Consumer complaint received 2022-07-06
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I was defrauded by a website called XXXX  and then my credit issuer PayPal Credit ( handled by Synchrony Bank ) did not investigate my chargeback despite my calling and begging them to dozens of times over the course of 4 months. 

I purchased a flight on XXXX XXXXn in XX/XX/2021, for the total of {$540.00}, and within a few days of my purchase, the country of the flight 's destination changed their COVID rules and US travelers were no longer allowed entry into that country at all. 

I attempted to call the airline to have my flight cancelled or changed. They told me only XXXX could handle it, as it was a " travel agency. '' I called XXXX multiple times but was never able to reach anyone on the phone. I called many times and was put on hold for half an hour, or just hung up on directly. I paid an extra {$80.00} on top of the cost of the flight to XXXX in order to have a " flexible ticket '' which could be changed up to 3 days before the flight. However, the ONLY WAY to make those changes was to call them by phone, there is no customer service email address, and surprise! They don't answer their phones. They soon disconnected the customer service phone number that was on their site and replaced it with a new one. Very weird and not normal for a " travel agency. '' Oh but they do have an " enhanced service '' option for an extra fee which I declined. I guess I should have paid the extra money on top of my {$80.00} in order for my " flexible ticket '' to be actually flexible. 

Searching social media for mentions of " XXXX '' confirmed my worst fears had come true and I had been scammed by a fly by night operation of tricksters taking advantage of COVID country closures. One person said they were on hold for hours and then the person who picked up the phone laughed at them. 

The airline confirmed that the tickets were in fact real, but because I had gone through XXXX, they could not refund me, which they would have done immediately otherwise because COVID closures are not within anyone 's control. 

When I attempted to dispute this fraudulent charge with Synchrony/PayPal Credit , they sent me around in circles for months, telling me I had not provided any documentation of my claim, and each time I tried to submit documents something mysteriously went wrong : first PayPal Credit 's web submission forms were broken, but only for me, nobody else, they claimed. They remained broken throughout this 4 month process. I sent multiple faxes which were ignored, and finally I even sent the documents by mail, with a tracking number through USPS Priority Mail ( which cost me another {$8.00} ), to a po box number that their dispute department provided me, and they still claim they never got them. They ruled against me without ever really giving me an opportunity to plead my case. 

I tried calling Synchrony/PayPal Credit about this dozens of times. They always told me either -- " Just wait another 90 days, everything will be handled. I think you have a good chance of it being ruled in your favor '' -- or conversely, they'd claim never received my documents and my dispute was then closed because they claim I never responded to their requests for documents. I had the dispute reopened 3 or 4 separate times and made multiple good faith efforts to send in proof that I had been defrauded by XXXX. They pretended that they never got any of my proof and ruled against me every time. 

Among the documents I sent PayPal Credit, which were never reviewed, there was a copy of the email invoice, which confirmed that I had paid and extra {$80.00} for the flexible ticket and that the only way to change the flexible ticket was to call them at their phone number, ( which was later disconnected ). I also sent them my phone records proving that I attempted to call a number that was listed on their website at the time of my purchase ( but again, they disconnected that number and changed it to a totally new one, very weird for a " travel agency '' ). 

Synchrony pretended they never received any of it, even though I have tracking from USPS proving it arrived at the po box that their dispute department told me to send them to. 

The way that my dispute was handled somehow felt even worse than just being stolen from by a shady website I shouldn't have trusted in the first place. I've been a loyal customer of PayPal Credit for 10 years, they were supposed to have my back. They treated my issue like a XXXX, they treated me like I was an XXXX, and at times, less than human with their hostility and condescension. PayPal Credit/Synchrony Bank helped a horrible scam website run away with my money and I will never, ever be using them again.

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