Consumer complaint received 2022-12-01
Company: Synovus Bank
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
I've pasted a letter below that I sent them back in XXXX. They lied and told me someone would respond in XXXX business days. I gave it XXXX got a response. Called them and they said their system says my request was denied and a letter went out. I told them to stop lying if a letter went out I would have received it by now. I contacted the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX to file a complaint and they did the same thing. Said a letter went out but I never received anything. In the process one of the " missing '' payments that they blamed on the post office was cashed. They held that check for XXXX XXXX months, charged me a late fee and reported it to the credit bureaus. I have a copy of that check. Please help me. I attached a copy of the check they said the post office lost. Proving they are holding peoples payments for their financial gain. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX First Progress Card XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, TN XXXX To Whom It May Concern : My name is XXXX XXXX XXXX I am a First Progress card holder ( account # was listed in the letter sent to them ). This document serves as my official request for my unfounded late fees to be credited back to my account. As well as my written detail/account of my issues/complaints with First Progress. 

I got this card because I had experienced a XXXX XXXX which destroyed my credit. I got this card in XXXX or XXXX of XXXX. Out the gate I was hit with a {$29.00} late fee on XX/XX/XXXX. Due to the demands of my job during that time, I didnt have a free minute to call to discuss the fee. As time went on the fees kept coming and now the red flags are going off. My account payments and fees are as follows : XXXX {$40.00} late fee applied to my account XXXX payment of {$130.00} was applied to my account XXXX {$41.00} late fee applied XXXX {$100.00} payment was mailed but check was lost/never cashed on First Progress end XXXX {$41.00} late fee applied XXXX {$50.00} payment was credited to my account XXXX {$140.00} payment was credited to my account *The XX/XX/XXXX payment was the XXXX payment. That check was held for a very long time. Its no reason that I would ever send two payments for the same month. 

XXXX {$41.00} late fee applied XXXX {$140.00} payment was credited to my account XXXX {$41.00} late fee applied XXXX {$140.00} payment was mailed. Another check/payment lost/never cashed. 

Around XXXX ( XXXX ) is when I made my first phone call to complain about the predatory actions of First Progress. The representative told me that the mail was still delayed due to XXXX. I told the gentleman that did not make sense. We were in year three of XXXX. Safe to say, regular mail was moving normal. I was mailing the payments earlier enough for them to be received on time. I had even started getting receipts from the post office to prove the mailing date/length of time. I then asked are you all purposely leaving the payments in your XXXX XXXX XXXX charge people late fees. He did say the box was checked once a week and said he couldnt help me any further. Disgusted with the poor customer service I hung up. My next call happened in XXXX ( XXXX ). More frustrated by additional late fees. I tried a second call. This time, the representative was slightly better but still not really resolving the issue. I went through my account with him. I expressed that the fees were applied the day before my account was credited with my payment. I explained that apparently First Progress had my check and it had cleared my bank in order for First Progress to apply it to my account the day after you all had applied the late fee. He danced around my question and then asked me why didnt I pay my bill online. I told him, I did not have an online option. I had checked into that months ago when all this started. He then told me to try using a different browser. As a matter of fact, he told me to try using XXXX. Which didnt make sense to me because at this point Id had the card since late XXXX and I never had an online paying option. This representative did reverse on {$41.00} dollar fee. He said he could only do XXXX and apologized to me for my experience. 

When my XX/XX/XXXX check was never cashed and another late fee was applied. I started doing research on First Progress and discovered the XXXX XXXX XXXX had XXXX complaints in the last three years. Complaints that were very familiar to me. Lost payments, late fees, no online payment access, etc. Now, I make my third call in XX/XX/XXXX. Once again, I get a nasty/rude customer service representative. Im telling him that my XXXX payment was never cashed and that this was not the first time a payment was lost on First Progress end. He rudely told me to send him a copy of the cancelled check to have the payment applied to my account. I told him you all have NOT cashed my check. I do have the carbon copy to prove it was written and I have the post office receipt to prove when it was mailed. He told me, that does not help him. He needs the cancelled check. I can not send you a copy of the cancelled check if you all have lost it. We went back and forth for a while. I finally said, I need to speak to a supervisor to have the last four late fees reversed totaling {$160.00}. He told me the one reversal I received was a one-time courtesy and in order to have the other four considered I had to write a letter requesting them. 

Completely disgusted with the treatment and lack of resolutions for me as a customer. I sought a legal opinion. Additionally, something told me to log into my account and see if I could now pay online. Sure enough/magically, all of a sudden, I had online payment abilities. So, on XX/XX/XXXX I made an online payment in the amount of {$86.00}. At the same time, the gentleman ( legal counsel ) told me to follow your required steps. Write the letter attach the XXXX XXXX XXXX and request my late fees be reversed. With that being said, Im giving you the opportunity to rectify this situation without having to include a third party. Im a hard-working divorced mother of two. I trusted you to help me re-build my credit and instead, I feel like this is a predatory lending credit card company. The loss of the payments and the late fees being applied are deplorable. I humbly ask that you credit my account the last four late fees totaling {$160.00} and my plan is to pay the remaining balance off as soon as possible to have my {$1000.00} deposit returned to me. I look forward to hearing from someone regarding the resolution. 

Completely Dissatisfied Customer, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation