Consumer complaint received 2024-10-17
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect — 
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (MD)

Initially on XX/XX/XXXX, I set up a payment plan extension online via the Synchrony Bank portal ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) and was approved for a 2-month payment extension and portal indicated that my next payment was due on XX/XX/XXXX based on my current situation ( i.e. currently unemployed and receiving {$430.00} in unemployment weekly which is the maximum you can receive in the state of Maryland ). The payment extension required that I pay {$78.00} upfront via a bank account or a debit card, because Synchrony Bank does not allow customers to use credit cards to make payments essentially preventing customers from being able to make payments on time, causing additional interest to accrue on their loans aggressively while simultaneously affording XXXX  the opportunity to charge late excessive late fees. Based on these factors, I have had to subject myself to a lengthy wait process relative to payments being extracted from my bank account ( i.e. payments take 2-5 business days to extracted ) which is a major inconvenience. Nonetheless, I agreed to pay the required amount via my checking account and submitted the payment extension. However, because multiple payments were extracted from my account because of automatic payments, I was left too little to no money after a few days and even after a few days passed, I realized that the payment had not been extracted from my account and I had not received any updated notification from Synchrony Bank alerting me that the payment extension was defaulted because the required payment did not go through. 
As a result, I called XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to a woman who advised/and confirmed that the payment extension initially set up was still in place and had not been cancelled. She then proceeded to read off my current balance, past due balance relative to monthly payments due, and seemingly refused to acknowledge that the current due date based on my records reflected my next payment being due on XX/XX/XXXX. Throughout our entire conversation she proceeded to state that my next payment was due on XX/XX/XXXX and explained that she would escalate my concerns for further research however, when I asked if there was a confirmation number, she stated that there wasnt a confirmation number and then proceeded to state that I would need to call back to follow up relative to my concerns being escalated for further research. Before the call ended, after resurfacing my concerns relative to the status of my loan, she reiterated that my payment extension was still in place and recommended that I make a payment as soon as possible to avoid further actions. However, on XXXX, when I attempted to make a payment in the amount of {$78.00} online via the portal, an error occurred stating that a payment of at least 90 % the past due amount was required. 
XXXX?! For context, when I originally took out this loan, the initial balance was {$15.00}, XXXX which included the cost of a XXXX  and a hot water heater financed through Ally bank on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  ( i.e. XXXX XXXX XXXX ) in XX/XX/XXXX, however, over the past 16 months the balance on this loan has only decreased {$45.00} ( i.e. {$15.00}, XXXX ) even though I have been making monthly payments in the amount of {$260.00} monthly. Even with making payments late, there is no explanation to why my balance has not decreased more than what it has after a year and half even with having a total of {$1.00}, XXXX in interest supposedly according to the loan statement in XX/XX/XXXX ; which I do not believe to be accurate. Not to mention, some of the loans from Ally Bank were sold to Synchrony Bank and during the transition, there could have been erroneous/and deliberate mistakes that occurred on purpose with the sole intent to profit on the loans recently acquired to ensure operational competitiveness is secured in lieu of product/service delivery because products/and services offered do not equate to current competitors. For example, if a simple interest loan with a principal balance of {$15.00}, XXXX has a 0 % interest rate and a consumer makes payments monthly in the amount of {$260.00} for 16 months this would result in the balance decreasing {$4.00}, XXXX, leaving a current balance of {$10.00}, XXXX considering the initial balance of the loan however, in my case, my loan has an interest rate of 15.99 % ( Fixed Rate ) and I have made monthly payments of {$260.00} for 16 months which should equate to {$660.00} of interest accruing, which would decrease the balance by {$4.00}, XXXX, leaving a principal balance of {$10000.00} without interest/and with interest {$11.00}, XXXX. However, this is not the case and instead my balance over the past 16 months has decreased by less than {$50.00}! XXXX?! 
THIS IS FRAUD, in lieu of willful, deceptive, malicious, heinous, erroneous, deliberate intent to entrap customers in their loans longer than the lifecycle so that the bank can make more money, all while developing bank statements which inconspicuously hide fraudulent activity by listing that the loan interest rate is fixed, but in reality, it fluctuates month over month without explanation. The only explanation for listing that the interest rate is fixed but it fluctuates without explanation would be if the fixed rate is a derivative of the prime rate which is driven by fluctuations within the stock market. However, both the loan statements and the terms/and conditions do not list or mention the prime rate and that the fixed rate is connected in any way form or fashion. Not to mention, the due date for majority of the year remains the same because my account was set up on automatic payments at one point. After further review of my loan statements, I discovered that only about {$50.00} of my monthly payment is being applied to the principal balance and the remainder is being applied to excessively high interest ; based on an interest rate that fluctuates even though it is fixed. 
The reality is that only about {$42.00} should be applied towards interest each month, considering the interest rate is fixed at 15.99 % ( i.e. XXXX x XXXX = XXXX ) and if this calculation had been applied over the past 16 months, accumulated interest in aggregate for calendar years of XXXX would be {$660.00}. To be clear, the fixed interest rate directly correlates with the aggregate interest rate on the loan itself. A fixed rate that fluctuates is a clear indication of a derivative of the prime rate that directly correlates with the stock market. However, the fixed rate listed within the loan terms/and conditions in lieu of each monthly loan statement does not state that the fixed rate will fluctuate. This is not legally allowable and is a direct violation of federal consumer law ( i.e. Truth in Lending Act ), and can be seen as predatory lending and XXXX potentially be a violation of a usury law as the true terms and conditions in conjunction with the correct calculations are not disclosed and instead the consumer is left to make assumptions while simultaneously being subjected to interacting with incompetent agents within the XXXX  customer service department. ** ( TILA ) Truth in Lending Act requires is applicable when gross negligence has been identified relative to a clear and consistent pattern or practice of violations, or a willful violation which was intended to mislead the person to whom the credit was extended. 
To make matters worse, I have never been over 60 days due, so there is no reason for this company to charge an excessive amount of interest or raise the interest rate. XXXX deliberately has its systematic processes set up to charge an excessive amount of interest and when agents in customer service are questioned about it, they cant provide clear answers to irrefutably deny statements that consumers have provided after discovering the truth. For example, after reviewing my statements and calculating {$50.00} out of the {$260.00} monthly payments made each month by 16 months ( i.e. XXXX {$800.00} ) this should have resulted in my balance decreasing to {$14.00}, XXXX however, even this did not happen and over 16 months my balance has LITERALLY ONLY DECREASED {$50.00} ACCORDING TO MONTHLY LOAN STATEMENTS. No to mention, 99.99 % of your monthly payment is applied towards interest and when agents are challenged with this discovery, they merely repeat that interest is 15.99 % ) which is not a thorough explanation considering I have credit cards with higher interest rates ( i.e. 26.97 % ) where 50 % XXXX % of the monthly payments are applied to the principle and yet the least amount of money possible is applied to the principal balance of this loan. Even if I paid over the monthly amount, it wouldnt make a difference considering 99.9999 % of the payment will be applied to the loan which was not disclosed within the loan terms/and conditions or within the loan statements ; not to mention it will take 240 months and not 120 months to pay the loan off. 
In other words, no one can explain what I have discovered and instead of addressing real issues, XXXX would rather address issues internally, without any ( SOP ) standard operating procedures in place where consumers receive confirmation numbers or follow ups when their issues are addressed/and or resolved. Instead, consumers have to call back, explain their entire situation, and hope for the best. ACCRUED INTEREST OVER XXXX XXXX AND XXXX ___Accrued Interest ( M.O.M ) Month over Month Based on Loan Statements ( Total Accrued Interest : {$3.00}, XXXX Applied to Balance : {$800.00} [ Interest + Payments {$3.00}, XXXX + {$800.00} = {$3.00}, XXXX ] ) ____ ( Calendar Year : XX/XX/XXXX : {$210.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$200.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$200.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$200.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}. XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX : {$210.00}, Calendar Year : XX/XX/XXXX : {$200.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$180.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$200.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00}, XX/XX/XXXX : {$190.00} )