Consumer complaint received 2023-08-15
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Add-on products and services

Complaint:
When I opened this line of credit ( XX/XX/XXXX ) they enrolled me into paperless billing. I tried to make an online log in to see this account and I couldn't get access to it because they had the wrong date of birth. I called them about this and the said I would need to FAX them a form to have it fixed. I didn't have this ability to do this. So, I was paying for a year without being able to see my statements. Once, I complained and I started getting statements is when I noticed this card protection fee. I also had to have my card replaced because the original one never came in the mail. I have never used this card aside from when the credit line was opened as a result of my dog being sick. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I called CareCredit to pay off my card and close the account but, I had questions about a card protection fee I didn't authorize on my statements. They said to call Synchrony Bank to have this removed and refunded. I made a standard payment because they wouldn't know the exact refund amount right away. They said it can only post as a credit to the account and it should take two weeks to post. I called regularly afterwards to ask about this refund. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Synchrony stating that they sent my refund of {$230.00} to post as a credit to my account. I contacted CareCredit to pay off my balance but they said they didn't receive a credit. I called Synchrony afterwards and they said they posted it. I asked to speak with a manager, they said they'd have someone call in two days, no one did. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I called CareCredit and they insisted they didn't have this money. I again made a payment while I awaited my refund and a phone call from Synchrony. The next day I called Synchrony again and asked for a manger, they said I couldn't speak with one and I would need to wait two days. No one called. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I called CareCredit and took four hours on the phone for them to realize that they had my refund this entire time. It was placed under the old credit card number which had been replaced. This was aggravating to me because I was paying interest for this and I asked to have the interest I paid refunded, they said this " isn't allowed ''. At the time my card balance was {$560.00}. I paid {$330.00} and they said they would transfer the refund over ( {$230.00} ) to {$0.00} out the account and cancel the card. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I started receiving text messages and calls about a " past due '' balance from both Synchrony and Care Credit. This amount matched to my refund with interest, it was incredibly difficult for them to find me the correct department and the majority of their customer service representatives couldn't understand me because of a language barrier. I was told several times that I made a " charge '' on the account which matched my refund amount. ( I still have this card glued to the paperwork, I never charged anything ). I told them to run it as fraud because I couldn't get past the language barrier and figured somewhere along the way they'd figure out that the accounting was messed up. They sent me a letter saying there wasn't any fraud on the account. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I am receiving so many auto calls, text, emails that I'm feeling harassed about a payment I didn't miss from Synchrony and Care Credit. I called them again and was transferred over the course of five hours. I was forced to repeat the same information multiple times until someone could understand me. I had to call off of work for this because it took so long. I was told that when they transferred my refund ( {$230.00} ) to the correct card, Synchrony took the funds back because the card numbers didn't match. CareCredit stated that they would consider this fraud because I didn't authorize their charge. They promised me the following. 1. They would remove all FALSE reporting ( s ) of missed payments from my credit. 2. They would remove all late fees from the account ( this wasn't a late payment ) 3. They would REFUND ( via check ) all of the interest I paid since XX/XX/XXXX. 4. They would close the account. I asked how much the check would be for the refund and they said only a manager would know. I requested to speak with one, they said they'd have them call me in two days. I said NO. They forwarded me to the line that was to be the supervisor, I waited an additional 50 minutes. Someone answered and then they dropped the call. No one called me back and I never got confirmation on the refund amount for interest. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter that they lowered my credit line to {$340.00} which was conveniently close to around the same amount that they were reporting I owed them. This raised my credit usage on the card to almost 100 % causing another blow to my credit that wasn't deserved. If they had done things correctly, they could have just closed the account and made my line of credit XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter from Synchrony stating that they removed all credit reporting 's for delinquent payment. I check my credit report, it has been fixed. But, I continued receiving phone calls and messages about a missed payment. They said this would happen until the system was corrected but it was taking awhile. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I attempt to call CareCredit but because I have a " past-due '' payment, the system recognized my number no matter what I dial and forwards me to Synchrony 's phone payment line. I click my way to customer service where I'm told several times I need to call CareCredit instead, but I can't! Several employees forward me from department to department and I'm forced to repeat myself for 2 hours. I wait on hold for 20 minutes and get hung up on. I call back in tears and sit on the phone for another hour, I'm promised help by the employee I tell her what's going on and that because they're recording, I am as well. She tells me she can't speak to me because I'm recording and a manager will call me back in two days. No one has called. I was again forced to take the day off work to try and mediate the situation with them. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I get a notification from XXXX XXXX about a delinquency. I open my app and see that my 100 % on time payment history is down to 99 %. CareCredit reports a missed payment that drops my score from XXXX down to a XXXX. I am in complete emotional distress because I am set to close on a house on XX/XX/XXXX. 


It's completely ridiculous because I have to be forwarded so many times when I speak to them that it becomes an all day excursion. Typically, by the time I reach someone who can resolve the matter they acknowledge that everything I'm saying is correct and factual. They then state it's going to get fixed but they " can't do it all in one day. '' But, then once we're off the phone nothing changes and no one calls me back or acknowledges how ridiculous my experience has been with them from the start. It's also ridiculous that their system forwards me to the wrong number no matter what I dial and then the employees rudely tell me I'm calling the wrong lines. I filled a complaint already with the XXXX  in the past for this which they resolved because CareCredit acted like they were doing something to fix this and then didn't follow through. They're harassing me for money that they owe me. They're falsely reporting on my credit. And they're insinuating I'm dodging them, but they don't return my calls. Their phone operations are like trying to work your way through a XXXX XXXX. This seems like a completely intentional rabbit hole devised to confuse their borrowers out of additional money. It's also disturbing to me that I reported to them that my DOB was wrong several times and instead of correcting it they offer no viable solutions to fixing their records. Shouldn't they be more concerned with collecting from the correct individuals?

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