Consumer complaint received 2023-05-01
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: OR
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Unexpected increase in interest rate

Complaint:
The purpose of this letter is to file a formal notification of complaint alleging numerous violations of the Consumer Credit Protection Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1601 ) on the part of CareCredit, in that CareCredit, aka Synchrony Bank is a " '' creditor '' '' by definition of 15 U.S.C. 1601-103-f ( Consumer Credit Protection Act. ) Care Credit charged back interest of 26.99 % when all payments were received on time via autopay and no promotional period was agreed to, no warning was given that this would even be a possibility on email paperless statements which I was encouraged to sign up for. They also inflated my original balance by XXXX and that is just the beginning. 
I have requested THREE times that my original contract be mailed to me and was told to go to the CareCredit website which wont allow you to log in to anything but a page with their logo ( blank elsewhere ) but no way to access your account or contact them anyway other than by phone which is also nearly impossible.

The last time I called and spoke to a man about obtaining my contract so I could prove I never agreed to any promotional period OR interest rate of any amount, let alone 26.99 %, he said, I dont think Id be able to obtain your original contract. Convenient for them, BUT highly illegal and falls under Deceptive Trade Practices.

Care Credit charged illegal and exorbitant fees without any form of legal disclosure and has instituted retroactive " '' terms and conditions '' '' without proper notification, in violation of XXXX of the CCPA. - has provided such " terms and conditions '' in a format that appears to be a third- or fourth-generation unreadable photocopy consisting of print so small and faded as to be illegible. Ive had to take photos and enlarge them to read them. These are the first copies Ive received in one years time. They do not send email statements. Each time I ask to see my contract stating I ever agreed to their fraudulent terms, they merely send me blurry statements.

Care Credit has made it virtually impossible for customers to contact them about these very sudden, astronomical, and illegal charges by failing and/or refusing to answer telephone calls ( by placing the customer on hold for incredibly long lengths of time ) and by disconnecting them after lengthy hold times or when we request our contract, and by failing and/or refusing to provide any means on its web site of contacting CareCredit by email or any other means than an unanswered telephone line.

The minimum payment on the above account is {$72.00} per month which fluctuated constantly, leading to more confusion. This loan was granted at 0 % interest if paid within 24 months. The original loan amount was for XXXX for XXXX  XXXX. 
They have claimed I had a Promotional period that ended in XXXX, XXXX which is completely false. This was a 0 % interest loan. 
I would never agree to paying 27 % interest in the first place. If I wanted to pay a ridiculously high amount of interest, Id have used my credit card at 15 %! I only agreed to use Care Credit because Id had a previous loan with them for XXXX  XXXX a few years ago with the same terms 2 year note with 0 % interest. 
Now, they suddenly charged me with 26.99 % back interest in the amount of {$470.00}, then an additional XXXX and XXXX deferred interest which makes zero sense. The amounts constantly change on the blurry statement copies they finally sent and no one at the company can, or will, explain why. 

Original loan amount : {$1700.00} Statement : XX/XX/XXXX : {$2000.00} ( stating previous balance ) There is no previous balance. 
They inflated my new balance by {$250.00} but then on a more recent statement they go back to the original loan amount of XXXX. 
My new balance is suddenly {$1900.00} after paying on time through autopay for an entire year. 
Statement XX/XX/XXXX promotional bal {$1400.00} + {$470.00} interest. 
Statement : XX/XX/XXXX : {$1800.00} + interest of {$42.00} Since the beginning of this loan, I have paid each month, totaling {$740.00} which leaves a true balance of XXXX minus the XXXX interest they charged me last month which I will not be paying, making my correct balance {$950.00}. I intend to pay the original agreed upon debt, as I always pay my debts, but I will need to see my original contract. I did not sign anything and this loan was done over the phone at my doctors office as was the first loan I had with CareCredit in XXXX which was paid in full at 0 % on XX/XX/XXXX and with none of these illegal charges. 
Because this company was sued and lost XXXX XXXX to over XXXX XXXX customers over the exact same behavior as Im dealing with, I demand to see my original signed contract. I will NOT pay any interest whatsoever, nor will I pay any late fees. I have been an accountant for over 35 years and would never agree to these terms especially with my good credit score and common sense. These deceptive trade and predatory practices are meant to prey on consumers who are either desperate or are completely insane. I fall into neither of these categories.

I am requesting legible copies of statements be mailed to me along with my original contract before they received any further payments from me. At a rate of XXXX current complaints and losing XXXX XXXX in just one of many lawsuits, I would think theyd have their act together by now and not be violating federal consumer protection laws. 
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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