Consumer complaint received 2025-03-13 00:00:00
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Installment loan
Issue: Problem with additional add-on products or services — 
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
Please see below for the context into our dispute regarding an installment loan through Synchrony Bank as well as our experience through the dispute process. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, we hired XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX to install a full HVAC system ( Units and Duct Work ) for {$15000.00}. We signed the contract ( attached ) on XX/XX/XXXX, and opted for the third-party financing through Synchrony Bank that XXXX XXXX  XXXX offered. As per the timeline ( attached ), XXXX XXXX did not complete their due diligence before the installation and midway through installation, their electrician arrived and flagged to them that the unit they contracted us for would not work with the current electrical panel within our house. Their electrician quoted us an additional {$8400.00} for a panel upgrade which after the fact we realized is close to double what most electricians around XXXX, NC charge for that service. 

We were now stuck in the middle of the summer with no AC, half of an HVAC installation, and XXXX XXXX and their electrician trying to charge an additional {$8400.00} for an electrical upgrade that was not flagged before we signed the contract. Noted, we would have never opted for this specific system knowing we would have to pay an additional {$8400.00} or we would have at least received multiple quotes beforehand for an electrical panel upgrade. 

As we could not budget the {$8400.00}, XXXX XXXX tried to remedy the situation by installing a more efficient system that could work with our current electrical panel. They assured us that this would work fine and it was actually an upgrade to what we signed the contract for. Under those circumstances, we allowed XXXX XXXX to proceed with their solution and they finished the installation on XX/XX/XXXX. Unfortunately, it became apparent rather quickly that the installed HVAC system had multiple defects. Please refer to the documents for more details on the HVAC issues but in summary, there were multiple code violations that would have failed count permitting, the ducts were not sealed which pulled crawl space air into our house, the indoor unit was draining into our crawl space which potentially caused further damage to our home, the thermostat was reading 5 degrees higher than actual room temperature, and later when they tried and fix the issues, both the heating and cooling stopped working completely. When we requested that XXXX XXXX come and fix it, they came by on two separate occasions but were unable to remedy the issues. After this, they ignored all of our communication attempts leaving us with no AC during the late summer. 

We would then dispute the transaction with Synchrony Bank over the quality of goods and services provided by XXXX XXXX since there were many known defects and we now realized we would have to hire a new company to fix or potentially install an entirely new HVAC system. It was after Synchrony contacted XXXX XXXX regarding the dispute that XXXX XXXX reached back out to us, disregarding our previous requests and asking if they could schedule a final inspection. We reiterated back all of the current installation issues and with reason to suspect bad intention by XXXX XXXX, we requested that they agree in email to fix the issues at hand, which they refused to do so. When trying to talk to their License Holder XXXX XXXX, who per the State is supposed to be overseeing the project, they refused as well. As this drew out for months we started to experience below-freezing temperatures outside and we were without central heating ( It would drop to high 40s farenheit in our home ). We had multiple contractors assess the situation and their recommendations were to install an entirely new system since XXXX XXXX 's installation was a significant repair job and they did not want to assume liability for defective work. On XX/XX/XXXX, we hired XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX to install a new HVAC system which has been working to this day. We also offered XXXX XXXX the opportunity to pick up their equipment and they refused, as per our email communications. 

Regarding the Dispute with Synchrony Bank, this has been ongoing since XX/XX/XXXX and it still open today ( XX/XX/XXXX ). During this window, they have closed the dispute 4 times and sided with XXXX XXXX each time. Every time they closed it and I ask for the reasoning, they will not let me speak to the investigation team and they reiterated that XXXX XXXX told them the situation has been fixed or that they tried to remedy the situation and we refused. Synchrony has taken their word at face value despite us the support below : Documents Provided to Synchrony Bank -Timeline of events -3rd Part HVAC installation ( with pictures ), confirming the issues we requested XXXX XXXX  to fix -Text communications indicating their lack of due diligence with the electrical issue and them later ignoring our communication attempts -Formal State Complaint Document we filed against XXXX XXXX. The state find multiple violations and are requiring XXXX XXXX to appear before them in XXXX -XXXX XXXX cancelled city permit -All email communications with XXXX XXXX  XXXX showing their refusal to reach an agreement -Our decision move forward and hire a sperate contractor to install a new HVAC system After talking to multiple different synchrony representatives, it became apparent that the information we were receiving from the synchrony customer service was inconsistent and in many cases, not true. After they closed the dispute from XXXX in favor with XXXX XXXX, I spoke to a representative who re opened the case for us and said it would now be handled at an escalated level of review. When asking them what Synchrony 's reasoning was for declining our dispute request given the circumstances with the clear defects and XXXX XXXX refusal to agree to fix them, he inferred to me that XXXX XXXX told the bank that they would not pay them back the loan balance. I asked him how many times would we need to repeat this cycle of opening and closing dispute cases for which he replied, he said seen cases go on much longer before they were finally resolved. On XX/XX/XXXX, I began recording the phone conversations and informing Synchrony I was doing so. When I asked the representative if this time the case was being reviewed at an escalated level, they had no knowledge to what I was referring to and they told me the case was still being handled at the basic review level. Additionally, they told me that none of the information I had submitted had been reviewed even it had been 3 months after the original dispute was opened. When I called again on XX/XX/XXXX, the representative told me that they only had 12 documents from us even though I had submitted over 40. I resubmitted everything again with an summary to help them navigate these documents and strongly requested that this time, they review and retain everything. On XX/XX/XXXX, they declined our dispute again and when I called a representative to get more information, they cited the reasoning being that XXXX XXXX said they tried to resolve the situation and we refused. I explained to him that if they had reviewed our documents they would know that was not true. Once I walked him through our situation as well as our previous interactions between synchrony representatives, he opened a new dispute case and claimed that he would leave notes for the investigation team to review all the information we provided. He also informed me it would be handled at an escalated level or review and gave me the phone number for this specific team. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the phone number he provided me and it was the wrong number, routing me to the collections and bankruptcy department. The people on the phone could not understand why he would have done this and transferred me back to the number I had been calling all along. 

Though Synchrony Bank has been willing to re-open the dispute, it has become apparent they are basing the outcome of the dispute on whether or not they think XXXX XXXX, the merchant, will pay them back their loan balance. As they do not believe XXXX XXXX will do so easily, they have extended the dispute process with no end in sight. This has been evident through the complete disregard of the documents that we have provided as well as the inconsistent information given by each Synchrony representative. Synchrony Bank has taken no clear direction on resolving this case. Not only had this delay been a burden on much of our time and peace of mind as they hold a {$15000.00} loan over our heads, it originally delayed us from finding a solution to our HVAC issues and exposed us and our home to extreme temperatures and humidity. 

Please refer the the " SUMMARY OF DOCUMENTS PROVIDED on XXXX '' for a summary each document that has been submitted to Synchrony.

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