Something Nice to Say About Synchrony Bank

[RJM62]

I'm pretty sure the words in the thread title have never before been strung together, so allow me to be the first.

As I mentioned in another thread, I bought a lawnmower the other day and charged it to my Husqvarna credit card, which is issued by Synchrony. I hadn't used the card in a while and wanted to keep it alive because it has a huge credit limit. If Husqvarna ever starts making houses, I'm all set.

The dealer I go to is a local Mom and Pop where I've been shopping for years, and the guy who actually sold me the mower is a friend of mine, so they know me personally. But Synchrony required them to get a copy of my driver's license and fax it to them anyway. Then this morning, Synchrony called me up on the phone, verified my identity, and then verified that I'd made the purchase before actually posting it to my account.

Being a recent identity theft victim, I'm glad that Synchrony took these extra steps, especially since the card hadn't been used in about a year. I'd rather whip out my driver's license and get a phone call than wind up with thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on my card.

Rich

 

[Skyrys62]

I'd rather whip out my driver's license and get a phone call than wind up with thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on my card.

Absolutely.
I have found with years in the technology industry, that security and convenience are on the opposite ends of the W&B datum...but typically the inconvenience of security, is far less than the inconvenience of no security.

 

[luvflyin]

I've gotten that from Chase also. Nice to know they can catch an identity theft by taking the time to check. It can save you grief by getting on top of it sooner rather than later. Bottom line is though, they are doing it to protect themselves.

 

[G-Man]

They are doing it to protect themselves, for sure. You have zero liability for fraudulent credit card charges. (Another reason why debit cards suck.)

In an era when many consumer protections and personal control seem to be eroding, I wonder how long this will last?

 

[luvflyin]

They are doing it to protect themselves, for sure. You have zero liability for fraudulent credit card charges. (Another reason why debit cards suck.)

In an era when many consumer protections and personal control seem to be eroding, I wonder how long this will last?

I don't think they'll go to far chipping away at that. Those who use credit cards to actually get "credit" and pay interest are covering the costs. To put in rules that would lead to a significant number of people not buying stuff would put a big hurt on the economy. It is fueled by buying stuff

 

[JOhnH]

I've gotten that from Chase also. Nice to know they can catch an identity theft by taking the time to check. It can save you grief by getting on top of it sooner rather than later. Bottom line is though, they are doing it to protect themselves.

Speaking of Chase, about two years ago, I filled up the Bonanza at my homedrome in Eastern Florida using my Chase card. Then flew about 4.5 hours (685 nm) to Beaumont Texas and filled up again with about 55 gallons. As the credit card was processing, I got a text from Chase asking if the nearly $300 charge was mine, and to reply to the text with a YES. I did and the charge went through. The same thing happened a few months earlier and I didn't respond in time so the charge was denied. I had to call them and answer their privacy questions and then run the transaction again. Later they called and asked if this was a normal occurrence for me. I said yes and it hasn't happened again.

 

[FlySince9]

I've had one experience with them... They didn't post my first payment... Never got it resolved...because it was only 15 bucks, I got tired of wrestling with them and my bank so I just gave up...

 

[luvflyin]

Speaking of Chase, about two years ago, I filled up the Bonanza at my homedrome in Eastern Florida using my Chase card. Then flew about 4.5 hours (685 nm) to Beaumont Texas and filled up again with about 55 gallons. As the credit card was processing, I got a text from Chase asking if the nearly $300 charge was mine, and to reply to the text with a YES. I did and the charge went through. The same thing happened a few months earlier and I didn't respond in time so the charge was denied. I had to call them and answer their privacy questions and then run the transaction again. Later they called and asked if this was a normal occurrence for me. I said yes and it hasn't happened again.

Yeah. I travel a lot. Once they had my patterns down they stopped checking as often

 

[flyingron]

Don't get me started about Chase. We had a disaster of a home mortgage from them. Essentially, they got it in their mind that we had paid off the mortgage (admittedly, it only had about $25K on a $120K loan). They released the mortgage lien, sent us a check for the escrow impound balance. I tried sending in a payment, and it was returned because the loan was marked closed. I called them and sent them a letter informing them they had made an error. I was willing to sit back and see how long it was going to take them to notice, but my mother-in-law was having a fit (this was a duplex we owned with her that she lived in one side, and we rented out the other). She had a friend of ours who is a bit ditsy herself, but a lawyer (primarily SSA/Disability law) write them more letters.

Finally, they caught on, and they were about as rude as I could have imagined. They acted like it was our fault. They wanted to us to immediately make up the missing payments and refund the escrow impound. I said screw this and walked into my local branch of Suntrust and told them I needed $25K on a home equity loan on my other house and paid off the blasted thing so I could be done with them. Of course, it took me another few months to get them to remove the reinstated lien on the property, during which they IN A WRITTEN LETTER insulted the attorney friend. I'd never go near them again.

 

[NoHeat]

Avoid debt, and banks can do you little harm.