Consumer complaint received 2021-05-05
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Problem with personal statement of dispute

Complaint:
I am writing to report a creditor, Synchrony Bank, for violating the special credit card provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ( CARES Act ), which was signed into law by President Trump in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to this mandate, creditors were directed to refrain from reporting negative/late payment entries on consumers credit reports. I am requesting that you remove the three late payment entries ( 30, 60 and 90-day late ) that Synchrony Bank included on my credit profile.

For several months, I had been in dispute status regarding the balance on this credit card account, which I had opened at a dental office through Care Credit because the dentist had charged me for dental services never rendered. [ It should be noted that after a yea-long investigation by the California XXXX XXXX, the dentist finally partially refunded me for these fraudulent charges by personally mailing me a check ]. I was told by a Synchrony Bank representative that since the account was in dispute status, no payment needed to made on the credit card. 

Sometime in XXXX or XX/XX/2020, I was contacted by a collection agency regarding the account. When I explained to the collection agency about the dispute status, they indicated they were closing interest in the matter and told me to call Synchrony Bank. I did so and spoke to a male representative who asked if I wanted to make a settlement payment. I explained to him that I did not for two reasons, one- the charges were fraudulent as they were for dental services never rendered and two- I was having financial difficulty since my husband 's work contracts and income had been drastically reduced due to Covid-19. The representative indicated he would submit the information to another department because I should be eligible for a lower settlement amount due to my family 's financial hardship. I told him in the meanwhile, I could make payments of {$20.00} per month until the issue was resolved. 

In XX/XX/2020, I checked my credit report and was shocked to see that Synchrony Bank had reported three 30 day late payment entries to my account for XX/XX/2020, XX/XX/2020, and XX/XX/2020. I immediately called Synchrony Bank and reminded them of the agreement just made regarding the reduced payments. I also reminded them of the mandate signed by President Trump. The representative assured me that the late notices would be removed. She stated they would send a letter to the credit bureaus and that it may take up to 30 days for the removals to be reflected on my credit report. 
I asked the representative to also send me a copy of the letter which they were sending to the credit bureaus. She agreed and stated I should receive the letter within 10 business days. 

I never received a letter, so I contacted Synchrony Bank to inquire. The representative then indicated that the late payment notices could not be removed because they were accurate. At that same time, I checked my credit report and saw that Synchrony Bank had changed the late payment dates from XXXX through XX/XX/2020 to reflect late payments from XX/XX/2020, XX/XX/2020, and XX/XX/2020. This is not accurate. When I contacted Synchrony Bank, they refused to answer my questions regarding the late payments date changes and their removal. 

This blatant disrespect and disregard for my financial and credit rights has been devastating especially while enduring the effects of a pandemic. II have had excellent credit over the past 25 years as I have paid my bills on time. To see my credit score drop so drastically low for circumstances beyond my control has caused tremendous stress. Please remove these late payment entries immediately.

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 explanation