Consumer complaint received 2023-02-22
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: LA
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: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
Account name : SYNCB/JCPENNEY Account number : XXXX Account type : Charge Card Responsibility : Individual Date opened : XX/XX/XXXX Status : Paid, Closed. 
Status updated : XX/XX/XXXX I have disputed an account I had opened with SYNCB/JCPENNEY since it was closed and the account has never been removed from my credit report. I opened this card on XX/XX/XXXX to begin building credit. All of my payments were on time and I never missed a payment. I called SYNCB/ JCPENNEY customer service multiple times to inquire why they were reporting my payment as late to the credit bureaus when I was paying on time. SYNCB/JCPENNEY informed me they would verify this and update me as why this was occurring. However, SYNCB/JCPENNEY never updated me as to why my payment history was incorrect. I eventually requested for the account to be closed due to the constant errors of SYNCB/ JCPENNEY . I have disputed this through SYNCB/ JCPENNEY , XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX since the account was closed in XXXX. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY has reported to XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX that my payment history was verified but it was never verified. I then requested additional information about the method of verification used. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX were required to respond within 15 days. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX failed to provide this information in a timely and responsive manner, which are violations of federal regulations. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY has violated Consumer Report and Information Sharing Section 603 ( d ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681a ( d ) ( i ) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY has failed in their duty to furnish accurate information to the credit bureaus. SYNCB/ JCPENNEY has also failed in their required duties upon notice of a dispute through a credit reporting agency and their required duties upon notice of a dispute from a consumer ( direct disputes ). SYNCB/ JCPENNEY also failed to send me a negative information notice informing me of the negative information they would be reporting to nationwide consumer reporting agencies. XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX have failed in their required duties and examination procedures to verify the accuracy of the information reported to them from SYNCB/ JCPENNEY XXXX I have listed below the exact federal codes of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, that SYNCB/ JCPENNEY , XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX have violated : CFPB Consumer Laws and Regulations Duties upon notice of dispute from a consumer reporting agency Section 623 ( b ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ) This section requires that whenever a person, such as a financial institution, receives a notice of dispute from a consumer reporting agency regarding the accuracy or completeness of any information the person provided to a consumer reporting agency pursuant to Section 611 ( Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy ), that person must, pursuant to Section 623 ( b ) : 1. conduct an investigation regarding the disputed information ; 2. review all relevant information the consumer reporting agency provided along with the notice ; 3. report the results of the investigation to the consumer reporting agency ; 4. if the investigation finds the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results to all nationwide consumer reporting agencies to which the financial institution previously provided the information ; and 5. if the disputed information is incomplete, inaccurate, or not verifiable by the person, it must promptly, for purposes of reporting to the consumer reporting agency do one of the following : a. modify the item of information.

b. delete the item of information. 
c. permanently block the reporting of that item of information. 

Duties upon notice of dispute from a consumer ( direct disputes ) Section 623 ( a ) ( 8 ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 8 ) ; 12 CFR 1022.43 General rule. A furnisher must conduct a reasonable investigation of a direct dispute ( unless exceptions, described later, apply ) if the dispute relates to : 1. the consumers liability for a credit account or other debt with the furnisher, such as direct disputes relating to whether there is or has been identity theft or fraud against the consumer, whether there is individual or joint liability on an account, or whether the consumer is an authorized user of a credit account ; 2. the terms of a credit account or other debt with the furnisher, such as, direct disputes relating to the type of account, principal balance, scheduled payment amount on an account, or the amount of the credit limit on an open-end account ; 3. the consumers performance or other conduct concerning an account or other relationship with the furnisher such as, direct disputes relating to the current payment status, high balance, payment date, the payment amount, or the date an account was opened or closed ; or 4. any other information contained in a consumer report regarding an account or other relationship with the furnisher that bears on the consumers creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.

Negative Information Notice Section 623 ( a ) ( 7 ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 7 ) ; 12 CFR 1022.1 ( b ) ( 2 ) ( ii ) Section 623 ( a ) ( 7 ) requires a financial institution to provide consumers with a notice either before it provides negative information to a nationwide consumer reporting agency, or within 30 days after reporting the negative information.

Institutions may provide this disclosure on or with any notice of default, any billing statement, or any other materials provided to the customer, as long as the notice is clear and conspicuous. Institutions may also choose to provide this notice to all customers as an abundance of caution. However, financial institutions may not include this notice in the initial disclosures provided under Section 127 ( a ) of the Truth in Lending Act.

CFPB Examination Procedures Consumer Report and Information Sharing Section 603 ( d ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681a ( d ) ( i ) ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report ; Negative Information Notice Section 623 ( a ) ( 7 ) ; 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 7 ) ; 12 CFR 1022.1 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( ii ) 1. If the entity provides negative information to a nationwide consumer reporting agency, verify that the entitys policies and procedures ensure that the appropriate notices are provided to consumers.

2. If procedural weaknesses or other risks requiring further investigation are noted, review a sample of notices provided to consumers to determine compliance with the technical content and timing requirements.

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 non-monetary relief