Consumer complaint received 2020-08-04
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was result of identity theft
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (CA)

In early/mid XXXX, I received a notice from PayPal c/o Synchrony Bank that was dated XX/XX/2020 informing me that a credit account I have with them has an invalid email address on file and that I needed to go to PayPal.com and update it. I don't have, nor have I ever opened a credit account with PayPal. I only have a basic PayPal account ( not a credit card account ), so I went to PayPal.com to check it out. The email on file was current, and there was absolutely nothing on the PayPal website about credit cards or PayPal credit card accounts specifically and the letterhead that the notice was sent on seemed somewhat suspect, so I began assuming it was a scam and ignored it. Later that month, I received a paper statement from this same company showing a bunch of charges I allegedly racked up with a monumental amount of interest attached. The statement showed I owed {$4400.00} and that if I didn't pay at least {$3600.00}, the interest would be deferred to my next statement. From what I could gather, it's a credit account through paypal, but it's managed by Synchrony bank? Again, I did not, nor would I ever open a credit account with PayPal, so I began to think that either this account was started for me by Paypal without my knowledge, or that someone managed to steal enough of my info to open one in my name ( identity theft ). On XX/XX/2020 I called the customer service number listed on the statement and spoke with a rep named XXXX. He asked for my social security number to verify my identity, which seemed very odd to me, but he assured me he was from Synchrony Bank, and I gave it to him ( huge red flag though ) I reported the account as fraudulent, explained that I never opened a credit account through PayPal. He offered to close the account and assured me several times that I was not and would not be liable for any of the charges incurred. He told me I'd be receiving a letter and an investigation form from them with some questions to fill out so that someone in their organization could investigate the fraud. We ended the call. Right after, I obtained my credit reports from all 3 major credit reporting agencies, I reported the identity theft and fraud to both XXXX  and XXXX, enacted a FRAUD ALERT for my credit. I also contacted the FTC and filed an identity theft report. I downloaded the letter that FTC recommended I send to the creditors with attached FTC forms and copies of both my credit report as well as credit statement from PayPal/Synchrony and mailed it to them. Soon after, I received both the letter and the investigation form. The letter stated that I could not be held liable for fraudulent charges because of their 0 % fraud liability policy. Likewise, I filled out the investigation form they sent to me and mailed it back to the address provided immediately. I later received a notice dated XX/XX/2020 from Synchrony Bank telling me my claim was denied because I " failed to cooperate with reasonable investigation '', which is UNTRUE. I did absolutely everything they asked me to. I filled out the investigation form thoroughly and mailed it back to them as soon as I received it. I've continued to receive paper statements from them and have just received another letter telling me to pay the fraudulent debt, even though I cooperated fully and was told by their representatives that the account was closed and that I was not liable for any of these charges AND received a written letter from them stating same. I received another late payment notice from PayPal credit that was dated XX/XX/2020, but that I received in my mailbox on XX/XX/2020 again telling me to make a payment. I called the question line number listed at the bottom of the form ( XXXX ) in another attempt to resolve the issue and spoke with two people ( one was named XXXX ) before being transferred to a third rep named XXXX in the fraud department. I was again asked at least twice to provide my social security number. I declined but had to give them at least the last 4 digits of my social security number to even get them to work with me. I reported that I was still receiving statements and collection notices on an account that was fraudulent. XXXX informed me that the investigation claim was denied bc I benefited from the credit account and bc they had my address on file ... no kidding the account on file had my address ... my identity was stolen! That's the whole point! And Idk was meant by " I benefited from the account '' bc I most certainly am not benefiting by having an account created in my name against my knowledge and being collected upon for charges I didn't make! I fully believe nobody bothered investigating any of this. I think they just received my investigation form and ignored it. There are vendor names on the statements they sent me attached to the fraudulent charges ... WHY can't they contact these vendors to ask who they are and where they're located? And why can't they check the IP addresses of who made the charges??? PayPal/Synchrony have done nothing and are still attempting to collect from me on an account that was opened through theft of my identity and without my permission or knowledge! After investigating further, I'm finding tons of information online from people who have had similar experiences with PayPal 's credit accounts and noticed a prior infraction through FTC from their services. I think they're doing it again to people and are passing the debt collection off to Synchrony bank to absolve themselves of legal issues. Lastly, I want to say that I found information from PayPal and Synchrony Bank online stating that they can not collect on fraudulent charges as long as the charges are reported within 60 days of the charges having been made. I reported the charges and the fraudulent account to them well within this 60 day period. This is where their 0 % liability claim should be kicking in, but they're going against their own legalities here.