Consumer complaint received 2023-10-01
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (FL)

Debt collector obligations
 809. Validation of debts
(Part 1 of a 2 Part CFPB Complaint)

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Reference: XXXX  Synchrony Bank XXXX  Reference: XXXX  Synchrony Bank XXXX  Reference: XXXX  Synchrony Bank XXXX  
Synchrony Bank, Legal Operations
Attention: Arbitration Demand XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Re: American Arbitration Association consumer demands for arbitration case filings filed 9/17/2023 styled: Thomas Schultz versus Synchrony Bank awaiting filing fee payments billed for $600 for each case from Synchrony Bank as consumer AAA filing fees satisfied/paid 

Dear Debt Collector:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen, XXXX XXXX XXXX at 1 (1961). In this case, Defendants argument is like the thirteenth chime of a clock: you not only know its wrong, but it causes you to wonder about everything you heard before. Chief United States District Court Judge Mark E. Walker, Northern District of Florida, in case # 4:22-cv-00324-MW-MAF, wrote the above OPENING LINE at Page 1 by quoting the famous opening line of George Orwells dystopian novel 1984, the book that introduced the world to the concept of BIG BROTHER.  Judge Walkers OPENING LINE sets the stage of exactly what to expect in his 139 page scathing decision in his Order on Motions for Preliminary Injunctions filed 11/17/2022.  The 1984 thirteenth strike of all of the clocks at the same time calls into question not only the credibility of itself but of the previous twelve. In the 1984 world of BIG BROTHER, the clocks striking thirteen is not an aberration, but a normal way of life where Every record has been destroyed or falsifiedevery date has been altered.  Was the Novel 1984 writing about and predicting the out of control and never ending Credit Reporting and Debt Collector fiasco ???  Another relevant Orwellian 1984 quote stated:  In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.  Well Debt Collectors and Creditors, like the totalitarian 1984 Party, can make outrageous false claims, such as [2 + 2 = 5], but Im not buying it, Im not getting tricked and Im not getting abused as I have the freedom, power, law and common sense to reject them.  Just keep continually revisiting the OPENING LINE many times as you read, take notes, reread, investigate, research, talk to experts, talk to clients, reinvestigate and get to know and understand the following facts and argument!!  Start by first trying to figure out and explain how my credit score, per the attached exhibit, was impossibly reduced to 0 on May 14, 2023 based on my Equifax credit report. Did you cause it???  Are you responsible???  But first, should your limited resources be wasted on pursuing an insolvent judgment proof handicapped dying Senior Citizen on Social Security with a ZERO (0) credit score???  Judge Walker needed 139 pages to address the obvious.  Your appropriate response requires many many many more than 139 pages to address my following issues.  It should be a NO-BRAINER that you and your predecessors and successors in interest MUST UNCONDITIONALLY and PERMANENTLY STOP, CEASE AND DESIST ALL COLLECTION EFFORTS on the disputed purported debt to mitigate damages.  Its not rocket science, Its not brain surgery, Its a piece of cake and Its a walk in the park are common phrases that describe concepts or tasks that are easily understood or performed that are certainly applicable here. Dont be STUPID!!  You have no viable ALTERNATIVE! Tell the CFPB in your required response that you permanently cease all collection efforts with a notation that an ARBITRATION filing, if one exists and is applicable, is the only permissible future communication!!!  If an ARBITRATION agreement exists, please be absolutely clear and dont directly or indirectly wrongly threaten or imply filing a prohibited court action or lawsuit as it would be considered a FDCPA violation intended to harass, threaten and abuse!!!

Here's the relevant section of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. 1692g, on debt validation, for your response, prohibitions and obligations:
 809. Validation of debts
(a) Notice of debt; contents
Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing --
(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and
(5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
(b) Disputed debts
If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) of this section that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. Collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate this subchapter may continue during the 30-day period referred to in subsection (a) unless the consumer has notified the debt collector in writing that the debt, or any portion of the debt, is disputed or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor. Any collection activities and communication during the 30-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer's right to dispute the debt or request the name and address of the original creditor.
(c) Admission of liability
The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.


I am responding to your attached letter(s) about a purported debt as set forth in your attached letter(s).  I request that you mail me a written Validation of Debt which must include all of the proof and documents described at length below. I vigorously DISPUTE the purported debt in its entirety.  This is NOT my Debt and I DISPUTE it. I want you to send me by USPS mail the name and address of the original creditor and any successors in interest or transferees, if any.  I do not have any responsibility for the purported debt youre referencing and trying to collect. So I DISPUTE it.  This is not my purported collectible debt. Again, I want to make it absolutely clear by repetition that I DISPUTE it in its entirety so that you can clearly red flag and mark your files as DISPUTED to avoid Willful FDCPA violations.  If you have good reason to believe that I am responsible for this DISPUTED purported debt, mail me by USPS every document in your and your clients entire file, including but not limited to every direct and indirect written dispute with the CFPB, CRAs  or otherwise including those documents that make you believe that the purported debt is valid, enforceable and collectible.  Immediately STOP, DESIST and CEASE all other and further communication with me and with this address, (except to respond one time in writing by USPS mail to my request for every piece of proof of the purported debt that would be presented to an ARBITRATOR or in a federal motion for summary judgment with incorporated memorandum of law) and record that I vigorously DISPUTE having any obligation for this purported debt. The USPS, email, text messaging, social media or other unsecured communication means cannot be trusted to safely and securely deliver mail and communications or to prevent receipt by unauthorized individuals, at other addresses, by accident, scammers, fraudsters or negligence.  To wit, much of my USPS mail is delivered opened and tampered with and read by others many times as, for example, the name and address window is not visible due to mailing incompetence. Similarly, the USPS tracking service for certified mail is unreliable and cannot be trusted.  I am requesting no further communication of any kind whatsoever to therefore prevent mail or communications to be received at other addresses due to sender issues, hackers, scammers, and USPS errors and negligence.  Likewise, kindly immediately STOP all further unwanted direct and indirect text messages, emails, phone calls, voice messages, or any other social media or other communication with me regarding your attempts to collect the purported DISPUTED debt.  I have made about 100 CFPB complaints regarding FCRA and other violations and I suspect that the recent March 2023 CFPB DATA BREACH affecting at least 256,000 consumers has almost certainly affected me so I must be overly careful to guard against scammers to limit erroneous release of my private data and communications. For this and other obvious reasons, I need you to STOP further communications and I obviously need the requested documentation proof regarding any claims as any claims are suspect absent complete documentation. Notice is Given that I forever object to the voice recordings of any kind and I therefore do not consent for anyone to record calls with me without my prior written consent which I will never authorize. Once a debt collector receives this letter requesting that they immediately STOP contacting me in any way, theyre not allowed to communicate with me again except to tell me there will be no further contact, provide me with documents requested, or advise me of specific planned legal actions within 20 days that may legally be allowed, such as filing an Arbitration action against me as a lawsuit is not permissible and cannot be threatened under the FDCPA if an Arbitration Agreement exists. So please dont threaten me with any barred court litigation which would violate any Arbitration Agreement as I will consider it a violation of state and federal statutes. If you stop your collection of this purported debt, and forward or return it to another company, please indicate to them that it is DISPUTED in its entirety by forwarding all past documents in the file and communications including this letter. If you report it to a credit bureau (or have already done so), also report that the debt is DISPUTED as required by FCRA, FDCPA and the 350+ page Metro 2 Compliance protocols. I insist on compliance with every applicable state and federal statutes, including but not limited to the FCRA and FDCPA.  Any willful past, current or future violations of credit reporting and collection procedures shall incur maximum statutory and punitive damages plus attorneys fees and costs against violators, personally or otherwise.  I have reviewed my entire paper credit reports of Trans Union dated August 3, 2023 and Experian August 12, 2023 and  the account number referenced in your letter is not included in my credit reports, possibly due to reckless negligence in data reporting under the Metro 2 compliance protocols contained in its 355+ page manual.  Accurate account number reporting of accounts is required under Metro 2 to prevent purported accounts from being inaccurately reported twice (or more) instead of once otherwise additional willful FCRA violations and statutory damages shall accrue.  Since my TransUnion and Experian credit reports do not contain your referenced account number, I must consider that it involves identity theft for which your obligations must be followed exactly as required.  I have never received any Notice from anyone  stating that you are a bona fide authorized agent for Debt collection purposes. So consider this letter a formal Notice that I DISPUTE the purported debt due to IDENTITY THEFT.  The most troubling, malicious and intolerable willful FCRA violations possible occurred when my credit score was impossibly reduced to ZERO on 5/14/2023 based on my 5/14/2023 Equifax credit report due to IDIOTS, BOTS, SCAMMERS, debt/bill collectors and/or FRAUDSTERS illegally tampering with my credit files via Metro 2 and other data submissions to purposely damage my credit score to ZERO for a sinister purpose. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!!  That includes the CFPB, the FED, the OCC, the FDIC, the DOJ, the FTC and other regulators who are ALL watching every move you make and ready to put you out of business. Moreover, I need to know your opinion and representation as to whether the documents which I need and request will include an ARBITRATION clause which would require disputes to be resolved through ARBITRATION rather than a United States District Court individual or class action lawsuit.  While I believe credit card accounts with your purported client may contain MANDATORY ARBITRATION clauses, I cannot be sure without all the purported agreement documents and a binding representation. The CFPB has warned consumers to be on the lookout for Identity Theft and bill/debt collector SCAMMERS falsely claiming entitlement to amounts not owed.  I obviously need the documents requested and I will continue to consider this a matter of IDENTITY THEFT unless and until I receive an AFFIDAVIT from the purported original creditor providing me all the requested documents.  In September 2022, I was a victim of Identity Theft when scammers wiped out my checking account funds due to my bank breach and bank error when multiple debit card numbers were submitted and approved by possible random guessing without my card expiration date, 3 digit security code, Name, address, or other required data to process a transaction.  I never used the debit card and my debit card was safely locked away and under my exclusive control at all times.  After multiple calls and secure messages to my bank, I filed a complaint with the CFPB and the bank still has not discovered how the breach and fraud happened.  If a random guess at a debit card can wipe out my checking account, it would be easier to guess at bank credit card numbers in a debt collector scam warned by the CFPB.  Are you a SCAMMER victimizing me with IDENTITY THEFT?  Are you trying to SCAM an elderly senior citizen? I need AFFIDAVITS with the requested proof.  I need the requested proof! I will not get scammed again.  I trust NOONE, even ROBO attorneys.  Get your ducks in a row!!!  I would not be happy if I am forced to file a U.S. District Court action only to be faced with a Motion To Compel Arbitration due to concealment of agreement documents.  Any such frivolous conduct would be rightfully countered with my Motion for Summary Judgment and a temporary restraining order request to punish violators for willful FCRA violations and other statutes, further claiming a WAIVER was created by concealment.  If warranted, I will have no problem also naming the CFPB and its Director, Rohit Chopra, in any federal court action to the extent necessary to obtain 100% compliance with the FCRA, FDCPA and related statutes. I also advise you that I am a 74 years old elder male and American with Disabilities in poor health and judgment proof and all my income is from EXEMPT sources such as federal Social Security benefits with my average balance in my social security account is below my monthly SS deposit and never more than 2 times my monthly deposit.  I simply have no assets or income which anyone can attach from pointless, abusive or frivolous litigation intended merely to harass and abuse me. Moreover, last year I have been affected by medical malpractice, COVID-19, a declared natural disaster by a direct hit by Hurricane Ian, illnesses and other medical matters all at the same time.  Plus, as stated ago, my checking account was wiped out by fraudsters.  Moreover, I discovered that my credit file reported false delinquencies even though I actually had a perfect credit payment record and such concealments reduced my credit score by 200 points totally destroying my credit. Everything bad happened to me all at once starting with medical malpractice, health issues and SCAMMERS and then by Hurricane IAN and then by creditors promising publicized payment deferrals yet then falsely reporting delinquencies.  My credit reports are inaccurate and incomplete as the required coding for my situation is not on my credit report for any listed account. How hard is it to insert the Metro 2 code AW into every account?  Do you even know what AW means?  However, I am ready, willing and able to litigate and defend any frivolous litigation or arbitration including seeking relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for any appealable order including the delay or denial of injunctive relief requests.  I shall also insist on compliance with federal Rule 11 and motions for Rule 11 violations shall be filed promptly after the expiration of applicable safe harbor periods for incurred violations.  Moreover, if I live long enough, I am prepared to seek personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief if and when necessary, filing objections to all claims and submitting my claims for damages through bankruptcy adversary proceedings. Do you want to pay an Arbitrator $50,000 to gain nothing?  Do you think you can avoid my USDC DISCOVERY requests and information subpoenas?  Do you want the CFPB to come after you when you violate your obligations? 

Again, I am responding to your contact about a purported debt you are attempting to collect which, as stated multiple times, I DISPUTE in its entirety.

Again, please STOP all direct and indirect communication of any kind with me and with this address about this purported debt except to respond to me in writing regarding my requested documents by delivering me requested documents.  Furthermore, due to hearing problems and issues, I am unable to receive phone calls so I am unable to discuss any matter over the phone or otherwise under any scenario.  Just STOP all communications!  The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts calls to residential and wireless telephone numbers absent the prior express consent of the called party.   I do not want any calls or direct or indirect communications of any kind whatsoever to be made to me in the future. I do not consent to receiving any calls made to me in the future and any calls received by me after you receive this letter shall be considered willful violations of the TCPA for which maximum possible penalties shall become automatically and immediately due and owing to me by violators without notice.

Again, record and prominently FLAG in your records that I forever DISPUTE having any obligation for this purported debt.  Again, if you forward or return this purported debt to another company, please indicate to them that it is DISPUTED. If you report it to a credit bureau (or have already done so), also immediately report that the purported debt is DISPUTED.  Once I notify a CRA and/or Furnisher and/or Debt Collector that I DISPUTE data (such as this dispute) my credit report MUST INDEFINITELY include the required PERMANENT Notice that the account is DISPUTED BY CONSUMER even if the CRA/Furnisher/Debt Collector disagrees.  If my credit report from any CRA has at any time in the past (or in the future) included an account related to your purported disputed debt without the required DISPUTED status, then such FCRA violation shall be considered a Willful, wanton, malicious, deliberate, abusive and intentional violation for which the maximum statutory damages of $1,000 shall be sought against every violator, plus punitive damages.  Metro 2 is quite complex and impossible to comply with so the best procedure of reporting is to never report at all and to never change, delete, update or alter dispute status as such will almost certainly result in manual negligent incompetent user errors for which damages will accumulate quickly to entirely offset purported debts.  While some untrained incompetent employees may willfully violate the FCRA to purposely destroy a consumers credit score in hope to collect purported disputed debts under duress, I demand compliance with the FCRA, FDCPA and every other statute.  In my opinion, Furnishers/Debt Collectors are best served by permanently DELETING from credit files Disputed/Uncollectible accounts to mitigate damages from Furnisher/user errors and willful unlawful conduct.  Every interaction with a creditor, a CRA and/or debt collector constitutes an opportunity for me to obtain statutory, punitive and other damages, including attorney fees, when laws are broken for willful and negligent non-compliance with known statutory requirements and protocols.  The best possible settlement obtainable would be to walk away and abandon any and all disputed purported uncollectible claims otherwise I will be one your creditors with exponentially increasing claims after you continue to violate my rights.  I never agreed to permit anyone to report inaccurate or incomplete information of any kind on my credit report.  I have never been offered my statutory right to OPT-IN or OPT-OUT of credit reporting to protect my right to privacy to prevent FCRA violations.  I hereby unconditionally and unilaterally REVOKE and terminate for CAUSE any imaginable right to report data of any kind on any of my credit files with any CRA.  Obligations under the FCRA, FDCPA and other debt collection and reporting statutes TRUMP any purported creditor claims so compliance of every statutes is a precondition to collect and report any purported claims.  If you want to do business with consumers, you must first learn how to comply with extensive ever changing obligations, including Metro 2, which is impossible to accurately report even by a specialist due to arbitrary and confusing possibilities. Stated another way, an original credit card purported creditor is not entitled to collect claims unless and until all its obligations have been satisfactorily completed without violations of any law.  You should be careful to comply with mandatory statutory imposed record retention requirements to enable the CFPB to administer and carry out the purposes of the FCRA, FDCPA, the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as to prevent evasions thereof. The record retention requirements also will facilitate supervision of debt collectors and the assessment and detection of risks to consumers.  The CFPB has published a comprehensive checklist to audit and insure compliance with regulatory obligations.  I suggest you review the checklist to insure compliance before responding to me.  You should know that as soon as Hurricane IAN hit me directly and my health was affected by COVID-19 and other health issues with other issues plus a wipe out of my checking account, I diligently contacted every creditor seeking publicized payment deferrals and other relief only to be effectively denied relief by incompetence.  The general creditor response was to retaliate against me for merely asking for relief by inaccurately reporting every account inaccurately.  No one knows how to code Metro 2 except for simple payment reporting but when things get changed errors are everywhere, either negligently or willfully.  If I made 100% of my payments and if I was never late how could credit reporting agencies say I was 60 days delinquent?   More importantly, I discovered that each CRA provided me with conflicting data on my paper reports and my paper reports did not contain all the data reported to CRAs under Metro 2.  Why is data reported on Metro 2 but concealed from my paper credit reports?  Why do my paper credit reports only contain a small portion of data reported by Metro 2 and contained in my credit file?  How can I properly dispute my credit file if 50% of the data in my CRA file is concealed from consumers?  How can I discover inaccurate data on my credit file if 50% of data is concealed from me and excluded from my paper credit reports?  The entire credit reporting system is a disgrace in complete disregard for consumers rights and rights to privacy.  Every communication with a creditor seemed to result in negligent data entry errors by users.  Furnishers are incapable of complying with statutory obligations and the Metro 2 system.  Again, I need every document, including every Metro 2 submission, submitted to every CRA to compare my numerous paper reports with data in my credit files reported via Metro 2. Moreover, many of the Metro 2 data fields are reported blank forcing fraudulent submission overrides rather than blocking incomplete or conflicting data.  Even when errors are discovered and acknowledge by top senior bank officials in charge of USA credit cards, nobody knows how to correct inaccurate reporting even after reporting ETHICAL misconduct to the bank Chairman of the Board.  One bank even hires incompetent High School Graduates to handle CFPB disputes without any knowledge of the FCRA or Metro 2 protocols and obligations.  I subscribe to a variety of services so I see daily changes to my credit files so I see the daily mistakes of credit reporting by erroneous coding under Metro 2.  Many Many Many times I see a DISPUTE ADDED one day and then fraudulently and inaccurately REMOVED the next day.  Everyone knows that Debt Collectors try not to report Disputes, even though required, as a dispute may not negatively affect a credit score which may hinder chances to force consumers to pay even fraudulent disputed claims as consumers generally want good scores.  Well, the system tanked my scores needlessly!   Is your Debt Collector commission of peanuts worth $100,000+ in attorney fees and punitive damages?  Do you want to risk the CFPB coming after you demanding $10,000,000+?  Do you want to lose clients and be put out of business by the CFPB?  I object to having accounts reported on my credit reports as reporting is unconscionable!

While your letter fails to disclose what I consider a complete mandatory inclusion of the statutes set forth at the beginning for consumers rights regarding Debt Validation, I am responding even though the failure to respond would not have consequences in litigation.  The CFPB and others suggest some of below type of questions for Debt collectors to respond to.  I like to purposely repeat points so that there can be no misunderstanding about what I am writing about and requesting. 

Please supply the information below so that I can be fully informed:
Why you think I owe the purported debt and to whom I owe it, including:

 The name and address of the creditor to whom the purported debt is currently allegedly owed, the complete account number used by that creditor and the previously issued account numbers, if any, the complete account number reported to every CRA for current and past account numbers and the detailed amount allegedly owed since inception including amounts and all data reported to every CRA.  Please note that there is no reason to NOT report a complete account number in letters and credit files especially when an account has been closed to future transactions especially if consumers have ZERO liability for unauthorized activity, especially after closure.  If an account has been closed or an account number has changed in the last 7 years, please send documentary proof of the dates of closure and/or account number change and the dates reported of the mandatory mid-cycle update to every CRA to ascertain whether the mandatory  Metro 2 protocols have been compliant or violated.  

 If this purported debt started with a different creditor, provide the name and address of the original creditor, the entire account number used by that creditor, and the detailed amount owed to that creditor at the time it was transferred. When you identify the original creditor, please provide any other name by which I might know them, if that is different from the official name. In addition, tell me the exact date and complete terms of the relationship when the current creditor and/or debt collector obtained the purported debt and who the current creditor obtained it from.

 Provide verification and documentation that there is a valid basis for claiming that I am required to pay the purported debt to the current creditor. For example, can you provide a copy of the written agreement that created my original requirement to pay?  Again, I need to know about any ARBITRATION provision buried into any original or amended agreements as I cannot rely on the search results of the CFPB or other websites. I also need any purported contract provision that authorized the reporting to a CRA (if it exists) which I hereby revoke as invalid ab initio if any data was inaccurately reported to any CRA, either willfully or otherwise.  Reporting to a CRA must be 100% accurate otherwise DELETION is mandatory. Inaccurate credit reporting, standing alone, is unconditional grounds to bar future credit reporting at the request of a consumer to guarantee the consumers right to privacy.  I object to credit reporting of all my closed and disputed accounts due to willful violations of the FCRA and other statutes.  

 If you are asking that I pay a purported debt that somebody else is or was required to pay, (such as an insurance company through a credit card benefit) identify that person or entity. Provide verification and documentation about why this is a purported debt that I am required to pay.

The amount and age of the purported debt, including:
 A copy of the every billing statement sent to me by the purported original creditor since inception.

 State the required Date of First Delinquency (month/day/year) with the detailed amount of the purported debt when you obtained it, and when that was.  

 If there have been any additional interest, fees or charges added since the last billing statement from the purported original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each added amount. In addition, explain how the added interest, fees or other charges are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or are permitted by law.  If my purported account has been closed, state the date closed, and every change of interest rate thereafter including rate justification after closing.  If my purported account involves any CFPB claims and disputes for statutory or other damages for willful FCRA or other disputes, please identify precisely offsets of claims in statements and balances reported to every CRA.  

 If there have been any payments or other reductions since the last billing statement from the original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each of them.

 If there have been any other changes or adjustments since the last billing statement from the original creditor, please provide full verification and documentation of the amount you are trying to collect. Explain how that amount was calculated. In ad