Consumer complaint received 2019-08-03
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
I applied for an Amazon store card on the XX/XX/2019. I had a filled cart with about 1,900 dollars worth of stuff to price compare it vs other places to find the best deal. When I looked through my chart to ensure I had everything I wanted, the top had a special offer saying finance this payment over 12months with no interest! Apply now! I decided being able to get a card that lets me finance everything I wanted at one time at Amazon I'd be willing to invest in getting a card like that ( Credit score wise ). Let 's me buy my bulk of my yearly Amazon purchases, then pay it off in 4-6months rather than shopping sporadically. Specifically stated only works on Amazon related products. NOT Amazon manufactured products only. My understanding was it would work to finance any payment that you could get with Prime that was sold directly by Amazon. Especially since the top of the cart specifically stated it would let me finance this order that way. Upon getting approval for the card I went through with the transaction and choose the special financing option that specifically said it allows me to make equal payments over 12 months with 0 % interest. My order went through and I received my e-mails letting me know when everything was going to be shipped. About 4 hours later I get an e-mail from Amazon support wanting to verify my billing information, by asking me to provide my full name, billing address, and the card used in the transaction. They also informed me they locked my entire account. I could not even log into the account to do a live support chat, and they completely removed the order from my account. The only evidence I have that I ever purchased anything with the card is through the order confirmation e-mails. Upon getting my account reactivated 24 hours later I find that the store card is completely removed from my account and XXXX sends me an alert that there has been a change to my account showcasing that I requested a retail loan from Amazon. As of XX/XX/2019 I had a XXXX  score of XXXX. There should be little to no reason I am EVER declined for a loan of any kind that is less than 2,000. Unfortunately it appears that the card does not actually work as advertised to me. I was told it was usable right away and the card was directly added to my account after being approved. Rather than being able to finance a payment to pay it all off in 4-5 months it directly notified Amazon to lock my entire account and remove the card from it. I can't even add it back to my Amazon account. It was also my preferred payment method so it didn't even charge my backup card, which could of easily covered the order. So now I'm stuck with an Amazon store card that doesn't work as advertised to me, a card that I and Amazon support can not even add BACK to my account for 7-10 business days. The only value it has is 5 % cash back on Amazon purchases but that is utterly worthless considering I have a cashback card from XXXX that does the exact same thing. Live and learn I guess, just be super careful taking out an Amazon store card!

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