Consumer complaint received 2023-08-19
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: OK
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
Ive been dealing with this situation since last fall. Let me explain. ... 1. On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I went to my local Mattress Firm and purchased a mattress and adjustable platform. The Order number was XXXX. ... 2. At that time, I told the saleswoman that I had a bad back and that I needed a mattress that was soft and comfortable. I ended up opening a Mattress Firm Synchrony credit card account to pay for the purchase. The saleswoman told me they had a guarantee on everything and to come back in if I didnt like either one of the items .... 3. Right away, I noticed that the mattress was very hard. I decided to wait a couple of weeks to see if the mattress softened or if my back adjusted. Neither of those occurred, so I ended up going back to the store to talk to them about it. ... 4. The first saleswoman wasnt there, so I had to work with another saleswoman. She encouraged me to pick out a different mattress and said that we could do an exchange. I couldnt find anything I really liked, but I needed a mattress as I was about to have XXXX, so I ended up picking something out. I was concerned because it had some kind of cooling feature. I told her that I get cold very easily, so I was worried about picking that one. She said that that was just an advertising feature, but that it really wasnt cold .... 5. As we were checking out, she mentioned that there would be some kind of return to stock fee. I told her that I had never been told about that. She said there should have been something stapled to my receipt. I had my receipt with me, it was obvious nothing had ever been stapled to it. ... 
6. She ended up calling her manager/XXXX person and explained the situation. They agreed that I wouldnt have to pay for that. So, I signed for the mattress and we left. It was to be delivered within a couple of days. ... 7. Soon after I started worrying about it, so decided to do some online research. All the reviews said that the mattress was indeed cold. I talked to my husband about it and we decided the best thing to do would be to not take delivery of the mattress after all. My husband called the store, they said that mattress was already on the truck, but that we could just refuse delivery when they arrived. ... 8. They tried to deliver it anyway, but my husband told them I didnt want it. They did end up picking up the previously purchased mattress and took it with them. We thought that was the end of it. ... 9. I slept on the couch for a few days, until we found a good mattress for me. That mattress was perfect with good support and wasnt cold. ... 10. And then we got our first statement. Thats when we could see that they charged us for a mattress anyway. I immediately called the store and was told that I just needed to be patient, that it took a couple of months for the system to update. ... 11. I called every time a new statement came for months and received the same response each time. ... 12. In XXXX or XXXX of this year, I finally called Synchrony in hopes that they could get their attention and get it straightened out. Weve been going back and forth ever since. ... 13. I believe it was late XXXX or perhaps early XXXX that I connected with someone from Mattress Firm who told me that theyd check into it. They ended up calling me back and told me that my bill would be appropriately adjusted to account for only what I purchased. I then paid off my portion of the bill for the adjustable platform earlier this year. ... 14. I started getting calls from Synchrony in XXXX or XXXX telling me that I needed to pay my outstanding balance. I told them the whole story at that time. They told me that a credit had been made on my account in XXXX for the second mattress, but then another amount had been added at the end of the month. I told them that I had not purchased anything else. They asked if I wanted to dispute the charge ( s ). I said that I did. 15. Soon after that, I received a call from Mattress Firm telling me that if Id cancel the dispute theyd correct my balance. They said that was the easiest way to handle everything. Because Im a trusting person, I believed them and agreed to do that. I called Synchrony to cancel the dispute. 16. A couple of weeks passed, then it seemed like every few days Id get another call from Synchrony. Id have to explain everything to the caller again. Finally, one of them told me that Mattress Firm had never given me credit for the erroneous XXXX charge. I couldnt believe it! ... 17. So, I had to dispute it again. Part of that dispute was asking them to show me what they were saying I purchased. Neither Synchrony or Mattress Firm could ever do that. A month or so had passed, I believe it was XXXX by now. Thats when I was told that Mattress Firm had denied my dispute. I asked them to show/tell me what I had supposedly purchased, but of course they had no idea. I totally lost faith in your company at that point. ... 18. Since that date Ive been going back and forth with Synchrony. They want the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( plus interest ) and I refuse to pay for something I never purchased. ... 19. Im now wondering if perhaps this charge stems from the second mattress the one I refused. The one I, of course, should never have been charged with. ... 20. We have since moved to XXXX so I can't go in the store and talk to one of your employees. So I suggested to Mattress Firm that if they'd like to send someone to our home, I can show them that my mattress is not from their company. ... 21. I have written Mattress Firm a few times. I have called them multiple times, but they have yet to resolve this issue. I keep being told that someone will get back with me, but that never happens. ... 
22. Its been long enough now, that this erroneous charge has affected my credit. Thats just wrong!! I'd appreciate someone on your end to follow through and make Mattress Firm correct this issue as soon as possble.

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