Consumer complaint received 2023-01-20
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NE
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Charged too much interest

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a mattress at Mattress Firm through Synchrony Bank financing for XXXX. I got charged I tried to set up an account to set up automatic payments, but could never do so. Having a previous Synchrony Bank card, I was hoping to tie the same user name with this account. It never rejected it by saying not a valid user name and only kept giving me errors, so I could never register for an account. After XXXX MONTHS of trying to register, it FINALLY said user name not available. So, I had to make a new one. However, I had XXXX months where I was late on my payments and had late payment fees. I immediately contacted them through chat once I got my account set up, and they advised me they couldn't help me. So, I messaged the Customer Service XXXX through the account and they refunded XXXX of the late fees. I wrote back and asked for the other one and the interest that was added to be refunded. They went ahead and refunded the second late fee, but REFUSED to refund the interest. Even though it is just {$2.00} in interest, it is a LIE that it's a XXXX INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL promotion, so NO INTEREST should have EVER been added, period. Synchrony Bank claims it's in their terms and conditions. Well, they are known to be sly and sneak stuff in there, knowing full well, we can't read all of their terms and conditions and agree to them. To top that off, they are doing nothing but predatory lending. This is a BLATANT LIE and a perfect example of predatory lending when it's a XXXX INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL PROMOTION. 

Synchrony Bank is nothing but trouble and it needs to have a federal investigation launched against them for predatory lending practices and taking advantage of people, knowing full well that they will get caught with checking the " I agree '' box to the terms and conditions, that have not been read because it's so much and overwhelming to the average person. 

From : XXXX XXXX To : Customer Service XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EST Reply I will be filing a formal complaint with the XXXX  and other consumer protection agencies, as this is predatory lending, and I CLEARLY stated what happened and how there were errors on YOUR end for me not being able to set up an account to do automatic payments so I wouldn't run into this issue. Synchrony Bank is nothing but predatory lenders and they continue to prove that. Thank you for refunding the late fees, but I will no longer be doing ANY business with Synchrony Bank from now on and will be sharing my experiences with Synchrony Bank and to AVOID you at all costs. I truly hope a XXXX investigation is launched against this horrible " bank ''. 

From : Customer Service To : XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EST HelloSuz, Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your Synchrony Bank account. We appreciate your message and the opportunity to be of service to you today. 



We appreciate you contacting us about your fee waiver request. Let me help you! 

The XXXX late fees on your account were part of your regular balance which caused interest on your account. 

No worries! We are crediting your account for fees in the amount ( XXXX ) shown below.You will see the credit applied to your account within the XXXX hours. 

Late Payment Fee ( XXXX ) : {$30.00} On the other hand, after reviewing your account, we are unable to fulfill your request to remove the interest. Information about how the interest charges and late payment fees are assessed, and how those fees XXXX be avoided, can be found in your cardholder agreement as well as the XXXX XXXX section on your statement. 



I'm sorry our response could not be more favorable at this time. 


Thank you for contacting us and allowing us to address your concerns. If you have any questions or if we XXXX be of further assistance in the future, please contact us via the XXXX XXXX XXXX or at XXXX. We value the opportunity to assist you and appreciate your feedback. 



Sincerely, XXXX Customer Service Account is owned by Synchrony Bank -- - Original Message -- - From : " XXXX XXXX '' XXXX Received : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PM EST To : XXXX Subject : RE : Billing Inquiries Thank you. Is there any way to get the {$31.00} refunded also? So, the {$2.00} minimum interest is because of the late fees, correct? I am setting up automatic payments now that I was finally able to set up an account. So I wont ' have to worry about that. I am calculating to ensure that I pay off my balance by the end. Thank you. Respectfully, XXXX From : Customer Service To : XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EST Hello XXXX, Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your Synchrony Bank account. We appreciate your message and the opportunity to be of service to you today. 



We apologize for the delay in our response. Your inquiry is important to us. 


Your account balance consists of both promotional and non-promotional balance. 

You XXXX avoid interest on any non-deferred purchases by adding the amount of New/ Non-promotional Purchases to the XXXX Required Payment from your statement and sending that amount as payment. 

As of today 's date, your non-promotional balance is {$43.00}, on which interest charges are still applicable. 


Thank you for the information you provided. We are crediting your account for fees in the amount ( XXXX ) shown below. You will see the credit applied to your account within XXXX business days. 


Please be advised your minimum payment will not change.The total minimum payment due is the total of any past due amounts and current minimum payment. The totalminimum payment amount must be paid by the payment due date of XX/XX/XXXX in order to avoidlate fees andto keep your account in good standing. 



Late Payment Fee ( XXXX ) : {$41.00} We can certainly understand your frustration with the events that have transpired and the amount of effort you have applied in trying to have this situation corrected. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience, which you have experienced. 


For further assistance, please reach out to our Customer Care Team XXXX. 


Thank you for contacting us and allowing us to address your concerns. If you have any questions or if we XXXX be of further assistance in the future, please contact us via the XXXX XXXX XXXX or at XXXX. We value the opportunity to assist you and appreciate your feedback. 



Sincerely, XXXX XXXX. 



Customer Service Account is owned by Synchrony Bank -- - Original Message -- - From : " XXXX XXXX '' XXXX Received : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PM EST To : XXXX Subject : Billing Inquiries Hi, So, chat was useless and they said they couldn't resolve my issue, which I find extremely confusing and rude. So, hopefully this will work. XXXX ) I wasn't able to register my account for XXXX MONTHS. I FINALLY was able to get registered tonight. So, I missed payments and had late fees posted. Is there any way you could refund those as a courtesy, since I wasn't able to get this account set up? It kept giving me some type of error and tonight, it worked. I would appreciate the courtesy. XXXX ) I am on a promotional payment plan. However, the bill showed a minimum interest purchase. As I understood, there would be XXXX INTEREST added if PAID IN FULL by the end of the promotional period. WHY did I have a {$2.00} minimum interest fee added to my bill? Please explain these fees, as I feel this is predatory lending. Thank you. 

End of Messages

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