Risk Factors/Verify Identity/CC Application

[gloverkevin]

I had some freezes on some reporting agencies but since have unfroze those accounts, that's the only thing I can think of. I've never seen this, other than opening my US Bank checking and I had to call identity verification to get it approved. Do you think I'll have to call Synchrony, I hate to have a hard inquiry for no reason when it sounds like I didn't get officially denied, but for identity,

thanks! 

[mrphilli]

Unless they've changed the wording on their notices, I don't think the credit freeze is why they can't verify your identity. I forgot to unfreeze one of my credit files when I applied with them last year and received the letter at the bottom of this post. They mention the frozen credit twice in it.

My knee-jerk feeling is that this happened because:

A.) There's an inconsistency between your application and your TransUnion credit file (a typo in your address, e.g.) that made them unable to verify your identity (most likely), or

B.) They need you to go through their identity verification process (less likely), or

C.) This is just one of those "bizarre Synchrony Bank things" which seem to happen to folks more often than with other lenders (least likely, but it wouldn't shock me).

In my case last year, I knew I had forgotten to unfreeze the credit file and didn't want to wait on them to send me a letter, so I unfroze it and called 866-794-8802. This phone number might be specifically connected with the Google Store Synchrony folks; I didn't see it referenced anywhere but on Google-related forums.

I checked online for Amazon's secured card and the phone number they listed is 866-634-8379, so you might want to try this one instead to see what's up if you're still interested in pursuing this credit product.

That being said, they mentioned they can't verify your identity with TransUnion specifically (in my letter below, they just listed all three bureaus and said to unfreeze the reports), so it might be worthwhile to first look at your TransUnion file and see if there's anything that isn't accurate before you call. If it is possible to double-check the information that you put on the application, then I'd definitely do that, too.

-----

Synchrony Credit Freeze Letter

[gloverkevin]

Thank you, I will reach out to them and see what they say! I also had issues with the online dispute portal and requesting credit report from TransUnion. My mail in dispute was received Friday 23rd, which also included the error messages on the online portal, so hopefully they cross check my personal information and make sure I don't have some lock on my account. I also hope if I do apply for the Amazon card again, or when I speak with the customer service people that they don't have to hard pull again.

[mrphilli]

---

@gloverkevin wrote:

Thank you, I will reach out to them and see what they say! I also had issues with the online dispute portal and requesting credit report from TransUnion. My mail in dispute was received Friday 23rd, which also included the error messages on the online portal, so hopefully they cross check my personal information and make sure I don't have some lock on my account. I also hope if I do apply for the Amazon card again, or when I speak with the customer service people that they don't have to hard pull again.

---

Well that's a bummer! I'm sorry to hear you've run into those issues with TransUnion's online portal.

If you ran into issues with filing a dispute and requesting a credit report from TransUnion via their website, then it is possible that Synchrony Bank couldn't access your credit file, as well. That would certainly explain the "risk factors that cause us to be unsure of your identity" verbage in the notice they sent you. Given this, it might be best to hold off on calling Synchrony Bank until after this mail-in dispute with TransUnion is resolved.

A while back, I was running into a generic error message when I looked at my American Express My Credit Guide page. They directed me to call TransUnion directly at 1-855-468-1379. After a brief hold, the gentleman told me to refresh the page and everything suddenly showed up. Nothing changed in terms of the contents of the file, which made me feel like these database issues happen from time to time (it doesn't make them any less frustrating, but I digress).

With regards to my situation with Synchrony Bank, I ended up with just one hard inquiry after I unfroze my credit file. I don't know if that's common or not, though. Once things are cleared up with the TransUnion online portal, you should be able to check the hard and soft inquires on the credit report, which could give you some peace of mind on where things stand.

[coldfusion]

Let us know how you make out, I'm interested in TU's initial response to your mailed dispute.   Did you include copies of documentation in your letter to help verify that you really are you?

[Catbird_Seat]

Following along because in my experiences with Synch, they indeed do some bizarre things as noted above. 

I'm wondering if they have my file confused with someone else's due to the credit score they provided to me the one time I asked for a CLI, as it was 80 points lower than my lowest credit score.