Consumer complaint received 2018-10-29
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
In going through checkout on XXXX XXXX website, a promotional banner ad stated that if I applied with their credit card, I would receive an immediate credit towards my purchase. This is an ad that I regularly see ( I shop on XXXX several times/month ), but have never researched in depth. I was purchasing a more expensive item today, so decided to click on the ad when I was in my " Shopping Cart '' ( prior to " Proceed [ ing ] to Checkout '' ) and apply for the credit card and take advantage of the offer. The application process was easy and within a couple minutes I was approved for the card and completed my purchase. After my order was complete, a different banner ad appeared for a different credit card offer. To my shock and dismay, this was the card I believed I was applying to the first time ( a VISA rewards card ). The card that was opened was a " Store Credit Card '' offered through Synchrony Bank. Neither card has an annual fee ; however, the store credit card has a significantly higher APR and is not acceptable at other merchants, nor is it eligible for rewards on XXXX XXXX purchases ( as is the case with the VISA card ). Finally, the Store/Synchrony card offers a {$60.00} instant reward, while the VISA card offers a {$70.00} instant reward. 

I am very frustrated, as I realized this immediately after completing the application and purchase process. I had a meeting, but called XXXX approximately 1 hour after opening the account/making my purchase to explain the dilemma and see if anything could be done. I was told that " yes of course, I could apply for the VISA card. '' When I prompted the customer service rep ( XXXX, I believe ), he acknowledged that I would then have 2 credit cards. This did not resolve my issue. I had to speak to his supervisor ( I think she said her name was XXXX ), and she told me my options were to cancel the order and have Synchrony close my account, or to cancel my Synchrony account after my item had been delivered. This still did not solve my problem, because all I wanted was the VISA account and the item I purchase. The supervisor finally transferred me to Synchrony, where an unhelpful representative told me that she could close my account after I cancelled my order through XXXX and it would not hurt my credit to close the account. At that point, my inquiry with her was whether or not my credit history would be impacted, or if something could be done to mitigate/remediate the credit pull. The account had been opened for just over an hour and was essentially opened on accident, given XXXX XXXX failure to adequately describe it's various credit card programs. The Synchrony rep again wrongly informed me that it wasn't going to impact my credit history. This is not true, as I work for a bank. I was so fed up after this exchange that I had to disconnect from the call before I lost my cool Here are my issues : 1 ) XXXX XXXX failure to clearly describe and distinguish its various credit card options on its website when you click on the " apply now '' link. I was under the impression from looking at the banner ad that there was a single credit card option. I would not have known any different unless I scrolled to the very bottom of their website to look at the footer where there is an " XXXX Payment Products '' section, which then lists their " Visa Rewards, '' " Store Card, '' and " Business Card. '' This is not apparent for consumers clicking on an " apply now '' banner. This is a deceptive practice. 
2 ) XXXX XXXX switching products between a " Store Card '' and a " VISA Rewards card '' misleads consumers into thinking there is a single card. These are separate cards with different terms and different available rewards. I ended up with a card with less favorable terms than what I intended to apply for. This is a deceptive practice. 

In both instances above, the deceptive practices are material misrepresentations resulting in real consumer harm that a reasonable consumer would fall prey to, and could have been easily avoided by XXXX. 

Here is what needs to happen : 1 ) XXXX needs to do a better job of clearly and conspicuously describing its various credit card options to all consumers, regardless of which ad they click, at the point they are taking to the linked landing page. Had I realized I was about to apply for a Store Card and not the VISA card upon clicking the link, I would have been easily able to stop what I was doing and apply for the correct card. 
2 ) XXXX needs to iron out a process with its card partners to cancel customer applications and transfer them without negatively impacting the customer 's credit history. This would also require XXXX provide customers with the appropriate " instant reward. '' I am pretty furious that this has happened, and feel like I'm a fairly well-informed consumer considering I work in consumer lending, so I can imagine the throngs of people who have had similar experiences. XXXX needs to change its deceptive practices immediately to cease hurting future consumers. I also want the additional {$10.00} reward issued to my account, as I mistakenly applied for an inferior product with inferior terms, for the sheer inconvenience of this poor customer experience. 

For your review I have included some screenshots, but my ability to capture the complete customer experience was hindered by the fact that I now have an opened store credit card and have already ordered my item ( and do not want to create an additional order ).

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