Consumer complaint received 2020-09-24
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Complaint:
A PayPal/Synchrony Bank Card was opened in my name and without my permission or knowledge. I first became aware of this account when I received a statement in XX/XX/XXXX. I believe the account was opened sometime in XXXX based on a review of my credit report after I received the statement. I immediately telephoned the bank and notified them that this account was fraudulent. The XX/XX/XXXX statement indicated cash advances totaling {$710.00} and a payment for {$30.00}. I have not taken any cash advances or purchased any products on this account. I did not make these payments nor have I ever made any payments on this account. I requested that this account be canceled due to it being fraudulent. The account was canceled and a fraud investigation was opened by the bank. I completed and submitted a Fraud Investigation Form provided by the bank. The Form detailed 4 additional cash advances totaling {$480.00} and 2 additional payments totaling {$56.00} between the statement and the cancellation. I did not complete these cash advance transactions or make any payments. I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that my fraud claim was not approved because the account had been opened for greater than a year with payment history and that I benefited from the use of the card in purchases. I replied with a letter and documentation on XX/XX/XXXX again reiterating that I was unaware of the account and did not make any cash advances or payments. In a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from Synchrony Bank I was informed that another review was taking place. Then I received a XXXX statement indicating that my original closed account balance was transferred into a new account. I immediately called to close the new account which now had a balance of {$1200.00}. I then received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that the fraudulent claim on the original account had been decided in my favor. At this point, I believed the matter had been resolved ; however I continued to receive statements on the new account with the transferred balance. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent, by certified mail, documentation including the notification that the claim had been settled in my favor and again reiterating that I was unaware that the account was opened, did not make any cash advances and did not make any payments. The certified document was signed for by Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that a new fraud investigation was underway. I then received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that my claim had been denied again because I received benefits from the transactions, that I made payments and that the account was opened for more that a year. Since then I have continued to receive statements with interest and late charges added the balance is now {$1400.00}. And yet again the balance has been transferred from the account I reported as fraudulent into yet another new account. This process just keeps repeating in an unending loop. The activity ( or lack of payment ) on this new fraudulent account has now been reported to the credit bureaus and is having a significantly negative impact on my credit history.

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 non-monetary relief