Consumer complaint received 2020-05-18
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
I was charged late fees for XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX when I made timely payments. I was also charged a finance charge even though it's supposed to be 0 %. Total fees were {$82.00}. 

I'll admit that I was really angry on the phone after about the one hour point. They were deliberately giving me the run around and I reached a breaking point. 

This is the text of the email I sent to the Synchrony Bank CEO XXXX XXXX : In XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a XXXX sewing machine and financed through Synchrony back. In XXXX, I was charged two late fees when I had consistently paid my bills every month without fail. I called, they saw I made my payments and waived the fees. 

Now, this has happened again. I was charged a {$40.00} late fee for XXXX even though I had paid my bill in XXXX. When I saw the late fee on my XXXX bill, I tried to call twice. I was on hold for over an hour on those two calls and never spoke to a person. I assumed it was because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, paid my normal payment and Synchrony Bank would be reasonable out working it out in the next billing cycle. Now Ive gotten my XXXX bill and there are {$80.00} in late fees and a {$2.00} finance charge. 

Again I tried calling. Ive been on the phone with four different people for two and a half hours today, two of whom hung up on me and two of whom directly called me a liar. I repeatedly asked for a supervisor and wasnt given one. I asked for a name of a specific person I could write to and was told they could only give out a general inquiries address. I am understandably very angry at this point. This is starting to feel like a scam. 

Every month, I wait until I get my billing statement and I make my payment IMMEDIATELY. I told the representatives this and two of them called me a liar. Im not lying. I have made my payments without fail as soon as I get my statement. Furthermore, I should not be held accountable for late fees when I tried to call to resolve the problem in XXXX and you did not answer the phone, especially since your staff were probably not available due to COVID-19 issues. I'm astonished that your bank is so unreasonable about this. 

I want the {$80.00} in late fees and the {$2.00} finance charge waived. It's a reasonable request. Even if we disagree on on timing ( and I'm not lying ), my record clearly shows that I make monthly payments and you should exhibit some basic human decency, recognize that, and waive these fees. 

I have always enjoyed an excellent credit history. Now, my score is going down because of you reporting late payments that are not actually late. If this is the way you treat your customers who make their payments, I would hate to see what you do to those that truly are late. 

I am copying this to Billing Inquiries Address, XXXX. XXXX XXXX, XXXX, FL XXXX via US Mail. I will also be filing a complaint with the Consumer Complaint Protection Bureau.

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