Consumer complaint received 2023-06-27
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: TX
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect

Complaint:
I had some dental work done in XXXX ( {$3500.00} ). On my way out and while standing at the checkout desk, my dentist 's assistant offered me a payment plan for convenience. I accepted but signed no paperwork or application of any kind, and received only a small 3-fold brochure, and a receipt for the dental work done. There was no discussion of a security fee, and nothing in the brochure referenced a security fee. Several weeks later I received my CareCredit/GE Capital Card , but no paperwork referencing a security fee. 
My first CareCredit statement was on paper and there were no references of any kind regarding a " security fee ''. Thereafter CareCredit switched to electronic statements via email. Those emails show a digital statement, with the balance and payment due. However, there is no reference to a security fee or the security program. I have had the account on autopay since my dental visit in XXXX. 

Several months ago, I received an email from CareCredit ( now Synchrony ) about their convenient new app and so I decided to download it - and goodness! What did I find? A whopping $ XXXX MONTH security fee, which over the course of the 10 years I have had the account equals @ {$15000.00} in security fees alone. 
My account balance exceeded {$8800.00} ( far over the {$5000.00} limit, negatively impacting my credit due to " high usage '' on a card that never left my file cabinet ). 
The cost of dental work was {$3500.00}. 
I reached out to CareCredit /Synchrony and I spoke with several customer service individuals who basically gave me the runaround when I requested to speak to a manager - of course, not available ( on at least XXXX different calls with promises of a call back- which never happened ). 
One of the customer service reps emphatically told me I did sign up for the program, so I asked that she send me verification via the original document that she claims I had signed. If it's my signature, ok fine, but if it's not, I want ALL of the fees from an unauthorized " Security Program '' reimbursed and the funds withdrawn without my consent returned.all {$15000.00}. 

I specifically stated that unless she or her manager could reimburse me for the ENTIRETY of the fees charged, ( assuming they could not, which the customer service validated that she could not ), NO CHANGES were to be made to the account UNTIL l had the opportunity to speak with a manager or a member of their leadership team regarding the account, as I wanted to have a visit and really understand exactly how a dental bill of {$3500.00} ballooned to $ XXXX excluding the almost {$16000.00} in accumulated security fees and the interest, or interest upon interest... 
I requested a line item breakdown of the account charges, fees, interest, and interest on the interest that had compounded over time for the life of the account. Specifically, I was looking for how much the security fees had contributed to the increased balance over time, and I wanted to determine the compounded interest that I had been accumulatively charged on security fees, and the resulting continuously increasing balance. 
A week or so later ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I received an automated letter of verification ( not a copy of the original document with my signature that I had requested ), confirming that I had been enrolled in the security program since XX/XX/XXXX. ( Had I known that the Security Program pays off your debt up to $ XXXX in the event of job loss, I most certainly would have taken advantage of that during XXXX! ) Approximately a week later, the Care Credit App on my phone alerts a notification, and it appears that Synchrony has credited my account {$1500.00} ( not {$15000.00} ) for my Card Security Debt Cancellation. And so now they have my XXXX AND they have canceled the coverage despite my specific request for no changes to be made until I can speak to someone higher up at Synchrony. 
I reached again to Customer Service and again, and the runaround, and promises of callbacks. I received one voicemail ( the phone did not ring ) whereby a Synchrony " Manager '' left me a message to call her back- alas, no name and no telephone number was shared in ther message - caller ID did not reveal a number. 
After several more attempts to speak with someone, I check the mail and see I have received yet another letter from Synchrony ( XX/XX/XXXX ) with my " new '' terms and of course, no reference to the Security Program for which I have now " invested '' in to the tune of $ XXXX. 

I am in desperate need of resolution regarding this matter as it is obvious that they made the changes to my account in an effort to abscond with monies and hide their deceptive practices, which I dare say consists of theft and fraudulent behavior, but also has - and continues to - cause great harm to my credit, affecting all other critical ( and financially related ) aspects of my life... anywhere that credit and usage of credit is a key component in decision-making. 
As it so happens, I was laid off prior to my inquiry with CareCredit ( though I did not reveal this ), and I suspect they may have done a bit of research, come to that determination, and decided to head off any claims I might have submitted, in advance. 

As of now, I believe that it would not beyond the scope of appropriate remedies to request that the remaining existing account debt receive a full credit reimbursement, as well as return the nearly {$16000.00} in Security Fees to my bank account from which they were illegally withdrawn without my knowledge, authorization, or consent ; the interest earned on those fees, and the interest upon interest earned on those fees, and any additional monetary penalties that can be attributed to Synchrony Bank 's deceptive and harmful trade practices, and to make good on the reputational and financial damage they have incurred. 
I have also written to the main credit/data aggregators, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, XXXX dispute the accuracy of the account as it stands and request its removal from my reports, which has yet to be acknowledged or undertaken. 
Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

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