Consumer complaint received 2025-09-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I became a member with CareCredit ( Synchrony Bank ) as a means to pay off my XXXX XXXX. My CareCredit account was enrolled by the XXXX XXXX  agent, and they had ill-informed me of the criminal interest rate associated with CareCredit and that there was a time limit on the " promotional '' interest rate. I was also informed by the XXXX agent that I could pay a minimum of {$89.00} per month to pay off my full balance with no interest compounded. Earlier this year ( around XX/XX/XXXX ), I went to check on the progress I had made on my {$2500.00} balance and noticed that for the last several months, I was being charged an extra {$40.00} per month for " XXXX  ''. I had no idea what XXXX was and contacted CareCredit. They then said I had to contact XXXX specifically. When I spoke to XXXX, they claimed that I had signed up for their services when I enrolled in my CareCredit account. This is untrue, as I wasn't the one who enrolled in CareCredit, it was the XXXX XXXX  agent, and over the phone, they never asked if I had wanted the option of " XXXX ''. After doing some research online, I'm not the only customer who's experienced this, as there are several other CareCredit customers who never signed up for XXXX yet were charged monthly. XXXX eventually refunded the over {$500.00} they'd taken from me over the last year. I also upped my payment monthly to {$130.00} to ensure I'd get this account paid off quicker, as I have a perfect credit score in terms of paying on time. Last week, I had noticed a XXXX drop in my credit score, and I immediately checked my CareCredit account, as much of my trust with this company was already gone. I then see that they had charged me a {$1300.00} interest rate when I had a balance left of {$900.00}. I contacted CareCredit, and they informed me that the " promotion '' rate had expired, but if I paid the {$900.00} within 30 days of its expiration ( before XX/XX/XXXX ), the {$1300.00} would be waived. I immediately went into my savings account and paid off my balance in full. The next issue arose when I realized that my automatic payment of {$130.00} had also gone through, leading to a - {$130.00} balance. I contacted CareCredit again on XX/XX/XXXX and asked for a refund of the {$130.00}, as I had overpaid and wanted to close my account as soon as possible before they could do anything else. After processing my refund via mail check, I first asked the representative if I should wait until I receive the refund check to close my account. I wasn't given a straight answer, so I then asked to make sure that no other fees would be placed on my account. ( see screenshot ) I was then told by the representative to " not worry '', and as long as I didn't use my CareCredit for anything, my balance would remain at {$0.00}, and I would not be charged any other fees. I shouldn't have trusted them in hindsight, but I didn't think they would stoop so low as to charge me more when I had a {$0.00} balance. However, today I received an email from CareCredit informing me that I was charged {$42.00} in interest. I contacted CareCredit immediately and was told that because the promotion time ended on XX/XX/XXXX, I had to pay the {$42.00}, even though I had a {$0.00} balance. I attempted to dispute the charge, but they were unwilling to work with me whatsoever, despite my explaining the full situation. It angers me that if I had just gone ahead and closed my account on XX/XX/XXXX, I wouldn't have had to deal with this. My account is now closed, but I'm left with the {$42.00} interest charge. I find CareCredit to be an extremely predatory company, especially given that its customer base is primarily for healthcare purposes and people in dire circumstances. I hope this company gets shut down or that more customers become aware of their practices, as it seems they'll do anything to keep you with a deeper and deeper balance so you can never pay it off.

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