Date Received: 2023-03-01
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Subissue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Consumer Complaint: XXXX XXXX has 5 % off total purchase over {$390.00} if the customer opens a store credit card online at checkout, this discount is also only available with online purchases. I opened the account and was approved for the purchase amount. When attempting to checkout the order would not process. I called XXXX XXXX and was told to call the card issuer. The card issuer is Synchrony Bank. After calling the bank I was told to call XXXX XXXX, because newly issued cards do not work with online checkout. That makes no sense because that it is clearly advertised that the card can be used immediately upon online approval. This is fake advertisement! This matter lowered my credit score for a card that I am not even able to use for its advertised purpose. The card was immediately closed and I asked for the credit pull to be reversed due to fraudulent and misleading advertisement. The agent then disconnected the call.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: SC
Zip: 29045
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Subissue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Consumer Complaint: 17 months ago, I went to XXXX XXXX to get my existing dentures replaced with new. What brought me there was a promotion they were advertising at the time, for 18 months interest free. The paperwork was completed in the office by the office manager on site then. The office manager assured me I was all set up and ready to go, payments dialed in, done. Not once did he say this was a credit card I was getting into. I tried to contact him at XXXXXXXX XXXX, but he is no longer in there employ. Short story, I left XXXX XXXX with new dentures trusting that everything was done. I even went paperless and set up auto pay with my bank at that time. So, I assumed all was done, I was good to go. I admit I didn't look at my statements. For me it was a onetime deal, my last dentures lasted me 20 years, figure these would make the rest of my life, thought it was only good for my approved dental procedure, nothing more. Fast forward. I knew I was approaching the end of my promotional period, and totally expected to see1 payment remaining on my balance. To my shock I had a balance of {$1900.00}. About 3/4 of the original balance. I contacted Synchrony, that's a feat in itself, and through a bunch of menus that did not pertain to my issue, I finally got to a " general manager ''. Who informed me it was my responsibility to go in and update my payment to the correct amount to pay the charge off in 18-months. I had no idea and was never told by XXXX XXXX XXXX office manager that this was a credit card, and the payment was set to the minimum amount due, not the minimum amount to pay the charge off in 18 months. The Synchrony general manager went so far as to instruct me on how to figure what my payment should be. Yeah, I get it, simple math, total amount divided by 18. I offered to pay off the full amount, as I know I owe that, I not trying to wiggle out of it, but I wanted them to extend my promotional period for another 18-months on the remaining balance. the first general manager I spoke to at Synchrony said they could not do anything about the account until the present promotion expired, and for me to check back then. At which time I understand I will be responsible for 26.99 % interest from Day 1 of the 18-month promotional period. The second manager at Synchrony didn't mention the expiration date having anything to do with modifying the plan, she instead offered me 1-month extension. At the time I was retired, a year short of getting on Medicare, on a fixed income, and without health insurance. Now before XX/XX/ 2023 I will have to come up with almost {$2000.00} or I will immediately be charged with almost {$1000.00} in interest. I feel they deceive people who fall into that category of no health insurance and fixed income. There should have been one payment only for that plan, not a minimum that would not satisfy the full amount in 18- months. Like the General manager said. " Total amount divided by 18 ''. At no time was I ever informed that I needed to go and change my payment to the correct amount, until I talked to Synchrony on Monday XXXX-2023
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: OR
Zip: 974XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-28
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Subissue: Other problem
Consumer Complaint: PayPal Credit XXXX Synchrony Bank refuses to provide a credit card statement that has a XXXX balance at the end of the billing period, even though there was a beginning balance and activity during the billing period! I believe 12 CFR 1026.7 requires credit card companies to provide XXXX balance statements as long as there is any activity during the billing period ( e.g. payments, credits, charges, etc. ). According to your own web site, I read the following guidelines ; " Otherwise, you should generally receive a statement for every billing cycle in which your account has a credit or charge of more than {$1.00}, or on which a finance charge has been imposed. '' ( see https : XXXX/www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-can-i-do-if-i-dont-receive-my-credit-card-bill-en-43/ ). When I worked in the financial industry, one of the things we saw that indicated possible fraud on a credit card was a charge and a credit for just {$1.00} or some other small dollar amount ( to test the validity of the account number ). If a customer does not receive a statement, they would likely not even know that there had been suspicious account activity. In summary, my complaint is that PayPal Credit XXXX Synchrony Bank refuses to provide a XXXX balance statement even though there is activity during the billing period.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MN
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Consumer Complaint: There was a problem with my XXXX XXXX and a false delinquent payment on my account. I contacted Lowes ( the company who reported it ) they investigated and determined it was incorrect and sent me a letter that they removed it. XXXX months later it has not shown in my credit report.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NY
Zip: 12302
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Trouble using your card
Subissue: Credit card company won't increase or decrease your credit limit
Consumer Complaint: To whom it may concern, I have been a victim of discrimination. I do not like to use the race card when dealing with personal or professional matters, but I had to discover for myself if this was the case. I wanted to prove that this was due to race so my co-worker and I conduct our own investigation. I have four credit cards from Synchrony Bank. Three are department store cards and one is a care credit card. Now before this investigation, I was late on my credit card bill no later than 7 days. I called the credit card company to inform them that I was sick with covid and the bill totally slipped my mind. I made a payment and I notice they had decreased my credit right away. I spoke with a credit representative at Synchrony bank and they said their policy is to run consumers ' credit whenever they are late on a payment. This is incorrect. I never received any statements in the mail as to why my credit was decreased or why they were running my credit each time I was late. I never experience this type of behavior with any other credit card company. I know that Synchrony Bank can not report late payments unless they are 30 days or later, but they are using other methods to destroy people of XXXX American race credit. I was never late more than a week. The company then said I was decreased because I had a collection on my report that was there when I applied for the card and was approved. As I mentioned I have four credit cards with Synchrony Bank and one card had a XXXX credit limit I was late they took decreased it to XXXX. My other credit card was XXXX decreased to XXXX. The last card was XXXX dollars. I tried to get a credit increase over the phone but was denied. I went into the store with the same credit card to buy a stove and XXXX and was approved for increased credit for my purchase. My co-worker who is XXXX decided to conduct this investigation, so we proceeded. She was late on her credit card bill for 5 days and received no decrease in credit usage. I did the same and received a decrease. The world is a cruel place. I believe in equal opportunity. I will be contacting the State Attorney General and the Department of Banking.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: PA
Zip: 151XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Subissue: Debt is not yours
Consumer Complaint: I never received a card never activated this account this account has been addressed to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I've never lived at that address this has been reported to identitytheft.gov
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NJ
Zip: 08618
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Subissue: Problem with rewards from credit card
Consumer Complaint: I got a Paypal Mastercard ( from Synchrony Bank ) at the end of XXXX ( 2 months ago ), solely because of their attractive cashback program. Last week, when the card was suddenly declined, I discovered that Synchrony had closed the card due to me being " an extreme credit risk '', which was a fraudulent act to begin with. I am the farthest thing from an extreme credit risk - not only did the card only have a $ XXXX limit, the paypal account it was attached to had usually had $ 20k-40k in it for at least a decade now. And in my credit history the payment history on my last card was $ 20k- $ 40k a month paid in full without fail for at least a decade now. My credit rating is typically around 700. Since it happened so quick, it's obvious that they're doing a monthly review of cashback accounts, finding the ones that are costing them money ( like me ), and then closing them under false pretenses. Complete cheating and false advertising, maybe not XXXX XXXX level but seems to me to be same concept. so I was going to file a complaint about this anyhow, as the research I did about Synchrony Bank ahead of time had a strong " caveat emptor '' flavor to it and people like this need to be exposed. BUT, it got worse - yesterday I went to pay off my remaining balance, partially using the {$700.00} in cash back credit I had built up in the last 2 months, but lo and behold, the cash back credit ( the only reason I got this card ) is gone. A quick call to Synchrony revealed that card terms include forfeiting any accumulated cash back if the account is closed for any reason. I've attached a screenshot of the cashback rewards summary on the paypal site- {$0.00} available, but a lifetime ( last two months ) of {$690.00} that I was not able so use until they revoked it. so there's your fraud, wrapped up in a neat bow - I got a card because of the cashback offer, I use it too well so they close the account for a fraudulent reason, and they then proceed to confiscate the rewards they gave me for using the cashback program. If that's not a scam then I don't know what is. I am 100 % willing to participate in any kind of class action suit or mass complaint against this company - obviously they're not going to stop misleading consumers unless there is some kind of tangible disincentive.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MT
Zip: 59801
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Trouble using your card
Subissue: Credit card company won't increase or decrease your credit limit
Consumer Complaint: Company decreased limit by XXXX XXXX dollars before statement period after paying the credit card down substantially. There is absolutely no cause for this decrease and will affect my credit negatively. I have never missed a payment, been late, nothing. Absolutely no cause for this action by the company. Reached out to the company with no success. I am an accountant who makes most of my yearly income from XXXX XXXX, I use my cards throughout the year and pay them down completely during these months. Reducing my credit line to half now shows on my credit report as an extreme negative with my balance near 100 %, this is not only extremely negative to my credit report but my overall credit wellbeing.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: AZ
Zip: 85268
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Closing your account
Subissue: Company closed your account
Consumer Complaint: My account was set up on automatic payments. The original account that was set up had a fraud issue and payment did not go through. Immediately after realizing that my payment did not go through due to fraud, a payment was made to supplement the payment. I contacted Synchrony on this issue and was told all was well and to not worry. We updated the automatic payment information to a new account and proceeded. Payments went through fine until I noticed that a scheduled payment did not go through. When looking online, it rerouted to the previous account that we stopped using due to the fraud charges. Contacted customer care, to see why the payment reverted to the old account, was told by XXXX that it must have been a glitch. Updated the account information back to the previous account, but this time kept an eye on the payments to ensure that they went through. Checked the payment a day before it was to be processed and it stated, " You have an automatic billing payment in the amount of xx.xx coming out of account XXXX on XXXX. '' Took a screen shot of the CORRECT information for payment. Waited while the payment was processing and then once again ... days later the payment still failed to go through. The payment once again reverted to the old account even after deleted. At this time, we received a letter stating that the account was now closed by guarantor due to returned payments! They lowered the credit limit and utilization on my score went through the roof because now it shows that I am maxed on the credit line but on time payments continued to show as we always rectified the payment due to their glitched system. Decided to just pay the card off in full to avoid any more negative remarks on our credit report and to be able to be approved for a home loan, got online to make payment and the online system once again says it is having trouble accepting online payments at this time. So, I contacted synchrony again for this issue to pay the balance in full and spoke with XXXX on XXXX and was told that we are not the first people to complain about the issues with payment. I was transferred to a customer service department to see what they could do about the issue at hand to remove the negative remarks or reopen the account and was told that they could not do that but recommended that we file a dispute with the credit bureaus. I asked what good that would do... the credit report shows on time payments, but the account was closed, and damage was done by this time. Told me to call back on XXXX to escalate the issue for them to look into the matter. I paid the balance on the line off in full to avoid further negative reporting and they did remove the interest and return fees. XXXX I called synchrony bank again to look into the issue. While everyone understands that this shouldn't have happened, no help was offered. I had to escalate through XXXX different levels of management, only to be rudely spoken to by XXXX who told me that I could submit a statement to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. She would not provide me with her employee ID number for reference or any information on the process of sending a statement.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: OH
Zip: 453XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-02-27
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Subissue: Other problem
Consumer Complaint: Well a couple of months ago synchrony Bank issued a CareCredit for a dental work and I was approved instantly for a {$2000.00} credit limit I had made a couple of payments in the same month and for this reason on my next payment date I didn't make a payment since I had made one earlier the prior month so synchrony Bank said that I missed a payment which I didn't I had just paid a few weeks early and they said that when that happens they apply all payment 's made in a billing cycle it counts as one payment and I said well I am not aware of your in-house policies so they took off the late charge and the Miss payment charge and brought my account current however they lowered my credit limit to {$1000.00} which had me over my credit limit which made my credit score go down once it was established that synchrony Bank had made a mistake they corrected what was wrong on my credit report but they did not raise my credit limit back to XXXX so the lower credit limit affected my credit score negatively. I only think it's fair since I didn't make a late payment or miss payment which synchronize Bank letter stated as to why they chose to lower my credit they should raise my credit limit back to XXXX
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: CA
Zip: 91326
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-02-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A