via ACH with up to a 3 day wait. Same bank, two accounts, but an ACH transfer. Really?? Why? So the bank could earn interest on the money.
Multiple roadblocks trying to set up a savings account with Bread Financial, even though I already hold a CD with them. My application was ultimately declined, in spite of my multiple CDs among three banks, stock investments, eleven credit cards, and credits scores that have never been outside the 800s. I took my business elsewhere.
I tried to open the Bread savings account and my application was denied. They don't tell you why so you don't know what steps (if any) you could take to resolve the problem. It's frustrating to enter your personal information that's needed to open the account and then be refused. I was able to open accounts recently with other online banks so I'm not going to waste anymore time with this bank.
I find Bread to be easy to work with. I have a savings account and several CD's. Never an issue with response time and transfer of funds. I do not have credit cards so no comment on this issue.
Do not try to use their same as cash feature. Applied for a zero percent offer to purchase a watch. I had one credit freeze in place. They advised me to release it, which I did. 5 days later still nothing. Called customer service. They were less than incompetent! Asked for a supervisor -we don't have supervisors was the reply. Avoid this institution as you would avoid the plague! Can't believe they are in business.
What bank asks you to mail pictures of your identity - driver's license, Social Security card and bank statement to open an account? I'm now regretting they even have my SSN. Completely unprofessional.
I closed a CD and instructed them to wire the balance to another online bank that I had linked to the account. Agent said the transaction would be completed in 2-3 days. 6 days later the money still had not transferred. I checked my account on their website and found a notice that they now wanted a copy of my previous months bank statement from the linked bank. No phone call, no text message, no email from them. I submitted the statement and now have to wait another 2-3 days (hopefully) for my money to transfer. They won't put a rush on the transfer unless I pay a $25 wire fee. Fortunately it turned out I didn't need the cash by tomorrow, but I should have been notified of the request for further documentation.
I am not going to use Comenity Bank (Bread Financial) and would recommend others to da the same for the following reasons:
1) Fraud department
2) Possible Security breach
3) Difficulty to unlock an account when is it is locked by a fraud protection team
4) Difficulty of getting the funds back if locked due to security.
I had a retail credit card with Comenity Bank. My credit score is excellent and I even had a negative balance. My card was locked due to "security concerns".
I received a letter from the Fraud Protection Team to provide copies of my Driver's license, Social Security card and a utility bill. I was provided only with two option to submit the paperwork. Either to e-mail these documents or to mail them via snail mail.
My friend who is a cyber security professional told me to NEVER EVER e-mail any PI, especially social security number to anyone because it is very easy for dishonest people to steal this info if it is emailed.
So I scanned the documents, drove to the post office, waited in a long line and gave the envelope to the post office worker, to make sure the docs would not get lost.
In about a week after I mailed the paperwork, I received a letter from Comenity Bank, stating that my credit card was suspended.
I called the bank to request a check. I had a negative balance due to a large return. My phone call was unsuccessful and I still cannot get my money back.
I am trying to look at this situation as a "Glass half full". I think it was a good learning experience because I wanted to open a long term CD with this bank few months prior when Bread Financial had good rates on 5-yr CD.
I am so glad I did not lock our life savings with this bank. I believe there is a very high chance of our funds being "LOCKED" due to some Fraud concerns... Who knows how long the bank could of used our savings...
So I am not going to open any saving or CD accounts with Comenity Bank in the future. As they say "Better safe than sorry"
Hope this helps.
I have a Victoria secret account and I am sick!!!!!! Of this bank!!! I have not used my card for over a year and a half I am still paying late fees and “returned” payments. This bank is a scam!!!!! I am sick and tired of them. Fees charged 39 dollars!! To what?! I haven’t used it!!! I am disgusted with this bank. They are stealing money if you do not pay attention to your bill. DO NOT! Do business with this bank!!
I'll try not to get long winded but I had several of my retail credit cards change to Bread. I went into the hospital into Critcal Care with a life-threatening condition. I missed one payment on a couple of cards and two months on one. I caught them up IMMEDIATELY when I got home and functional.
I suddenly get notices that all of the credit limits on these cards dropped! I'm talking from $3000 to $100 on a couple!!! Although that sucks I couldn't care less about it overall. BUT...This greatly increased my credit utilization and destroyed my credit score and I do care about that!!!
So I was punished and had my life turned upside down because I was fighting for my life! I advise anyone NOT to ever get a Bread Financial product. I didn't expect them to "care" about me personally but doing this to customers who have a good payment history but have a traumatic event is just sickening.
I have closed this credit card after only about a year!
The employees are useless. If you have fraud on your account, you are on your own as they do not even try to assist!
Don't fall for the initial offer, because after that you will struggle just to reach a person if you have any problems
They did not even try to assist with a potential fraud item on my account, they responded that they closed the case but literally did nothing to help!
Don't be fooled thinking this is the real AMEX, this is only an Amex card through the disaster of comenity bank.
The real AMEX would assist and are usually very easy to work with. Not so with comenity bank.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I supplied all the required information for a Bread 1-year CD and submitted my application. I waited while their system processed my information, and they denied it. The message on the screen stated that I'd receive an email with details. When I checked my email, the content was,
"xxxx, we're sorry
We're unable to approve you for a Bread Savings™ 1-Year. "
The bottom of the message only had a link to their FAQ's page. I took my business elsewhere.
Don't get a loan from these guys. They have a loan management portal that uses language to INTENTIONALLY cover up how their payment system works and the current status of your loan.
When you make a payment, you have an option to select "towards installment" or towards "principal amount." If you you attempt to pay part of your installment a few weeks early, it automatically attributes it as a pre-payment towards your principal, even if you select "towards installment." Their website does not make this clear. Once your second paycheck comes in and you are ready to pay off the other half of your installment for that month, it still says you owe the initial total amount for that month.
Furthermore, I had a 6 month loan. I worked my way up to being two months ahead of my payments, only to find that they changed the terms DEFINED IN THE CONTRACT from a 6 month loan to a 4-month loan. I had already spent my budgeted $577 that month, only to discover in 2 weeks I still would owe ANOTHER $577 instead of $0.
Had I been in the same financial spot I was a several years ago, I'd be screwed. I wouldn't have been able to make my payment and the massive interest charge penalties would have kicked in.
How Bread writes their very ambiguous contracts, displays the status of your loan, and how they (to my knowledge, I'm not an attorney) BREAK THEIR OWN CONTRACT TERMS... ALL OF THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. SHAME ON THEM. They are vultures preying on the poor.
Bread has been good so far, something to keep in mind the initial funding and the transfer of money are both different, meaning initial funding can use Plaid or manually but that's seperate from 2 deposit transfer setup later on, I've seen some people complaining about that than closing there account because of it but it's not really a big deal to me.
The POD setup was a bit of a pain as I had to upload 3 times but that was mainly my fault so I wish we could do it online but not a deal breaker for me. Also there is the $5,000 ach daily limit, which is not a big deal to me as I don't keep a high amount in there but I'm planning on trying to request for an increase of up to $100k in the future.
Good apy rates for savings and great for CD's, espescially if you want to ladder. The people who complain who are so picky and nit picking little things, overall as long as they have good apy rates, customer service, etc than I'm happy.
I have been screwed over twice now by Comenity Bank. DO NOT TRUST THEM when they say they’ve closed the account or cancelled the card after you’ve paid it off. Twice now I’ve paid my balance in full, and then months later was strapped with some random surprise late payment, because it accrued interest. Interest ON WHAT??? I paid it off. I closed the account. I cancelled the card. How can there be interest on nothing!?! I had a near to perfect credit score, and 4 months after paying off & closing everything, my credit is hit by some supposed late payment of interest that accrued on a zero balance closed account? Never trust this company, unless you want to get screwed.
Did everything they asked for to add my wife to an existing savings account, and they rejected her outright. Something is very wrong here when honest people are being treated this way.
Aug/22 I opened a savings at Bread, then eventually a CD and then another CD. I've transferred funds in and out a number of times and had other transactions without issue.
If I'd change anything it would be their POD process which would be nice if you could do that online, but it's not a big deal. Barclays is the easiest to make such changes online out of all the many banks I've used over the years.
I think a lot of the people who have issues should be blaming Chex systems who jerked me around badly even with a high credit score at another bank. Those people should be shut down, but if you have issues signing up with Bread (or many other banks) see if you can find out if they use Chex.
The online banking software only works with the latest Browser software. For data security measures so that's good. But if you mainly work with an older Chromebook that is no longer getting software updates you are locked out of the online banking.
Could not even get the Apps to work.
Wants Chromebook Version 110 or greater. My Chromebook made in 2018 stopped updating in January 2022 so I am stuck at Version 103.
I have purchased two CDs at Bread because they have had the best rate around. 1 year CD gets you an APY of 5.60%, and if you let it roll over at the end of the year, you earn 5.65%. Who else does that? I have sent messages several times via the website and have always been answered promptly and completely. Money is compounded daily. Only thing I don't like is that you have to have an iPhone iOS of 16.0 to use the app, and my old 7plus doesn't go that high. But my laptop does the trick.
I assume that any positive reviews you read about Bread Financial are from shills. All negative posts should be believed, including mine.
I’ve had a Bread Cash Back credit card for about four months. Aside from their many website glitches and outages, the more important issue is their assumption that there was fraud on my fraudless account; therefore, my card was locked three times, and unlocked twice. After three phone calls and one snail mail letter, my rectifying efforts resulted in them constantly kicking the can down the road. I was told of ongoing investigations, prompted by them, not me.
The last communication from them (via snail mail letter) asked me to call them within 30 days, or the account would be closed. I called immediately after receiving the letter. Again, the can was kicked pending further investigation. I told them to close the account, called them deplorable, and added that they earned their many negative online reviews.
I have a second fraudless Bread credit card ‘under investigation,’ which is about to cheat me out of $50 cash back. I was $17 short of earning it, and then it was locked. I expect this account to undergo the same scenario as the aforementioned. To me, principle is worth far more than money. Most likely, I’ll also cancel the second account.
I expect that Bread is using this tactic to claw back any earned cash rewards. If so, I’ll be happy to reimburse them. I'll pay back this bank so as to maintain their distance as far away from me as possible.
As an addendum, my complaint includes their savings account, which is untenable. I’m so happy that I don’t have to worry about the $3 remaining in my account. Bread is welcome to it."
Addendum:
Bread Financial is so amazingly incompetent that it is laughable.
They locked two of my credit card accounts due to their assumption that some charges were fraudulent (not). (They probably locked my accounts to deprive me of a cash back bonus, and because I paid my bills in full each month.) I was told that a letter was on the way requesting many forms of ID be sent to them. That letter never arrived; and, while on the phone with them, I refused to do so.
After closing and paying off their two wretched credit cards in mid-October, 2023, I received a crumpled-edged letter on 11/02/23, but dated 10/11/23. The belated letter acknowledged closure of my second account.. It cited the amount due, which had been paid off a few weeks ago. I checked my online accounts and both reflect zero balances.
Don’t fall for their fantastic promo offers like I did. My past experiences with what was previously called Comenity, were positive. Unfortunately, I trusted their previous reputation. Stay far, far away from those bait and switch charlatans.
If you open a savings account and don’t ever want to add a joint account holder then possibly this will be fine for you. But if you do want a joint account, run for the hills. There are other online banks with decent rates. But be prepared for difficulties when trying to open a joint account. Bread is the absolute worst but we found Marcus by Goldman Sachs to also be difficult about adding a joint account holder, although they did add my spouse after 3 calls and during a call asking my husband if I was fraudulently accessing the account! (I was the one who opened the initial account so it made no sense!)
Opened an account in minutes. Funded it easily. Filled out their "application" for a joint account holder (ridiculous when you think about it). A week later my wife of 33 years - who has an 820+ credit score and is a joint account holder at CIT and Capital One - was rejected. Go figure? Took my "bread" back and closed the account.
So I got a furniture loan through this company I made a payment in June then July and August but when I paid August payment they tell me that June payment failed so when I messaged them like 5 times no response I want to know how a company will take 2 more payments without saying that the first didn't go through and wait two months to say something
My Bread Financial CD just matured with the interest rate of 3.00%. When it matured it exactly had 3% added on to the original principal. I saw interest payments being posted to my CD monthly, however bread savings will not pay the interest upon interest of my CD. I had it explain on a numerical example to their representative and they finally got it but will not pay the interest that was accrued with the interest that was earned. Anybody else have this experience?
I've had accounts at Bread Financial for at least 3 years. My observations:
The good: their rates are at the higher end of the market. I've always experienced good to excellent customer service, whether by mail or by phone. Transferring $ in and out has been problem-free. Lately, they've given me slight bonuses for renewing my CD.
The okay: for a while, all of their emails to my Outlook account went to spam. It seems that they recently fixed that.
The could be better: getting an aggregated view of accounts by name, #, balance, and interest-to-date would be extremely helpful. It should be easier to check their current rates from within your account vs. feigning to open a new account.
The bad: sometimes, when trying to open a new CD, technical difficulties have interfered.
I created a 4 year CD ladder in August 2022. Two of those CDs have matured, with the most recent matured yesterday. Bread staff have provided excellent service for both. Today I called and the agent did everything I asked for within 5 minutes. The agent changed the dollar cap on the external transfers from $5000 to $25000 and began transferring the CD dollars directly to the high Yield checking account.
The absolute worst, unprofessional, incompetent institution I've ever dealt with. Opened a CD and wanted the interest deposited into my cking account. Was notified that my account was restricted and had to supply bank statements, SS card, license in order to remove the restriction. Spoke to at least 6 different people who all told me different things. After sending in all my personal info, and numerous phone calls I still was waiting for my money. After receiving a message that all was good, they posted a message that they closed my account, deducted $2300 in penalties without notice or explanation. The most incompetent, unethical and crooked outfit I've ever dealt with. Shameful business practices. I'm living on a fixed income and can't afford to be out this money. They told me they can do this at their discretion. Astounding they're able to get away with this.
Make your own investing decisions but don't be fooled by a handful of whiners who make wild accusations of having money stolen by Bread. What complete and total nonsense. In one persons case in particular it is so obvious that some kind of obsessive/compulsive behavior is being displayed almost weekly, if not daily. In the mean time I have been earning top rates without any problems whatsoever, not one single problem for almost two years. Just saying........
There has been an ongoing thread of constant complaints of Bread is worst of the worst garbage bank, especially by a few individuals. I did a short comparison of reviews for 6 banks for the last 14 months since Bread came on this platform. Three banks I have used and 2 national banks. I compiled the number of reviews for each by 1- to 5 star ratings to get an average score for 1-2 stars and 4-5 stars. Bread has fewer negative and more positive than most of the banks: Barclay (8 reviews); 91% were 1-2 stars and 9% 4-5 stars; Quantic (8 rev) 88% 1-2 st and 0% 4-5 st; Ally (72 rev) 68% 1-2 st and 25% 4-5 st; Bread (80 rv) 66% 1-2 st and 28% 4-5 st; Sallie Mae (10 rv) 70% 1-2 st and 20% 4-5 st; Marcus (55 rv) 71%1-2 st and 22% 4-5 st. You make your own decision but the negative reviews for bread on average are fewer and positive reviews are higher.
I didn’t get anything in mail when my bill was due. I couldn’t even register right away to setup automatic payments. I had only purchased under a hundred dollars, so I had planned to pay in full. I go on and pay in full, and thought nothing of my account. Two months go buy and Ii receive a phone call that my account is past due & threaten that it will head to collections. Apparently I was charged a Kate fee of 20 dollars & than another late fee, for not paying the late fee. I closed my account immediately after I paid it. This bank has many complaints and I’ll never do business with them again!!!
I'm very happy with this bank as I have both a Savings and CD accounts. Been a customer for 1 year now. No issues and their interest rates can't be beat. Check out the rates for yourself. I cannot speak to their CC since I don't have one from this bank. If you just follow their banking procedures like I did, you shouldn't have any problems. Thank you.
You have been warned!!!
Worst credit card ever!!!! Try to get a person to help you if you can. If you get to customer service they will not help and give you Gibber Jabber ( a.k.a BS).
Read all the other negative reviews, they are there because this place is bad news!
I paid my card in full got a letter that said I was paid in full and the card had been cancelled:
Next month still tried to get a $7.98 interest payment!
They are basically doing predatory lending and they are in violation of New York State Plan language laws.
I think they should or will face a class action law suit for how they do business and I hop to be part of it when it happens.
They offer the CAESARS REWARDS credit card and other companies. Note: to CAESARS executives and other company execs who may think of using this company: Affiliation or using Bread Financial is a great way to destroy your brand!!!!
Affiliation or using Bread Financial is a great way to destroy your brand!
Affiliation or using Bread Financial is a great way to destroy your brand!
Read the 69 1 star reviews here (they would have been 0 star but the site doesnt let you do that) and read hundreds more similar reviews that this moldy garbage bank got removed from this site but preserved here
https://web.archive.org/web/20200812215312/https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews/comenity-direct.html
And then ask yourselves, who is telling the truth and who is lying. I have an axe to grind against this bank because they tried to steal my money, the degenerate employees of this bank were no better than any streel level hoodlums. Good that I had recorded every single lie that they spouted from their ****. In the end these punks ending up apologizing to me in writing but it wasnt a pleasant experience dealing with these pigs. Also think which satisfied customer would come back here every week to keep posting glowing reviews and comments, often posting made up sounding scenarios.
I guess these degenerate pigs are now feeling the pressure to shore up the rating, thats why all these fake reviews and comments
I was attracted to Bread Savings because of their competitive CD rates. However, Bread Savings cheated me out of $70 of interest. I wrote to them several times trying to convince them of the error and their reply was the interest was correct. After I finally showed them their own policy required interest is paid until the account is closed, they stopped replying at all. However, they are very good at apologizing. They must have told me a dozen times that they apologize for any inconvenience I experienced. Unless you are satisfied with an apology when you are entitled to money, never do business with Bread Savings.
Bread clearly has a following of bashers. This fdic dude is here 24-7 to bash, he complains about anything and everything. Anytime someone has a positive experience with Bread he immediately pops up to accuse that person of being an employee which is total hogwash. His other tactic is to provide links from ages ago about Comenity to drag them through the mud based on years old comments. He has some kind of hang up as his life is about bashing Bread.....so so ridiculous.
Horrible website and phone system. Customer Service is a joke! Apparently, they contracted with a company in India!
I had to call to re-set my password and, of course, was required to answer 5 questions for verification. "Muhammed" was supposed to send an e-mail to re-set the password but never did. I called back 45 minutes later and had to do it all over again.
I ask for a Supervisor to let them know their 'bank' is a joke. Of course, they're 'not available' !!! I asked a few months ago to speak with a Supervisor regarding a similar issue and, of course, never received a call.
Run...don't walk away!!!!!
Bread seems to be raising their game. The rates are competitive, the online site works, ACH transfer limits are reasonable (1 million), rather than the very low limits of many banks. Also, I've never found another bank that does 2FA properly like Bread does (SMS is not a good 2FA mechanism). Bread makes OTP 2FA so simple to set up. It makes you wonder why other banks can't do it.
Also, Bread fares well when compared to my extremely frustrating effort to open and fund a CITI bank account. I still can't get that account funded because their website is so broken. (and I've been a CITI customer for decades!)
My online savings account was closed by the financial institution without notice and justifiable cause. I have been waiting and have not received my funds from the closed account yet and it has been over six months. The people who work at and run this particular financial institution are unprofessional, unreliable, and incompetent. They failed to update my address after changing it over the telephone nearly ten months ago. When I called in to check on the status of the check from the closed account, I was told that it was mailed to the address on file which was the address used when I opened the account. The customer service representatives at this particular financial institution do not realize that personal information (e.g. name, address, telephone number, etc) could change for anyone at any time. Tim verified everything but my mailing address when I called about the closing balance check. I could not change my address online on my own because the account was restricted without notice or justifiable cause. This particular financial institution has people from all over the country to answer telephone calls and messages and none of them are on the same page and most of them do not and cannot even address one's needs and concerns and answer his questions. Everyone would give a different response and do not do what they say. The customer service representatives do not return telephone calls. One has to take legal action to get something done from this particular financial institution. Otherwise, one will never get his money from a closed account. To save yourself hassles, heartaches, and financial drama and hardship, stay away from this particular online financial institution.
Years back I had a Wayfair card that was converted over to a Wayfair Master Card by Comenity. I hadn't applied for it but I was Ok with it. They raised my limit without my asking at a perfect time and I was grateful. Paid extra, on time, etc. Once the conversion to Bread happened there were tons of problems with the website and such but it didn't seem to affect my payments. Earlier this month they denied a small charge for no reason that I could tell. Customer service said there were no restrictions and sent me a new card in case the chip was bad. Today, new card was also declined for a grocery charge. Customer service said Bread was reviewing my credit report and declining everything until they decided what they wanted to do. I guess I will decide for them and just not use the card. You can't depend on it.
Have 2 accounts going on 3 with these guys. Excellent rates and great service, have never had one problem.
Now people with credit card issues need to learn how to live within their means, instead of month to month on credit.
Most people are here for the excellent interest rates being given on certificates of deposit and their high yield savings account. Who cares about credit cards, get that from any bank.
I have been a long-time customer of Bread Financial (formerly known as Comenity Capital Bank). I called seeking guidance in two matters:
1. How to open a CD using some of the money in my high-yield savings account. The customer service representative directed me to the link on my account page to follow to open another account (that is, the CD).
2. I requested an increase to my ACH transfer (outgoing) limit. I was capped at $5,000 per day with no 6 transfers limit per month and no fees after the 6th transfer. I was cheerfully offered a daily limit of $100,000 (I selected a $50,000 daily limit) with no limit to the number of transfers per month and no fees. I was informed the change will take effect in 3 to 5 business days.
I had less than a one-minute hold time (I called late afternoon) to speak to a live representative. She was friendly, courteous, knowledgeable and spoke clearly.
I have never had any issues with Bread Financial or Comenity phone representatives.
I've had a Bread Financial AmEx for several months, an account for which they pre-approved me. $5000 limit. They had several issues with their website & account servicing right off the bat which was my first warning. Over time, things were going OK so I was using the card for vacations, eating out, groceries ... with 2% cash back, I was happy to use it & pay it down for the bonus. I even went through the process of switching all of my monthly auto-charges to the card. Today, I go to use it & it's declined. Confused, I looked on my account to discover my limit dropped from $5000 to $1900. Thinking it was a mistake, I called customer service only to find out its accurate. Out of nowhere, they decreased my limit over $3k! This is after getting increases on 2 other accounts at different banks based on improved credit, perfect payment history, & a recent raise. WTH? Supposedly, she didn't even know the reason, only that a letter had been sent at some point. I will be closing this & my 2 other accounts I hold with them since they are apparently untrustworthy. All future credit offers they send me will be laughed at & tossed in the trash.
First they closed my checking account for no reason.
Then they issued me a credit card and 4 months later closed that for no reason.
And by the way, my accounts were in perfect standing and my credit rating is perfect as well.
I applied for a Bread Financial account before Christmas. After 10 days or so, I called customer service. Apparently they were still evaluating my application, and a letter with their decision would go out in 5 business days. Never received a letter, and on FEB 13, I received an email that they were unable to accept my application. Btw, credit score over 800, etc.
Their interests nosedived. As Fed. increased rates, Bread reduced its rates, this left no incentive to invest with them. Further, when I decided to transfer funds out because of the said, they unduly and purposefully delayed the transfer for gainful purposes.
The same 10 people or so are replying to reviews over the course of a year with such praise. They are also flood liking each other and giving 4-5 star reviews while giving a generic response about the benefits bread has over its competitors. These are highly likely to be employees of bread writing such reviews as there is no other reason such a person would camp out this review board for months and months at a time trying to do damage control on their failing review score.
Onto my review. This company is absolute garbage that is as unethical as it gets. I applied for a loan through bread pay and then never got the item that I applied for the loan for. Then I took it up with the merchant who told me they would cancel the order. Talked to bread 3 times and they keep telling me to keep up with payments while they investigate. Never heard anything from them again after that except for their constant emails about the loan payments. Don't give this trash company your money if they pull such bs as I learned it doesn't affect you. I didn't
pay for their scam loan almost 8 months ago, but they still will constantly send you emails about owing them even if you don't owe these shills anything. wouldn't do a single thing with their banking or cd if someone paid me to do so.
I don't feel like writing a book about how shitty Comenity (Bread) is so I'll just bullet point out a few things.
1. Their customer service misinformed me and the follow-up person was dismissive; Their bad information negatively affected my credit.
2. Their lag in keeping up with current rates is substantial. Expect to earn less on your savings than many other banks. It took them almost a month to raise my savings to the current rate.
3. Their customer service takes way too long to respond back to you.
4. Bank transfers take longer than with other banks I've used.
5. Their security procedures are substandard and antiquated. Your money may not be safe here.
They do NOT report to the credit bureaus! If you are looking to pay your bills and watch your credit score climb this loan is garbage! If you want a loan and don’t intend on paying it back then bingo this is definitely your loan!!!
I've had probably a couple dozen different bank accounts in my life, including 10 or more online-only, so I'm familiar with how they work. In fact I've never had an issue before and thought that people complaining about "poor customer service" were just looking to be difficult. Bread Savings, however, changed my mind. They managed to mess up extremely basic things that every other bank handles with no problem, and are either lying about it, or completely incompetent.
About two months ago, I noticed that on my account homepage, it said "restricted" in small red letters. It had an info symbol next to it, but when I clicked the info symbol, nothing happened. So I asked via online chat what that meant, and got no reply after the initial promise that someone would get back to me within 3 to 5 days. So after about a week, I asked again.
Several days after that, I got a response saying that due to suspicious activity, my account had been locked. I called customer service and they told me that the "suspicious activity" was me linking my account with my Schwab checking account. They said that due to something about how Schwab sent over the trial deposits, Bread decided it was suspicious. (i've linked five or more other bank accounts with Schwab in the exact same manner, with no issues.)
On the phone, the customer service rep told me that in order to unlock my Bread account, I would need to send them proof of my identity, as well as multiple months of statements from each of the external accounts I had linked to it. I don't even remember the whole list of required items, because it was comically long. I asked if I could just un-link the Schwab account if that somehow had caused the problem, and they said no. The only way to continue to use my account would be to send them all that stuff.
However, they said they could close my account instead, and would send the funds that I had deposited back to the 2 accounts they came from. I agreed, and they said the transfer would be complete and my account would be closed within 3 to 5 business days with no further action required from me. It didn't happen.
I called back on the 5th day to ask about the status. After putting me on hold forever, rep #2 said that everything was fine, and I just needed to be patient for another few days and it should go through by yesterday or today at the latest. Still nothing, no "pending" transfers showing up in my external accounts or anything.
So I called back again and through a severe language barrier (which had thankfully not been the case with previous reps, just this one), rep #3 communicated that everything was not fine, and they were waiting for me to tell them through the secure message system where to send my funds. The transfer hadn't gone through because it hadn't even been initiated at all, despite the two previous reps telling me I didn't need to do anything further. (Recall that the original rep didn't ASK me where to send my money, she just TOLD me that it would automatically go back to the accounts it came from. And rep #2 confirmed this and said she wasn't sure where the accrued interest would go, but it would be one or the other of my two accounts.) Rep #3 swore up and down that everything was definitely all set now and it would be completed in 3-5 business days.
It still didn't happen. This time, part of the money actually was transferred back to the external account it came from, but the original deposit and interest were still sitting in my Bread account with nothing pending. I asked via the online chat when my account would finally be closed. A rep responded in the chat that my account is restricted and I needed to contact them to un-restrict it. Um, yes, that's the problem.
I called back AGAIN. This time, rep #4 told me that my account was restricted (duh!) and so to initiate closing it, she would have to transfer me to rep #5 in the account protection department. I explained that I had already been assured by multiple people on multiple occasions that the closure had been submitted and would go through. This apparently was not true either. Rep #5 in account protection told me that although the first transfer was done, somehow they didn't initiate the second transfer with the remainder of my money and interest, because it was going to a different account. She claims it will be done in 3-5 business days. I've heard that before.
We will see if I ever get my money back and finally can be done calling these people.
They will take your money but you will go through he11 to get it back. They want me to turn over all my bank records before they wire transfer money to me. I asked their employees to send me their bank records and suddenly that was too risky for them but not for me!
They want to charge you to send you a check! Avoid these F ups! No matter what they offer do not give them a penny
Easily the worst credit card I have ever had. They locked transactions for weeks and I couldn't get it unlocked without waiting on the line for hours.
I tried to open up a savings acct Oct 2022. I needed some questions answered. I called and waited 30 minutes to speak to someone. When I heard the annoying music end, I immediately said: hello, hello, and I hear a click. Thats all I needed to say NOPE
I'm thru!
1/18/23 Update)
Attempted to open a 2nd CD online as the first was flawless and the easiest I've had.
Not the case with the 2nd, even though I expected even better ease. A very long story, but I couldn't open the 2nd account because they still had my Dec. application still open. So, every time I tried to proceed with the new, it took me back to the 1st application. When I clicked on it showed that it was already verified and fully funded. It was also a joint account that was super easy to complete.
Called and immediately got a very helpful, but also embarrassed rep. Like I said, long story but it took 45 minutes on the phone to open a 2nd CD account identical to one already verified, approved, and funded. To add insult to injury, we couldn't make it a joint account.
Now it gets really frustrating. I had to print out a 4 page, add a joint owner form, manually fill it out, scan it, and secure message it. I was then informed that it was going through manual review (it had identical info. to the joint applicant on the 1st account). Received a letter this week asking for front and back copies of the joint driver's license, social security card, and a bank statement with both of names on it.
Complied and snail mail four printed pages back.
What is so ridiculous is that I already had an approved, verified, and funded CD account on their books. I have yet to find anyone at Bread that can explain all of these issues to me.
**************************************************
I've owned close to a hundred online CD's.
This has been absolutely the easiest one I've ever opened. The rep. was knowledgeable, but slightly hard to understand, but then so are a lot of people. Getting older!
As far as I now know, I'm in without any scanning and sending supporting documentation even with a joint account. All in one day!
They also said I'm earning interest as of today, when I applied for the account. My funding account doesn't even show a transfer yet.
Don't know much else yet, but so far so good.
All his complaining is extremely unjust. The bottom line is there are so many scammers out here that I completely understand the rigor banks take in managing that risk. If you want the interest on those CDs in years to come it’s not a bad idea for banks to do their due diligence in order to remain solvent and pay out these CDs when they come due. Otherwise the bank goes under with your money. Yeah.. you might get most of your principal back, less legal fees, but is that he intended goal? So if a bank asks you to jump through a few hoops to self identify….it’s not they enjoy torturing you. It’s to maintain the integrity of the institution. So be kind to the call lines. Be patient. Research the health of the bank. And of course go make some money!
I think those posting negative reviews are just not used to dealing with on line only banks. I have been enjoying the high rate paid on my two accounts with Bread without any negative issues. One post I read here complained about the micro-deposits. Well, those are standard procedure at any on line bank to get things set up for money transfer between accounts, absolutely what is expected and it works seamlessly.
They had my wife at no-frills "High Yield Savings," she was the sucker, but I followed her down the pit of misery. Of course "No frills" means online-only, no consistent customer service, and a pain to use. I always told her you get what you pay for, and I was right! They made it near impossible to draw money out, always saying "now we need to wait 3-5 business days" and then play this game of depositing two micro-deposits before any transfer – it was total BS.
There is something VERY shady going on, I think they slow-walk everything to maximize their float on funds.
They customer service people are sweet as pie, but don't call for it – they know it's a con, too. They always acted like it was THEIR money, and that they were doing ME a favor for the privilege of using them. Horrible, horrible, experience.
Again, you get what you pay for! Do NOT do online-only, or at least make sure it's a place you have HEARD OF, has a REPUTATION (does it have a real buzz, or is some hack at Forbes being paid to hype them?). But it's important that you can meet with a person in-person if you have issues.
Opened 5 yr CD Dec 7, no other previous relationship with Bread. Transferred the funds from Bank of America, since in my previous experience Plaid is dicey except with a few big banks. But as it was the Bread process was perhaps the quickest, smoothest I've experienced opening a CD. Perhaps trouble might come if you have to call?
Opted for a 4 year and 5 year CD since they seem to have amongst the top rates at the moment. Checked out the website, read the poor reviews, and hoped for the best. Specific information I was seeking was unavailable so I called and rather quickly got connected to an agent that was quite knowledgeable and helpful with my queries. In no particular order, no hard credit pulls, POA and beneficiary designation (no SS number needed) utilizes their form that needs to be printed out, filled out and photocopied/scanned/photographed and uploaded back to them. POA requires a notary signature, which my bank Wells Fargo is willing to do for free. Funded using a 3rd party provider (Plaid) which ultimately does an ACH (I believe) through the online CD setup process, which worked without issues, and the whole process took maybe 5 minutes. Amongst the easiest process I've experienced. 3 ways to get money out when CDs mature. Bank Check (Certified) is $15, Wire is $25. Hence, I was told that I could use the same mechanism to pull money out at maturity as used to fund the account electronically to avoid fees. My experience seems to be quite positive compared to the other reviews.
Have two accounts now and both were opened quite smoothly and quickly. I literally have never had any issues with these guys and the rates they are paying are pretty much unbeatable.
Tried to set up CD b/c they are the highest. Chose the 5 year b/c its 5.75% I tried 2 days in a row and got denied both times. Customer service says wait and try again later. It appears they will DENY the higher % yield and likely want you to apply for the lower yield CD. What a waste of time trying to setup online and calling and waiting. DONT bother, sounds like a case of bait & switch. The NAME need to changed to "Bread Crumb Banking"
Uses plaid to verify. no thanks.
worst part is they get all your info before they disclose the using of Plaid.
I have never seen a bank that denies your application form and the Mangement and customer service doesn't know why your application form was denied and they tell you to keep trying with a different email address so that you may get approved. I tried this several times getting the same result. It's like playing the slots machine! I had a horrible experience after making several phone calls and filling up several application forms that they told me they couldn't delete! I should have listened to all the negative and one-star comments here. They are all true, so don't waste your time like I did.
I had the worst bank experience ever with Bread Financial. I wanted to open a CD, since they have good CD rates. I decided to open a savings account first with them, and afterwards open a CD to a transfer the money from the savings account.
It took me more than 1 month to open a savings account with them, I did it initially online, when I didn’t hear anything after about a week I called them and they said that I needed to wait for a letter in the mail, after another week still nothing, I called again (every time you call the automated answering machine says 10 minutes wait even if the wait was always between 30 and 60 minutes), when I finally got them on the phone they told me that I have to send them in the mail some additional papers, copy of ID, copy of SS card etch. I did that, after many more phone calls I finally succeeded in opening a savings account, this was after 32-33 days.
Then I wanted to open a CD online, and I kept having problem with it, it kept saying that I was denied???, I called them again and they told me that there system was down and I should try in a few days again. I kept trying and I kept being denied, I called them again, and every time they said that they couldn’t tell me why I was denied, but only tell me that it wasn’t because of my credit, I knew that since my credit score is above 800. I am in my mid 50’s and have had many CD’s before with different banks without any problems at all.
Since I wanted to open a CD, and I couldn’t do that I wanted my money back, I called them again, and they told me that I would see my funds within 5 biz days, it ended up taking another months and call them 5-7 times again. It was obviously to me that they were holding on to my money to make interest of it, and pay me a much lower interest.
I want to warn everyone against this bank which have very suspect and deceiving banking operations.
Tried to open online CD. Was supposed to be sent a confirmation code. Never got it. Went back to see that my email address was correctly typed in....it was. Asked to be sent another confirmation code. Never got it. Tried third time for code to be resent. Never got it. Notified that too many requests made.Called customer service... nobody picked up. Won't bother with them.
Received a home equity loan. Mortgage company sent cert checks out to my lenders. Bread supplied me with a mailing address and a check was sent for my loan balance plus $600 in error. Check was cashed 5 weeks ago. After numerous calls I'm still waiting for my funds to be mailed back to me. I had been told various things about payoff and funds to be returned by many representatives. Comity Bank and Bread do not have more than message access to one another. Worst experience I've ever had with a financial institution. Still waiting for $1600 of my funds to be returned to me! No one has or provides answers and now getting hammered for being behind in loan payments too. Even upper managers have not been able to help. STAY AWAY!!!
I've had a savings account here for a couple of years. I can't put my finger on what it is about that seems so ODD about my Bread Financial Savings account. Their interest rates ar very competitive, but that is where it stops. Online wait times for customer service are excessive. Customer service conversations on their internal Message system can be very slow and frustrating. They have odd rules about withdrawing funds. Their website is oddly designed. They changed their brand name from Comenity (try to pronounce that) to "Bread". Bread?? Really?? ACH transfers still go through as "Comenity". But they offer high rates. Hmmm. They won't get 5 stars from me. I still have my account there, but I have drawn it down.
Only thing I can say is they have good rates but not good enough to put up with poor service. They didnt follow instruction on renewing a large CD and took forever to get in touch to get the matter corrected. Then after I got in touch they never did correct it to my satisfaction. Next I transferred money out of online savings account to my brokerage in which they froze my account as they said unusual activity. They only contacted me on bank message so I never knew they froze account until my Brokerage called and said I had no funds. It was a big inconvenience and embarrassment. I tried to terminate my accounts with them but of course they would not allow me out of the large CD that has been in effect for only 3 months without paying a year of interest. Bread only cares about themselves and nobody else!! I will never invest with them again!! I would give them a negative 5 stars if I could.
I opened a high yield savings bank initially with no problem but when I tried to get the mini deposits for the ach transfers my bank rejected the connection.
I sent the required documents thru their link but after several calls the correct department seemed to never receive them so after 8 weeks that was enough for me. It would have not ben so bad if after each call I had to reverify myself to each department I was transferred to,,,, so I wish them well but not recommending them to anyone else
I signed up for an account and never got as much as any email confirming my application was received or in processing. The only emails I received was with the six digit code to check status of the application. I never heard back from them.
I am surprised so few people know how much of your information you give up the moment you link your checking account to the Bread savings account through Plaid. It gives up all your transaction history, dollar amounts, dates, what your outgoing/incoming transfers, credits/debits. To me I don’t think it’s worth it to give up all that personal information and not even have an account opened.
If you love customer service INCOMPETENCE and your account locked up for no reason bread is for you!
One of the worst bank. Doesn't care about customer. Before even getting the account #, they want to add the money to the account. Okay, that is to some extent fine. Other banks, sends an email indicating my account # etc., but they don't send it. They asked to wait 10 days, for the normal surface mail to reach, which will have account details. No mail reached so far, it has been almost 20 working days, more than 24 days. No mail, no proper response to emails. Asking me to call the customer care. The customer care doesn't even care about customer, it should be named as bankers care. It only cares about the bank employees and no options to talk to the customer. It also says the same, wait for 10 business day.
Very annoying customer experience and worst bank, doesn't have the basic process in place. These days, lots of online only banks are out there, without even having the very basic thing in place. Very pathetic.
Currently I couldn't even takeout the $100, the initial amount I added to the bank, when opening the account. Thank God, I didn't add more in the beginning.
Please be aware of this useless bank.
Stay away, stay far far away. They may have great rates, but in all my experience with online banks, I've never seen one that put up so many roadblocks, with so many weird rules -- the bean counters had a field day setting up the rules and procedures -- starting with first setting up an account, to then moving money around, be it within Bread or with other institutions. "Oh, you didn't notice the rule that's on the bottom of page 32 (paragraph 12, subsection 3) of our 67 page account agreement?"
After WEEK doing Application for a Simple Online Savings Account, my Application was DENIED. I have excellent credit. DO Not apply for any accounts including a Online Savings Account. Stay Away Run Away From this Online Bank.
Nothing more to say.
Got a so called supervisor on the line and he was completely CLUELESS on what to do and what to say.
First they closed my savings account for undisclosed reasons.
Then they would not give me my money.
It took me 4 weeks to get my money and 5 phone calls to them.
Each time I called they promised to send the money, but didn't.
I had to file a complaint with the FDIC before I finally got my money.
I tried to send a wire on Thursday. I filled out their form. They didn't send it, and the only notification was a message on their own website. No phone call, no email. Just a message asking me to call their Customer Service number. I saw said message on Saturday, so naturally it's Monday before I can call. At current time, I have not been able to get through to anyone who can get it sent, but did find one who says the problem is that they want to know the purpose of the wire.
First problem, why is that any of their business, Two, if they insist on knowing it, why is it not on the form, and Three, why did they not call me to inform me that they aren't competent enough at creating forms to gather all the information they need to proceed, and Four, why does it take hours to get through to Customer service to resolve a problem.
The fifth question is Why do I do business with people like this, and the answer is I'm closing this account and moving it to a competitor.
Bear in mind this was after wrestling with them for two months to increase my transfer limits (unrelated to wires) to useable levels.
Oh, I also tried using their website Chat feature, and get the same canned response every single time, which is "call customer service".
Apparently they aren't capable of having a useable chat-bot, either.
I don't recommend them at all.
Opening a 5 year cd went quickly and smoothly. Funding is in 3 to 5 days and waiting for that. So far so good!
This bank is terrible. You will get no response from chat features. All I did was ask question about closing account and then they suspended it. I have been trying to reach someone but couldnt get through. Stay away its not worth the headache.
Applied online for the 5 year CD. Logged in via Plaid to my funding account. Got a rejection from Bread, saying they wouldn't open the account. No reason given at all.
My two gripes with Bread are that 1) the customer service is poor. If you want to actually speak to someone on the phone, good luck. You will wait a long time or get disconnected. You can send a message and get a response within a day, but I have not yet been able to speak to someone live. 2) On the High Yield Savings Account, they only let you withdraw a max of $5000 per day. What kind of bank sets such a low daily limit on withdrawing your own money? A crappy one is the correct answer.
I have noticed that Bread would raise the High Yield rate .5% when the Fed raises the rate .75%. Comenity Direct used to raise or lower the rate the same as the Fed Rate Change. I loved Comenity but I have serious doubts regarding Bread.
My son was and is purchasing a pc from evolve through your financing.
He paid 6 months before receiving it.
When forced to go to a 35k job from a 92k job he understandably had to shuffle bills.
Instead of being a superior finance company and calling from your own area code you supersede ours.
On your phone which is a violation of the Missouri no call law.
I am disgusted with your behavior and rudeness.
I have not been treated as such for an account 15 days late.
WOW…….
That makes people go all Karen
He said he will be able to catch up 10/10 or so.
Are you even American CITIZENS?
I WAS TRAINED TO TRET MY FELLOW MAN WITH RESPECT AND WHEN HE DOES
NOT RETURN THE FAVOR TO TREAT THEM THE WAY THEY TREAT YOU…….
I tried to open a cd with Bread. The only way to fund the account is with Plaid, which requires you to give them you bank login credentials. I think Plaid logs into your account so you have to identify to Plaid your bank's login URL. How can this work if you have 2F on your bank account? At any rate, Plaid did not recognize my bank's URL so I can not open an account at Bread.
Can anyone explain how Plaid works and should it be trusted with your bank credentials.
I'm befuddled as you'll see further in this review, the hold times have been long until I called within the last hour. The hold time was down to a few minutes. Hold time was my main complaint. The CSA have always been courteous and don't appear located other than here in the USA.
Time alone will tell if the services are as represented in other reviews.
If you don't mind horrendous hold times and sign on problems from the get go .(BTW hold message over and over frequently " ....All of representatives are busy- please hold someone will be with you shortly")
I was/am critical of the hold times - I learned that you can't use special characters in the username or the password - the system will allow you to continue with signup containing an error.
090222 Bread sent to emails indicating I should contact them.
After holding for over 25 minutes, I disconnected.
next day Same issue finally reached CSA .
While Bread's rates are attractive, and the ach pull to fund the account is efficient.
If you don't mind horrendous hold times to reach a CSA- go there.
Locked my account with $10,000 in it. They are demanding a photo of social security card, ID and all bank statements for external accounts. They are demanding all of this within 14 days and I have been a customer making deposits and withdrawals for months. BEWARE! they noticed I was removing my money to close the account so they locked it.
Update: I decided to close my account instead of jumping through all of their hoops. When I called, they did not attempt to resolve the issue at all. And they admitted the issues where caused by their system and their reps.
For no reason they locked my account. I spend more than 1 hour, tried 3 times to call their custom service (Aug. 26). The representative promised me, he will submit request to unlock my account right away. But today Aug. 30, my account still being locked. I have set up auto deposit/pay on this account, I will move my money to other bank.
Rates are very competitive and that is where the pluses stop. Did not follow directive for renewing a CD...days to answer messages and some have never been answered. Online wait times for customer service have been excessive up to 30 minutes and have hung up...never come back to give you an idea of queue or time before answer. Will not renew anything else with Bread.
I spent an hour to find these so that you guys can read these yourselves and figure out how incompetent/stupid/miserable this bank is.
https://web.archive.org/web/20200812215312/https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews/comenity-direct.html
And note that lot of current and old 5 star reviews seem fake or made up.
they changed their name to wipe out their crappy reputation but they are still the same
Don't let the high CD rates fool you. Bread Financial are scammers. I foolishly moved my CD from Ally Bank to Bread Financial. What a mistake. They transferred all of my funds to a 1 year CD which I did not want. The only way to reach customer service is by phone as there is no chat feature. When calling you get an automated message saying call volume is high and the wait will be around 10 minutes. After waiting for 25 minutes I hung up. I emailed but got no response for days. After calling again many times I eventually got through. The customer service representative was unprofessional and did not know how to help. She said she would contact her superiors to see if I could close my CD. I never heard back. They have essentially stolen my money for a year and there is nothing I can do. Not worth the slightly higher interest rate. Poor customer service. Horrible company.
I setup a bread savings account 2 months ago and have had no problems. Setting up beneficiaries is a bit cumbersome but I was able to pull a large amount of money out with no problems.
The biggest advantage to this bank is the true two factor authentication via Authy or Google Authenticator. Does not rely on weak security text message for authentication.
Unlike some others on here, I had no problem whatsoever setting up my account. Their rates seemed pretty good, although I discovered another bank that same day that had better rates.
I signed up a couple of weeks ago and I have nothing to complain about. I was able to make a five year CD ladder with few issues. I did not require any assistance, and I’m glad I didn’t given all the other complaints from new users. I will provide an update if anything changes.
As others have indicated, Bread Savings management and executives are extremely unethical and use shady and fraudulent practices to prevent customers from accessing their OWN money in a timely and reasonable fashion. This is the WORST bank or financial institutions we have ever dealt with in last 40+ years. Sociopaths are in charge!
Outbound Linking from Bread to Any Bank:
- Trial deposits sent same day by Bread to other banks
- Bread links immediately to external bank accounts
- Bread immediately accepted ACH transfers deposits from other banks
Inbound Linking from External Bank:
- Waiting now for 2 days and no trial deposits showing in Bread savings account
- No status visible anywhere on online dashboard
- No idea if and when Bread will allow inbound links from other banks
Does anyone know how long Bread takes to accept the trial deposits from External Bank?
Do they ignore any inbound links during first 10 business days after account setup (this is ILLEGAL)?
Has anyone else experienced this problem and/or delays with Bread stalling or refusing to allow linking from external bank account?
Any help is appreciated!
Despite opening a CD with Bread almost 2 months ago, when I just applied to open a new CD, my application was denied. Although I've spent way too much time on the phone repeatedly requested an explanation for this frustrating experience, their reps have refused to offer any reason. But my biggest regret is being stuck doing business with them until the CD matures. At 70 yrs. old, I've never had a bank turn me away, and I'm beyond offended that a bank with their checkered history has refused to do business with me...
Do not open a CD with this place. They renamed themselves to Bread Financial but are really Comenity Bank. Headquarted in Columbus Ohio and they have over 3,600 Better Business Complaints actually filed. I have had nothing but trouble getting my money out.
Moved money into checking and TRIED to open a 3-year CD. Provided all info from SS#, DL#, bank account and routing number.
Called, it takes at least 30 minutes to reach rep, and it's under manual review!
Decided that after four days without any contact from them I was going to cancel and open somewhere else. Rep said they need more info. I have a credit score of 786!
In the future, I will only work with banks that respect me and my money.
I bank with many financial institutions. Since they took over Comenity, I have been unable to reach these folks. Might work if you start from scratch and open a new account online (be sure to save all your info). But if you ever want to speak to a live person, forget about it. I wouldn't deal with them or give them any of my business.
Once you learn how to navigate their website, it's a piece of cake. The learning process is not easy, however with several hurdles, Wait times to contact customer service are horrendous as it is outsourced to India with language issues. I had to escalate my issue with customer service to get back to the US. However, in the end, you have highest bank rate offered on a 2-yr CD in the country at 3.5%; higher than brokered cd's or treasuries at this time.
After being on hold for 45 minutes, the CSA informed me that the 855 number listed on this website is wrong, but the correct number is 833-755-4354, which I then called. The auto attendant said my hold time would be 10 minutes. After 20 minutes on hold, I gave up and hung up. Neither of the two numbers I called offered a callback option, and their website doesn’t provide an email address to send written question to. Overall, a waste of my time!
Yes it's Comenity reincarnated! Stay away from "BREAD". I was finally able to remove my money from this institution after many attempts and the release of much unnecessary personal information. This happened six months ago and the experience was so uniquely bad I still feel the need to warn other people. As I said back then, 'If you try, you might be able to find some other institution that's worse somewhere'.
I opened two 5 YR CDs in the past week. I can always reach a rep via phone calls within 30 minutes. Almost all the reps are knowledgeable. If I got a rep who might be new and inexperienced, I just call the main number again. The portal has a secure messages feature that I can ask questions, make requests, upload and download documents securely. The mobile app is pretty easy to use.
My recent experience has been good.
I have a lot of money in CDs at Bread Savings which matured on July 29 and July 30. I spoke with someone on July 11 to request that they be closed when matured and funds sent to my originating bank. I checked a week later to confirm that everything was in order. I spoke with the same person I had spoken with on the 11th and was told all was in order. I called the week before they matured to check again and was told that all was in order. I called on August 1 to check and was told all was "in process" and that I would see my funds in a few days. Nothing happened. I called on August 5 and spoke with someone and told my request and action thereof had been closed. I was told that she would resubmit and reopen my request and ask that it would be quickly taken care of. As I have lost total confidence in this bank I called back today, August 8 to see where my funds were. I got someone on the phone who looked at the file and said they did not understand what was happening. I asked if my funds were on the way. She said no and said she was going to put me on hold and find out what the problem was. I was on, as we call it, infinite hold for 10 or 15 minutes and then the line went dead as I was cut off. I called back, was on hold for another 15 or 20 minutes until I got someone. It was the same person I spoke with Friday. She finally remembered, said I had spoken with two people previously today, I said no just one. She said she wanted to read what I was told earlier today. Then I was cut off again. I am on hold again, beyond exasperated and while on hold am writing this and researching who I should speak with at the FDIC to report my experience and help me get my funds back. I have had a large number of CDs over the years and have never had an experience like this to get my funds back. Is this any way to run a bank? I don't think so. I have a T Bill purchase to pay for . Just FYI, I just got off the phone with Rayonna, whom seemed concerned with what was happening, looked into it and told me that the original paperwork that the person at the bank submitted on July 11 was done incorrectly, that she was personally taking hold of this and would get it done. She seems competent, concerned, and I am impressed with her. Kudos if she gets it done. She gets 5 stars for customer service, the others 1 and if I could give zero I would.
I was trying to take out one of their high interest CDs. The website takes me right up to linking an external checking account then the site circuits me back to sign in to Bread once again. The site successfully links up my funding account and even has me enter the amount for my hopefully new CD but the site has me sign in to Bread once again only to say I tried to sign on too many times and I'm locked out. I tried CS and the rep couldn't seem to figure out how to help me fund a new CD. I only wanted the high interest 3.25% 2 year CD but Bread says they cannot approve me for an account. Someone else will take my money that's for sure. Rates are slated to. climb throughout the year so I guess I get to wait for a mainline bank to surpass the early leaders
The CD process does not give all the information that is needed. When trying to contact customer service you get a call center that can not help but they tell you someone will get back with you in 3-5 business days. No one gets back with you. The call center people closed my account after I repeatedly told them that was not what I wanted. The call center uses caller ID. They kept hanging up on me when I called. After using a different phone number I was able to get through. i would not recommend this company
During the last month I have opened a couple of CD's. Was on the phone with Bread whilst I was setting up a new funding account and they were very helpful. Later last month I asked for the interest to be sent monthly to my outside funding account. That went very smoothly. Opened a second CD last weekend and everything went very easily. These were both less than $50k but in about eight weeks I have a bigger CD to purchase and if the rates stay competitive will put it there. My only negative on Bread is the very small amount that can be withdrawn each month from a savings account ($30000). This actually stops me holding a bigger balance .
I did research on this bank and spoke to their customer service people twice. After deciding to open a CD, I entered all my information, SS, bank info, DL number, address, and received a immediate response that they were unable to open my account and to contact customer service. I did and they were unable to give me ANY reason why they were not able to open my account, but they said it was NOT a credit problem. I wanted to try a second time but the system would not let me so I called them back and they told me to create a new email and use that to try again! I told them no way, I should not have to create a new email just to open an account and they should be able to help me do this. They were unable to offer ANY other help so I decided to find another bank. Something about this banks stinks. I would not use them.
Short summary: rude place with rude people
I deposited just under the max amount to remain FDIC insured, so my account was a decent one. I didn't log in for a few months, then tried to log in and got a message, "this account is dormant,." Where I understand their security concerns, when I called in, the person was defensive and unconcerned.
Other people I called there were also unconcerned and unpleasant.
Most online banks are almost "overly" nice when you call, they seem to be pleased that you called and generally seem eager to help you as much as they can.
That's where my money is going!
After giving BREAD all of my banking information including SS number, and after connecting my home bank to BREAD for a transfer of funds, I received the "We're Sorry" message that I was not approved for a 2 year CD. I called the given number on the message and the rep. said to try in 30 days using all caps for the email. Meantime, on the site form, it states that the email is case-sensitive! Same thing happened to my husband a few days earlier. Now Bread has both of our information and the routing numbers to our other banks. We can see approval for a loan, but not approval for a savings CD. Beware, Beware, Beware of BREAD.
My account was placed in "Restricted" status on July 26, 2022. Bread wants me to send bank statements for my linked accounts, driver license, social security card & Fraud Affidavit.
Bread AP/Fraud Dept would not tell me what activity Bread deemed suspicious/irregular that warranted Bread locking my account.
Bread AP/Fraud Dept would not guarantee submitting the requested documentation would lift Restriction.
Bread AP/Fraud Dept advised that after submitting requested "documentation" and this Restricted status lifted. My account may be deemed Restricted, again.
So, sans understanding why my account was locked and sans assurances my account would not be locked, again.
I requested account closure on July 26, 2022.
On Aug 08, 2022. My funds from Bread closure are back with my funding account.
as always, your mileage may vary
I wouldn't bank with them if the only alternative were dragging around a sack of coins.
I have literally worked with over 50 banks in my life and never run into a bank as untrustworthy and cumbersome as this.
An update on my CD situation, now they've opened 3 cds, after two weeks of total silence, a day after I cancelled the applications and rearranged my money to open a ladder elsewhere. What an utter nightmare.
(Just an FYI, Fidelity was (would have been) able to open a cd ladder for me with rates that are as good or better, the entire process for that took (would have taken) less than five minutes.)
A week later and I have still heard NOTHING, it's been two weeks since I attempted to open a cd ladder. I did receive a generic offer for a Bread Credit Card, so apparently they want MORE customers when they're completely incompetent about the ones they already have. TOTAL FAIL.
Applied for a 12 month 500,000.00 CD on line and told I was denied. I called and asked why and they would not tell me. They gave me a scripted response that was bullcrap. I would stay away from this bank and I hope they go out of business soon. I would give them a Zero , but as usual not an option.for this review.
Opened an account with them and it was very easy & smooth. I've transferred money already and linked more external accounts with no issues. Can't beat their great interest rates!
I attempted to open a cd ladder here, the rates are excellent at the moment. Two of the five opened on July 1, the other three are still "being reviewed" nine days later; I haven't even been contacted as to why there's a hold up yet. I have called the bank twice and been assured that they have my applications, but this really isn't acceptable for a ladder - the whole point was the simplicity and consistency of one bank and one due date. Now I have two open accounts so I can't even walk away without creating more complexity and hassle when I wanted less.
Even though I saw the questionable reviews, I guess that I was blinded by the prospects of such great savings rates and invested with Bread, started with opening numerous external accounts.
I must say that the frustration that I experienced in the funding process and attempted CD setups made me regret my efforts. After 8 phone calls and numerous emails, I was unable to get the support I needed. Literally 10+ hours (including phone wait times) that were wasted over the last six weeks One call, I was hung up on 50 minutes into the call. He put me on hold to pass me on to a supervisor and after another 8 minute wait, I was hung up on.
Finally today I reached an outstanding rep who was responsive to my needs and she helped me setup a return of my original funding amount back to the funding source. I just hope and pray that it works out without any additional issues.
Lesson learned: Pay Attention to the DA reviews.
Really terrible experiance trying to open a second CD and savings account. They do not have any kind of tech support dept at all and any online application problems are left up to untrained customer service people. If any kind of application rejection problem happens they tell you to use all caps on your email address and then they will tell you to use a different email address. One person said they were a supervisor and to call back and speak to the approval department. When you call back they say there is no approval department because they use two different outside company's to approve applications and customers can't talk to them. Then you'll get a online message that says to call and talk to the account security department. When you call and talk to them ask why you tried to open an account with a different email address. When you tell them customer service told you to try that they say that's completely wrong. Never in my 40 years of investing have I dealt with such an incompetent group of people.
Is there an early withdrawal penalty with a Bread Savings CD?
Yes, an early withdrawal penalty applies. For terms shorter than 1 year, the penalty is 90 days simple interest. For terms 12 months to 3 years, the penalty is 180 days simple interest. For terms 4 years and up, the penalty is 365 days simple interest.
I saw the higher interest rate I was looking for a place to park $40,000. I tested the water with $100 bill to see how easy it is to deposit and withdraw money with this company.
So I deposited and waited for it to clear my bank. I waited to see the money post in the bread account.
I then attempted to withdraw it 8 Days later they hadn't even attempted to send my money back!
When I wrote to their support team asking them where my money was they locked my account.
Now this is my personal opinion run at full speed from this company don't even consider putting your money in their account you may never see it again!
Open an account with a company that offers you a debit card where you can withdraw your own money at any time at any ATM machine.
Bread Savings doesn’t tell you that during the first 30 days of opening an account, every deposit is subject to a 10 business day hold and you have no access to your money until after the hold. And the daily withdrawal limit past the hold period is only $5k. If I had known these arbitrary rules, I would not have signed up.
it is a good bank if you just want to park extra money you have for a great interest rate. if you are going to make frequent transactions for large sums then you should look elsewhere. I have nothing but good experiences with this bank and have broken cds to take advantage of better interest rates and it always worked out well for me. i usually withdraw amounts less than $1000 dollars and never had problems with cancelled transactions like some other banks. Overall they have been reliable for my needs and i had nothing but a positive experience with this bank.
I opened an account with them so long ago that I do not remember when. Until recently, I never needed 5k+ transfers. When the situation arose, I called the Customer Service, put the request into motion and now my limit to withdraw is considerably higher.
All I had to do was JustAsk.
The CDs rate is 3.6%, and Savings rate is 2.9% at Sep 30th, 2022 are the main reason I choose them.
The best way to open the account at this bank is first open savings account then Cds account later, and funding CDs account from savings account.
Fell into the trap just like all the others…. Moved 150k in within a couple days. Account opened for two months.
Had problems linking to capitalone to pay credit cards (no idea if that was a Bread thing.. but cap1 was a super pain about it) so tried to ACH push transfer money out.
ACH pushes are limited to 5K per with a 30K monthly. Contacted customer service and politely said that was too low for my needs. They said there was a process to request new limit so I did for the max of 50K. They denied request a couple days later saying account was too new and I could rerequest in another 90 days or something. Told them no thanks and closing account. More on principle as you can ACH pull from external institution based on external limits vs. Breads.
For reference SoFi doesn’t post their actual ACH limits either.. but when contacted customer service (immediate chat vs 3 business day wait at Bread) my limits were
ACH in/out limits with an high credit score @ SoFi:
ACH Deposit (Initiated by SoFi) Daily - 100k
ACH Deposit (Initiated by SoFi) Monthly (calendar month) - 200k
ACH Deposit (Initiated from another institution) Daily/Monthly Limit - unlimited
ACH Transfer Out (Initiated by SoFi) Daily limit - 1 Million
ACH Transfer Out (Initiated by SoFi) Monthly limit - 2 Million
All the reviewers' comments are 100 percent true. This bank will allow you to deposit large amounts but then it doesn't want to let you get your money when you need it. I experienced the same situations other reviewers expressed. Finally took all my money out. I do not recommend this bank. Too much trouble. I don't like it that calls to their customer service are routed to India/Bangalore.
The web/mobile experience is nice, however, they don't really advertise that there is a 9 business-day hold on your funds when you first deposit them in your account. You can't even transfer between Bread Savings accounts for 9 business days. Also, there is a $5,000 daily withdrawal limit.
Their customer service isn't the best either. Long hold times and always someone who's first language is not English.
I'm closing this account the second this 9 business-day hold is over, and after I withdraw $5,000 dollars per day until my balance is Zero. LOL. Such a joke.
Changes abound at Comenity Bank, now marketing themselves as Bread Financial.
But same old tactics. They'll allow you to deposit $1,000,000 in a day, but limit you to $5,000 per day in ACH withdrawals (with a max of $30,000/ month). That could take month or years to get back your deposit, unless you pay up for a wire transfer.
Further... Looks like the customer service team in USA got the pink slip and replaced with Reps from India.
Don't get toasted. Avoid this bank.
Re-posting my old review since their name change wiped out almost 60+ old negative reviews on this site. Shady as hell!
This bank makes it very easy to open an account and transfer your funds in. It let me link my external bank (Ally) through a service like Plaid, initiate a transfer immediately (no limits), and the account was open the next day with funds appearing soon after.
Then, you start realizing how much of a pain it would be to access your funds. That account you linked to initially fund things? Nowhere in sight. You have to re-link the account, and this time, the only option available is using the 2 micro-deposit method, which can take up to a 3-5 business days. After I do this, I discover that there is a hold on the funds I deposited. For accounts 30+ days or older, that's 5 business days. For new accounts, that's 10 business days.
There's a $5k/day and $30k/month transfer limit, which I only found out later you can circumvent by initiating the transfer from an external bank account. But this information certainly isn't available to customers unless they really search for it!
So because I didn't know about the external transfer method, I started to move my funds back starting with $5k the first day it was available. After which Bread Savings hit me by setting my account to Restricted due to fraud concerns... There was NO notification that this happened, except a letter that came in 2-3 weeks after the fact, telling me I had 14 days to fix the security issues after I'd already resolved the problem because I noticed it myself online... Yeah... Thanks. That's helpful.
I was now required to mail in front/back of my driver's license, social security card, as well as last month's bank statement from the linked bank accounts. I love how there were no fraud concerns when I transferred money *in* from the same bank account, but the moment I did a transfer back out, I was immediately blocked...
After getting handed back & forth between multiple CS departments, I finally was told that instead of mailing these sensitive documents via USPS, I could also upload it via their secure messaging center. So I did that, and about a week later, the restriction on my account was lifted. Finally, I managed to get my money away from them, but this was a nightmare process I'm not going to go through again.
PS - For those of you wondering, a lot of people had much worse experiences than me. I highly recommend going through the CFPB if you are having issues accessing your money or closing your account. The previous reviews all cited the CFPB as a huge help in resolving issues that took months+ to fix.
Teaser rates come at a high price. Undisclosed $5,000 daily transfer limit and $30,000 monthly transfer limit. They won't let you get your money. Their technology is awful...no integration to Quicken, QuickBooks or Plaid. No US employees. Outsourced call center to India.
I created a new account, Liked every thing about it. Very easy. I then I attempted to transfer money to the account. It failed so I contacted the bank. I found out that there is a $5,000 daily limit on a transfer in or out. I was very disappointed because I thought this was a bank I could use. Turns out if you have money they are after fees. I was told by the bank that they may wave the $5,000 daily limit if I transfer by wire and pay the $25 fee for each transfer or my money will be locked up for a long time. Too bad they did not disclose the extremely low transfer limit or explain that only a wire transfer with fees may allow a larger transfer. This bank is unusable for any one with actual money to deposit.
Bread offers an attractive interest rate, but what they DON'T DISCLOSE when signing up is that there is a $5,000/day transfer limit. This may work for people with smaller accounts, but I'd like to put 6 figures in my savings account, and only being able to remove $5K/day makes this an impractical choice. Keep in mind that after 6 transfer/month you're charged a fee, so even if you wanted to just take out a larger amount of cash over several days, you're gonna get hit with these fees (any they may cut off your transfer ability). This is an absurd limit for an online savings account, and it's also TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE that this isn't disclosed up front. I wasted a bunch of time setting up this account and linking external accounts only to find that this bank will be unusable for me. As soon as I can withdraw my initial funds (after 10 days) I'll close the account...I wouldn't trust a bank that hides this important information in their disclosures anyway. (They also have no chat feature and their message response takes a LONG time; you're stuck calling if you need someone, which is just not something that should be necessary in this day and age.)
Comenity Direct Bank is now named “Bread”, probably to erase the barrage of negative reviews on this site. It should be noted that it is really hard to locate these reviews online, so I will just describe my experience.
They have a very good rate for a savings account, which is currently .75%. That is their one redeeming feature.
However, there is a lot they do not disclose, the most important thing being that they place a $5,000 daily cap on transfers out to third party verified accounts. When I asked them for an in increase to $10,000 daily, they refused, claiming that the account needed to be in place for 90 days. This rule makes the account more like a CD and not a savings account, where you should be able to withdraw 100% of your account funds at one time.
I have had accounts with a lot of internet banks and have never run up against these withdrawal limits. I have done 6 figure withdrawals without a problem elsewhere, so this bank’s withdrawal restrictions are shocking.
There are 77 reviews for Comenity Bank on this website, but because the bank no longer exists, only a handful can be retrieved. There are some complimentary ones, but pay attention to the ones that have described some really unbelievable situations that should never happen with a bank that has federally insured deposits.
This $5,000 limit and 90 day rule also do not appear anywhere in their disclosures, which they would be required to issue under Federal banking law. I have filed a complaint with the CFTC.