Consumer complaint received 2023-10-05
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NC
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023, I placed an order for furniture on the XXXX XXXX XXXX website. The order # XXXX was assigned to the furniture I wanted, and the payment was successfully processed using my Synchrony PayPal MasterCard for the amount of {$2300.00} that day it was charged. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted the seller via chat to inquire about shipping time and dates on their website XXXX XXXX XXXX and did a virtual chat with a representative stating that it would take 3 to 5 business days for tracking information. Note : I did screen shot that conversation to fax as requested to the dispute team for PayPal MasterCard. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I initiated an open claim to do a chargeback with Synchrony PayPal MasterCard for the amount reasons for not receiving merchandise at that time I did not want to pay interest or pay for product not received yet. In response, PayPal promptly placed the balance on hold, relieving me of any obligation to make payments or incur fees for interest during this process. And to note I found out later in XXXX I was not aware that they put it in as a dispute instead of chargeback. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I have not received the tracking information from seller XXXX XXXX XXXX for the furniture I wanted and by this time PayPal MC has charged my credit card again for the amount which was a disappointment to me considering I have not received the furniture yet. So, I contacted Synchrony PayPal MasterCard to put in another chargeback until I received my furniture, and this turned into a dispute that PayPal MC representative put in for me And I was fine with that considering I had not received any tracking information or any email updates from this seller. 

I think at the beginning of XXXX, I contacted synchrony PayPal MasterCard again just to get updates on when I will get a refund for this because I have not received any information or updates from the seller. At this time PayPal MC wanted me to give the seller 40 days to send my furniture. The dispute team representative for synchrony PayPal said they got this off the website which I thought was strange that PayPal did not even contact the seller about tracking info with numbers or when I can receive product. To my dismay PayPal MC reinstated the funds to the merchant, which left me disappointed. However, I decided to exercise patience and wait for the full 40-days from the time of purchase timeframe as requested. 

By this time, I had to keep putting in disputes so I would not be charged an interest fee and a monthly payment until I receive merchandise. 
Again, I received my bill from synchrony PayPal MC asking me to pay a portion of the amount charged for the furniture that I have not received yet. I find this very disheartening to pay for something I have not received yet and have to pay a bill for. I did call PayPal MC to inform them that I will be putting in a dispute for the seller XXXX XXXX XXXX after the 40 days that PayPal MC requested me to wait for not providing tracking information and not delivering on their promise to send me merchandise that I am being charged for if they have not sent me tracking after the 40 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I initiated a chat conversation with XXXX XXXX XXXX to address the prolonged delay in my order. During the chat, I communicated to the representative that the order had surpassed the 40-day policy and requested a full refund due to seller not holding up there in after the 40 days, along with a full refund. To my surprise, the merchant informed me via chat that they had already canceled the order, and that they did not receive funds for PayPal MC Instead, they indicated that the funds were held by PayPal Mastercard, suggesting that I should contact PayPal directly to facilitate the process of obtaining a complete refund. Note : I did screen shot that conversation to fax as requested to the dispute team for PayPal MasterCard. 

On the same day XX/XX/XXXX I contacted PayPal MasterCard to inform them that the merchant stated that they did not have my money refund and funds were held by PayPal and that they were not going to send product because of the initial dispute that was put in on XX/XX/XXXX I informed them that I did not put in a dispute I only put in a charge back that was PayPal MasterCards dispute team addressing the situation and not correctly categorizing my discernment with pain with a chargeback instead they put it as a dispute instead and that was not my fault I was not intending on canceling my purchase at that time I was intending to let PayPal know that they shouldnt charge me for merchant that I have not received yet. 

In XXXX, By this time I had to keep putting in for disputes with PayPal dispute team to correct the situation and give me back my funds that they are holding from me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I contact the seller XXXX XXXX XXXX support via chat that for the past three months, I have been engaged in ongoing correspondence with both XXXX XXXX XXXX 's support team via chat and PayPal MasterCard and during a conversation with XXXX XXXX XXXX support, it was revealed that the furniture was not shipped due to a dispute I raised with PayPal. I must clarify that I initiated the dispute after waiting for more than 40 days for the furniture to arrive, which I believe is an excessively long duration for such a purchase. I informed PayPal MasterCard of this because PayPal MC said seller shipped Merchandise to me but yet I dont have tracking or nor did I sign for anything of the sort and that I owe {$2300.00} And I inform PayPal that I did not receive nor signed my signature for that furniture. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, After I contacted the seller again XXXX XXXX XXXX by email and stated the same thing I reached out to PayPal MasterCard to let them know that the seller XXXX XXXX XXXX claimed they didn't have the money funds either from PayPal MC. The seller XXXX XXXX XXXX also said they wouldn't send the product due to an issue that started on XX/XX/XXXX with a dispute. I clarified to XXXX XXXX XXXX the seller that I didn't file a dispute but rather a chargeback during that time because PayPal had already billed me for this merchandise, and I did not have the merchandise in my possession. PayPal MasterCard 's dispute team mislabeled it as a dispute, which was not my intention because I put in for a chargeback during that time in XXXX. I just wanted to inform PayPal MC that they shouldnt charge me for a product I hadn't received yet and to put it as a chargeback. Now Im believing that this led to a chain reaction leading to no merchandise sent and PayPal still holding funds on both ends. 

In XXXX, I found myself in a situation where I had to initiate another dispute with PayPal MasterCard. This became necessary because I wasn't receiving any assistance from them, and my credit card still carried a balance of {$2300.00} with an impending payment due. Consequently, I had to file a dispute to avoid making that payment. Additionally, I wanted to communicate that the merchandise I had ordered had not been sent, and I was seeking a full refund. 

When I contacted PayPal, they informed me that the seller claimed to have sent the merchandise to me, which was not true. To date, I have not received anything, yet I am being billed for a product I do not possess. I requested PayPal MasterCard to provide me with tracking information, but they have yet to do so. They mentioned that they released funds in favor of the seller based on the assertion that I received the merchandise, which is untrue. 

Today is XX/XX/XXXX, and I'm still facing the same issue that started earlier this year. I have an update from the seller, XXXX XXXX XXXX. I reached out to them via email today to discuss resolving the situation since Synchrony PayPal MasterCard hasn't taken any action. In the email I left my name and number to contact me again about resolving this situation and in the process of writing this letter to CFPB, I received the sellers call. I did record audio of the conversation as evidence for PayPal MasterCard, showing that the seller didn't send the merchandise. 

The seller XXXX XXXX, owner of XXXX XXXX XXXX, informed me that PayPal hasn't released funds to him either. He apologized for the trouble I've been through, and From what I gathered on the conversation that we had he has other funds from buyers being held by PayPal because of this situation, Im guessing he wanted to reach out now considering this is causing him to not receive funds for the other sales being held due to this situation but I do wished and expressed to him that we could have resolved this sooner with only him having funds held up for just me not others that use PayPal as a form of credit. He mentioned that he wanted to resolve this through PayPal as well but they are giving him the run a round as well as myself And he mentioned that he wanted a restocking fee which I informed him that I did not cancel my order I just never received shipping information in PayPal and their neglect didnt relay information to him or myself about both parties I myself did reach out several times about shipping to them and I informed him I have not received any information on his side until now because of money held up for other purchases he wants to retrieve. I mentioned that the problem might have originated from PayPal categorizing it as a dispute instead of a chargeback, which set off a chain reaction that PayPal didn't rectify on either end.

The seller has confirmed that he doesn't possess the funds he initially claimed, and I have yet to receive my full refund of {$2300.00} from PayPal MC. In my view, a fair resolution would involve me receiving my complete refund from PayPal MasterCard. Additionally, I believe PayPal MC should not charge credit card unless seller have tracking info with dates and maybe PayPal covers any fee for seller, as my intention was to acquire the merchandise. Unfortunately, circumstances have led me to purchase alternative furniture, rendering the items he has on hand unnecessary. 

I apologize for the length of this letter, and I tried to put the dates in as close as possible to when I remembered them and some of the record keeping I have saved to convey the ongoing nature of this issue. Managing everything has been quite challenging, especially given that it's been nearly six months of dealing with this situation. but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible. I hope that this information can assist in resolving the issue between myself and the seller, as well as our ongoing situation with the credit card company Synchrony PayPal MasterCard. I look forward to hearing from you soon and am hopeful that you can provide assistance in this matter. 
PS I tried to attach all the documents I could find to help me and I could not upload the audio due to audio file to large. 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

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