Consumer complaint received 2023-05-24
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge 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:
This is also included in a PDF file attached ( better format ) : CFPB Complaint Text This is a complaint against Synchrony Bank Credit Card Division. This complaint is supported of two ( 2 ) spreadsheet files covering two ( 2 ) billing months and two ( 2 ) account numbers at Synchrony Bank. 
These spreadsheet files are : Fraud Complaint Card XXXX for the XX/XX/XXXX Billing Period. 
Fraud Complaint Card XXXX for the XX/XX/XXXX Billing Period. 
Also included with this complaint are the actual billing statements for the above two ( 2 ) cards and billing periods : XXXX Synchrony Premier Statement XXXX XXXX Synchrony Premier Statement XXXX The following complaint XXXX is listed in chronological order. 
1. On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I was noPfied by Synchrony Bank of possible fraudulent use on my card ending in XXXX. 
2. When I retrieved and looked at my XX/XX/XXXX statement with a due date of XX/XX/XXXX, I found numerous debits ( and credits ) related to XXXX XXXX which were not made by either me or XXXX XXXX the other card holder on this account. All of these entries related to XXXX XXXX were entered fraudulently against my credit card. 
3. I immediately told Synchrony Bank to close the account and not allow any further acPvity against this account with the last 4 digits of XXXX. 
4. It should be noted that our credits cards were neither lost nor stolen and XXXX are, to this day, in our possession. 
5. I filed a fraud complaint with Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told at that XXXX that an invesPgaPon would be done and we would be noPfied of the results. A month later now and XXXX no response from Synchrony Fraud department! 
6. At this Pme, I was told I did not have to pay the fraudulent charges. Aside from the debits and credits related to XXXX XXXX, the only other debit on the XX/XX/XXXX statement was a single charge for {$130.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX which represented my total amount owed for the XX/XX/XXXX billing period. 
7. I made this total payment to Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX ( see XXXX XXXX billing statement ). Having paid the total amount owed ( aside from the XXXX XXXX debits and credits which were allegedly to be invesPgated ), I should not have been charged interest on new purchases which to my chagrin was not the case ( see below ). 
8. Synchrony Bank then issued us new credit cards with an account number ending in XXXX. These cards were acPvated on XX/XX/XXXX, but have never been used and this account has also been closed because of Synchrony Banks failure to properly handle our fraud claim in a Pmely fashion. 
CFPB Complaint Text 9. It should be noted, at this point, that there were sPll outstanding charges against the old XXXX credit card which were incurred before the fraud came to light and which Synchrony Bank moved to the new XXXX card ( this was OK and expected ). 
10. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, I downloaded our XX/XX/XXXX statement on the new XXXX account only to find that Synchrony Bank had also transferred the balance of the fraud complaint charges ( credits minus debits ) to our new card in the amount of {$590.00}. Furthermore, Synchrony Bank also applied an interest charge on new purchases of {$15.00} which should not have been applied because I paid my bill in full per their instrucPons, i.e., paying all, but excluding the fraudulent XXXX XXXX charges! 
11. I then called Synchrony Bank to complain and received a bunch of double talk that the charges had to be moved to the new card and that I would have to pay interest on new purchases because the full balance on the XXXX card had not been totally paid. When I made the aforemenPoned payment of {$130.00} to Synchrony represenPng a payment in full of my valid charges, I noPfied them of what I had done, only to get a silly form leber that said nothing but they received by communicaPon. 
12. This is totally wrong! The fraudulent charges should be maintained in abeyance during the so-called invesPgaPon and not charged to me on the ensuing months bill with interest because I allegedly did not pay my bill in full. Again, I was told I did not have to pay the fraudulent charges in XXXX. 
13. Then there is the issue of how the XXXX XXXX debits and credits ended up my account in the first place. As previously stated, our cards were neither lost nor stolen, so how could this happen? The only plausible answer to me is the charges came from inside of Synchrony Bank ( possibly to improve their revenue stream to apply fraudulent interest penalPes to the customer ). 
14. I filed a second fraud complaint against Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX via Fax and via online secure message and told them I needed this resolved by close of business today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) or I would be forced to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial ProtecPon Bureau ( CFPB ). I received so such acknowledgement from them whatsoever. 
In Summary : I believe Synchrony Bank is guilty of civil fraud as defined in the State of Arizona and is abempPng to extort money from me. I do not believe what they have done is a mistake, i.e., I believe what they have done is deliberate and is illegal or at the very least morally wrong. If this complaint does not bear fruit, my next step is to discuss the issue court! 
I have cancelled my newest credit card ( XXXX ) with Synchrony Bank and I will never do business with Synchrony Bank again! They allege that I owe them money ( voicemail today ) staPng that I owe {$460.00}. 
Not true, I paid all valid charges for both billing periods on both cards. 
Respecfully submibed, 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