Consumer complaint received 2024-02-14
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (NC)

In XXXX XXXX I responded to an offer by Amazon for {$60.00} off ( as I recall ) a purchase if I signed up for the Amazon Store Card. I accepted the offer and as I recall, made a purchase. The Amazon Store Card is a product of and owned by, Synchrony Bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I used the Amazon Store Card to purchase a XXXX XXXX XXXX  Energy Saving Mini Split heat pump/air conditioner on a 0 % deferred payment plan : 12 equal monthly payments and again, with XXXX interest. 

XXXX as the mini-split cost {$920.00} including tax, I expected the monthly payment for the mini-split would be XX/XX/XXXX th of that amount or, {$77.00}. 

For shopping and payment convenience I set up my Synchrony Bank Amazon Store Card account to pay the statement balance in full each, on autopay, by direct debit to a checking account. I do this with all my credit accounts. 

At the top of page 1 of the first Synchrony Bank statement following the mini-split purchase, period ending XX/XX/XXXX, it shows that my auto payment will be in the amount of {$970.00}. This balance is comprised of the full cost of the mini-split plus a four small Amazon purchases made in XX/XX/XXXX totaling {$49.00}. Said statement accompanies this complaint. 

So what happened to the 0 % ,12 month deferred payment plan on the mini-split purchase? 

Before I answer that question, I draw the CFPB 's attention to page 3 of the Synchrony Bank statement referred to above and the sections entitled " Account Balance Summary '' and " promotional Balance Summary. '' There the CFPB will see that Synchrony Bank knows about the promotional purchase and details for the consumer, the terms of it. These sections clearly illustrate that Synchrony Bank is capable of tracking and segregating regular purchases from promotional ones. 

To answer the question what became of the promotional payment plan and why my auto payment was {$970.00} instead of {$120.00} ( {$920.00} / XXXX + {$49.00} ), I online chatted with Synchrony Bank. 

I was informed that Synchrony Bank 's autopay and billing system logic can not differentiate between full balance, and a full balance that includes a promotional deferred payment plan in spite of the fact that the Bank 's statement system has no trouble tracking regular and promotional balances separately. 

I was informed that if I wanted to have current purchases paid in full each month plus XX/XX/XXXX of the deferred promotional balance, I would have to sign into the account each month, manually calculate the payment and enter that in as a onetime payment. 

So much for the convenience of auto pay. 

What is sinister, fraudulent in my opinion, about the situation I've just described is two fold : First, Amazon promotes a financial instrument, exclusive to its platform, having a 0 % interest and deferred payment terms on select, large purchases when those terms can not, are not, honored if the purchaser makes subsequent purchase using he credit facility and, wants the convenience of auto pay with full balance. In effect, bait and switch. 

In my case, even though I accepted Amazon 's advertised deferred payment terms for my single large purchase, I was being forced to pay in full on the next statement because Synchrony Bank can not hold that promotional balance to the side, divide by 12, and add that result to the current monthly statement over the agreed deferment term, in order to fulfil both Amazon 's promise and my payment settings with the card issuer at the same time. 

Synchrony Bank 's CSR further informed me its auto pay does not work that way ; that is, that it can not accommodate promotional payment terms along with its statement balance pay in full auto pay setting. But the statement ... .... Synchrony Bank : It doesn't work that way. 

Bait and switch Second, and this is the real sinister part, Synchrony Bank 's failure to program its collection system forces the consume to ( a ) access the Synchrony Bank website every month, an increased consumer security risk, manually calculate the full payment for current purchases and add that to XXXX of the original promotional purchase amounts ( not the current balance shown on the statement ) as a one time payment and hope that Synchrony bank applies the payment correctly. Synchrony Bank offers an auto pay full balance option, but it really doesn't because it treats all balances equally. 

An alternative offered by Synchrony Bank 's auto pay is to select minimum balance. The problem with that is obvious. While the minimum payment MIGHT be calculated correctly for promotional balances, consumers will pay finance charges on regular purchases. 

Deceit. 

Its not what was advertised by Amazon and functionally Synchrony Bank can't do it, that is, bill for promotional purchases according to terms and, allow consumers to pay in full other purchases each month on an auto pay setting. 

I filed a complaint with Amazon, after closing the account I opened 3 months ago.