Consumer complaint received 2025-07-15 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau XXXX. XXXX XXXX Washington XXXX DC XXXX Date : [ Insert Date ] Re : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and Synchrony Bank for Unauthorized Retention and Use of Payment Information Dear CFPB, I am filing this formal complaint against XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and its credit card issuer, Synchrony Bank, for serious violations of federal consumer protection laws, including unauthorized retention and use of my personal financial information, unauthorized billing, and unfair billing practices. 

Summary of the XXXX XXXX [ date of transaction ], XXXX XXXX fraudulently posted a charge of {$110.00} to my XXXX Bank account for an unwanted and unauthorized membership renewal. I did not provide XXXX XXXX with my XXXX account information for any membership renewal nor did I consent to recurring billing. 

XXXX XXXX illegally retained my payment information from a prior, unrelated purchase and repeatedly attempted to process this same renewal charge across multiple financial institutions and credit cards that I own. 

All other banks and credit card issuers rejected the attempted charges and immediately notified me of these suspicious activities. 

XXXX Bank was the only institution that approved the charge without any notification or security verification. 

This unauthorized transaction caused overdraft issues and resulted in pending transactions totaling {$120.00} being disrupted. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX retained card information beyond the scope of the original transaction, in violation of consumer protection principles and data privacy expectations. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX improperly used stored card data to charge for a membership renewal that I did not approve. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX submitted the same charge to numerous credit card accounts without my authorization. 

Failure of Synchrony Bank to Ensure Consumer Consent As the credit card issuer for XXXX XXXX memberships, Synchrony Bank failed to implement proper consumer safeguards to prevent this unauthorized billing practice. 

Relief Requested I request that the CFPB investigate XXXX XXXX and Synchrony Bank for : Unauthorized retention and use of consumer payment data. 

Unfair and deceptive billing practices. 

Failure to maintain proper consumer authorization procedures for membership renewals. 

I further request the following remedies : XXXX cancellation of any XXXX XXXX membership account linked to my name without my authorization. 

Refund of all unauthorized charges. 

Written assurance that XXXX XXXX will delete all retained payment information and will not attempt further charges without explicit authorization. 

Investigation into XXXX Banks role in enabling and processing unauthorized billing. 

I have already disputed this charge with XXXXXXXX XXXX, my financial institution, and have requested reversal of the unauthorized transaction and waiver of any overdraft fees caused by this activity. 

Supporting Information Transaction amount : {$110.00} Date posted : [ Insert Date ] Bank impacted : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX : XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) Credit card issuer involved : Synchrony Bank I am prepared to provide supporting documents, including copies of my bank statements, dispute letters, and any correspondence with XXXX XXXX. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I respectfully request written confirmation that this complaint has been received and is being investigated.

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