Consumer complaint received 2024-04-04
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (FL)

I was a long-standing Lowes credit card ( Synchrony Bank ) holder and have made many purchases, some large, over the past 20 plus years. I have lived in the same home for over 30 years and still live there. I have always paid my bill in full each month unless it was a promotional interest free plan. Last summer I attempted to use my Lowes card at my local Lowes in XXXX, FL. The card was declined and when I called Synchrony Bank, they said that it was reported stolen and they were sending a new card. I told them that I had not reported it stolen, that I had the card in my hand. A couple of weeks later, I went to use my new Lowes card and again it was declined. I called Synchrony Bank and they told me that a change of address had been requested. I told them that that I did not request an address change. I then asked them for the new address that I supposedly requested. They said that they could not give out that information. I asked for their supervisor and got the same response. At that point, I told them that their security measures were very weak and requested them to cancel the card ( sometime in early XXXX ). After my XXXX statement, I never received any more bills or correspondence from Lowes/Synchrony Bank . 
Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX when I applied for a new visa credit card and was declined because of a charge off from Lowes/Synchrony Bank . I immediately requested credit reports from the three reporting agencies ( XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ). I disputed the charge off with each of the three and filled out an Identity Theft Report with the Federal Trade Commission. I filed the FTC report because of the address change and also because I didnt know about charges I made in XXXX because I never received any invoices from XXXX or later. While going through the credit reports I saw the address that Lowes/Synchrony Bank had listed for me : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX This is not my address and never has been. Apparently, after my XXXX statement, Lowes/Synchrony Bank was sending statements to the bogus address..even after I told them on the phone in early XXXX that I did not change my address. The two charges on XX/XX/XXXX ( {$30.00} + {$12.00} = {$43.00} ) appear to be mine. In an effort to resolve this with Lowes/Synchrony Bank , I sent them a letter explaining this entire situation and requested that they remove the charge off and investigate the fraudulent address. I told them that I would pay that amount if they were to send me an invoice but I would not pay the late fees. 
I received a response from Lowes/Synchrony Bank and that stated they are unable to approve my claim due to the following reasons : - Payments have been made by you on the account - The account has been open for more than 12 months with statements sent to you- You authorized, participated in, or benefitted from the purchase As I previously stated, Lowes/Synchrony Bank changed my mailing address based on a request from someone other than me ( Fraud ) and from XX/XX/XXXX forward, sent invoices and correspondence to the fraudulent address.