Consumer complaint received 2021-08-09
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: PA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
IMPROPER BANKING PRACTICES AND PERHAPS UNLAWFUL ACTIONS It is my belief that, had the CFPB properly conducted an investigation in this matter, it would have become apparent that Synchrony Bank has engaged and continues to engage in improper and perhaps unlawful actions, with the intent to possess and retain money that is not rightfully property of Synchrony Bank or is acting in support others to possess money not rightfully their : 1. In XXXX and XXXX of XXXX, Synchrony Bank accepted money ( See attachment Pages # 1- # 3 ; a total of {$470.00} ) from XXXX XXXX by ACH, that was issued to them on my behalf ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ), for the express purpose of satisfying an outstanding debt with a commercial business, i.e. ; XXXX XXXX. After accepting that money from XXXX XXXX, Synchrony Bank, their customer XXXX XXXX or other unnamed and unknown customers ( it is my understanding the XXXX XXXX XXXX had some interest in or banking connection to XXXX XXXX at this time ), did not apply that money to my outstanding balance, and failing that, did not take steps to return the money to its rightful owner, XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

2. Following this failure to complete the transactions, Synchrony Bank stonewalled inquiries from XXXX XXXX  and from myself ( XXXX XXXX ) to recover this money. ( See attachments Page # 4 and # 5 from XXXX XXXX. ) I also contacted Synchrony at this time and despite multiple promises, they never responded to me. They delayed actions by asking me to obtain documents from XXXX XXXX  that they knew were not banking industry required documents. 

3. In furtherance of their improper and perhaps illegal behavior, Synchrony Bank and other parties, have continued to stonewall attempts to provide complete and proper accounting for the status of the diverted funds by creating false records, including false transactions on false dates and proving misleading or false information to everyone involved, including the CFPB and the PA Attorney Generals Office. For example : you will note that to date, Synchrony Bank has never denied receiving the money in question from XXXX XXXX. They have only stated repeatedly that they can not locate it. 

4. To further their improper and perhaps illegal behavior, Synchrony Bank has created false records of purchase transactions ( See attachment Page # 10 ) and created a false paper trail of misleading and contradictory letters to justify their actions or their failure to act properly to resolve this matter.

5. In order to further their improper and perhaps illegal behavior and create additional pressure on myself ( Mr. XXXX ), at some time in XXXX of XXXX Synchrony bank re-opened Mr. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX account, which Mr. XXXX had demanded be closed in XX/XX/XXXX. ( See Attachments Pages # 6, # 7 & # 8 ). The account was closed and all credit agencies were notified of this closure. However, during the dispute of this matter, Synchrony Bank has cited to these agencies that Mr. XXXX is delinquent in making payments on the disputed account, to which Synchrony Bank is also applying interest. 

6. Since I have disputed Synchronys right to my money, I ( Mr. XXXX XXXX have been financial damaged by Synchrony who has taken improper actions, falsely notifying all of the credit agencies that this account is still open and delinquent, despite my lawful dispute of Synchronys improper and perhaps illegal actions. 

EXPECTED CONSUMER ACTIONS TO RESOLVE In defense of my ( Mr. XXXX XXXX actions in this matter, if CFPB had fully investigated, it would have learned that XXXX XXXX  provide Mr. XXXX with transaction records which XXXX claims proves that Synchrony Bank received the initial {$470.00}, on behalf of XXXX XXXX ( see attachments Pages # 1 - # 3 ). These documents have been provided to XXXX XXXX and to Synchrony Bank by both XXXX XXXX  and by Mr. XXXX, on multiple occasions since XXXX of XXXX. 

You can see by the transaction records and the two monthly statement documents, that I ( Mr. XXXX ) have proven that the money was removed from my XXXX XXXX  account for the express purpose of paying XXXX XXXX. After the money was removed from my account and sent to Synchrony Bank, I have no ability to see or to know what happening with the money or to the XXXX ACH sent to Synchrony Bank. XXXX XXXX  has provided the transaction record, that they claim proves the money was turned over to the Synchrony Bank. It seems logical that since XXXX XXXX  has provided proof of its claim that the money was sent by ACH to Synchrony Bank, the burden should logically fall to Synchrony Bank to either refute this claim with proof or accept that Synchrony Bank received the money and the money is somewhere lost in the Synchrony System or perhaps wrongly given to one of its customers.

If CFPB were to have actually investigated and the burden of proof had shifted to Synchrony Bank, then CFPB should logically expect Synchrony Bank to prove that the bank never received the money, or if it did receive the money, that it applied the money to Mr. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX account, or determined that there was a problem with the two ACH transactions, which should have caused Synchrony Bank to returned the money to XXXX XXXX. In any event, CFPB must expect the burden to shift at some point to Synchrony Bank to prove that it did not wrongfully receive, keep or misapply the money to some other entity besides XXXX XXXX. 

If the CFPB had investigated, they would see that despite significant correspondence from Synchrony Bank, the bank has never denied receiving the money, but continues to make self-serving statements like they can not determine the status of the money. In fact, when contacted by XXXX XXXX  in my presence, on or about XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX, the Synchrony Bank representatXXXX XXXX  XXXX, who I learned lives and works from her home in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ), admitted that she could see the initial transaction, but she needed to investigate where the money ended up within the Synchrony Banking system. 

Synchrony Bank has never denied receiving the money from XXXX XXXX. However, Synchrony has failed to legally support its right, or the right of other parties, who may have received the money from Synchrony, to retain or recover the {$470.00} in question.

Furthermore, Synchrony Bank has failed to support their legal right to re-open a credit account in my name ( Mr. XXXX ), which was legally closed at my request. Furthermore, they have not established a legal premise that would allow them to falsify transactions ( See Attachment Page # 10 ) to suggest that they are entitled to the {$470.00} in question or any interest that they are charging for these funds. It would seem logical that without my express permission, no credit account can be re-established and no false debt can be created. If that were not true, then all banks would be engaging in these activities to generate funds. XXXX This action seems to be the same illegal action for which the CFPB recently fined XXXX XXXX. ) MR. XXXX CONTINUED REQUEST OF THE CFPB It would seem very logical, that I ( Mr. XXXX ), am not the only individual who has been deprived of money, as a result of similar action by Synchrony Bank or other financial institutions. There seems to be no easily accessible consumer tool to resolve these matters. In absence of clear methods to resolve these circumstances, the CFPB should investigate other consumer complaints, regarding those who may have lost money or had such money misapplying by institutions such as Synchrony, whom such funds were entrusted. In such circumstances it should be considered if the Banks acted with the proper good faith and fair dealing, expected by financial institutions under the law to resolve these matters. I ask that the CFPB examine and resolve the status of my money which has disappeared, and any other money lost or misplaced in other similar cases. 

With all the questionable actions attributed to Synchrony bank in just this single circumstance, it would seem proper for the CFPB to investigate how Synchrony Bank has handled and resolved similar circumstances with all other customers in the past. If there are discrepancies surrounding the handling of this case and failures to act in a manner which would be considered fair and in good faith, an investigation with a much broader scope should be considered. 

Perhaps CFPB should require the creation of a minimum legal banking standard, for the resolution of such circumstances, requiring proper and honest records to be kept, which would allow for the traceability of lost or misapplied money, when such money is transferred physically or electronically between banks and customers. There should be emphasis on what steps should be taken when the funds transferred do not end up satisfying the legal transaction for which the bank customer intended. 

In all of the documents and communication shared by the Synchrony, there is no reference to the law ( s ) that allow them the right to engage in many of these improper and perhaps illegal actions for which they have engaged. The CFPB should require banks to provide the legal justification for their actions in the correspondence shared with the consumers.

ARE THE ACTIONS TAKEN BY SYNCHRONY BANK LEGAL ( IN GOOD FAITH AND FAIR UNDER THE LAW ) Synchrony Banks many actions appear to be in furtherance of their attempt to deprive me ( Mr. XXXX ) of {$470.00} which was transferred to Synchrony Bank by XXXX XXXX  to satisfy a debt. Synchrony Bank has also created false transactions, incorrect documents and has opened a legally closed credit card account, without permission of the person named on that account, for the express purpose of creating a false claim and generating ill-gotten interest. In furtherance of these actions, Synchrony Bank has provided false and misleading information to the Major Credit Agencies citing false liabilities to create leverage and to damage Mr. XXXX credit and credibility. These actions were taken as a scare tactic, during this active financial dispute. 

I would ask the CFPB to determine and advise Mr. XXXX, if it is legal, fair, in good faith and proper for Synchrony Bank to : 1. Re-open a consumer credit account, lawfully closed by the consumer, which was satisfied and had a XXXX  balance, without the express permission of that consumer. ( This appears to be the same behavior that caused fines to be levied against XXXX XXXX XXXX. ) 2. Create false transactions on that account which was wrongly reopened, without the consumers permission or knowledge, referencing a purchase or purchases, that did not occur ( XXXX of XXXX ), in order to create a false balance, which they are now using to attempt to charge the consumer interest, threatening the consumer and damaging his credit worthiness, while the consumer is attempting to seek fair resolution of this dispute and recover funds which he believes were owed to him. 

3. Is it proper for Synchrony Bank to engage in behaviors with the intent to mislead the consumer, XXXX XXXX  and other investigatory agencies, ( including the CFBP ) about its actions to resolve this matter? Does the bank have an obligation of good faith and fair dealing to control funds in dispute, until the matter is resolved and to leave instructions for their employees not to release money or information in dispute until the matter is resolved? 

4. Is it proper for Synchrony Bank to not following through, not keeping good and/ or correct transaction records, then by their negligence, allow one of their representative to release funds to the consumer which they claim are in dispute, later creating a false debt record and following up with several self-serving, but contradictory letters in an attempt to entrap the consumer into returning money which he sincerely believes is his. 

5. Further is it legal for Synchrony Bank to charge the consumer interest on these funds which they know are in dispute. 

a. On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I paid a visit to my local XXXX XXXX  and with the help of a local banker, attempted to find the money removed from my account and transferred by ACH to Synchrony Bank. The XXXX banker sat with me for more than two hours working with Synchrony. He was able to demonstrate to the representative of Synchrony ( XXXX ), that the money had been transferred by XXXX to Synchrony, but not applied to my XXXX XXXX  account or ever returned to XXXX Bank. The Synchrony representative stated she needed a few days to investigate where the money went within Synchrony. It was agreed XXXX would contact me by XX/XX/XXXX with the answers. 

When no call or other information was received as promised from the Synchrony representative, on XX/XX/XXXX, I ( Mr. XXXX ) called the number the Synchrony representative had provided. A different Synchrony person answered my call. XXXX was unavailable, so I was forced to relate the whole matter to the new representative. This representative said she could not see any record of the information I had related or notes from XXXX, but did see that the amount of money I identified, was shown as a credit in my previously closed XXXX account. I said the account was legally closed so that was impossible. The Synchrony representative insisted the money was there. I then asked how I could gain the return of the money, which has always been my intent. The Synchrony person did not argue with my statement about the money being mine or the account being legally closed. When asked if that money could be returned to me by check, the Synchrony employee said it could. I stated that would be my desire. The money was sent to me in a check dated XX/XX/XXXX, which was received just before year end and deposited in my XXXX XXXX  account on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Following the receipt of that check, I received at least 4 letters from Synchrony Bank which seemed related to my dispute but were contrary to the facts. The first two letters were both dated ( but not received on XX/XX/XXXX ), XXXX ( the very day I spoke to the person who agreed to create the check and six days before the check was actually issued. ) One letter spoke about my XX/XX/XXXX payment of {$230.00}, for which they had given me credit, saying it could take up to 90 days to fully resolve this matter. 

The second letter also dated, XX/XX/XXXX, stated that they had found that the payment had not been credited to your account. They asked for more information to resolved this. ( After speaking with a Synchrony representative and a XXXX XXXX  representative about this letter, I believed Synchrony was already in possession of the information requested, which had been provided by both XXXX and myself to Synchrony and to XXXX XXXX, who had given it to Synchrony. I had told the Synchrony representative that they had the information and XXXX XXXX  had stated that nothing more could be given to them. 

Sometime in early XXXX of XXXX, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, the day before the check was issued. It stated that on XX/XX/XXXX, a refund check was mailed to me for the full amount of {$470.00}. For the record, the check was actually dated XX/XX/XXXX, not XXXX, and the amount was the full {$470.00} dollars owed, not {$230.00} as stated in the dispute letter. ( As noted, the information in the letters did not align with the dates of the check, the amount of the check, or even the full circumstance of the check, so I determined it must be flawed and disregarded it. I had received and deposited the check already. I felt that the contradicting letters were a function of multiple peoples involvement. In my mind this matter seemed closed. 

Within a few days of receiving the XX/XX/XXXX letter acknowledging that a refund was being sent, I received an additional letter from Synchrony Bank. In that letter Synchrony claimed that despite issuing me a refund, that they were unable to approve my claim. The stated that the credit that they placed in my account on XX/XX/XXXX ( again, the very day I called inquiring about the status of my claim ) was being withdrawn. They further stated that my claim was closed ( without explanation ) and I might expect charges in my account ( which was closed ) in the next billing cycle. Thus began an almost weekly barrage of abusive and threatening debt delinquency letters, stating I owe my {$470.00} dollars back to Synchrony and I must pay continuously mounting back interest on this disputed money.

Since that time, I have requested the assistance of the PA Attorney Generals Office and the CFPB. The PA Attorney Generals Office has indicated that without a criminal complaint, they can only voluntarily mediate a discussion between Synchrony and myself. Since Synchrony has never denied receiving the money, but continues to deny without explanation that they should return the money, there seems to be nothing to mediate. Both the Attorney Generals Office and XXXX XXXX  had suggested contacting the CFPB to gain a resolution. 

6. Is it legal and proper for Synchrony Bank to continue to charge interest on the money in dispute, while the dispute process is on-going?

7. Is it legal and proper for Synchrony Bank to send me letters which I interpret to be abusive and threatening, nearly weekly, stating that I owe them money which was rightfully mine and to also allege I owe interest, which is compounding, during a period when the matter is still in dispute and during which they have not taken proper action to resolve?

8. Is it legal and proper for Synchrony to have a person ( Ms. XXXX XXXX ) contact me, leave a partial message with a phone number to contact her, which when called, was a recorded message indicating that my call was being recorded as an attempt to collect a debt. It would seem to any reasonable person that responding in any manner after such a recording might be construed to be an admission of an obligation to pay a debt, which is the very core of this dispute. 

It should be noted that more than one attempt to contact Ms. XXXX was made, but Ms. XXXX never answered my calls and the message implying an attempt to collect a debt, was played every time I called. It should also be noted that Ms. XXXX, only attempted to call me once and has not contacted me since. If she wanted to resolve this matter, she would have determined where my money was lost and continued to contact me until the matter was resolved. 


The American banking system continues to operate upon the legal premise that banks are monitored and controlled in such a manner that they must act fairly, in good faith and account for all money placed in their possession. It is a logical extension of that premise and the requirements created, that when money is transferred between banks, both banks have an equal responsibility to confirm that the transaction correctly took place. Furthermore, if during the transaction the money is improperly lost or misplaced, both banks have the obligation to help locate the money and return it to its rightful owner. Failing any ability to identify the rightful owner, the bank in possession of the money is obligated to remit the funds to the government to be held for recovery by the rightful owner. 

If that is not true, then this should be communicated to the consumer population as a public service. 

At this moment, XXXX XXXX  has provided proof that it transferred my {$470.00} to Synchrony Bank, to be given to XXXX XXXX. XXXX claimed it did not get the money, but Synchrony has remained silent on whether it received the money or what the bank did with the money, if they did not give it to XXXX. 

IN SUMMARY I ask the CFPB to compel the parties ( Synchrony Bank, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX  and any third party who may have wrongly received this money ) to use their collective resources to determine where my money went, to recover it and return it to its rightful owner ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). I further request that Synchrony Bank cease it false, threatening and abusive behavior, in regard to Mr. XXXX, also returning any interest charged during all disputed transactions, ending all false attempting to collect interest, from the closed XXXX Account, and repairing the damage they have caused to my credit and reputation, by admitting their predatory actions to the major credit agencies. Only after this is done can there be a satisfactory resolution of this matter. 

I ask that if the CFPB determines that anyone acted improperly, that educative and corrective steps be taken. If any actions were determined to be criminal, I ask that stronger corrective measures be initiated. 

Synchrony Bank has indicated that they gave me {$470.00} in error, which they claim they should be returned. I stand ready to return their money if they can prove who received my {$470.00} and help in its recovery. if the CFPB can prove that Synchrony Bank never received my money, I should be advised and I will issue a check. 

I ask that the CFPB stop Synchrony Bank from charging me interest on this dispute. They or some other party has held my {$470.00} for 22 months, during which I attempted to recover it and did not receive interest. It has only been seven months since they issued me a check for {$470.00} and they are more than partially responsible for the confusion that cause this to escalate to the CFPB. 

Thank you for your patience in reviewing this document and acting to resolve this matter. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

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