Consumer complaint received 2019-07-09
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: FL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Information belongs to someone else

Complaint:
I opened a credit card account with GE Financial to finance an air conditioner purchase at an attractive rate. The amount was paid and I did not use the card further. GE Financial was spun out and changed its name to Synchrony Bank. Unbeknownst to me and certainly unauthorized, my ex-wife authorized our daughter to use the card and told her that she would pay any balance due. To facilitate this, she contacted Synchrony Bank, again unbeknownst to me, and requested an address change on the card to her address. Synchrony Bank without my authorization and possibly illegally changed the billing address. Charges were then made to the card and the balance evidently went past due and eventually was never paid. I finally learned of this problem from my daughter and was horrified to learn that charges were being made to my card without my being aware, because of the unauthorized and possibly illegal action taken by Synchrony Bank to change the billing address to someone to whom I was no longer related -- my ex-wife. 

Once I became aware, I contacted Synchrony Bank and alerted them to the problem. A copy of that letter is attached. Synchrony Bank never responded to my offer to pay the principal balance due with out interest and late charges owing to the fact that they made the unauthorized and possibly illegal change to my billing address. In the meantime, my wife of 15 years and I were refinancing the mortgage balance due on our residence only to find out in the process that Synchrony Bank wrote off the balance due and reported that to XXXX, XXXX  and XXXX. Again, much to my horror, I learned that my credit scores, which had been above XXXX, are now in the mid XXXX and that because of that I was no longer eligible for preferred rates on the mortgage refinance. 

This is just wrong. If anyone 's credit report should be annotated it is my ex-wife 's. She colluded with the bank to change the billing address on my card without my authorization, authorized charges on the card and then never paid them despite telling our daughter that she would. I was unaware of any of this, thanks to Synchrony Bank 's unauthorized and possibly illegal actions, and when I did become aware notified Synchrony Bank promptly. Then later when I learned of the credit reporting problem in addition, I contacted Synchrony Bank again requesting them to remove the notations on my credit report. That letter is also attached. I have heard nothing by way of reply from Synchrony Bank. 

I am now in the process of contacting you to see if the CFPB can help. I am also contacting the 3 credit  agencies to see what they can do. If this doesn't get resolved soon, I will be forced to file a legal complaint against Synchrony Bank. I would prefer not to do that, but all of this could have been avoided if Synchrony Bank had not changed my billing address without my authorization and possibly illegally. I have no problem if Synchrony Bank unilaterally decided to write off the debt run up by my ex-wife on my card without my authorization and possibly illegally. However, if they annotate anyone 's credit report it should be my ex-wife 's not mine. They obviously know who she is and how to find her.

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