Consumer complaint received 2025-01-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Privacy issues
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
In XXXX of XXXX, I found out by sheer coincidence that Synchrony Bank issued what they called an " upgraded '' card ( which I never requested ) to me without informing me of the fact. 
Since stalking and harassment have forced me to relocate on multiple occasions over the past XXXX years, I no longer reside close to where my mail is being sent. 
Given this reason, since I would not have ready access to this new card that I did not request, I froze my account ( in XXXX of XXXX ) to prevent the new card 's potential unauthorize use, since my identity had likely been stolen by someone I had lived with in XXXX of XXXX, where I had no lock on my room door, and they had access to my IDs while I was showering ( and a charge I had not made appeared on my bank card toward the end of my tenancy, which my apartment mate 's erratic behavior forced me to cut short ). 
At the time, the Synchrony Bank customer-service representative I spoke with told me I only needed to call the bank again whenever I needed to unfreeze my account for this to take place. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, since I was going to use this card ( in addition to the rewards points I'd accumulated ) at a store where I'd receive reward points for using this card, I attempted to unfreeze my account. 
Despite the fact that I was ready to provide both a video of my face and my passport card to verify my identity, the verification process Synchrony Bank chose to use refused to accept this federally issued ID as a valid form of identification, and instead required me to provide either a state-issued ID, a military ID or a Green Card. Since I have few issues ( apart from T-Mobile ) using my passport card as my official ID ( which would be a valid form of ID even when REAL IDs take effect in XXXX of XXXX ), I've never had a reason to spend the extra time and money to obtain a state-issued ID ). 
After spending close to an hour with three customer-service representatives ( including one supervisor who treated me like a criminal despite knowing that Synchrony Bank refuses to accept my valid federally issued ID ), Synchrony Bank refused to let me back into my account, even though I had provided them ( when they requested it ) with the email account the bank uses to communicate with me, which for reasons unknown to me, they described as unsafe to send me another way to verify my identity. 
When I was able to call Synchrony Bank back the next day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) using my phone number on file, despite my explaining that I do not have a state-issued ID, the first Synchrony customer-service representative I spoke with repeatedly told me the same ID requirements until I asked to speak with a supervisor ( XXXX ), who XXXX initially went through much of the same process ( by repeating the same verification requirements to me over and over again, despite my explaining that given the fact that my passport card is a valid form of identification that makes all other forms of IDs unnecessary, what Synchrony Bank is requiring is tantamount to forcing someone to spend extra time and money on something they do not need ). 
After much back and forth, where I felt like I was having a conversation with an AI bot, XXXX finally verified my identity using a different method. 
However, when I asked him to submit my complaint about Synchrony Bank 's identity-verification process to whoever made these decisions, he told me that Synchrony Bank has a valid reason for requiring a state-issued ID, though he refused to disclose to me that reason.

Given the fact that Synchrony Bank manufactured this entire headache-inducing process by issuing me a new credit card without informing me ( nor my request ) and refuses to disclose the reasoning behind their refusal of my passport card ( a federally issued ID that any U.S. citizen can legally use for travel within the United States ) as a valid form of identification, I am filling this complaint to better understand both the legality and reasoning behind Synchrony Bank 's inexplicable behaviour, both for issuing a new credit card that I didn't request ( in XXXX of XXXX ) and for refusing my passport card as a valid form of identity verification ( in XXXX of XXXX ). 
Thank you in advance for your help getting to the bottom of these issues.

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