Consumer complaint received 2025-11-28 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
In XXXX of XXXX, I purchased a large {$17000.00} XXXX unit from XXXX and XXXX  XXXX XXXX, financed by Synchrony Bank, for a term that was advertised by XXXX XXXX XXXX sales technician as 0 % interest for 48 months. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, through Synchrony Bank, sent me an email to apply for credit but nowhere in the credit application did it mention the special 0 % interest/48 month financing. I asked XXXX sales technician why it was missing or where the guarantee in writing was and was told its taken care of. I did receive a credit approval email from Synchrony for a credit line of {$20000.00} but again no mention of the special financing promised. XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX system sent us an invoice for the work done, and again the invoice makes no mention of the special financing. Payment Terms for the invoice are Due Upon Receipt. There is a space for my signature on the invoice, but their system never recorded it. In early XX/XX/XXXX, I register on Synchronys customer portal and setup AutoPay for the amount of XXXX. I figure {$420.00} multiplied by 48 months equals {$20000.00}. Im set for success since we only owe roughly {$17000.00} and will never use their project credit card for anything but this HVAC purchase. I monitor the account for a few months to make sure there is no interest accruing, and there isnt. At this point, Ive set it and largely forgotten it. I notice the monthly emails from Synchrony come in that indicate my declining balance in line with the 0 % financing, and my personal banking situation hasnt changed, so I have no need to log into their customer portal to make changes or check statements. Fast forward to the fall of XXXX. Im distracted because my wife was diagnosed with stage XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX. I casually notice a Synchrony email in XXXX with a {$16000.00} figure balance, but I stupidly disregard it as a system error on their end. Ive got 48 months a 0 % locked in and have never missed a payment. The XXXX and XXXX emails from Synchrony show no relief is in sight, so I call XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I finally reach XXXX XXXX, who is firm that it was impossible for XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX to have issued a 48 month/0 % because they didnt offer that in XXXX or any other time. I ask where the Sales Technician is and they indicate that he was terminated a few months after they sold me the unit for reasons unspecified. XXXX tells me I must call Synchrony to straighten this out, and I do. Synchronys position is that I was on a 0 % / 24 month program, and they are firm on posting the {$9000.00} in deferred interest charges they figure they are owed because there was still a {$6500.00} balance on the card in XXXX of XXXX. I offer to pay the {$6500.00} owed, along with interest that had accrued in XXXX thru XXXX of XXXX, which Synchrony promptly declined. They want the full amount. I tell Synchrony I have zero documentation sent to me of a 24 month/ 0 % offer, let alone a 48 month/ 0 % offer. Synchrony tells me that it should have been on the XXXX XXXX provided by XXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXX. And here is the rub : XXXX XXXX  XXXX or Synchrony cant unearth this XXXX XXXX with the special financing terms and my signature. And they wont because if Id seen that it was a 24 month program, I would have had the common sense to refuse the terms.

In my opinion, there is a log of blame to go around here. Im at fault for not pressing the Sales Technician and XXXX backend office for written documentation of the special financing they provided. XXXX XXXX  XXXX Sales Technician misrepresented this 48-month/0 % financing at the time of sale and for reasons that may be explained by his termination of employment shortly thereafter. XXXX XXXX  XXXX never provided me via email or USPS any documentation or Sales Slip that indicated what special financing program I was sold. I never signed a contract that showed I accepted such financing special terms. Furthermore, Synchrony Bank has quite the reputation. They tell me I should have logged into my account and checked my statement where it would have told me I was on a 24 month program. Perhaps, I would have if they didnt include enough information in the email ( like my ever declining balance ) to the point where it was unnecessary to log in and check my statement. Not once did Synchrony email me to inform me that I was on a 24-month program, and they didnt email or call to tell me that the 24-month period was about to expire and Id incur a balloon finance charge over {$9000.00}. They merely put on the XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX emails a XXXX XXXX ( s ) Expiring Shortly. See the promotional box on the statement for additional details. In my opinion, my 48 month/ 0 % financing was never a Promotion. For all I knew, these were Promotions that I could sign up for but didnt need. Hardly a call to action to dig into a statement when my 48 month loan is on AutoPay, Ive never missed a payment, and have no further financing needs with Synchrony. These are topics I would like for the CFPB to pursue with Synchrony, as this may constitute TILA disclosure violations, UDAAP concerns regarding deferred interest practices, general record retention failures, and an attempt to enforce terms with proper documentation ( i.e. the missing eSales Slip. )

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation