Synchrony Bank Charge-off seems to be fraud?

[lddavis97]

Hi everyone,

In October 2023, I visited a TjMaxx store and made a purchase during which I was offered a rewards card and a discount if I was approved. I went through the process and was seemingly approved, and made my purchase using my debit card which is proven by my bank statement.

Well, I never received the card! I thought nothing of it until a few months ago when I was preparing to move and saw that I had a charged off account that absolutely tanked my credit from 760 to 580, destroying my chances at finding housing. In a panic, I reached out to customer support to dispute, received a denial that all of my information was accurate, and I felt entirely gaslit about my experience, wondering how a charge had been made to a card that I never received or activated. After trying the saturation method for goodwill, I got a letter that shows the purchase of $320 was made the day after my TJMaxx purchas at "MARSHALLS 0863 WOODLAND CA" which I assume is the store code for a store in CA. For reference, I am in a state in the southeast. And, to this day, I still do not have the account number or a way to access this account. 

I am assuming this is a fraud case?? But I have no idea how to go about disputing this as fraud when Synchrony has been entirely unwilling to work with me. As of now, they have placed the account with Credit Control LLC, but it is not yet appearing as collections on my credit statement. Any guidance on where to start is much appreciated.

[SouthJamaica]

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@lddavis97 wrote:

Hi everyone,

In October 2023, I visited a TjMaxx store and made a purchase during which I was offered a rewards card and a discount if I was approved. I went through the process and was seemingly approved, and made my purchase using my debit card which is proven by my bank statement.

Well, I never received the card! I thought nothing of it until a few months ago when I was preparing to move and saw that I had a charged off account that absolutely tanked my credit from 760 to 580, destroying my chances at finding housing. In a panic, I reached out to customer support to dispute, received a denial that all of my information was accurate, and I felt entirely gaslit about my experience, wondering how a charge had been made to a card that I never received or activated. After trying the saturation method for goodwill, I got a letter that shows the purchase of $320 was made the day after my TJMaxx purchas at "MARSHALLS 0863 WOODLAND CA" which I assume is the store code for a store in CA. For reference, I am in a state in the southeast. And, to this day, I still do not have the account number or a way to access this account. 

I am assuming this is a fraud case?? But I have no idea how to go about disputing this as fraud when Synchrony has been entirely unwilling to work with me. As of now, they have placed the account with Credit Control LLC, but it is not yet appearing as collections on my credit statement. Any guidance on where to start is much appreciated.

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You should file a fraud dispute with Synchrony and the credit bureaus. You should be using certified mail or some other type of service that enables you to prove that you sent the dispute.

If you do not receive satisfaction you should file a complaint with CFPB.

[4quad]

It's not a perfect system. My experience with the CFPB is non-satisfactory too. I would recommend that you file an identity fraud report in person with your local police department and over the phone with the police department in California with jurisdiction. Also file a report with the FCC which will give you an online worksheet of things to do. Finally I rcommend that you send a validation demand letter (forms for modification are on the CFPB site). Make sure that the letter lists Synchronies legal requirements, and that you request the original signed document, SS#, billing address, and phone number of debtor of record. Also ask for method of calculating the bill, sign off date, and if applicable who they sold the debt to and for how much.