topic Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please in Rebuilding Your Credit

Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 01:21:50 GMT

I had a Syncrony Bank Amazon card charged off in 2013, as I’m working on repairing my credit in preparation for a mortgage I wanted to at minimum get this account to report paid.

So what has been done so far?

1. Contact Syncrony offered payment, was told they would not accept voluntary payments and they would not offer a settlement on the account.

2. Submitted BBB complaint to get the execs attention, they responded and stated the balance was correct and I could make voluntary payments on the account. Argued balance was not correct due to a 1099c being submitted and filed, but also if that argument was disregarded how or where I sent payments. I was sent a generic denial letter of my claims but still not told how to make a payment or settled the claimed balance.

3. Submitted disputes to all CRA’s requesting removal because of the filing of a 1099c which is in fact the cancellation of debt. They all were denied.

4. Called Syncrony Bank after getting the CRA denials and stated what was stated in the BBB response. Initially the representative told me I could make voluntary payments, but when I asked about a settlement for the account he placed me on hold.

When he came back on the line he stated they could not offer a settlement nor could they accept voluntary payments because the debt is “forgiven”, that I do not owe anything. When asked why a balance was being reported owed to the CRA’s he informed me that it shouldn’t be to submit a copy of my credit reports to their disputes department and it would be updated. However, knowing they have already denied the disputes with the CRA’s I didn’t do so.

5. Instead I reached out to the Presidents office representative listed on the BBB response, she essentially has strung me along for a week and told me she thinks it’s SOL why they won’t take payments but there is a still balance owed.

I told her to listen to the call that is not what the rep told me, he stated the debt is forgiven that isn’t the same as uncollectable due to SOL. Also if payments aren’t allowed how can they claim a balance is owed when in fact it isn’t payable.

But the recorded call clearly shows it was forgiven, she now is on vacation and told me she will still work on it but didn’t have an idea of when it would be resolved or if it would be as initially she tried to state what I said wasn’t stated but that she actually hadn’t reviewed the call. Told her to listen to the call then tell me that. She also stated they could not accept payments due to SOL.

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So my question is what in the world do I do next? I’m so lost and confused I’ve never had such a hard time paying a chargeoff or old debt. Especially voluntarily this just doesn’t make any sense.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

RobertEG — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 01:31:09 GMT

Your prior disputes apparently asserted that the account should be deleted based on cancellation of the debt.

It apparently did not dispute the single item of the current balance being inaccurate.

Deletion is not mandated based on discharge of the debt, be it by paying or cancellation, so it appears that the prior dispute was properly veriifed as to continued reporting of the account.

They have suggested a dispute of the current balance, which you have decided not to do.

I would suggest doing so, as that is the issue, and was not specifically identified as the basis for your prior dispute.

I would file a dispute limited to contesting the accuracy of the current balance.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 03:49:17 GMT

I get where your coming from Robert and as always thank you for your reply, time, and knowledge. I just don’t know with the representative from the Office of the President stating that the balance is accurate and that they simply cannot collect on the debt because of SOL. I explained the difference between collecting on a debt, and voluntary payment but she still deferred to the SOL more or less barring it.

This is on top the fact the collection department says the debt is forgiven on a recorded line. So far I’ve been fighting to pay this debt or get this resolved for almost 180 days.

With this information would you still suggest filing a dispute on the balance? That’s what my inital dispute was on the balance based on the issuance of the 1099c, but not the new info they’ve given me. Or do you think I should file a CFPB complaint, or have some other regulatory agency look into this?

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 23:08:33 GMT

Update: Filed a CFPB complaint as advised by legal counsel and tagged it to Syncrony Bank as well as all 3 CRA’s. Shall see if this works.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

HiiiPoWeR — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 23:45:05 GMT

@cyrusvalentino wrote:
Update: Filed a CFPB complaint as advised by legal counsel and tagged it to Syncrony Bank as well as all 3 CRA’s. Shall see if this works.

Keep us posted. I have an amazon account that has balance and they won't accept payment for it. I just gave up and decided to include the account in my GW efforts -- that's not getting me anywhere.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 02:48:23 GMT

Power are they telling you the same thing? That they are barred from accepting payments due to SOL? If so, would you be willing to file a CFPB complaint too? The more people who file the more likely the CFPB is to open a deeper investigation I’ve been told.

That’s how they got hit with this one from the CFPB: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-ge-capital-to-pay-225-million-in-consumer-relief-for-deceptive-and-discriminatory-credit-card-practices/

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

HiiiPoWeR — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 05:58:10 GMT

@cyrusvalentino wrote:
Power are they telling you the same thing? That they are barred from accepting payments due to SOL? If so, would you be willing to file a CFPB complaint too? The more people who file the more likely the CFPB is to open a deeper investigation I’ve been told.

That’s how they got hit with this one from the CFPB: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-ge-capital-to-pay-225-million-in-consumer-relief-for-deceptive-and-discriminatory-credit-card-practices/

No, they are telling me they can't accept payment because the debt is forgiven, but they still reporting a balance on my CR. I have filed CFPB complaints against them, but nothing actually happens. I guess the only thing to do next is to take them court (I never had to sue someone for not accepting money).

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 11:51:03 GMT

can you see what collection agency they use or if the debt is with a collection agency? synchrony may not be able to accept payments because the debt had been bought by a collection agency and they're the only ones that can take payment on the account. this happened to me and was totally frustrating where to try to arrange for payment. finally did though and seeing benefit from getting those previous accounts settled. keep trying it will be worth it in the end

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 11:53:49 GMT

That’s the thing it isn’t with a collection agency. The debt still remains owned and controlled by Synchrony Bank. They are stating however that they are barred from collection due to SOL on the executive level. However, the collections department with Synchrony Bank states the debt is forgiven.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

IOBA — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:23:02 GMT

My friends were/are trying to refi and they have a lot of chargeoffs reporting on their CR.

I had suggested to them that they pull out and copy the 1099-C's that they have received over the years and send a copy of those 1099-C's to the lender. It shows that the debt has been "written off" and that it no longer exists. The friends had to pay taxes on the charge off as "income" to the IRS.

It worked. The lender agreed that the 1099-C's were proof that the debt no longer existed. Supposedly, the lender was able to get the CC's to update the CB to reflect a zero balance.

IF you have recieved a 1099-C for the charge off, you can dispute that the charge off is inaccurately reporting. Once the 1099-C is issued, the reporting balance should be ZERO.

If you have a collection reporting in connection to the charge off debt, that should be removed, since the OC has charged off the debt and sent you a 1099-C.

That's the best you can do. Keep copies of the 1099-C!

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

IOBA — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:25:03 GMT

PS - If Syncrony Bank has sent you a 1099-C, the debt is off their books (they took it as a tax write off), and they can't legally accept payments on this debt.

You should be fine when you get a mortgage - provide a LOE and a copy of the 1099-C. You won't have to pay it off.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 22:34:53 GMT

I no longer have a copy of the 1099c they sent me, and do not know how to go about getting another copy of it.

I sent an email to the CEO again and referenced all the issues I’ve been having, as well the full information that was in the CFPB complaint and why it was filed. Hoping this new barrage of complaints and email will get some response even if it is they let me pay it.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

HiiiPoWeR — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 01:17:08 GMT

@cyrusvalentino wrote:
I no longer have a copy of the 1099c they sent me, and do not know how to go about getting another copy of it.

I sent an email to the CEO again and referenced all the issues I’ve been having, as well the full information that was in the CFPB complaint and why it was filed. Hoping this new barrage of complaints and email will get some response even if it is they let me pay it.

You can request a full transcript of your taxes from the IRS and they send you a copy of everything filed for the year requested.

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

HiiiPoWeR — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 01:27:42 GMT

@HiiiPoWeR

It seems as though, this is becoming a big problem with Synchrony.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Synchrony-Bank-stating-that-transunion-is-falsely-reporting-help/td-p/5230821

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

beutiful5678 — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 04:11:50 GMT

@cyrusvalentino wrote:
I no longer have a copy of the 1099c they sent me, and do not know how to go about getting another copy of it.

I sent an email to the CEO again and referenced all the issues I’ve been having, as well the full information that was in the CFPB complaint and why it was filed. Hoping this new barrage of complaints and email will get some response even if it is they let me pay it.

You should be able to request a copy of the lost 1099 from the IRS.

http://time.com/money/4152792/lost-tax-documents/

Re: Syncrony Bank / Charge off Saga - Help Please

cyrusvalentino — Sat, 05 May 2018 05:03:47 GMT

Time to provide an update on this:

After much back and forth Synchrony Bank responded and stated essentially I can make voluntary payments, but did not address why I was informed the debt was forgiven multiple times. They also did not address why I was informed I could not make voluntary payments pursuant to statue of limitations. They further argued that the issuance of a 1099C is required pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6050P. But through a brief consultation with legal counsel I discovered this is not true. The 36 month rule was removed in 2016 (https://www.irs.gov/irb/2016-48_IRB#TD-9793), and Synchrony Bank clearly states in their response that the 1099C was issued on February 6, 2017 which verifys the debt is in fact forgiven as they were not required to discharge the debt and their representative was not required to state the debt is forgiven and they are not barred from accepting voluntary payments as they have now done for over 90 days.

They didn't even address this they more or less ignored the fact their agent refused to accept voluntary payment due to the debt being forgiven, and only focused on the fact the debt was not forgiven and stated only that the agent was confused or I misunderstood his response. It hards to misunderstand his response when the agent stated the debt was forgiven multiple times and provided an address to get it corrected, and even advised to put a cover letter on the dispute referencing our conversation and that the debt is forgiven and the balance would be updated to reflect $0. They stated that when I referenced it being an active balance that's what confused their agent. This also is pure interjection and the context of the conversation cannot be viewed as what the person may or may not have been meaning to convey only what was stated should be evaluated. And in my comments to the CFPB business response I stated all the above as well as stated it is an active balance that affect my individual utilization as well as my overall utilization until the balance is updated to reflect a $0 balance as well as advised them not destroy any evidence and preserve all recording, e-mails, phone calls, and/or letters as an attorney would be requesting the referenced information in discovery as legal counsel is being obtained.

I'm sure many will state I'm crazy to pursue them but clearly I believe I can legally show the discharge of the debt, and the fact they would not accept voluntary payments and essentially held my credit hostage are all valid reasons that while won't be an easy fight I believe is one I can win. I will let everyone know what legal counsel says, but would love to hear everyones thoughts and feedback before contacting legal counsel again next week.