Consumer complaint received 2018-07-13
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I opened up an account with XXXX XXXX for Care Credit ( {$500.00} max ).  On XX/XX/XXXX I lost my job, collected unemployment, and was actively seeking FT employment. I missed a few payments and became delinquent due to my financial situation. 
I realized I had gotten behind and in XX/XX/XXXX I contacted XXXX XXXX Customer Service to discuss my situation and set-up payments. In XX/XX/XXXX I made two payments of {$100.00} each. On XX/XX/XXXX due to unforeseen circumstances my husband lost his job. 

I missed my XXXX payment and when I went to make a payment in XXXX for both XXXX and XXXX I contacted Customer Service to set them up and ensure I was getting back on track. On XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service informed me that my account was charged-off and with a 3rd party. I respectively asked what that meant and what my options were to resolve the issue. He told me that I would need to speak to someone in Recovery and transferred me to their department. After 10+ minutes of being on hold the line was disconnected due to the Representative hanging up on me. 

First thing the next morning, on XX/XX/XXXX I contact Synchrony Customer Service again ; was placed on a short hold and transferred to a Recovery Representative. Once connected with the Recovery Representative I explained what the previous Representative had shared with my about charge-off and that I was disconnected from the call. This Representative reviewed my account and did see that I had a charge-off but that the account was with Synchrony. I inquired as to why I never received any communication from Synchrony regarding my delinquent and subsequent charged-off account. The Representative explained that there was a note stating " DO NOT CONTACT ''. I never authorized either verbally or in written form that Synchrony was not to contact me. Synchrony had my direct cell phone number, e-mail address, and physical address for communication and utilized none of those options to inform me of the change in the status of my account. The Representative understood and expressed his apologies for the previous Representative who had misinformed me that my account was placed with a 3rd party. He re-assured me that this was misinformation and that the account was still with Synchrony. At this time I was then explained my options ; I wanted to ensure I fully understood the situation and also take accountability for the debt that was owed. He shared that I can still make payment ( only via telephone with a Representative ) and that I no longer had online access to my account. I asked about setting up automatic payments until the debt was resolved and was told that I could set-up a future dated payment but not automatic payments. The I asked if I could make a future-dated payment for Friday, XX/XX/XXXX ; the Representative said yes and then began processing this future-dated payment. I provided my bank account details and authorized Synchrony to debit my bank account in the amount of {$50.00}. Then I would call to make subsequent $ XXXX monthly payments until the debt had a balance of zero ( {$0.00} ). I was given a Confirmation # ; which I wrote down and continued about my day. 

On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX I became increasingly concerned about the validity of the Confirmation # since I had not received any written record ( e-mail ) of this future transaction. I contacted Synchrony Customer Service and was told that the account was delinquent, in a charge-off status, but remained with Synchrony. I was then provided the direct Recovery phone number and the hours of operation. 

First thing Friday, XX/XX/XXXX morning I contacted Synchrony Recovery and immediately spoke to a Representative, XXXX. I had begun to explain my situation with XXXX and lost connection due to limited cell phone service. I called back the same number was on hold for 10+ minutes and re-connected with a Representative. To my surprise the Representative was once again XXXX. XXXX reviewed my account and explained that it was in a charge-off status and with a law firm. That any contact was to be between that law firm and me and that the account was no longer with Synchrony. I was surprised by this information and asked how the status of my account changed in less than 24 hours. 

To my dismay, XXXX told me that the previous Representatives provided me with misinformation and that she is not responsible for their actions. I then asked the details of the law firm and was provided the name of XXXX. I asked her XXXX and ... and she provided me with a phone number with an area code of XXXX. XXXX did not provide any further details. I also asked why I never received a certified letter from this law firm regarding this charge-off. She explained it was because of the " DO NOT CONTACT '' note. I explained that that does not make sense as there are plenty of ways for Synchrony to contact me and they did not utilize any of them. I know the law and it states that when an account becomes delinquent and/or charged-off and is with a law firm that the law firm has to send a certified letter notification informing of the status and options. I never received such a letter or communication. I continued to push upon the fact that I had recently set-up a future-dated payment and had a Confirmation # and she proceeded to tell me that that wasn't possible and that I could only make payments with the law firm. I then asked to speak with her manager or someone else who could provide me with more details and accurate options. She then told me she would transfer me to the Credit Consulting department and they would be able to provide me with further assistance. After a brief hold she returned to the phone and told me that all of the Credit Consultants were busy helping other people and asked if I wanted to speak with someone from the legal department. I said yes, was placed on hold and then after 5+ minutes the phone disconnected, this was not due to limited service, but XXXX hung up on.

I then called Customer Service, followed the required prompts, and then connected with a Recovery Representative, XXXX. I explained to XXXX my situation, the details of my previous calls with both Customer Service and Recovery and asked her to review my  account. After review of my account XXXX confirmed that my account was still with Synchrony, that it was charged-off, that I had a " DO NOT CONTACT '' note on my account, and that there were payment options. She explained that her information was accurate and then profusely apologized for the previous Recovery Representative ( XXXX 's ) misinformation and behavior. 

She did explain that my account was charged-off in XXXX due to delinquency but that was removed once made the two {$100.00} payments. I once again explained that I never authorized for Synchrony to not contact me ; detailed the various ways Synchrony had available to them to contact me and my frustration with my charging-off my account and not giving me a chance to resolve the situation.

She then told me that I could set-up a payment for today and so we went through the process to set-up the payment. She explained to me that I could only pay via telephone using either a Checking Account or Debit Card. I provided her with my XXXX XXXX account details to set-up a {$50.00} payment for today. While processing this payment she realized that I already had scheduled payment in the amount of {$50.00} for today. I asked her if she had the Confirmation # and compared it to the one I had written down during previous interaction with a Recovery Representative ( not XXXX ). The  Confirmation # she provided me with matched the # I was previously provided. She explained to me that there is no due date and amount due. I asked about a receipt of confirmation of the transaction and she said she can send it via e-mail or snail mail. I preferred e-mail and provided her my e-mail address, she read back my e-mail address to confirm its accuracy. She told me that an e-mail would be sent after payment was completed. She provided the Customer Service phone number, apologized for the confusion, misinformation, and poor behavior of XXXX and asked if there was anything else she could help me with. I stated no and that I want to do the right thing and pay the debt that is owed, and that I will be making $ XXXX monthly payments until this is resolved. She was glad to hear this information and then we ended the call.

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