Consumer complaint received 2026-03-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Submitted : XX/XX/XXXX Consumer : XXXX XXXX : Synchrony Bank Account : [ ending in XXXX ] Chat Reference # : XXXX >>THE FRAUD On XX/XX/XXXX, I opened a promotional financing agreement with Synchrony Bank for {$3500.00}. The terms were clear : 12 months deferred interest, no late fees, no interest whatsoever if paid in full by XX/XX/XXXX. I satisfied this obligation completely, paying the balance in full before the deadline. Synchrony Bank now demands {$490.00} I do not owe. They manufactured this debt through a series of deliberate deceptions documented in live chat transcript # XXXX. >>HOW THE FRAUD WORKS The representative, XXXX XXXX, employed a bait-and-switch tactic. First, she confirmed I met the promotional terms. When I asked directly if the promotion was paid, she answered " Yes. '' She verified the original total ( {$3500.00} ), confirmed my payments totaled {$3000.00}, and acknowledged the promotion expiration date of XX/XX/XXXX. Then she reversed herself entirely. Despite her confirmation, she claimed {$530.00} remained. When I questioned this, she invented a {$41.00} " late fee '' a fee type explicitly prohibited by my promotional contract then magnanimously " waived '' it, leaving a {$490.00} " new balance. '' The math exposes the fraud. If {$3500.00} was the total and {$3000.00} was paid, the remainder is {$530.00}. By " waiving '' {$41.00}, the balance should be {$490.00}. But XXXX had already confirmed the promotion was paid in full. The {$490.00} is fabricated from nothing a residual phantom debt created by pretending a prohibited fee existed so its removal could generate artificial remaining principal. >>OBSTRUCTION AND COVER-UP When I requested XXXX 's badge or identification number for accountability, she deflected. When I demanded escalation to management, she claimed supervisors were " unavailable until after XXXX EST. '' When I stated I would wait on the chat thread until XXXX EST, she terminated the conversation entirely rather than connect me. Her final instruction revealed consciousness of guilt : she told me to " skip the feedback survey, and copy the chat transcript. '' Synchrony did not want this interaction measured in their quality metrics. They wanted no record of their representative confirming payment in full, then demanding payment anyway. >>LEGAL VIOLATIONS Truth in Lending Act : Synchrony charged late fees explicitly prohibited by written promotional terms, then used those fees to manufacture artificial remaining balances. Fair Credit Billing Act : Upon dispute notification, Synchrony failed to conduct a reasonable investigation. They provided mathematically contradictory explanations and refused to correct the error. Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices : The pattern confirm satisfaction of terms, invent prohibited fees, " waive '' them to create false balances, refuse accountability, disconnect constitutes systematic deception. The math impossibility ( {$530.00} minus {$41.00} " waiver '' equals {$490.00} " new balance '' on an account confirmed paid ) demonstrates knowledge of falsity. >>HARM Synchrony demands {$490.00} I do not owe. They threaten credit reporting damage for non-payment of fabricated debt. They wasted hours of my time and inflicted significant stress through deliberate obstruction. Their " waiver '' of a fake fee is presented as customer service, masking the underlying theft.

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