Synchrony Bank pulled Autopayment 10 days early - but first reversed then pulled again on same day

[KatSoDak]

This is my first post. Like so many others I want to thank the contributors to MF forums for the credit education I've received since I started reading last year.

The reason for this post is to share my recent experience with Synchrony Bank.

I have a Care Credit card with a promo that is set to auto pay $125 on the 26th of each month. I'm about 6 months into the promo. The last payment pulled successfully on Oct. 26th.

Yesterday, Nov 16th, I logged into my checking account and found 3 pending transactions from Synchrony Bank. All 3 reference my Care Credit card number. The transactions are in this order:

Synchrony Bank reversal $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

The end result is a payment for $125 was made to Synchrony since the reversal cancelled the 2nd payment.

I contacted Synchrony yesterday. My Care Credit account does not reflect any of these transactions and the agent at Synchrony said it's my banks problem.

I called my bank yesterday and was told that Synchrony likely had problems which would probably be resolved by today.

Nope. Today all three are posted, not pending. So I called Synchrony again and this time an agent told me it's a known issue and the $125 would not draft. I said it left my bank so I feel it has drafted. He claimed Synchrony would return my funds if it isn't resolved by the time I get my bank statement as long as I send them a paper copy of my bank statement. He also said they were getting lots of phone calls today and that all customers affected had auto payments scheduled for the 26th.  Still not showing on my Care Credit account online btw.

I then called my bank and opened a case. The investigation process is slow but they will resolve it I'm sure. 

Banker reminded me this is why they suggest customers push payments instead of having auto pay on credit issuing banks' end.

I have minimum auto pay set on all my credit cards. Also have larger monthly auto pay set on a couple cards which are 0 Apr balance transfer transactions. Haven't had any other problems. 

[fishbjc]

I don't understand Synchrony.  What THEY don't understand, or seem to care about, is HOW this could affect our accounts.

What if you did not have the funds to cover and other bills were rejected?  This is something that should NOT happen.

[Anonymous]

Not that this happens a lot, but is one of the reasons I do not rely on auto pay. Or use it a lot. This exact scenario while benign for some causes problems  for others if you're not expecting it, plus it's a paperwork issue that can take a while to resolve. I pefer to pay them directly rather than allow them to take Money out whenever it's convenient for them, because in the T&C it clearly states they can. 

[Curious_George2]

This is distressing. I'm sorry you experienced this OP. Sounds like it's not likely to be a big problem for you, but it certainly could trigger overdraft fees or NSF problems for many people. 

I marvel at the number and variety of problems Synchrony causes for their customers. This is also a good reminder that automatically pulled payments are not as foolproof as some people want to believe. Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope it works out OK for you.

[NoMoreE46]

@KatSoDak 

Welcome to MF.   This situation sucks and we all empathize.   I personally never allow anyone to pull automatically.  I always control my payments.

[KatSoDak]

No resolution yet. There was enough in my account to cover the early payment thankfully, but not by much. I called Synchrony again yesterday. Can't remember the exact wording of the reps response but it was basically "programmers are working on writing code to reverse the errors". 

Wonder how many people were affected. Also is Synchrony Bank showing inflated balance for all the funds they withdrew from our banks that they haven't credited to our accounts?

If my Care Credit account was credited with the early $125 payment I wouldn't be quite as upset but it doesn't. So six days from today they will pull again. I could cancel the payment but my balance is only $416 and I want to be done with this card.  

[KatSoDak]

Got an online message from Synchrony today in response to the message I sent. No resolution yet.

In addition to the phone calls I made, On the 18th I sent this message to Synchrony so I would have a record:

(Snip from their reply to me)

Received: 11/18/20 8:52:29 PM EST
To: donotreply@reply.synchronybank.com
Subject: Billing Inquiries

When will the mistake be fixed that took auto pay scheduled for Nov 26th out of my bank account on Nov 16th?

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Their reply:

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your Synchrony Bank account, and the opportunity to be of service to you.

We would like to apologize for the delay in our response. Your patience here has been so important for us as we resolve your concern.

Please note, Synchrony Bank is fully aware of the error to our cardholders' Automatic Payment and is doing the very best it could to have this issue rectified. We also appreciate your patience and understanding while we work on this issue. A notification will be sent to you, once resolved. 

We can certainly understand your frustration with the events that have transpired and the amount of effort you have applied in trying to have this situation corrected. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience, which you have experienced.

We appreciate you as a valued Synchrony Bank account customer.  If you have any questions or if we may be of further assistance, please contact us via the Online Message Center or at 1-866-893-7864

Sincerely,

Jeff R
Customer Service

Account is owned by Synchrony Bank

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After I sent the message I hit the credit increase link figuring why the neck not. My limit since opening the card and during the current promo has been $4600. I asked for 10,000 and they countered with $9,300.

Today after I logged in to read their message I asked for another $5,000 and got it. This crazy bank. So now this account is at $15,000. I have several additional crowns planned so I could do them all at once. Except I can't afford the monthly payments on the promo plan that would take. 

Is it petty of me to worry about my missing $125 when they "trust" me to spend and repay 15 grand?  Nope. 

[Iusedtolurk]

This is the reason I personally don't trust auto-pay even if it's a rare occurence for something to go wrong. That rare occurence could result in a host of frustrating problems. Pull too early, Pull too much etc.

I would look to have the min paid on my accounts ( in case something happens where I fail to pay it) then add more later if desired but I trust doing it like I do now (Paying the min on the 1st and then paying what I decide before the statement cuts.

Getting that big ole cli kinda makes up for it though.

[KatSoDak]

Received a refund from Synchrony yesterday, about 2 weeks after the mistake.  It is called an "historical return" in my checking account.

My regularly scheduled auto payment was pulled on the 26th.  

Now that my account is straightened out Im changing auto pay to just the minimum amount and manually making the last 3 payments I had scheduled during the promo period (which has 6 months left).

Glad this mess is finished. 

[Phana24]

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@KatSoDak wrote:

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@KatSoDak wrote:

This is my first post. Like so many others I want to thank the contributors to MF forums for the credit education I've received since I started reading last year.

The reason for this post is to share my recent experience with Synchrony Bank.

I have a Care Credit card with a promo that is set to auto pay $125 on the 26th of each month. I'm about 6 months into the promo. The last payment pulled successfully on Oct. 26th.

Yesterday, Nov 16th, I logged into my checking account and found 3 pending transactions from Synchrony Bank. All 3 reference my Care Credit card number. The transactions are in this order:

Synchrony Bank reversal $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

The end result is a payment for $125 was made to Synchrony since the reversal cancelled the 2nd payment.

I contacted Synchrony yesterday. My Care Credit account does not reflect any of these transactions and the agent at Synchrony said it's my banks problem.

I called my bank yesterday and was told that Synchrony likely had problems which would probably be resolved by today.

Nope. Today all three are posted, not pending. So I called Synchrony again and this time an agent told me it's a known issue and the $125 would not draft. I said it left my bank so I feel it has drafted. He claimed Synchrony would return my funds if it isn't resolved by the time I get my bank statement as long as I send them a paper copy of my bank statement. He also said they were getting lots of phone calls today and that all customers affected had auto payments scheduled for the 26th.  Still not showing on my Care Credit account online btw.

I then called my bank and opened a case. The investigation process is slow but they will resolve it I'm sure. 

Banker reminded me this is why they suggest customers push payments instead of having auto pay on credit issuing banks

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Synchrony Bank reversal $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

Synchrony Bank payment $125

The end result is a payment for $125 was made to Synchrony since the reversal cancelled the 2nd payment.

I contacted Synchrony yesterday. My Care Credit account does not reflect any of these transactions and the agent at Synchrony said it's my banks problem.

I called my bank yesterday and was told that Synchrony likely had problems which would probably be resolved by today.

Nope. Today all three are posted, not pending. So I called Synchrony again and this time an agent told me it's a known issue and the $125 would not draft. I said it left my bank so I feel it has drafted. He claimed Synchrony would return my funds if it isn't resolved by the time I get my bank statement as long as I send them a paper copy of my bank statement. He also said they were getting lots of phone calls today and that all customers affected had auto payments scheduled for the 26th.  Still not showing on my Care Credit account online btw.

I have just about every account set up for auto-pay minimum just to avoid any negatives, but in reality, I almost always pay them off manually before the due date.  I have had good luck with Discover and AmEx over the years, but would not trust the others.  Strangely, I have nothing but success with Synchrony(although I know if I keep saying this I am guaranteeing disaster).  Like you, I lurked here for a long time and really learned the score before I started posting.  A good on-line calendar with notifications is one of your best friends for keeping on top of bills. 

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