Consumer complaint received 2021-05-01
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Trouble using your card
Sub-issue: Can't use card to make purchases

Complaint:
We have several credit cards and most of them are somehow tied to Synchrony Bank. We didnt ask for this company, but apparently they have the monopoly on loans with no interest if paid upon the agreed timeframe. 

Currently, we are paying off or have recently paid off surgery for our dog, a computer, a our Lowe 's card and a mattress. ALL attached to Synchrony Bank. We ALWAYS pay these off early so as to avoid the high interest rates. We are a single income family and try to be conservative. 

Recently I went into the CARE credit account to close it because we paid it off before the 6 month deadline. But I was forbidden to access it. I called Synchrony Bank and they were very reserved and would not talk to me as the customer, but instead told me they had sent out paperwork for me to review. That is all he would say. 

Last Friday, the XXXX of XXXX, we went into Lowe 's to pay off the balance of our credit card ( to avoid interest ) and also tried to make a new purchase. Many know that there is an advantage when you use the card and you save an additional 5 %. However, our Lowe 's card was declined. We asked the Lowe 's rep to find out why. She called Synchrony Bank and they would not say. I asked to speak the the rep. I was told my account was under investigation for fraud and my card would not be allowed to process. 

Other companies involved are XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

The rep at Synchrony Bank would not not consider me as the customer or the card holder, rather she treated me as a criminal. They didn't treat me as if they were trying to protect me as a customer. Nobody sent out an email as a courtesy or a phone call, but all of my accounts are frozen and nobody would tell me anything. 

At this time, if we have an emergency, say with our dog, and we try to open a Care Credit account to make monthly payments, we will be refused. ANYTHING with Synchrony Bank is currently frozen. Yet I still have open accounts. They don't question " fraud '' when I make payments. 

Also, every account was opened by me and my wife, I provided legal photo identification when the account was opened. So subsequently, when I checked my credit report on Saturday, I noticed my rating had dropped substantially. This means, since my wife is attached to the card, her credit will also be effected. We are not wealthy by any means, so it is an honor to have built up our credit so we may purchase things needed. 

I then began to look at other complaints with the Consumer Affairs ' and the XXXX  and found the same company was doing the same thing to others and also causing problems with their credit. And nobody is helping those of us effected. 

After reading multiple reviews, it is apparent that the Bank is having issues with those who pay the loan off early. We are being penalized. Ours is not an isolated incident, but many others are having their credit diluted and damaged. 

We didnt ask for the Synchrony Bank but this is what individual stores offered us at the time. My credit is being destroyed by a Bank that is apparently upset about not being able to get interest out of me. If you think that is absurd, then you read the complaints on the consumer affairs dot com and tell me if all of us are just plain XXXX. I don't know what you can do, but I hope you can help. Let 's see if you are really an advocate for us as your name implies or are you just bureaucrats drawing a check. 

Protect us! Stop these people from damaging the reputations we built up. 



Here are several of the recent complaints in case you don't read them on consumer affairs website. 

*** '' I have been having trouble the last couple of years. I pay my bill when it arrives in my emails to be paid. I am then charged a late fee because they tell me I am paying too early. No matter how many phone calls I have made, I am told the same thing, that as long as I pay it without waiting for 2 to 4 days, then it XXXX up their statement period, and I will be charged late fees. This in no way seems fair or legal. '' *** '' Hi, as I read more of these reviews I feel empathy for everyone. I was a holder of a Synchrony Credit Card until they decided to close it on the basis of high risk failure to pay. I would like to know what basis they determined this on when I am up to date on my payments and have paid over the minimum payment each time. No one on the phone was of any help and treated me like I was irreverent. I have been doing everything right and they still closed my account during COVID -19 at that. So if they continue to waste my time on the phone running in circles, not answering any of my questions, I am organizing to SUE for wrongful determination during a pandemic. If anyone else if interested as well don't hesitate to contact me. '' *** '' I have no late payments, all accounts are current. Synchrony chooses to reduce credit limits. Close " XXXX '' balance accounts. This has decreased my credit score XXXX  points. They approve credit cards at one amount and then reduce them. Showing your credit available being maxed out. When you pay them off, XXXX balance. They close the card. They are destroying my credit. Do not take any accounts associated with this company. I have most of mine paid off and my credit is still in bad standing, thanks to this company. '' *** '' There were 595 consumer reviews of Synchrony Bank in XXXX, Ct on the XXXX  website. Synchrony Bank has a rating of 1.06 STARS out of 5 STARS. There were 1950 complaints in the last year alone and 5053 complaints in the last three years. Somehow, the XXXX  rates Synchrony Bank with an A+ Rating probably because the XXXX collects a yearly fee from Synchrony Bank and presumably because Synchrony Bank will provide you with a canned response no matter what. There is a huge difference between legal and ethical norms. Synchrony Bank can do just about anything they want to legally but that does not mean it is ethical. 

If you take the time to read complaints, you will find that Synchrony Bank does not care about your business. They do not care that they are hurting your credit score even when you are a good paying customer. Take the time to read the responses that Synchrony Bank has to individuals that have paid their accounts as agreed and had their credit rating destroyed by this company. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of individuals, that have had their credit destroyed by this business without cause and the responses from Synchrony Bank are all canned. 

The consistent responses are always : 1 ) When you got credit from the bank, you agreed to allow Synchrony Bank to reduce your credit limit or close your account at any time for any reason even though they will not contest in the majority of complaints that a customer has paid them on time for even a matter of years.

2 ) If you say, correctly that I might add, that Synchrony has hurt your credit score. The response is that your credit score can change on a daily basis. Even though Synchrony banks employees without any doubt that they hurt your credit, dont expect an apology or an admittance that they have done so.

3 ) Synchrony Bank claims to provide notice to individuals that they have reduced your credit limit or closed your account, even though it is statistically impossible for them to actually be doing so as required by law.

*** '' I bought a bed at Mattress Firm using them to finance XXXX  purchase. I paid on time every month. As I paid it down, they kept lowering my credit limit, which dropped my credit score EVERY SINGLE MONTH. I made the final payment yesterday and will never use nor recommend them again. '' *** '' Don't get this card. You think you have it for emergencies. But they will cancel it and send you a letter after the fact. They canceled my wife 's while she still had a balance. Affecting both of our credit scores. My card I used it almost to max and paid all payment on time or early. And was saying it for use. The closed the account stating I was a risk. But all my payments were on time and 100 % paid off. Now my score dropped over 35 points cause I was a loyal person. Just to get stabbed in the back by a computer ran organization. XXXX XXXX  I have ever heard of. '' *** '' So I first got the Synchrony Amazon Store Card four years ago. All was well and I never had any issues with this account, until now. I usually pay my account in full each month to avoid interest and keep my statement balance at {$0.00}. I have never paid late, not once. Last month XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) I had spent about {$120.00} on my Amazon Store Card. I paid in full two days before the due date of XX/XX/XXXX. Statement printed {$0.00} balance on XX/XX/XXXX. Synchrony reported {$0.00} balance on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Then I spent about {$400.00} on the card, with three charges on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, and do you know how they rewarded me for always paying early and in full? They REPORTED MY CURRENT MONTH 'S SPENDING to the Credit Bureaus! Ten days after the bill closed, and one week after they reported my {$0.00} balance to the bureaus, they re-reported my account with the brand new charges that were merely hours old! Those charges have not been billed yet, and won't be until XX/XX/XXXX, so the XXXX Period to pay in full wont even begin until XX/XX/XXXX and those charges will not be due until XX/XX/XXXX! 

*** '' Do the bureaus really need to know that I bought a few things at Amazon before those charges are even due? Is this their way to punish me because I get 5 % cash back on this card and never pay any interest? My credit score was harmed by their unnecessary, mid-cycle report and when I tried to call them about it, they put me on hold twice, 15 minutes each time, until I gave up and hung up. '' *** '' My response to all of this was to immediately log in and pay my account in full. Payments show as " processed '' in the payment history, but the billing activity still does not reflect the payments, nor have they been withdrawn from my bank. So now it appears they are " false processing '' my payments for reasons unknown to me. I think they have crossed a major line and are now engaging in illegal activity. 

Now that they have monkeyed with my account that in this way, I am reading lots of other reviews about what they have done to other people in recent weeks and months. They are lowering people 's credit lines, closing accounts, and taking other actions that directly hurt customer 's credit ratings, and they are doing this to the good customers who manage their accounts responsibly. They truly are punishing the responsible cardholders for reasons unknown. It makes me wonder what is going on with them internally. I do know they are paying out a large class-action settlement, but it's in the millions and Synchrony 's 4th quarter XXXX earnings were in the billions so I can't imagine that is the issue. 

Seems like they are just wanting to get rid of customers who don't pay interest and enjoy the rewards offered on their various store cards. Really a shame that they treat good responsible customers this way. We are literally being penalized for being a better credit risk! If I didn't already have these accounts, I think I would avoid getting involved with this bank because they may be ok for a while, but that could change overnight as it has for me, without warning and for no apparent reason other than they just want to. If they don't process my payments tomorrow, I'll be complaining to the CFPB. '' *** '' I have been a customer for 10 yrs with multiple credit cards linked to Synchrony Bank, 6 to be exact, as well as credit cards from other credit companies. I have always paid my bills on time throughout the years with no real issues. Unfortunately I was hit pretty hard/badly with the pandemic of XXXX causing a financial strain for the rest of the year. Out of all my creditors synchrony bank was the least willing to work with me. 

In an attempt to save my credit cards I paid Synchrony bank off first before my other creditors, since my other creditors were more willing to work with me in such trying times. Synchrony bank literally waited for me to pay off my accounts and then CLOSED ALL OF THEM within a months time frame, stating my credit score dropped too low during the pandemic and that I could reapply again once my score came back up! None of my other creditors closed my accounts. I will never again apply for anything backed by Synchrony bank for as long as I walk this earth! ''

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