Consumer complaint received 2018-06-28
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (TX)

I feel I was a victim of deceptive, misleading, unfair, abusive sales practices by XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX at approximately XXXX I called XXXX corporate XXXX XXXX XXXX to inquire about buying a water heater with our XXXX credit card and getting it installed. Mine started leaking and my family was without hot water. I was told I could purchase a water heater for {$410.00} and get it installed for an additional {$440.00}. I asked several clarifying questions to make sure I understood how much everthing would cost. I was told the price may go up a little if extra parts were needed to bring the new installed water heater up to city code. But it shouldn't be more than a couple hundred dollars. I was good with my original quote if it went up from {$860.00} to a possible {$1200.00} 's. I was then transferred from corporate to a cashier at to take a payment at my local XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX and XXXX XXXX to take a payment and initiate the install. I was then transerred to a contracted plumbing company where I was told another payment XXXX $ was to be taken so that a plumber could come out and make sure they would have everything needed to install the water heater The plumber came out and told me he could come back the next day around XXXX to install the water heater. I agreed and patiently waited for the install the following day. Around XXXX the following day on XX/XX/XXXX I get a phone call from XXXX asking to get final payment for install and was told the price would be {$2300.00}. Not once was I told by anyone that the install would cost so much. I was under the impression my charge would have been what corporate shared with me the day before. I asked to speak to a store manager and had a long conversation with a manager named XXXX. He apologized and explained to me that customers getting wrong information from corporate representatives was a known issue and that the store is often asking them not to give member price quotes. I had to go in to sign a contract to finalized the install and was told again by the in store plumbing representative '' XXXX '' that corporate sales giving price quotes is wrong and they shouldn't be doing it. We all agreed that customers should be told what the average price of a XXXX water heater will cost, not the basic corporate advertised install with out plumber fees should be. Having a family and two very young boys left me no choice but to pay for install. I wouldn't be able to get anyone else out to get it fixed for approximately another 24-48hrs. Being late on a Friday it might have taken another 72 hours. XXXX sales practices are not fair, I would have shopped different quotes if I would have known what average XXXX installs cost. I found out after the fact that average installs outside of XXXX are approximately 40 % less than what XXXX charges. I hope you can contact XXXX and listen to the recording of my conversation with the corporate rep on the phone. The message at the begining of the call says all calls are recorded for training purposes. You will see how misleading, deceptive and unfair XXXX corporate sales are. XXXX banks on doing things this way because no customer will want to be without hot water for extended periods of time and will end up paying a price they were not quoted in order to get hot water back on. I hope this complaint forces XXXX to change their sales practices and that I get the extra {$1200.00} I paid returned back. Even better yet all my money back, I was wronged and don't want XXXX to continue misleading customers.