topic Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do.. in Credit Cards

Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

frankjaeger — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 04:24:42 GMT

Amazon Store Card. No missed payments. $6,000 limit.

Long story short, I submitted a payment for the wrong amount. First thing in the morning, was not fully awake, whatever. I called them later that day to cancel it and they told me it was too late and the payment was already processing. I was then advised by the rep to call my bank and put a stop payment on it. I asked the rep if that would have any repercussions for my account like fees or derogatory marks or anything like that, and was assured it was fine. So I called my bank and placed the stop payment, and then immediately made another payment for the correct amount.

Fast forward three weeks and my account has been closed "due to a stop payment on the account." When I called them and advised them of the situation, the "manager" stated that he was completely on my side and the rep should have properly informed me of what would happen. However, he is still unable to reinstate my account.

Is there anyone who has been through something similar and was able to have their account reinstated? I use my Amazon card weekly and pay it off monthly. I've been nothing but a loyal customer and now I'm being screwed because I followed the direction of a synchrony employee.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

NoMoreDebt — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 12:09:15 GMT

Sorry that happened. You are probably better off anyway. Synchrony really seems to suck from all the horror stories I read here through the years. No way I would want one as they seem to go on a mass AA spree when the wind changes directions.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

keekers — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 15:17:01 GMT

Another bad news Synch story. Sorry this happened to you and I agree with Jeep...probably a blessing. Any chance you could grab the Chase Amazon card?

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 15:27:25 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:

Fast forward three weeks and my account has been closed "due to a stop payment on the account." When I called them and advised them of the situation, the "manager" stated that he was completely on my side and the rep should have properly informed me of what would happen. However, he is still unable to reinstate my account.

Is there anyone who has been through something similar and was able to have their account reinstated? I use my Amazon card weekly and pay it off monthly. I've been nothing but a loyal customer and now I'm being screwed because I followed the direction of a synchrony employee.

Sorry this happened, but given the manager was unable to help, it will be an uphill battle IMO.

But the lesson, too late sadly for OP, is about relying on CSRs. As frequently mentioned here, they often do not know and give incorrect information, mainly because the metrics are to finish interactions as quickly as possible and move on to the next.

In this case, it's especially likely that the CSR has absolutely no visibility into the group that manages risk (including CLD and closures) and may have been providing either the best guess, or just saying the "good" answer so the call would terminate quicker. But basically they weren't authorized to speak for the risk management group and so the wrong answer, while unfortunate, is an employee mistake that doesn't bind the company.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

SouthJamaica — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:04:39 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:
Amazon Store Card. No missed payments. $6,000 limit.

Long story short, I submitted a payment for the wrong amount. First thing in the morning, was not fully awake, whatever. I called them later that day to cancel it and they told me it was too late and the payment was already processing. I was then advised by the rep to call my bank and put a stop payment on it. I asked the rep if that would have any repercussions for my account like fees or derogatory marks or anything like that, and was assured it was fine. So I called my bank and placed the stop payment, and then immediately made another payment for the correct amount.

Fast forward three weeks and my account has been closed "due to a stop payment on the account." When I called them and advised them of the situation, the "manager" stated that he was completely on my side and the rep should have properly informed me of what would happen. However, he is still unable to reinstate my account.

Is there anyone who has been through something similar and was able to have their account reinstated? I use my Amazon card weekly and pay it off monthly. I've been nothing but a loyal customer and now I'm being screwed because I followed the direction of a synchrony employee.

My takeaway is that you should have followed your own instincts, instead of relying on counterintuitive advice from a random customer service representative.

If I were you I would just move on.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

GreatLife — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:33:47 GMT

"However, he is still unable to reinstate my account".

What exactly did the manager mean? Is this a systems limitation or a policy requirement? If it's policy then call again and continually request to speak with someone higher up the food chain until your account is reinstated. If it's systems then call again and speak with a solution oriented manager that's capable of offering some options that can get you into a new account with minimal credit score impacts including no hard pull. Are they able to change coding for the closure to something like lost or stolen card, then open a new account with the old origination date and credit limit, transfer acct balance to the new card?

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:17:19 GMT

@GreatLife wrote:
"However, he is still unable to reinstate my account".
What exactly did the manager mean? Is this a systems limitation or a policy requirement? If it's policy then call again and continually request to speak with someone higher up the food chain until your account is reinstated.

If it's policy, while you can always try, organizations don't always work that way. They can simply refuse to let you speak to someone higher up . They can also mark your account as "trouble maker" or whatever, meaning you would be unable to get another card from the issuer (in the unlikely event you wanted to!)

OP also would need to decide just how much effort to put in to try to reverse the decision.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

coldfusion — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:25:06 GMT

Think about filing a CFPB complaint against Synchrony ASAP, and do the best you can narrowing down the dates and approximate times when you made both phone calls. It's possible that the calls were recorded and the recordings retained for up to 30 days so if you're going to do this don't wait.

I can't speak to the odds of a favorable outcome but the complaint will get looked at by someone with more authority than a 1st level customer service manager.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

DoppelgangerD — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:26:05 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:

I've been nothing but a loyal customer and now I'm being screwed because I followed the direction of a synchrony employee.

I'm so sorry that happened to you.

Personally I've never had any issues with the Synchrony accounts I've had and do have, and hopefully I never will. I don't advocate for them or any bank for that matter. I think they're all POS, lol.

At some time or another, we've all gotten screwed over in life and have the stories and scars to prove it.

C'est la vie as they say, and I agree with others that you should just try to put it in the rearview mirror.

Perhaps this opens an opportunity to get the Chase version of the Amazon card, and as a silver lining...

1) You got out of an account with Synchrony which most consider a blessing.

2) You aren't likely to ever make the same payment mistake again.

I hope the rest of your accounts treat you better, and another plus is that there are communities like this one that are full of help and support when you need it.

Stay strong! 🤜🤛

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

GreatLife — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 21:32:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@GreatLife wrote:
"However, he is still unable to reinstate my account".
What exactly did the manager mean? Is this a systems limitation or a policy requirement? If it's policy then call again and continually request to speak with someone higher up the food chain until your account is reinstated.
If it's policy, while you can always try, organizations don't always work that way. They can simply refuse to let you speak to someone higher up . They can also mark your account as "trouble maker" or whatever, meaning you would be unable to get another card from the issuer (in the unlikely event you wanted to!)

OP also would need to decide just how much effort to put in to try to reverse the decision.

Understood, but did the manager mean he couldn't or wouldn't reinstate the account? My intention was that policies can be overidden by someone with the proper authority - which might resolve wouldn't. System limitations require workarounds - which might resolve couldn't. OP's account likely already has a negative notation due to the closure reason. Possibly impacting other Sync accounts or ability to open any in the future. Amazon card is already closed so I see no harm in trying for a successful outcome.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

FicoMike0 — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 03:15:49 GMT

Sorry about the raw deal.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

ptatohed — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 08:15:49 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:
Amazon Store Card. No missed payments. $6,000 limit.

Long story short, I submitted a payment for the wrong amount. First thing in the morning, was not fully awake, whatever. I called them later that day to cancel it and they told me it was too late and the payment was already processing. I was then advised by the rep to call my bank and put a stop payment on it. I asked the rep if that would have any repercussions for my account like fees or derogatory marks or anything like that, and was assured it was fine. So I called my bank and placed the stop payment, and then immediately made another payment for the correct amount.

Fast forward three weeks and my account has been closed "due to a stop payment on the account." When I called them and advised them of the situation, the "manager" stated that he was completely on my side and the rep should have properly informed me of what would happen. However, he is still unable to reinstate my account.

Is there anyone who has been through something similar and was able to have their account reinstated? I use my Amazon card weekly and pay it off monthly. I've been nothing but a loyal customer and now I'm being screwed because I followed the direction of a synchrony employee.

I guess I am confused by "payment for the wrong amount". If it was too low, send in another. If it was too high, just let it go and have a negative balance? Why the stop payment?

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 14:01:52 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
I guess I am confused by "payment for the wrong amount". If it was too low, send in another. If it was too high, just let it go and have a negative balance? Why the stop payment?

I had the same thought. But one reason might be if it was way too much and the overpayment would cause budget issues for other payments (or you just don't want to give the issuer a free float for a large amount)

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

frankjaeger — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 14:26:17 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
I guess I am confused by "payment for the wrong amount". If it was too low, send in another. If it was too high, just let it go and have a negative balance? Why the stop payment?

$2,000 instead of $200. Like I said, I just woke up and was still half asleep but saw the reminder on my phone to pay. Realized later in the day that I put an extra 0.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

DoppelgangerD — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 16:48:30 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:
@ptatohed wrote:
I guess I am confused by "payment for the wrong amount". If it was too low, send in another. If it was too high, just let it go and have a negative balance? Why the stop payment?

$2,000 instead of $200. Like I said, I just woke up and was still half asleep but saw the reminder on my phone to pay. Realized later in the day that I put an extra 0.

Yeah there's something messed up about Synchrony's system that would even allow you to pay that much.

Multiple times in the past I've accidentally made dual payments because their system doesn't show pending payments and doesn't block you from making double payments or ones that are too big.

That's not just with the Amazon card either.

On the other hand, I don't mind sometimes if I want to pay off a charge quickly and don't want to wait out the 2-5 day pending period to resolve.

However letting you accidentally pay thousands extra is a bit ridiculous.

It's also ridiculous that they closed your account without even looking into it.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

xenon3030 — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 19:26:48 GMT

They do this regularly and there are lots of examples in various forums. Do a favor to yourself and get another 5% card for Amazon elsewhere (Chase Amazon, Affinity Cash Rewards).

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

frankjaeger — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 20:58:26 GMT

Wish I could get the Chase Amazon but Chase was included in my BK four years ago and still can't get an approval from them.

Another reason it really bugs me that they closed this account. It was one of my first ones post-BK and now it's closed.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

titancylinder — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 21:33:07 GMT

@frankjaeger wrote:
Wish I could get the Chase Amazon but Chase was included in my BK four years ago and still can't get an approval from them.

Another reason it really bugs me that they closed this account. It was one of my first ones post-BK and now it's closed.

I opened a Carecredit card, but didn't use it and 4 months later, they closed it due to inactivity. Syncrony is an odd ball one. But don't take it personally, just because they closed the card, doesn't mean you can't get it back. Just wait 6 months - year and reapply. Chances are, they will give it back to you.

I will preface this and say, don't be reliant on the cards from them because you never know when they will close the account. I think it's their computer closing the accounts and not a human. Because it just makes NO sense. They close accounts on people with perfect scores, they close accounts on challenged scores, it doesn't matter.

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

xenon3030 — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 01:19:59 GMT

@titancylinder wrote:
I opened a Carecredit card, but didn't use it and 4 months later, they closed it due to inactivity. Syncrony is an odd ball one. But don't take it personally, just because they closed the card, doesn't mean you can't get it back. Just wait 6 months - year and reapply. Chances are, they will give it back to you.

If the OP re-applies again, they can do it again. So, the best recommendation might be do NOT re-apply for the card while find a similar card from another lender. There are plenty of cards that can be good for Amazon (Chase 5%, Affinity 5%, Amex BCE 3%, BOA CCR 3%, etc).

Re: Synchrony closed my Amazon Store Card for doing what synchrony rep told me to do..

markhs777 — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 06:41:02 GMT

Sorry about that mistake. You must have been really sleepy to write thousand instead of hundred. IMO no big loss and little impact on ur credit. A stop payment in itself is not negative.