Consumer complaint received 2020-07-11
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NJ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill
Sub-issue: Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship

Complaint:
I have a JC Penny store credit card with Synchrony Financial Services which was opened on XX/XX/XXXX with a interest free promotion through XX/XX/XXXX. The original balance on the card was {$5400.00}. When I first contacted Synchrony on XX/XX/XXXX, I had a remaining balance of {$830.00} I requested a hardship relief due to the COVID 19 pandemic. I expressly did not cite COVID 19 when speaking with the customer service representative as I thought it was implied given that all financial institutions have been working with consumers to help them through these trying time. The representative communicated to me that she was unsure about whether the store promotion could be extended but stated they were granting at minimum a 1 month extension and she asked that I call back " sometime in XXXX '' and follow up on my request. In XXXX when I checked my account as directed to me by the agent, I saw that the accrued interest of {$2900.00} had been charged on my account. I called Synchrony XX/XX/XXXX to inquire about the unexpected charge. The supervisor was extremely rude and unhelpful. She refused to hear me and she cut me off and told me that she could not help and that I had to pay this amount. When I asked if I could speak to a supervisor, she said that she was the senior most person and that I would get the same response from any other supervisor. She eventually transferred me to someone else who agreed to look into my request for reconsideration. All I needed on that day was to understand why they did not give me an extension as communicated to me in XXXX and if there was a miscommunication from their side, that they would give me a few days to payoff the principal balance without charging me the accrued interest. On XX/XX/XXXX, I borrowed money from friends to make the payment on the remaining principal balance and late fee of {$560.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a curt letter stating that they could not assist me and that I needed to pay the accrued interest. I called again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to a representative who declined to help me. I feel I was deceived by Synchrony Bank when they gave me a false sense of security that I would be given an extension to payoff my principal balance and had I known that I was being tricked by them I would have begged and borrowed from family and friends to payoff the small balance that was left in my account in XXXX. My sole reason for calling Synchrony a week before my last payment was due was to get hardship relief in the form of a promotion extension so that I would be able to clear my debt without interest. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called Synchrony again and the representative told me that she was very sorry that they had made an error and that I should have been given the promotion extension through XX/XX/XXXX. She transferred me to a supervisor who was going to reverse the accrued interest on my account which by then had increased to {$3100.00}. I was relieved that I was being finally heard but to my utter dismay the supervisor that got on the line told me that the charge was correct and she could not reverse it based on the notes she had on then account. She was condescending and extremely scornful and even went to the extent of accusing me of not understanding the terms of my promotion. When I asked to speak to someone else, she refused to transfer the call to another person and said that there was no one else who could help me. I asked her why she was discriminating against me and other customers who had received an extension through XXXX and she told me that when I had called for a hardship relief I had not used the magic word COVID 19. As I am an XXXX XXXX, I felt that my accent and my race may have played a role in the discriminatory treatment I had received thus far so I asked my friend XXXX XXXX to speak to the Synchrony that same day. The individual who came on the line stated that the team member who was supposed to research my case earlier in XXXX was unfortunately on vacation and that they would be listening to transcripts of the XX/XX/XXXX conversation and would get back to me. 

I have been in a holding pattern since XX/XX/XXXX and in the meanwhile the charges are adding up. Synchrony has refused to reverse the charges and I am being charged interest on interest every single day that I am waiting for them to resolve my case. It is completely unacceptable that an institution the size of Synchrony is bullying and traumatizing a person who has faced unprecedented financial hardship due to this pandemic. Synchrony has conducted itself in an extremely callous, discriminatory and unethical manner. I feel that Synchrony has committed unfair and deceptive acts when inferring that I was eligible for a promotion extension and then not honoring it. Synchrony is also in violation of fair and responsible lending laws based on the fact certain similarly situated customers got an promotion extension through XXXX but I was refused it because I did not cite COVID 19 as my hardship.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief