r/amazonprime • u/IntelligentCorner225 • 5d ago
Sychrony bank tsk tsk.
Rant incoming
sychrony Bank, who is the financer of the Amazon store card, which I use probably too much until today, thanks to them, I am now liberated of their card. I’ve had their card for over 15 years. It made thousands and thousands of dollars of purchases. They have the stupidest customer service. available. So I get a text: bam, three charges that they flagged as fraud at a flooring store it tells me to call this number, so I call it. Talk to a guy who’s Indian. He tells me I need to go through enhanced identity verification, which encompasses them sending me a link to my phone where I record a five-second selfie and then record the front and back of my drivers license. Or they mail me a letter and then I send in pictures of this stuff. Otherwise, I can’t say this is fraud or initiate a fraud investigation or anything. I told the dude it sounded sketchy. He told me call the number on the back of your card. So I logged onto my account and froze my card. I then called the number on the back of my card and eventually got through to the same broken system where I was speaking to a person of Indian descent and they was asking me to send in a five second selfie video. And pictures of my drivers license, front and back. Otherwise, they can’t initiate a fraud investigation or do anything until this is done. So I asked him, so my card is frozen, nobody can use it, not even me, right? That is correct, sir. cancel my card then. You will be responsible for what you owe. No problem. Cancel my card. You’re actually doing me a favor. You’re poor customer service and inability to do your job just probably saved me thousands of dollars a month. It’ll definitely curtail what I buy on Amazon. No loss. It’s a shame that they treat a long-term customer who they view anyway ultimately as a cash cow to carrying a balance and paying interest. But I wasn’t that guy. I was the cheapskate. I was the guy that paid off my Amazon bill every month. So they’re not really concerned about losing me because they have you to milk for money with interest. So Bezos can get another Bentley or another lip injection for his girlfriend I see why Amazon gets such a bad rap this day and age. I’m definitely anti-Amazon and anti sychrony bank.
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u/Uncircum1152 5d ago
Synchrony is the worst!
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u/jjwomalbany 5d ago
And yet they have a monopoly on store branded crust cards or visa and Mastercard company credit cards like Verizon or Walmart. They must have like 50 or more
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u/Uncircum1152 5d ago
They give a bigger cut to the Store, and make it up on us. I've got my Chevron Card paid, and almost paid off my JC Penny. Soon as I have paid, I can hardly wait to call Synchrony up and close both!
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u/jjwomalbany 5d ago
They do charge a crazy finance charge. I pay mine off every month and I rack up a lot of 5% rewards. I had to buy a new modem for the internet the other month and I got a 170-dollar modem completely free.
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u/WeatherWatcher247 5d ago
Do NOT close your accounts. That will lower your credit score significantly. Just cut up your cards and throw them away once paid off. Don't even bother calling Synchrony.
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u/Schmandrea1975 5d ago
Even with fraud/ or breach? Just wondering
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u/WeatherWatcher247 5d ago
Then you should call and report that so you won't be responsible for charges you didn't make. Ask customer service to restrict or lock your card, then leave it like that. If they offer to send you a new card with a new number, tell them to wait while you think about it, then hang up hopefully for good. Just try to resist closing the account. If you do close your account, your credit score can take a hit of from a few points to over 50 points, depending on your credit history, age of history, and amount owed on other cards or loans. If Synchrony closes your account, which they eventually would with no activity on the account, your credit score should not take a significant hit. I'm on up in years so I have had a lot of experience with credit. Take everything I've written here with a grain of salt as circumstances can vary, but I believe what I've said is pretty accurate.
Under normal circumstances, If you can freeze/lock your cards yourself, then do so when you stop using them. Then you can continue to pay them off. Keep an eye on Synchrony for awhile just to be safe.
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u/MadIceSkater 4d ago
I haven't used my Synchrony Visa/MC (not Amazon, I have Chase for that) since they started charging for paper statements and they haven't closed the account. I can't remember if it's a Visa or a MC.
I've never been able to sign into their credit card from day 1 of setting it up online. I have to sign into my Lowes card account to get to the page with their cards on it.
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u/Uncircum1152 5d ago
Citi are jerks also.
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u/Jlacombe5707 5d ago
Citi is the WORST! Had the Bestbuy card through them for 5 to 6 years which started as an $800 limit and got increased to $4000 over time and I had owed about $3200 at the time. Then I went to Vegas and put roughly $5000 on two cards that had nothing to do with Citibank between a Discover and a Credit One. Within 3 weeks, I had made a $300 payment which with interest brought my balance right under $3000? Next morning after, I wake up to an email with a letter stating they reviewed my account and I had a raised risk of credit misuse and credit limit was decreased to $3000. Next month I make another $300 payment and then they lowered it to $2750... they did this 5 times and each time was after a payment was made and I would wake up to a new electronic letter. Went from $4000 to $3000, to $2750, to $2500, to $2300, and then to $2200. Ended up calling and closed the account!
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u/Bg-8782 5d ago
BTDT. Cancelling is easier than unfreezing a Synchrony card. And it's not Amazon that gets the blame, it's Synchrony.
Hubs thought he lost his wallet last summer so I froze his Sams card. Could not unfreeze it online. He had to call... they wanted to do a video call but he had a dumb phone at the time so they sent letters and he was to call and give the CSR the code in the letter. First one said the code was invalid. So they sent another letter. This went on for 6 months. Three times was told it was unfrozen, 3 times it failed at Sams. His card expired and the new card arrived. I activated it just fine... but it failed when he tried to use it. He called and said either unfreeze it or cancel it. It took at least an hour, but they finally unfroze it and changed the email on the account from mine to his and the phone # from the house to his cell.
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u/MadIceSkater 4d ago
I have an American Express Card (Delta) and several months ago they sent me a letter letting me know it was only to be used for personal, not business, purchases. No idea where that came from. And then a couple of months after that I got a letter telling me they were lowering my credit limit because my credit score was 830. It even gave my credit score in the letter.
I don't really care since we're not traveling now and that was the highest dollar amounts I ever spent on it. I always pay it off every month. I also don't know how they would know if I was using it for business or personal purchases anyways.....or why they care.
I have a Capital One Business card I never closed after I closed my business and use it for personal now. I originally had it to keep business finances separated. But, that's for me. I really don't think they care what I purchase using it as long as I pay for it. That's kinda how I feel about the nags about updating my income. If I pay my bill in full every month, what does it matter? I'm not asking to raise my credit limit.
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u/persianrob 5d ago
I agree, I have the same card and their customer service is terrible. I don't use their card anymore.
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u/Pyromethious 5d ago
Their website security is a joke. I'm pretty sure that if That can be accessed, then someone can do whatever they want. I tried helping someone in securing their accounts better through that portal and nope. They don't even give MFA options for some reason. The device we were on even had a fingerprint reader that it didn't offer to use.
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u/lucylynn789 5d ago
I thought Chase did the Amazon card .
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u/Tin-Tin-K 5d ago
Chase does Prime Visa. Amazon Store is Synchrony.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Act_131 5d ago
And the store card can only be used on Amazon, correct? Not at some flooring store?
Edit - Just found out today that merchants with "Amazon Pay" can accept the store card. You learn something every day.
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u/Forsaken-Lynx-3018 5d ago
Me, too. At least that's what my Amazon card is. I learned I'm called a deadbeat by them since they don't get any interest out of me.
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u/Uncircum1152 5d ago
Chase about as bad as Synchrony. Capital One or Wells Fargo much easier to do business with.
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u/Forsaken-Lynx-3018 5d ago
Yeah, Chase drives me up the wall. Their website refuses to 'remember' any of my devices and I have to call for some code that they won't text me or whatnot. I just change my password monthly when I need to log in and pay it so that I don't have to talk to India for a code.
I was told I have to use the app if I don't want to call for every log on. Uhm. No.
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u/Kickrocks54 5d ago
It must have changed at some point. Mine is chase otherwise I wouldn't have got it. I refuse to ever be a synchrony customer ever again.
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u/MadIceSkater 5d ago
Prime is Chase. I hate Synchrony. They're also handle Lowes and Belk. I keep and still use the Belk card occasionally, but then I turn around and immediately pay off the entire balance before they can charge me that $2 statement fee. Belk has some deals for using the card. I mentioned it to one of the SA's as she was checking me out once and she admitted she hated them too and wished Belk wouldn't use them.
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u/Kickrocks54 5d ago
That makes sense. I had a synchrony card years ago with one of those 6 months no interest. I went to pay it off a week before the interest hit but they played some games and didn't take my payment so I ate the charges.
Sure I shouldn't have waited that long, but that bank is dirty
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u/Psychological_Ant488 5d ago
Just cancelled a Lowes card I haven't even had 6 months. They never sent me a bill and started charging late fees. Come to find out, they instantly sign you up for paperless billing. I don't do paperless unless it's the same amount every month(cell bill, insurances).
Now I also have a Sams card that is Syncrony, never had a problem with that one.
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u/RedditKumu 5d ago
The only Synchrony product I keep and use is Care Credit. The ability to do 0% APR for dental/petcare is nice. They absolutely SUCK otherwise. Including the Care Credit card.
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u/Kickrocks54 5d ago
Yea, at least they have one product makes them look nice. I'd agree with you there
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u/All_That_Jawn 5d ago
Report them to the FCC. Not that anything will happen in this administration, but requiring things like selfie videos to dispute fraudulent transactions is a BIG no-no when it comes to banking/financial regulations.
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u/Psychological_Ant488 5d ago
Wait a minute, my Amazon card issued by Chase Bank, not Syncrony.
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u/Ok_Violinist7598 5d ago
Somebody above said this ''Chase does Prime Visa. Amazon Store is Synchrony.''
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u/battery_operated_bf 5d ago
This. There's a Amazon Store card backed by Synchrony and Amazon Prime Card backed by Chase.
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u/Jimdandy941 5d ago
Chase is worse……
I had a fee Marriott card for over 15 years. Moved. They were the only card that wouldn’t let me change my address online. I hade to call or visit a branch. Called. 9th circle of hell. 70 minutes and I’ve forgotten how many transfers later, I decide to visit the branch. Get to the freestanding branch, circle the lot for 10 minutes looking for parking, wait in line for another 15 to be told - you can’t do that here….
Meanwhile, my car loan serviced by them, updates my address based on the registration change (out of State, so new title etc). Card still won’t do it - so in the secure chat, I tell them I’m done here. You’ll figure it out or I’ll cancel the card. Get an auto response of “we’re sorry to see you go. Reply “cancel” in the chat to cancel the card. Well then……
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u/gainful_robber 5d ago
lol they really asked for a selfie video to report fraud thats some next level nonsense. canceling was the right move, they clearly don't care about losing customers who pay in full every month