Consumer complaint received 2024-04-16 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received my Guitar Center gear card through Synchrony Bank. As a Guitar Center employee, I am very familiar with how the card works and was very excited to earn some rewards and become a Gear Cardholder. It is part of my job to pitch these cards to customers. I made several purchases and I only ever purchase things if I have the money to pay them off. I've never missed a credit card payment in my life. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to pay off my card in full. I went on the Synchrony app and went to pay the {$590.00} amount. As I hit pay the app crashed. I checked my email to see if there was anything that went through. I did not receive a notification saying my payment went through. Naturally, I tried to reopen the app and try again. It crashed again. I then thought maybe I just restart my phone. I did this and tried one last time and luckily for me, it worked, and I knew my money went through. So, I went on with my life, and about a few days later I noticed I had a negative balance on my Synchrony Bank account and my card was overpaid twice. I realized immediately what had happened. I called Synchrony Bank and was told it was no issue and I could get my money back within 30 business days via check. I instead opted to check with my Bank and was told my account went negative because the charge had gone through three times when I only wanted it to go through once. I was told that it was ok and my money would simply bounce back into my bank account and only the first payment would go through my funds would just be on hold but I am not actually negative in my bank account. A few days went by and everything was back to normal. I bought even more things on my gear card, made payments, and continued to use the card for about a month with no issues.

A few days ago I went to make another payment and saw my account was closed. When I called Synchrony Bank I was told. " Your account is closed due to too many false payments ''. They explained that those two extra payments were the reason for the account being closed. A few questions came to mind when this happened. 
Why didn't they close my card sooner? 
Why was I not told this could happen when I first talked to Synchrony Bank immediately after seeing the payments? 
Most importantly, How could I get my account back open? 
I was first told there is no possible way my account can reopen. I called again and spoke to a different agent and was told my account could be reopened if I got my bank involved and had them send a letter to Synchrony Bank. I called again for some clarification and was told that if I mail my bank statements then in 30 business days they will consider reopening the account but most likely won't. I was told by an agent to reapply for the card and of course, I was not approved since it was just closed. 
Every time I called the bank I was of course put on hold for up to an hour and was given conflicting information by every agent. As someone who has dealt with this company a lot on behalf of others and resolved issues similar to this, I have never had this much trouble. I have also contacted my personal Bank, XXXX  XXXX XXXX and they seem to not understand why Synchrony Closed my account either and said they can not simply send something in the mail explaining an individual situation on my behalf it just does not make sense. They said they would be happy to talk to a Synchrony agent and get this sorted out and fixed for me. I contacted Synchrony again and was told they would not speak to members over the bank on the phone. I asked what about communicating with XXXX  XXXX XXXX through email they said " No, we only communicate with other banks through physical mail ''. 
I can not keep playing messenger between these two banks, sitting on holds for hours of my day, whilst also receiving new information and tasks every time I talk to Synchrony Bank. I in no way blame XXXX  XXXX XXXX they have been nothing but reliable and helpful, backing me up and letting me know that I am in the right. 

I have done nothing wrong to take a hit on my perfect credit score and lose my gear card. As an employee of Guitar Center, I feel very disappointed in the customer service of Synchrony Bank, I frequently have Guitar Center Gear Card customers approaching me with problems similar to this. I always resolve Synchrony Bank 's problems for them as nearly every customer complains about their support line. 
In short, I was faced with a payment issue that was completely out of my control. I should not be punished and have my card privileges revoked due to a completely uncontrollable issue. 

Dated : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

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