Consumer complaint received 2025-02-04 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: RI

Complaint narrative:
CONTEXT In the fall of XXXX, while purchasing my first home, I decided to buy wooden flooring from XXXX XXXX. During my visit, an associate informed me about the No Interest for 24 Months promotional financing offer. Based on this, I opened a Synchrony Bank credit account and used it for the following two transactions : Promotion # XXXX : - Transaction Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Purchase Amount : {$15000.00} - Paid down 82 % of the balance, leaving {$2800.00} remaining, prior to Synchronys dubious retroactive deferred interest charges and subsequent compounding of interest. 

Promotion # XXXX : - Transaction Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Purchase Amount : {$9500.00} - Paid in full by XX/XX/XXXX with no interest charged ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE I noticed discrepancies in the promotion terms which I explain in detail below. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Synchrony Banks customer service and then their hardship department to resolve the issue. I offered to pay the remaining balance along with interest accrued from the promotional expiration date. Unfortunately, the hardship department did not address my proposal. Instead, I was only offered a XXXX payment plan and referred to the XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) XXXX a debt consolidation service. 
I have filed this complaint due to the following concerns and Synchrony Banks inability to adequately address or resolve the issue : CONCERNS XXXX ) Key Concern : Unexpected Expiration of Promotion : I planned my payments with the reasonable expectation that both promotions would run their full XXXX term, expiring in XX/XX/XXXX. 
However, when I logged into my online account in early XX/XX/XXXX to pay down all the remaining balances, I was horrified to discover that Synchrony had deemed XXXX # XXXX to have expired prematurely, XXXX months earlier, on XX/XX/XXXX. 
By that date, I had already paid down 82 % of the balance, leaving only {$2800.00} remaining. Despite this, Synchrony Bank applied a retroactive deferred interest charge of {$4800.00} overnight, inflating my balance to {$7600.00}. To make matters worse, Synchrony then began charging additional interest compounded on this inflated balance, which has now grown to $ XXXX charging interest on interest. 

XXXX ) Misleading and Incomplete Communication : XXXX XXXX XXXX associate described the No Interest for 24 Months promotion as an interest-free option but failed to disclose deferred interest terms and their retroactive application. 
Critical terms, such as the accrual of deferred interest from the purchase date, were not explained or emphasized during the application process. 
Despite providing my Social Security number for account approval on-site, I was never given access to the signed agreement. Furthermore, the Synchrony Account Management online portal does not offer any way to retrieve it.

3 ) Lack of Clear Disclosures : Monthly statements did not clearly communicate the retroactive application of deferred interest or the consequences of not paying the balance in full by the expiration date.

I discovered conflicting information regarding APR rates : the statements indicated 29.99 %, while my online account showed 34.99 % ( see attached ).

4 ) Inadequate and Misleading Notifications : The only notice of the promotions expiration was a single line embedded in monthly statements, which failed to adequately convey the urgency or financial consequences.

5 ) Predatory and Deceptive Practices : Retroactive application of interest and the compounding of charges reflect practices that unfairly burden consumers.

These policies appear designed to maximize financial gain for Synchrony Bank at the customers expense.

REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION I am committed to fulfilling my financial obligations fairly and transparently. I respectfully request that Synchrony Bank accept my proposed resolution : - I will pay the remaining principal balance of {$2800.00} along with interest accrued on that balance since XX/XX/XXXX ; and - Synchrony Bank agrees to waive the {$4800.00} in deferred interest charges and any additional interest compounded on that amount. 
Additionally, I urge Synchrony Bank to improve its communication policies to ensure that promotional financing terms are clear, transparent, and fully disclosed to customers. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
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