Synchrony Bank and FICO score

[M_Smart007]

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@fidofico wrote:

I actually did use facial ID and DL to set up an account with the IRS (at a time when this was going to be required; IRS subsequently backed away).

I didn't play ball with Synchrony because I was getting major sketchy vibes (should have googled/reddited/myficoed them first, ha ha), and because any reputable outfit upon seeing my credit report (way over 50 pages) and FICO score, would have at that point been comfortable granting me the small amount of credit I was seeking.

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Regarding Synchrony Prequalify  ...their method is to "SP" your file, and only "HP" "IF" you pass ID verification.

Again this is for "Pre-Qualification".

I cannot say that SYNCB is at the top of my list of all time "Greatest" hits lenders.

Just because they have a anti-fraud ID verification process in place to mitigate risk,

does not make them a less "reputable outfit".

It will actually pretty much stop someone else (a bad actor) in their tracks from applying in your name.

The best thing you can do if you are worried is to FREEZE or LOCK all three of your credit bureau files.

I personally keep all mine "LOCKED" and it has stopped someone from applying at a car dealership in my name.

If you are worried about ;

" maybe I'm too Luddite, but that just isn't something I'm comfortable with, willingly giving that personal form of identification into data maintained by what's struck me as a sketchy outfit."

After all the data breaches such as to name The Equifax one "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Equifax_data_breach",

most of your credit profile is probably already on the dark web somewhere.

So when it comes to lender ID verification, I'd consider that small potatoes.

[BuckyB]

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@fidofico wrote:

I actually did use facial ID and DL to set up an account with the IRS (at a time when this was going to be required; IRS subsequently backed away).

So when it comes to lender ID verification, I'd consider that small potatoes.

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Curious, if collecting facial biometrics from people is "small potatoes" from a privacy standpoint, what would be "big potatoes?"

[SouthJamaica]

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@fidofico wrote:

Last month I wanted to set up a "Care Credit" card - emergency-use credit card for veterinary bills - and this is handled through Synchrony Bank.

Terrible outfit, as I see from other stuff I've since read online, and I'm wondering if my abortive dealing with them will ding my credit score.

Here's the story.

Thinking it would be fast and easy and simple to apply for a small amount of credit (under $10k) with them online, I provided my information.  They pulled my credit report (FICO score well above 800 for at least five years), and my income is in the $150-200k range.

But instead of prequalifying me based on this like most lenders would have done, they then said I had to submit to facial recognition for fastest approval, or submit notarized bank statements.

At that point I said never mind, I'm not interested.  But they'd already pulled my (Transunion they said) credit report, and said that my credit report would show that I applied for credit there, that was not granted.

What do I do now?  I did immediately call Transunion, but they at the time had no record of Synchrony making an inquiry, and I had to wait 15 minutes through noisy music and attempted "upselling" of credit report features, before I spoke to someone.

If my "offense," balanced against my overall credit record, is like someone with a perfect driving record parking too far from the curb on a quiet street, I'll not dig any more on this.  But if I face something more adverse, I'd appreciate hearing what I'm supposed to do now.

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Either there's an inquiry or there isn't. Either way, it's history, so my advice is to forget about it and move on.