Consumer complaint received 2023-06-02
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: OH
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Charged too much interest

Complaint:
My name is XXXX XXXX, my mailing address is XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX XXXX, Oh XXXX. The account number for XXXX XXXX and more is XXXX, the account number for XXXX XXXX is XXXX and TJMaxx  is XXXX. 

The reason I have requested assistance is I had four credit card accounts with Synchrony bank, TJMaxx, XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX and Lowes Home Improvement. I purchased furniture in a buy one get one free promotion in XXXX of XXXX with my XXXX XXXX card. I had an issue with the television which was one of the free items and it later showed up as a charge on the account. I called Synchrony about this issue and they closed that account while investigating and gave me a new account, this caused me to have no access for proof of date of purchase and actual charges. After this I was making payments on the account, paying extra so as to pay off the card as quickly as I could. A year later I purchased an embroidery machine, about XXXX of XXXX. I had the XXXX  XXXX account paid down to {$930.00} when I noticed that my balance went back up over {$1600.00}, so I contacted Synchrony and asked them why my account had jumped and they told me that my promotional period had ended and that they had added the interest to the account that would have accrued over the 18 month time frame. I asked them if they went by my actual balances because I had paid extra every month and I was told no. I then asked how they could do that legally because I did not actually earn that interest because again, I had paid extra. The representative then argued with me about the interest and I asked what would happen if I closed the account and just made payments and I was told that I could not do that. I would have to pay the full amount or get sent to collections. I could not pay the full amount so I continued to make payments on the accounts. About XXXX of XXXX I was notified by letter that three of my Synchrony accounts would be closed, the reasons were late car payment, balance not paid down enough of my home and something else I can not remember ( I am searching for a photo of the letter as I no longer have access to them in my app ). The car payment being late was legitimate because I bought a car and my son was supposed to be paying for it and wasn't making the payments I later found out, but at the time of the letter it was one payment late. The reason about my home was not legitimate because I had actually just purchased my home in XXXX of XXXX and was paying a little extra on each payment to bring the principle down. The TJMaxx account had XXXX balance and they still used the same reasons to close it. The Lowes account however, is still active and I am making payments on it, it was never closed. If I have four accounts with them and they closed three for the same bogus reasons, why wasn't the fourth closed too? I have dealt with credit card company 's in the past who have closed accounts after a year of inactivity, which is what I actually believe Synchrony has done with the three accounts. I had not made a purchase on any of them for over a year as I was trying to pay down debt. I called customer service for all three accounts after receiving the letter and complained that their reasons were not legitimate and I was told they would investigate and nothing was done. So, when they closed these accounts not only did they drop my credit score which I was trying to bring up, they also reported them with derogatory reasons. 

I tried to continue to make payments through the app on my phone as I had been doing the whole time only to find I was locked out from everything, all I could see was a balance and a due date. When I logged into my online account for my Lowes card, I wasn't able to add it to my app, I found that the closed accounts were linked to it. Again, I had no access to anything in these accounts except a balance, payment amount and due date. I had a drastic reduction in pay, about half what I was making, so I contacted Synchrony after receiving a certified letter and made a payment arrangement for the XXXX  XXXX account. I fell behind on the XXXX XXXX XXXX card but managed to come up with the overdue amount plus paid extra to bring the balance down. It was over {$700.00} and I made a {$400.00} payment to bring it down to I believe about {$320.00}, again I have no idea the actual amount because I have no access to anything. After I made that payment I logged in the next month and the account was showing a minimum payment due of over {$120.00}. That was not the original payment amount so I paid what I could because I do not remember what the original payment was, remember, I have no access to any previous account information. I have been making payments on these accounts, not the original payment for XXXX XXXX XXXX because I have no idea what the original payment was. While I have been doing this they have reported that I have not made payments, added late fees and interest and doing whatever they can to drag my credit down further. 

The final straw was last week when I tried to log into my " account center '' as they had it labeled, to make a payment on the two closed accounts and they took away my access to them. This page now just shows my Lowes account. Not only am I now not able to pay these accounts online, it also broke my payment agreement for the XXXX XXXX account. 
This company was so mad that I argued with them about what I felt was an unfair practice of not calculating the actual interest that would have been accrued on my account, that they purposefully closed accounts with derogatory remarks and have intentionally made my ability to make payment, not once but twice, as difficult as possible. And, may I add that while I was making payment, I received telephone calls and emails from them daily telling me I need to make a payment. Also, I work third shift currently and sleep most of the day. 

I would also like to add that when they closed my accounts, my insurance went up which in turn also made my house payment go up because we all know insurance is based on credit scores. I am currently looking for the copy of the account closing letters I originally received and if I am able to find them I will email also.

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