Consumer complaint received 2020-10-14
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: MO
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 XXXX I contacted Synchrony Bank to dispute a transaction for {$620.00} on my Sam 's Club credit card issued by their bank ( See attached ). 

XXXX XXXX had charged my credit card for a trip that my family was never able to take because of the COVID lockdowns in the state of Colorado and my home state of Missouri. 

On XX/XX/2020 ( Day of the Flight ) I was able to contact a representative from XXXX and was told the only recourse I had was a credit voucher that would expire in 90 days. I took this option because they refused me a full refund. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to use this voucher online to book a trip for my family. After many failed attempts to use their booking website XXXX I began a weeks long futile effort to contact their customer service center at ( XXXX  ) XXXX ( Documentation Faxed to Synchrony XXXX ) spending over 250 minutes waiting for a representative to answer. With multiple single calls of over 60 minutes before hang-up. On each attempt I was hung-up on or the line would disconnect. 

It was impossible to reach anyone at the airline to book a flight with my voucher or to use it online, because their site kept crashing. 

Further proof of this fact was faxed to Synchrony as well on XXXX including a statement from the Colorado Attorney General about similar complaints that his office received and his belief that XXXX had broken Federal law and the USDOT should investigate. 

Synchrony Bank issued a credit to my account on XXXX and on XXXX I received a check for {$340.00} for the balance of the dispute, minus transactions already on my account. So I assumed the matter was closed. 

I was surprised to see a charge of {$620.00} show up on my account on XXXX a full 63 days and 3 billing cycles after the initial dispute. 3 days and 1 billing cycle beyond what the law allows ( 60 days and 2 billing cycles ) in these  cases! 

The case should have been closed with no charge back allowed beyond the legal limit period. 

On XXXX after reviewing my account, I contacted Synchrony Bank Customer service via phone and was told I could appeal. I was sent a document ( See attached ) that stated my account would be credited {$620.00} and it never was, I ended up paying the disputed amount via auto-pay at the end of the billing cycle without resolution of this case. Another example of Synchrony skirting the rules and regulations put in place to protect consumers. 

On XXXX I faxed the evidence to support my case to the XXXX as instructed and received confirmation of their receipt ( see attached ). 

As of today ( XXXX ) I am still waiting on a letter ( promised weeks ago ) explaining why they decided in favor if XXXX in this dispute. 

In conclusion I feel Synchrony failed to live up to the letter of the law, by : 1. Skirting federal time regulations in regards to making refunds permanent.

2. Not providing provisional credit for amounts in dispute.

3. Not protecting me as a consumer from fraud committed by their merchant If issuing a voucher as a form of refund and then refusing to answer your phone or fix your website to allow it to be used in the 90 days before it expires isn't the very definition of fraud I don't know what is.

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