Consumer complaint received 2021-01-20
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Delay in processing application

Complaint:
I submitted an online application for the Lowe 's Advantage Card with Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told I'd receive a letter with the decision in 7-10 days. I was disappointed to not receive an instant response like some other online credit applications I have submitted, as I wanted to use the Lowe 's store card that week to purchase a refrigerator that was on sale for a limited time. I was also interested in the limited time promotion that lets you save 20 % ( up to {$100.00} XXXX on your first purchase with a new Lowe 's credit account. I called the Lowe 's Credit Card support line at XXXX that same day to see if there was any way to expedite my application. They were unable to help with my already submitted application but informed me that if I applied again in-store that I may receive immediate approval. So on the next day, XX/XX/XXXX, I drove to the Lowe 's Home Improvement store in XXXX  XXXX, Pennsylvania and submitted an in-person application at the customer service desk. However, I received the same response that they could not process the application immediately and instead would send a letter to my home address with their decision. 

4 days later, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX stating " We are responding to your recent application for a LOWE 'S Please ( click here ) to review the response on our secure site. To help reduce our impact on the environment, we are sending this letter to you electronically. You can download or print the letter for your records. '' However, when clicking the link to the secure site and entering my credentials, I simply received a blank page. The next few days I tried viewing the letter several times on several different devices without any luck. On XX/XX/XXXX I placed a call to Synchrony Bank Customer Service at XXXX to inquire why I could not view the response. They were unable to make the electronic letter viewable for me, but told me they'd send a paper letter in the postal service instead and that I would receive it in 7-10 days. As the sale price on the fridge I wanted to purchase was ending before I was likely to receive that letter, I went ahead and placed an online order for the refrigerator after that call. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter in the mail stating that they were declining my application due to it being submitted too soon after a previous application. This appears to be in response to the second application I made in-store, and not to the initial online application. I immediately called Lowe 's Credit Card support line at XXXX again to clarify this and they transferred me to someone at Synchrony who informed me that yes, the second application was denied due to proximity to the first, however she also said that there was some issue with my first application which caused it to never be fully processed. They told me they would escalate the issue and re-process the application, and that I would receive a new letter in the mail in 7-10 days. 

It is now XX/XX/XXXX, 57 days since I submitted an application and 41 days since my last call where they said I'd be receiving a letter promptly. I have received nothing from Synchrony or Lowe 's since that call, to my email inbox or my actual mailbox. I have since read up on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which states that I have the right to know whether my application was accepted or rejected within 30 days of filing an application, which I still do not know.

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