Consumer complaint received 2019-03-27
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
Late one night about six years ago, we rushed our XXXX-year-old cat to XXXX XXXX XXXX Hospital in XXXX, NJ, because he was hemorrhaging from his mouth. When we arrived at the reception desk, they demanded a large sum of money up front in order to treat the cat. We didn't have that much on us nor in our checking account, so they shoved a CareCredit application under our noses, which we signed under duress.

CareCredit, also known as Synchrony Bank, is a known predatory lender that colludes with veterinary and medical practices to coerce consumers into taking out credit before treatment is rendered. CareCredit has been investigated by the New York State Attorney General and in XX/XX/XXXX was successfully sued by your agency, the CFPB, and forced to refund XXXX XXXX dollars to consumers who had been victimized by the same heavy-handed practices that my wife and I were subjected to several years ago. 

They ran it and got approval for an amount around {$3000.00}. At that point a young veterinarian brought the cat into an exam room and looked at him. He found that the cat had a XXXX XXXX XXXX but insisted he could " catch it '' by putting the cat under general anesthesia and removing part of his jaw. He brushed aside our concerns about performing that operation on such an elderly cat. 

Bottom line, the vet performed the XXXX, our cat stroked out on the table, and we got a {$3000.00} bill for our trouble. I tried to contact the administrators of XXXX XXXX but they ignored my calls. I contacted lawyers to sue for damages but they refused because the market value of an XXXX-year-old tabby is about {$3.00}. 

Nevertheless, we attempted to pay off the debt. Around XX/XX/XXXX I was having difficulty making the payments and called CareCredit to ask if they would work with me. The phone rep said absolutely. Then the next thing I knew, our account had been sold to XXXX XXXX, XXXX a litigious collections firm. When I wrote to them detailing what happened, they just wrote back saying I owed the debt. 

Now they are taking us to court in XXXX County, NJ. I have called numerous consumer lawyers and none will take my case because they can't make enough money off it, or they demand retainers totaling more than the debt is worth, or they attempt to persuade us to file bankruptcy when we neither need or want to do. We have contacted legal aid but they denied us help because we aren't " indigent ''. 

This is a serious legal donut hole that leaves many consumers vulnerable to predatory lenders and collection agencies who know they can win in court because their victims can not afford proper legal representation. 

We have a court date set for XX/XX/XXXX and are being harassed by an aggressive lawyer who is pressuring us to fill out interrogatories or have a summary judgment against us. Since we aren't legally trained, this puts us at a disadvantage.

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