Consumer complaint received 2019-07-12
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I was billed XXXX by a company called " XXXX XXXX '' based out of XXXX, XXXX. I do not, and have never had, any business with this company ... I do not have children and I have no need for math tutoring. 

I called the company providing my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Synchrony Bank. They cancelled my credit card number and issued me a new card. I had believed that this issue was resolved. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was billed again for {$14.00} by " XXXX XXXX ''. I contacted XXXX and explained that the number was cancelled and inquired as to how this company could have gotten my new number. I spoke to 2 people who did not understand why this was a problem. I finally got transferred to a Supervisor who apologized and issued a credit for my trouble, and filed a dispute on my behalf for the charge. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was officially refunded for this fraudulent charge. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was billed again for {$14.00} by " XXXX XXXX ''. Synchrony issued me a credit for this charge ... then I was RE-BILLED {$14.00} by " XXXX XXXX ''. I contacted Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX, explaining that I had disputed this charge already more than once and been issued credits, yet this company was still billing my card even after my card was cancelled. I requested that they prevent this company from further charging my card, as I had no further business with them. The rep I spoke to simply wanted to dispute the charge ... since that had not resolved the issue the first two times, I asked to be escalated to a supervisor. 

I spoke to a supervisor, Employee ID XXXX. They informed me that the " RE-BILL '' was actually Synchrony correcting an over-refund. They informed me that previous disputes were found in my favor and I should not have this issue again. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was billed again for {$14.00} by " XXXX XXXX ''. I called Synchrony Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. The rep I spoke to ( " XXXX '' ) told me that Synchrony had  provided my NEW credit card number to the fraudulent charger. I explained to him that this was not appropriate, and he proceeded to accuse me of providing credentials to the company in XXXX. I explained I had NEVER had ANY communication with this company. " XXXX '' wanted to dispute the charge again ... that had not worked the previous 3 times, so I asked to be escalated to a manager. 

The " manager '' he transferred me to told me that I would need to talk to " Fraud ''. I explained that I HAD ASKED to be transferred to Fraud ... so I was transferred again. 

They then put me in touch with an " Account XXXX '', who tried to tell me that because this was a recurring charge, the bank had NO AUTHORITY to stop them from fraudulently charging my account. I informed them that this was unacceptable and expressed my concern that Synchrony Bank was allowing fraudsters to charge customers ' credit cards with no recourse. 

The " Account Specialist '' suggested that I contact the merchant. I explained that I had never had ANY contact with this merchant ... if an account was open with them, it was not under my name, I had no means of providing them with my identity outside of providing personal information, I had no way of verifying that this overseas entity even IS a legitimate company, and if I spoke to them I would then not be able to make the statement that I HAD NEVER communicated with this company in ANY way. I again asked that Synchrony Bank stop this company from charging my card. 

I was transferred again to a somewhat arrogant-sounding " specialist '' named " XXXX '' ( XXXX ID XXXX ) who informed me that previous disputes filed were filed as one-time disputes, that she would file a " recurring charge dispute ''. I asked her why the previous disputes were not for a " recurring charge '' ... she informed me somewhat haughtily that it was because SHE didn't handle them. She said my issue would be resolved within 1-2 billing cycles. I was issued a credit by Synchrony Bank and received a letter stating, as with prior disputes, that the issue was resolved in my favor. I assumed again that this situation was resolved. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was billed again for {$14.00} by " XXXX XXXX ''. Having had no resolution from my previous 4 calls to Synchrony customer service, I reached out to Synchrony.com/contact-us hoping to reach someone at Synchrony corporate. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was contacted by a woman named " XXXX '' ( XXXX ) and given an issue number " XXXX ''. I proceeded to tell " XXXX '' everything that I have written above. " XXXX '' agreed with me that it was absurd for the bank to have forwarded my new credit card number to the fraudulent merchant after cancelling the old one for fraud, and told me she would reach out to the fraud department and I would hear back from her within one week. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after not hearing back from " XXXX '', I called the number above again and spoke to XXXX again. She told me she had NOT heard back from the fraud department but gave me her personal extension ( XXXX x XXXX ) and told me she would reach out to Fraud again. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX called me to inform me that I needed to call XXXX XXXX and request that my subscription be cancelled, acting as though I had never explained this entire situation to her. She seemed surprised that I had not started a subscription with this company and was shocked to learn that I don't have children. She agreed once again that it was extremely unusual for the merchant to continue charging my card after it had been cancelled for Fraud, and told me she would reach out to Fraud again. 

At this point, I reached out to XXXX XXXX  XXXX customer service to see if they could advocate for me on my behalf ... they informed me that they simply sell the rights to use their name to the credit card company and I would have to deal with Synchrony 's customer service. I explained to them that I had done that SEVERAL times and asked to be escalated to a manager. That manager transferred me to XXXX customer service, so I hung up. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from " XXXX '' at Synchrony 's Fraud Department. ( XXXX ) Like the previous half-dozen representatives, he suggested that I should call the fraudulent charger directly and ask them to stop charging my card. I explained to him why that was impractical. He explained to me that Synchrony Bank has NO way of stopping fraudulent charges against my credit card, and that my only option, other than calling the fraudster and requesting that they stop charging me was to close my account. I explained to him that I had no account with the company and could not even verify my identity to them, let alone request that they stop charging my card without providing the company with personally identifiable information to verify my identity, and could not even verify that the company was legitimate. He informed me that he had done a XXXX search on the company and that it looked legitimate. I informed him that a XXXX search did not constitute an adequate fraud investigation. 

I asked if they had tried to reverse these fraudulent charges ... he informed me that Synchrony had NOT done so, but could NOT explain why not, citing some unknown " rules and policies ''. 

I informed me that I would be reaching out to the CFPB regarding this matter ... he seemed unfazed. 

I called " XXXX '' back and asked her to confirm this position. I have not received a return call.

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 monetary relief