Consumer complaint received 2023-09-15
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NY
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
I used my Care Credit at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX. ( I'm not sure the date because I can't see my statements prior to XXXX. XXXX. ) When I was checking out I asked the woman who rang me up if I could do the 12th month option where I'd have 12 months to pay off the charge interest free. She said that wasn't a problem, handed me a paper and I left. 

Around XXXX of XXXX, I got a notice that my " six month promotion '' was ending and I'd now need to pay off the promotional offer or I'd get stuck with the interest fees. I was completely shocked and not prepared for this. I contacted CareCredit on their chat and told them it was supposed to be 12 months, why is it saying six? The person I chatted with said it was six months and there was nothing Care Credit could do.

Since I wasn't financially prepared for this, this event caused a snowball effect that put me into debt. First, I had to go a few months without paying on my Care Credit since the monthly minimum was higher than I anticipated. Because of that, Care Credit reported this to the credit bureaus which put a delinquency on my credit report and caused my credit score to drop.

I saw in my account there was a way to get a lower monthly payment by answering a few questions. I did this and was approved for {$150.00} per month if I agreed to close my account. At this point, I was beyond frustrated and never planned on using Care Credit again, so I agreed. What Care Credit failed to tell me was how this was going to negatively affect the way creditors viewed me. Had I know this, I wouldnt have chosen to close my account. 

Care Credit reported to the credit bureaus they THEY closed my account. That is a LIE. I closed it under their false pretenses. They also never disclosed Id be paying interest still. I just noticed yesterday Im still paying interest. They made it seem like Id pay {$150.00} until my account is paid off.

Unfortunately, the damage of doing business with Care Credit just keeps getting worse. Another one of my creditors told me I needed to pay {$1200.00} in three days or they lowered my credit limit. Other cards reduced my credit limit and I noticed my APR on some went up. This caused me to go further into debt and I was left with no option other than to consolidate. 

Care Credit XXXX Synchrony Banks predatory way of doing business should be illegal and I feel they should be held criminally liable. After spending some time reading up on their unethical business practices, I see there are tons of people who are in a similar situation as me. 

IMPORTANT POINTS : -The person I chatted with failed to let me know that I could file a complaint with Care Credit. I just came across this the other day. Had I known, there's a chance I wouldn't be in the financial situation I'm in right now. 

-I 've used credit cards with major banks and none have a dashboard as confusing as theirs. I never knew what I was paying on or how it worked when the promotional balance expired. I asked them a few times but their explanation didnt make sense.

-Care Credit lied and reported that they closed out my account when I made the decision to do so.

-Care Credit made it look like the only downside of choosing to close my account is that I would no longer have access to it. They failed to inform me on how this would negatively impact my overall credit history and how current and future creditors view me. 


-When I was approved for a min $ XXXX  monthly payment, they failed to tell me Id still be incurring interest. 

-Im unable to see my statements prior to XX/XX/XXXX. 

-When I view my activity its blank.

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