@K-in-Boston wrote:I've merged your two nearly identical threads. Please refrain from creating multiple threads on the same topic.
I've also had numerous Synchrony accounts since the GE Money Bank days, and the worst issues I have ever had were CLDs on accounts that had no activity for years (and received CLIs back to my previous limits immediately after noticing that it happened). Due to the nature of credit card forums, you're going to mostly hear about bad experiences with lenders and Synchrony is certainly no different. I do not recall ever seeing account closures from Synchrony where there wasn't something obvious in a cardholder's profile or actions that caused their underwriting to take adverse action. Typically that has been things like opening numerous Synchrony accounts in a short period of time, rapidly escalating balances with Sychrony or other lenders (this can happen with any lender), new derogs on your credit report (again, can happen with any lender), or in at least one case I've seen here because they added about a dozen authorized users to their accounts (absolutely a red flag for potential fraud).
One of the threads I posted was flagged as spam and didn't go through, so I made another. Perhaps another mod later approved the duplicate post.
@reluctantgarden wrote:Mine may be an outlying case, but there were no negatives, especially evidenced by since recovering about two-thirds of my SYF CL losses with new lines and CLIs.
Actually I have seen dozens of reports of people experiencing Synchrony adverse action -- usually account closures -- where there no negatives and a perfect credit record. The common thread was that they had multiple large credit limits with limited utilization of the cards.
What is also common, though, is that every time someone reports that type of incident here, a dozen other people come on and say "Oh I've had accounts with them for years and have never had a problem with them", usually implying there must have been something troubling in the profile of the person who reported it. I don't know when it will become clear to folks that the fact that a dozen people haven't had a problem with a lender that has a zillion customers, doesn't mean anything.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@reluctantgarden wrote:Mine may be an outlying case, but there were no negatives, especially evidenced by since recovering about two-thirds of my SYF CL losses with new lines and CLIs.
Actually I have seen dozens of reports of people experiencing Synchrony adverse action -- usually account closures -- where there no negatives and a perfect credit record. The common thread was that they had multiple large credit limits with limited utilization of the cards.
What is also common, though, is that every time someone reports that type of incident here, a dozen other people come on and say "Oh I've had accounts with them for years and have never had a problem with them", usually implying there must have been something troubling in the profile of the person who reported it. I don't know when it will become clear to folks that the fact that a dozen people haven't had a problem with a lender that has a zillion customers, doesn't mean anything.
Or put another way, when a company has millions of cardholders (without hyperbole) and has a handful of people a year posting on credit cards forums about adverse action, that does not demonstrate a systemic issue with their underwriting standards. Some people omit facts, some post very obvious reasons (to the rest of us) why AA happened. In no case do I believe that Synchrony just closes accounts randomly for the lulz.
@ChargedUp wrote:
2: Synch uses Vantage Score vs. FICO. The FICO - 8 of a mature, thick, blemish-free credit history won't fluctuate much should this person find a few credit offerings they take a liking to. Vantage scores seem to jump around and weigh heavier for inquiries/credit seeking. I've watched this happen in my own scores on EX.
It's important to note the distinction that Synchrony uses VS4, and not VS3. With my "mature, thick, blemish-free credit history" as you stated, my TU VS4 score closely mirrors my TU FICO 8 and 10 scores in the 790-820 range without much fluctuation for small changes. Meanwhile I am well-experienced with the simultaneous FICO 8 in the 830s and VS3 in the 690s because I applied for a new card and let a $2 balance post somewhere. 😂
@K-in-Boston wrote:Or put another way, when a company has millions of cardholders (without hyperbole) and has a handful of people a year posting on credit cards forums about adverse action, that does not demonstrate a systemic issue with their underwriting standards. Some people omit facts, some post very obvious reasons (to the rest of us) why AA happened. In no case do I believe that Synchrony just closes accounts randomly for the lulz.
Agreed. I don't think it's random either. The pattern I've noticed, sifting through the many reports I've seen here, is that across the board account closures occur when:
1. the customer has a number of large credit limits
2. the available credit is little used and
3. it's the 3rd month of a quarter.
If you agree, you can draw your own conclusions.
The conclusion I draw from it is that Synchrony sees it as an easy way to quickly reduce its loan loss reserves for financial reporting purposes, thus reducing its reported loss or enhancing its reported profit. People who aren't using their credit limits much anyway are deemed "deadbeats" in the Synchrony world, because they are not very profitable, and are therefore expendable.
To my mind this is a very short term outlook which is unhelpful to the company in the long run.
I believe that their financial risk management department identifies the potential risks in extremely early stages. Afterward, possibly an algo decides to either CLD or close the card(s) without notice. Whatever it is, my Amazon Synchrony card got closed (RIP forever).
Fico8: EX~EQ~TU~840 (12 month goal~850).
@xenon3030 wrote:I believe that their financial risk management department identifies the potential risks in extremely early stages. Afterward, possibly an algo decides to either CLD or close the card(s) without notice. Whatever it is, my Amazon Synchrony card got closed (RIP forever).
If it was about risk management, they (a) would be CLD'g, not closing, and (b) wouldn't be doing it to people with impeccable credit and low utilization.
