Synchrony Bank (Formerly GE Capital Retail Bank)

I have a store card for Dicks Sporting Goods through this bank. My wife takes care of our finances and I want her to keep possession of my card. I serve in the military and we recently moved overseas to Okinawa. My wife is currently back in the states due to her mothers passing and I am still in Japan. She receives a call from the bank stating there had been suspicious fraud activity. She called them back already knowing that they would not speak to her because she is not the account holder but she wanted to get information to send her power of attorney over so she could take care of the situation. They told her she would have to mail it and she is not a fan of sending mail. She called and told me that I should call because sending mail could take some time. I call and after answering all of the security questions right they told me that they could not speak to me because I was calling from an international number. I would have to MAIL a copy of my drivers license and a copy of the phone bill and then they could talk to me. That is completely absurd that they refuse to talk to THE ACCOUNT HOLDER because I am overseas. Sending that would take way longer for it to get there than sending my wife's poa would. She mailed her documents and they arrived Monday. She calls Tuesday and they do not have her poa updated on the account and it's going to take THREE WEEKS to do so!!!! So an entire MONTH before we can get any information about the fraud transactions. Not to mention that I have paperless statements and they cut off my online access. I can't view any statements or do anything online. This is the worst customer service I have ever encountered. I thought the whole purpose of security questions was to verify the person on the phone was you. While overseas I called CHASE, CITI BANK, and countless other companies without a problem!!! Once I FINALLY am able to see what transactions they are worried about I am paying off what is owed and NEVER EVER using this bank again. I will take my business to CHASE OR CITI BANK or any other bank over this one. Absolutely livid at how hard it is to take care of business and how they refuse to talk to someone overseas due to serving in the military.

I have been trying to open an account with Synchrony. Have had issues with communication with them. Each time I have tried to call I have been kept on hold over 10 minutes before getting through to a person. Every time I try to log in I get a message that my login and/or password is invalid. When I follow instructions for "forgot your ID/password" a phone number comes up where they want to contact me that is not a number that I have. Of course I then try to call but, alas...that doesn't work either (see first few sentences). Customer service is terrible - and I am trying to OPEN an accoun t. What happens if I actually HAVE one and need assistance. Truly, you need to have much better customer service - it is appalling.

unbelievable bad customer service. Unbelievable.
Absolutely the worst ever. stay away from them!!!!

I've had a Walmart card for over two years. I had a 500$ limit which was never exceeded and always paid on time. They lowered my credit to 390. No problem! In an effort to build my credit unpaid over 200$ to get my utilization down to under 30%. Today I go on to make my payment (3 weeks early mind you)... And I see they've lowered my limit again to 250. Now I have to try and come up with another big $ amount to get the utilization under 30... I mean really? What the hell... So go ahead, I built my credit up over 100 points in 6 months. Now this is going to destroy it. Makes perfect sense!

I took over my fathers affairs as his POA over a year ago. My first dealings with GE Capital Retail was shortly after. I called to make a payment over the phone and was very rudely treated. Here I was trying.g to give them money and they were worried about whether my name was on his checking account or not. I sent them a copy of my POA so they would have it on file and could speak to me in the event I needed to.
My father passed away day after Christmas. I called Synchrony to notify them. I told them at that time my brother was going to pay off the account before the next installment was due. My dad owed
Less than 900 on the account. The rep informed me that we just send in a copy of dedeath certificate and they could take care of it. Well that's not the case. Today I call to pay off by check over the phone, and was passed 3 times before I spoke to someone who could do this. I asked when we would be receiving the title and was told
She ccould not tell me because I didn't have record of POA! Really?! By this time I am furious. I give her the check over the phone and get a confirmation. I am so mad at how this whole process was handled I called back to customer service to make a complaint. The guy tells me that there is only an address to send complaints and then when I asked if he could see if that lady actually made the final pay off he spouted policy on how the account was frozen and we weren't responsible for dads debt. I ask him, well if I was a title, don't the account have to be paid for?? He says yes but you can't do that over the phone. Really? Then who did I just give all that information to? I was passed around all those times and was told they had to confirm his death which could take up to 90 days! And nobody will say when we will get this title. Absolutely absurd policy and treatment. My father DIED and you have so little respect for the families?

An absolute joke! Formerly GE Capital, they service Yamaha Loans.
*There is no online payment system or any way to check your balance online.
*Customer service is poor and Telephone wait times have exceeded 15 minutes.
* The system auto-disconnects at that time so yoou have to call back.
* I moved; you must call them to request a form (sent via snail mail) to change your address.
* I changed banks: you have to wait for them to send a form via snail mail to change banking information, then return it to them via snail mail. It's been over 9 weeks since I submitted the form. They say they have it, but auto pay won't be effective until they send me written confirmation.

*Pay by phone: $15.00 fee. No other way to pay other than snail mail.
* Attempted to charge me $108.00 in penalties because THEY won't get an auto pay initiated. (After enough complaining, they removed the fees.)

STAY AWAY.. Synchrony Bank mistakenly reports on people's credit reports. Someone's account was past due; their name was similar to mine, and their soc numbers was similar to mine, however, our date of birth was completely different. Synchrony Bank decides to report on my credit, which I found infuriating. They will not work with me, because I cannot get the cardholder on the phone with me. How could I, right? In order to get this charge off my credit, I will have to deal with the credit bureau. Save yourself a headache and stay away

We purchased furniture from Living Spaces. It was 24 month deferred interest. Every month, we paid on time. Every month. The last month, we were going to pay the lump sum - under 600 of a 2500 invoice. We were given a once in a lifetime opportunity with Make a Wish foundation for our daughter and we were out of town for her wish. With all the excitement and planning, we missed this payment, until we returned and realized that the payment was due. We were told that there was a 30 day grace period but since that expired just SIX days ago - we were to pay the interest of $1357.32. For a balance of $597,99- we are expected to pay another $1300+!!!! I tried to explain and reason with the rep - she was rude and disrespectful. She told me it's not possible and that if I didn't pay, it would go to collections and on my credit.

We have used Synchrony MANY TIMES for our items. We always, always pay on time. We have never, never missed a payment and to not be given the opportunity to make it right when being late for such a short time is SHOCKING. I even said that it would seem FAIR to pay interest on the balance owed - and I would happily do that - but she said NO.

I refuse to think that companies can take advantage of consumers like this. It is CRIMINAL, RIDICULOUS and UNFAIR. I did not miss any payment, and the one I missed - a complete and honest mistake, I am having to pay over $1350 of interest - the very thing I was trying to avoid. We were OUT OF TOWN. It was a MISTAKE. I will not pay this and will take it to court if I need to becuase this is not how you treat loyal, on-time paying customers.

Unless resolved, I will make it my life's mission to let everyone I come across know the type of business they operate.

Can only talk to people in a country outside the U.S. The company makes a lot of undisclosed actions and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Customer service agents can't answer questions because questions about your account are confidential. The company has a general "sketchy" feel to it. It's hard to say if customers are valued or not, because calls go overseas and the agents are overly enthusiastic and "yes, yes, yes" to a point that nothing feels genuine and no questions or concerns can ever be addressed. I've even have agents fail to repeat back my question when asked point blank. There is no conversation or ability to resolve a situation. I, personally, have closed my account due to inability to communicate with this vendor.

I recently opened a card with Synchrony Bank, not of my choosing. I had extensive dental work done and this is the installmant plan my dentist has contracted with. I made my 1st payment this week and was told it was late and a late fee will be assessed.

I quickly corrected the rep, who conducted herself like a child, that I was given the 2nd of every month and I had a 3-day grace period. She informed me the due date was the 1st of every month, not the 2nd as I was told, and there is no grace period.

I relayed all that I had been told: date, time, names, as I document everything. This individual remained indifferent. Only after my insistence did she remove the late fee as she commented, "This is a one time courtesy". She added she would request the phone service fee of $25.00 be removed as well. I had to pay using the my phone as I learned also that this bank does not accept online payments which I was told it does.

Who does business like that? They only accept checks over the phone. Their business practices are draconian. This seems very shady to me, I don't trust them. And the paperwork they first send is a compilation of gobbly gook, aka verbal diarrehea.

After an hour of getting no further valid help from this it, I hung up and decided to call another time. I have no choice but to utilize this bank as I don't have the balance at the ready. My dental insurance only paid for half of the 2 procedures.

I went ahead and retrieved the information to contact the Suffolk County Consumers Affairs Department if need be. If necessary, I'll go as far as the State Attorney General. If something unscrupulous is going on, the appropriate agencies should be notified.

Thanks to all for your sound advice.

First of all, to get started, I was never notified that GE Capital has changed to Synchrony Bank. I had Synchrony Bank calling me over and over, but I thought it was a debt collector calling for my sister (she has terrible credit), so I never acknowledged the call. I got an interest free credit line from Floor and Decor for 6 months, but, I was never told when the first bill would be due, no notification or anything, you just have to check.. So, while the pay period started on the 20th, the first bill is due the 2nd of the next month, again, never notified. So, I set a reminder to pay the bill next month, which is in about 2 weeks, and I get a letter in the mail telling me that my payment was returned to them from my bank. So, I get online and check my profile and it says I have a late fee because I haven't paid my bill, but the due date on the bill is like I said, still in about 2 weeks. So, I have a late fee on my bill for a payment that is not due for another 2 weeks. I didn't pay the fee, and called them, and they told me it was basically a suggestion, telling you what the late fee would be if it wasn't paid. If it was a suggestion, why did it show up on my bill? Anyways, so I am just fed up with this company by now, so I go to just pay off everything all at once and be done with this because I have REALLY good credit, and I'm not even 21 years of age yet, so, I didn't want to screw it up. So, I go to pay the rest and find out that they had deleted my account from my other bank. This tells me that my payment was initially retured to them, probably because they deleted my account, no idea why. I have money in it, and much more than my first payment. So, in retrospect, I will NEVER use GE Capital/Synchrony Bank again.

I will never use any card that has to do with this company again. Once I pay off the card I will be closing the card. I made a payment on my card and I have a e-mail as well as the online database saying I made a payment and that it had posted to my account. I called customer service and was transferred to the payment section because I was past due where NO ONE SPEAKS CLEAR ENGLISH. I explained to them on 8/27/15 as well as today 8/28/15 I had already made a payment. I called customer service to talk to a representative not to be transferred to a different location where there are foreign people on the phone who do not speak clear English for the caller to understand. I had an appointment set up to use this card and yet customer service is telling me they do NOT see a payment that I made online. But less than 24 hours ago the lady in customer service I talked to said she can see the payment that I made. They advised me to wait another 24 hours for it to POST to my account. I guess they did not understand that I have a e-mail as well as a picture of the payment reflecting "POSTED TO YOUR ACCOUNT". I will never open another card that has anything to do with this bank. Nor will I ever recommend any of the people I know to sign up for any card that involves this Company.

I have never had to deal with such a complicated bank before. How convienient they could access an account for checking my credit but could not pull up an account when I needed it closed?

Lastely, why offer in store credit cards when you cannot use them in the store? Explained that I could not leave without new tires and bank refused to let me use my OWN account in store. Makes no sense, even though I had already been approved for a credit account. Customer service said it was first because they needed to mail it, then for security reasons, last when tried to close (BECAUSE OF THE WAIT...then why offer in store account?) It was because my account would not show up. The account manager who was very unwilling to help and did not offer any help said my account isnt viewable until 24 to 48 hours. How is that even possible when you just checked my credit less than an hour ago? Something is not right and this was a waste of a time.

I recieved no specific answer as to why, instead I was argued with and lied to. You need to make customers aware of policies and how you run your business.

I will never recommend this bank to anyone ever.

I have two accounts with this bank one is for walmart the other is for amazon. My walmart card has never had a credit limit increase although I have never missed a single payment on this card and have even paid it off in full multiple times, however my biggest issue is with my amazon store card. My limit was $600 and I just paid it off last month signed up for Amazon prime and bought a few things bringing my balance to $266 without warning when I signed in to make a payment on my account they lowered my limit to $270 putting my card at almost 100% utilization. When I called to find out why this had happened they said it was based on the credit report ran recently and when they decide to lower your limit they do so down to your current balance. How is this ok? I get a $330 decrease and also a drop to my credit score. Had I not paid off my balance last month for all the Christmas gifts I bought would my limit have stayed the same? I don't understand how this can be done when I've NEVER missed a single payment the entire time I've been with this bank. I find this very distasteful and obsurd.

Synchrony Bank blames their problems on the customer. They said that my recurring payment account was not valid and that I was typing the account and routing number in wrong. I use the exact SAME numbers on an "individual" payment and it goes through no problem...I tried to set up my recurring payments with two separate checking accounts and it happened both times. Both accounts work perfectly for all the other bills that are automatically deducted from them.

Synchrony has terrible customer service since they just blame everything on me...or they give me information that I can already see. They just pull up the account and regurgitate what is already there. That is absolutely no help to me. I know that it isn't the customer rep's fault and this goes up to the higher management for being completely incompetent.

I will NEVER get a credit card that goes through this bank EVER again. Worst customer service and experience I have EVER had. I can't wait to get this stupid thing paid.

This bank has misplaced my $800 dollar payment and now is trying to say we never paid it but it shows the money taken out of are account by them we are going to file charges against them soon if we do not get this matter taken care of this is wrong Michael & Debra [redacted]

I just paid off my Walmart Card balance and applied $2,200 to my Care Credit at the end of August. The day after I paid my Walmart Card, Synchrony reduced my credit line from $1200 to $100. Now I just received notice that they reduced my Care Credit from $3700 credit line to $1500. I'll admit there's been some financial hardships this year, but I've never been late on a payment with either one of these accounts and now that finances are good and all credit card debt is at less than 5% of my total credit line, I don't understand why they would do this to a customer!

I have a Care Credit account that is provided by GE Capital. After approximately 1 1/2 years of no issues with this account, I have now got a big one. It has always been somewhat difficult with their online payment portal. On Friday, 5/2/14, I attempted to make a payment online with no success. I tried twice to make a payment but it returned an error saying that it didn't go through. I phoned a payment in with the automated system as I didn't want to be late. Despite the errors that I received, I had $1200.00 taken from my account. NOW I get emails saying that I have a payment due the first of next month? No one can do anything, customer service is non existent. I called three times and no one cares! Do NOT use this service. If you do, you will regret it!!!!!

My step-father received a letter from Synchrony Bank in the mail saying his account
was closed due to non-payment of bills and a bad credit rating. He has never heard of
these people, so I was asked to research them.
Found out they were formally Capital Retail Bank {underwriting Costco}. My mother
died April of 2014 and had a Costco credit card. It was never in default, she
always paid her bills in full. She hadn't used the card approximately 7 months
before her death. Capital hounded my step-father because the re-up fee for the
next year {2015) had not been paid. They added interest till the amount was more
than $200.00. He never had anything to do with her account. Never used it, never signed anything to do with it, never paid it. It took me 2 weeks to get through to
Costco she was dead. Maybe it was through their joint account they got his name.
Anyway, he paid Capital in full, told them to close the account, don't ever bother
him again. So now I find out they are back as "Synchrony Bank". This is going to be interesting, since he has no credit cards for the so called"black mark" on his
credit rating to be applied to. After I tell him what I've found, maybe now he will let me
take this to a lawyer.
I must say thank you and good looking out to those who mentioned some of the
other companies partnered with this "bank". I will be sending this info to friends and
family. We will also pull his credit report and put this mis-information where it
belongs.
In the trash next to their business practices.

Had 1 late payment on a card issued by synchrony.
Within 1 month 1 account with them had the credit limit lowered to almost 0, and in the following month 2 other accounts were closed by synchrony even though they had perfect payment histories. All of these actions have adversely affected my credit score.