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All About Synchrony Lawsuits

Learn what Synchrony lawsuits are out there, and how to take action…

Synchrony Bank is the subject of hundreds of online consumer complaints, and many of them for good reason. They are also the subject of a few lawsuits.

When things don’t go the way they should, or you notice problems with your account statements, hidden fees, or fraudulent activity, your options are limited. Your options are to contact Synchrony customer service and hope that they answer the phone. If you are lucky enough to get in touch with an actual person you still have to hope that they can solve your problem. If that doesn’t work you can file a complaint about Synchrony Bank and get your issue out there. 

 

1

Are lawsuits allowed against Synchrony?

Chances are your user agreement with Synchrony Bank doesn’t let you sue Synchrony except in small claims court thanks to an arbitration clause. Small claims court can be very complicated and time-consuming which is why we suggest consumer arbitration as a viable alternative.

2

What is a Class Action Lawsuit? Can I file a Class Action Lawsuit against Synchrony?

Class action lawsuits are legal actions that represent lots of people who all suffered the same complaint but instead of individually suing Synchrony Bank, they sue under one lawsuit and then split the settlement if it comes. Your fine print might stop you from joining a class-action lawsuit, but they can still take place. Sometimes class action lawsuits against banks are brought by government organizations, state governments or the federal government, as well as former employees or other individuals who are not prohibited because of their user agreement.

3

As a Synchrony customer, what are my options for a lawsuit?

Your options for a lawsuit start with small claims court. You can sue Synchrony Bank in small claims court assuming your case qualifies. Every state has different qualifications. After that you’ll have to attend a hearing and pay legal fees. Alternatively you can do everything from the comfort of your home by using consumer arbitration, the very thing that prevented you from joining class action lawsuits. 

4

Recent and notable Synchrony lawsuits:

Synchrony Bank FDCPA lawsuit

In the state of Wisconsin Synchrony Bank faced a lawsuit alleging that they violated the federal fair debt collection practices act. The plaintiff stated that she received letters simply saying she needed to make payments by a specific date in order to avoid late charges. Immediately thereafter she received the second letter saying that if she didn’t send the minimum payment her account would go to collections. Within a week she received the third letter saying that her debt was accelerated and all of her remaining balance was due immediately. After that she received a fourth letter demanding that a minimum payment be made, not the full payment. Confused yet? So was she. 

Synchrony automated call lawsuit

Synchrony is the subject of a lawsuit alleging that they used pre recorded and automated cellular calls, contacting people about accounts that did not belong to them and contacting people who had not given their approval. This represented a violation of the TCPA with a settlement of $2.9 million. 

Similarly Synchrony Bank was the subject of a lawsuit regarding harassing calls made in California. It alleged that Synchrony Bank made unreasonably frequent or harassing phone calls to collect debt. In many cases they were calling an incorrect number and refused to stop the debt collection calls even though it wasn’t the right person. The company agreed to pay 3.5 million dollars.

Synchrony illegal auto-dial debt collection lawsuit

Synchrony was subject to a 2018 class action lawsuit claiming that Synchrony Bank used automated telephone dialing systems to place unsolicited calls collecting on debt. In so doing they violated the telephone consumer protection act. The plaintiff alleges that she did not owe any debt and demanded that they stop calling, but instead of investigating the potential mistake, Synchrony Bank continued to harass.

Synchrony mismanagement of promotional purchases credit accounts

Synchrony was a subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2020 alleging that they misled the terms of their promotional purchases credit accounts and failed to give customers Credit. In so doing they violated the truth in Lending Act and the Rosenthal Fair Debt collections Practices Act. The plaintiff states that he opened a credit account with Synchrony Bank in 2019 because of a deal about promotional purchases, which wouldn’t have interest if paid off in 6 months. The plaintiff made multiple purchases and returned merchandise immediately but in spite of that was not credited for the returns and moreover found that there were multiple charges of miscellaneous adjustments to his account that had no explanation.

Synchrony Walmart lawsuit

Walmart sued Synchrony Bank for eight hundred million dollars stating that Synchrony Financial had breached its contract by issuing store-branded credit cards and in so doing caused significant losses such that Walmart had to close its doors. Walmart complains that synchronous transaction fees were too high and they didn’t approve enough of the store-branded credit cards. However, interestingly enough, even though Synchrony Financial tried to get the lawsuit thrown out, they failed. A few years later Walmart dropped the charges without disclosing why.








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