Consumer complaint received 2018-07-20
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Reporting company used your report improperly

Complaint:
The FCRA provides remedies for consumers who are injured due to privacy violations. I feel I have been a victim of unauthorized disclosure of information about my credit, and would like to evaluate remedies I can pursue that restore the balance of my privacy which has been violated, and those which allow me to be protected as a citizen and consumerrequiring that consumer bureaus/CRAs and creditors maintain the highest standard of the law. 

Im writing this letter to file an official complaint against XXXX   and XXXX XXXX XXXX  for behaving in ways that I feel constitute multiple violations of the FCRA reporting act. The actions taken by the vendors in question continue to cause me tremendous emotional and XXXX XXXX, to their negligence, flippancy, and disregard for upholding the law and accurately showcasing my creditworthiness. I am in touch with an attorney to evaluate legal action. 

Common violations of the FCRA that are noted here : Old information furnished as new information. Failure to update reports after remitting payments due for all creditors is just one example. CRAs might also report old debts as new and report a financial account as active when it was closed by the consumer. Currently, XXXX XXXX XXXX  knowingly pulls a credit report ( ie : XX/XX/XXXX ) and makes evaluations of credit worthiness at a later date, using the outdated information, as though it is current ( ie : reporting credit worthiness for XX/XX/XXXX, as though the information was obtained in the month of the adverse action surrounding credit worthiness ) Withholding Notices I must be given notice on the reporting, handling and use of your credit information. The creditor in question refuses to furnish copies of the alleged reports obtained from CRA ( XXXX ) sufficiently demonstrating the accuracy of the status change. 

Creditor failing to notify me when it supplies negative credit information or uses negative credit information to adversely act against my account. A user of credit information ( prospective employer or lender ) failing to notify me of a negative decision based upon my credit report. Or that user of credit information refusing to identify the source of credit information it obtained about me. Creditor refuses to tell me the reporting methodology, practice, or information used to take action against my account standing. 

Any violation of the FCRA that harms a consumer can entitle the consumer to a remedy. Common examples of FCRA credit report violations that trigger lawsuits include : Failing to update credit reports to reflect changed circumstances ( such as listing an outstanding debt that was paid or discharged in bankruptcy ). 
Reporting inaccurate information ( such as designating payments as late when they were paid on time, misstating balances due, listing me as the debtor on an account when you were only an authorized user, or attributing debt to me after being notified that you were the victim of identity theft ). 
Failing to investigate disputes or to correct my report within 30 days after receiving notice of your dispute. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX & XXXX : Failure to fairly report proper account standing as per FCRA ; bureau furnishing and reporting old Information and creditor taking adverse action on creditworthiness based on old information ( eg. ; adverse actions in XXXX taking place from a report 30-60+ old ) XXXX XXXX XXXX & XXXX : Failure to report credit account modifications ( credit expansion or restriction ) despite fraud alert on XXXX report : # HK # IFCRA ( XXXX ) XXXX ; added because consumer was a victim of true name fraud as of XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX  & XXXX  : Improper or misuse of credit reporting information XXXX furnishing bespoke reports and consumer information to XXXX XXXX ( selectively reporting false and slanderous credit statements only to XXXX XXXX XXXXother creditors do not have receipt of such statements and judgements as those referenced by the creditor ) - Failure to comply with 614. Restrictions on investigative consumer reports [ 15 U.S.C. 1681l ] ; XXXX failure to comply with 619.  Obtaining information under false pretenses [ 15 U.S.C. 1681q ]  supplying bespoke credit information to intentionally allow XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX to tarnish my credit worthiness as indicated below ANNOTATION : Information reported to creditor is different from both consumer report and consumer credit disclosureinconsistent credit reporting practices in favor of creditor. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX- Failure to comply with 615. Requirements on users of consumer reports [ 15 U.S.C. 1681m ] creditor refused allow consumer to obtain, under section 612 [ 1681j ], a free copy of a consumer report on the consumer from the consumer reporting agency referred to in paragraph ( 3 ), which notice shall include an indication of the 60-day period under that section for obtaining such a copy ; creditor has denied the request of the specific report used to make their determination XXXX XXXX XXXX Failure to give a notice to new customers whose score is below the cut-off, Rule 640.3 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( i ), nothing that creditors must recalculate the cut-off number every two years. Rule 640.3 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( iii ) ( C ) If you use more than one credit score to make credit decisions for example, by choosing the low, median, high, most recent, or by calculating the average score you must use the same method to make the calculation. If you dont always use the same method, use one of the methods that you regularly use. Creditor refused to disclose which ruling is being applied to restrict previously granted credit balances. 

CREDIT PROFILE AS REPORTED BY XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX On-time payments : 99 % Oldest Creditline : 14 years Credit Used : 22 % Recent Inquiries : 1 in past 2 years New Accounts : 2 within past 2 years Available Credit : {$6100.00} GOOD : 18 % Income used to pay your debt, 82 % Income used for other purpose POSITIVE ACCOUNT FACTORS AS REPORTED BY XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX 1. Total of all balances on bankcard or revolving accounts is not too high. 
2. Few or no installment accounts with delinquent or derogatory payment status. 
3. You have few or no accounts that were opened recently. 
4. Date your oldest bankcard or revolving account opened is not too recent. 

NEGATIVE ACCOUNT FACTORS AS REPORTED BY XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX 1. The date that you opened your oldest account is too recent. 
2. Lack of sufficient credit history. 
3. Lack of sufficient relevant real estate account information. 
4. The balances on your accounts are too high compared to loan amounts ( ANNOTATION : in conflict with statement 4 in Positive Account Factors ) CREDIT PROFILE [ ALLEGEDLY ] AS REPORTED BY XXXX TO XXXX XXXX XXXX  : XX/XX/XXXX Allegedly, this information was furnished electronically from the XXXX  credit bureau ( ANNOTATION : none of the other creditors have any reference of such a report, nor does XXXX validate these claims. Creditor refuses to produce documentation from credit bureau sufficiently demonstrating the following information ). 

As per XXXX XXXX, 2 actions were taken against my accountone on XX/XX/XXXX, and one on XX/XX/XXXX. Both actions taken against my account were using credit data that was 30-60 days old at the time the action was takencreditor did not request update records form the bureau prior to their determination, and bureau has no record of a request made. 
1. As per call on XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX, XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX , credit restrictions were taken due to decrease in credit score on my account, despite fraud alert being placed on major credit bureaus on XX/XX/XXXX. 
2. As per call on XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX and XXXX, XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX, creditor is unable to provide any details on reporting practice, or credit file number used to make adverse actions as indicated belowthis is our internal process and procedure 3. As per call on XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX, XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX ; creditor does a quarterly review of all accounts, and consumer bureau ( XXXX  ) will only report to them my consumer file once a monthwe cant control what XXXX tells ussuggesting that XXXX  is reporting a consumer file to XXXX XXXX XXXX that is distinctly different from what is reported to other lenders ( XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ). 

ADVERSE ACTION TAKEN BY XXXX XXXX XXXX  : XX/XX/XXXX 1. Creditor, XXXX XXXX XXXX   allegedly received an unsolicited report from XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX citing the reasons below. ( ANNOTATION : Please note that no other creditors have record of this alleged annotation from XXXX   ) 2. On XX/XX/XXXX, creditor made an adverse credit limit adjustment based on 60 day old credit reporting datanot current data for month in which the action was taken against the account ( XXXX ). 
3. Reported credit score XXXX at the time of action taken was XXXX 4. Consumer agency failed to report disputed Information Once a consumer disputes information, you may not report that information to a CRA without telling the CRA that the information is in dispute. FCRA 623 ( a ) ( 3 ) Cited Reasons for ActionPLEASE NOTE CONSUMER ANNOTATIONS : Number of accounts with delinquency ( ANNOTATION : Number of delinquents accounts has not changed since account first opened ), no delinquency since XX/XX/XXXX, nearly 3 years prior to opening the synchrony was opened, consumer was granted a balance of {$1500.00} ) ; creditor can not explain this and consumer bureau has no reference of it Proportion of balances and credit limits on bank/national revolving or other ( ANNOTATION : Credit utilization from XXXX ( 43 % ) to XXXX ( 38 % ) Revolving accounts is too high ( ANNOTATION : Credit consumed decreased from XXXX ( {$3700.00} ) to XXXX ( {$3000.00} ) ) Length of time revolving accounts have been established ( ANNOTATION : Length of time of revolving accounts has remained consistent since opening of Synchrony account XXXX XXXX, no change ) Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts ( ANNOTATION : Loan balances has decreased across loans with XXXX and Auto loans from XXXX XXXX ( {$45000.00} ) to XXXX XXXX ( {$43000.00} ) 3.6 % decrease since start of Synchrony account ) ADVERSE ACTION TAKEN BY XXXX XXXX XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX 1. Creditor,  XXXX XXXX XXXX  allegedly received an unsolicited report from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX citing the reasons below. ( ANNOTATION : Please note that no other creditors have record of this alleged annotation from XXXX  ) 2. On XX/XX/XXXX, creditor made an adverse credit limit adjustment based on 60 day old credit reporting datanot current data for month in which the action was taken against the account ( XXXX ). 
3. Creditor has accused XXXX of only providing quarterly reports, and will not furnish current, relevant data ( REFERENCE : consumer spoke to creditor and XXXX Representatives on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ) 4. Reported Credit score at time of action was XXXX pt increase from the prior month. 

Cited Reasons for Adverse ActionPLEASE NOTE CONSUMER ANNOTATIONS : Number of accounts with delinquency ( ANNOTATION : Number of delinquent accounts has not changed since account first opened ), no delinquency since XX/XX/XXXX, nearly 3 years prior to opening the synchrony account, and granted balance of {$1500.00} ) Proportion of balances and credit limits on bank/national revolving or other ( ANNOTATION : Credit utilization from XXXX ( 35 % ) to XXXX ( 18 % ) ) Revolving accounts is too high ( ANNOTATION : Credit consumed decreased from XXXX ( {$2400.00} ) to XXXX ( {$1700.00} ). Overall delta from start of the account to XXXX is a revolving account DECREASE 53.28 % Length of time revolving accounts have been established ( ANNOTATION : Length of time of revolving accounts has remained consistent since opening of Synchrony account XXXX XXXX, no change ) Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts ( ANNOTATION : Loan balances has decreased across loans with XXXX and Auto loans from XXXX XXXX ( {$45000.00} ) to XXXX XXXX ( {$43000.00} ) 3.6 % decrease since start of Synchrony account ) Credit reporting agencies can not supply your credit report to anyone who does not have a legitimate need for it, including creditors, landlords, and employers. A potential or current employer can not obtain my credit report unless I consent to its disclosure. In most cases, that consent must be given in writing. 

In some cases there could have been a data breach that caused my information to be stolen. Data brokers regularly violate the FCRA by providing consumer reports to employers and landlords without verifying that the person or business making the request is entitled to receive the report. 

In summary, the most egregious violation by XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, is using outdated credit report data to make real-time, live decisions about creditworthiness. XXXX is complicit in this, by providing to the creditor [ ALLEGEDLY ] only quarterly based reports, which are bespoke, tailored to the creditor, and negative reflecting creditworthinessdepicting one view of creditworthiness to the consumer, and another to the creditor.

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