Consumer complaint received 2026-03-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
I have autopay set up with Synchrony Bank to pay the statement balance on my credit card account. On XX/XX/year>, I scheduled a one-time payment through Synchronys website and selected the system option to Pay Statement Balance. The system generated the statement balance amount of {$530.00} for the scheduled payment date. On XX/XX/year>, the automatic payment for the statement balance processed and paid {$530.00} from my checking account. On XX/XX/year>, the previously scheduled one-time payment for the statement balance also processed for {$530.00}. The system did not adjust the scheduled payment or warn that the statement balance had already been satisfied by the automatic payment the day before. Because both transactions were based on the same statement balance amount, the system allowed two full statement balance withdrawals for the exact same amount on consecutive days. I maintain my checking account so that it contains the funds necessary to cover scheduled bills. When Synchrony attempted the second withdrawal, the payment was returned due to insufficient funds and Synchrony charged a {$27.00} returned payment fee. My account activity reflects the following sequence : -XXXX XXXX XXXX Automatic Payment : - {$530.00} ( statement balance paid ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Online Payment : - {$530.00} ( previously scheduled payment using pay statement ) -XXXX XXXX XXXX Adjustment : + {$530.00} ( reversal of the returned duplicate payment ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Returned Check Charge : {$27.00} I contacted Synchrony customer service and explained that the statement balance had already been paid and that the second payment occurred because the previously scheduled pay statement balance payment was not adjusted after autopay satisfied the balance. I requested a goodwill reversal of the returned payment fee, but Synchrony declined. My concern is that this appears to be a system coordination issue between autopay and scheduled payments rather than an isolated user error. The payment system allowed both the automatic statement balance payment and the previously scheduled pay statement balance payment to process even though the statement balance had already been satisfied. Once the balance was paid, the system should have either stopped or adjusted the scheduled payment or clearly warned the consumer before processing a second statement balance withdrawal. Allowing a scheduled statement balance payment to process after the balance has already been satisfied can create situations where consumers incur returned payment fees even though their statement balance has already been paid. A consumer can only pay a statement balance once per cycle. A simple safeguard or warning would have prevented the duplicate payment attempt and the resulting fee. My concern is less about the {$27.00} fee itself and more about whether Synchronys payment system properly coordinates autopay and scheduled pay statement balance payments to prevent duplicate withdrawals. I am requesting that Synchrony Bank : 1. Reverse the {$27.00} returned payment fee, and 2. Review its payment interface and processing controls to prevent duplicate pay statement balance withdrawals. I have attached a screenshot of the account activity showing the payment timeline and the returned payment fee.

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