Many branded store, and specialty credit cards, are serviced by Synchrony Bank. If you are wondering whether you card is serviced by Synchrony, I provide a list of known businesses that use them below.
As you can see, Synchrony is not just about its flagship relationships like Amazon, and Care Credit. They do a ton of financing with fuel stations, and other auto related purchases we all need, as well as major clothing stores like Old Navy, American Eagle, and many others.
There are other credit card servicing platforms for large and small retailers, like Comenity Bank, but Synchrony is the largest. They have millions of customers.
Can’t Make Payments on a Synchrony Credit Card?

If you miss a payment to Synchrony, they are likely going to charge a late fee. If your situation is such that you can get the payment and fee to them prior to your next billing cycle, you can avoid being reported as 30 days late on your credit reports.
If you are dealing with something more than a one month financial hiccup, you may want to call Synchrony, after already being late, and ask about any hardship repayment program they may offer to you. But be sure you are confident you can follow through with any reduced payment Synchrony offers on a continuing basis.
If your situation is one that causes you to miss more than one payment, or you have too many accounts that you are juggling, it may be time to seek out a more permanent solution.
Getting Help with Synchrony Debt
You may have passed the point where temporary relief, or Synchrony waiving a late fee, is going to be helpful. This is often the case when you do not have enough income to meet all your bills each month. When this happens, you are typically looking at the following 3 mainstream methods for getting debt relief.
- Enroll in a consumer credit counseling program and get all of your credit card debts under control. Review that link for a complete understanding of how credit counseling can help you. The gist is that your interest rates are reduced through agreements the counseling agency has with Synchrony and your other lenders.
- Be late enough with payments to Synchrony in order for them to settle with you for less than what you owe. I often target Synchrony settlements at 40% of the balance owed (there are reasons to aim lower, or accept higher). You can sometimes split that up into 3 months if your account has not been charged off. And you will often find you are dealing with debt collection agencies and debt buyers the longer your account has gone unpaid.
- You could file chapter 7 bankruptcy and wipe out all unsecured debts. Be sure to review your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. There are income and asset considerations for each state that can vary, and prevent you from filing.
Anything but paying Synchrony on time, all the time, is going to have an impact to your credit score, or your ability to access new credit products and loans. Be sure to review this article about how debt relief hurts your credit before you make any assumptions. The truth may surprise you.
Things may not be simple
There is usually more to think about when your settling debts with Synchrony. Most of us have more than one debt we are struggling to keep current, and Synchrony balances may be the lowest on our list. In fact, the smaller the balance (less than $1500), I will often discourage falling behind if it can be avoided.
It is also important to point out that Synchrony is one of the few lenders that will refuse to send you a written agreement, or settlement letter, outlining what you negotiated with them over the phone, until your payments are set up in the system. I typically encourage you to record the phone call where you are covering all that you are agreeing to with them. Use an old-school tape recorder on speaker phone, or download one of the free apps. Be sure to tell them you are recording that portion of the call and why (they will not release a letter). Hold that recording until your letter arrives (they do send them).
Check out this video where I cover negotiating with Synchrony in more detail:
Be sure to reach out via the get help button if you want to talk through your options with someone. I can often answer basic questions via email, and you have the option of scheduling a 15-minute free call.
Here are the more common retailers and services that provide credit cards through Synchrony. Not all of these accounts will settle the same way, or for the same amount, but most do.
- 76 Gas
- AAMCO
- ABC Warehouse
- Abt Electronics
- Amazon
- America’s Tire Store
- American Eagle Outfitters
- American Signature Furniture
- Ariens and Gravely Get the Gear
- Art Van
- Ashley Furniture HomeStore
- Athleta
- Banana Republic
- Bargain Outlet
- Belk
- Bernina
- Big Sandy Superstore
- Bjorn’s
- Bomgaars
- Boris Home Furnishings
- BP Visa
- Briggs & Stratton
- Brooks Brothers MC
- Car Care One
- Care Credit
- Carpet One
- CheapOair / One Travel
- Chevron / Texaco Visa
- CITGO
- City Furniture
- Conoco
- Dick’s Sporting Goods MC
- Dillard’s Amex
- Discount Tire
- Dream Bed
- Drexel Heritage
- DX Engineering
- Ebates Visa
- Ebay MC / Paypal MC
- Electronics Express
- Ethan Allen
- eXmark
- Field & Stream
- Flooring America
- Freedom to Ride
- GAP
- Goldsmith Store
- Golf Galaxy
- Google Store
- Guitar Center
- Haverty’s
- HH Gregg
- Hudson’s Furniture
- Husqvarna
- Hyde Park Jewelers
- JCPenney
- Jewelry Exchange
- Kauffman Tire
- Kraft Music
- La-Z-Boy
- Lee Michaels
- LensCrafters
- Levin Furniture
- Living Spaces
- Loves
- Lowe’s
- Lumber Liquidators
- Maaco
- Marvel
- Massey Ferguson
- Mattress Firm
- McCoy’s Building Supply
- Meineke
- Men’s Warehouse
- Metro Mattress
- Midas
- Mills Fleet Farm
- Mohawk Flooring
- Musician’s Friend
- Napa EasyPay
- Nautilus
- Newell
- Old Navy
- Olejo
- C. Richard & Son
- Pearle Vision
- Pep Boys
- Phillips 66
- QVC
- Raheem
- Reeds Jewelers
- Regency Furniture
- Rooms To Go
- Sam Ash
- Sam’s Club MC
- Sewing and More
- Shaw Floors
- Shaw Floors
- Shelly’s Furniture
- Sleep Experts
- Sleep Number
- Sleep Train
- Sleepy’s
- Sony Store
- Specialized
- Star Lumber
- Stash Hotel Rewards
- Stein Mart MC
- Summit Racing Equipment
- Sunglass Hut
- Sutherlands
- Sweet water
- System Pavers
- Thomasville
- Tire Pros
- TJ Maxx
- TJX Rewards MC
- Toro
- Toys R Us MC
- US Appliance
- Value City Furniture
- Value City Furniture
- Vine Live / Shop HQ
- Walmart MC
- Westrich Furniture & Appliances
Remember, Synchrony is one of the largest sellers of unpaid debt to companies like Portfolio Recovery Associates, Midland Funding, and Cavalry Portfolio. It is often more ideal to get affordable help to settle when you are dealing with debt buyers. The help can end up paying for itself.
Hi! I’m so glad I found your website!! So much useful information! I have a couple of questions:
1. I have $7,500 with PayPal credit/synchrony bank that I have to stop paying. When would be the best time to start negotiating with them? And what is their lowest acceptable percentage? I was hoping to go to 25%?
2. I also have $3000ish with wells Fargo credit card. I also need to stop paying. I read you mentioned it’s better to get help w Wellsfargo, is it still the case? What would be the lowest they go?
Thank you again for your help!!
I cover the timing of settling with your bank in an article series you should read.
How low you can get a settlement will often depend on how collectable you look. Each of us will look a little different, especially if we are paying other bills that show on our credit reports.
I still target Synchrony between 30 and 50 percent.
I still suggest getting help with Wells Fargo.
Most importantly, if you have to settle your accounts over anything longer than 9 months, I highly recommend getting help prioritizing who to do first, second, third, etc.
I received a 2022 1099 c from Synchrony bank for a PayPal debt with ge money bank. When I called I didn’t even know what they were talking about. Said I opened the acct in 2004 and last payment was in 2009. Ge took this to small claims and it was fully settled in 2009 for what I owed. Obviously due to the length and no contact all I have is the small claims case online. I need that 1099 c retracted before the irs bills me. Any suggestions
I am not sure how a 1099c would even be seen as valid from an event over 10 years ago. I would talk to a tax professional about this.
I agreed and paid a settlement amount with CareCredit, now they are refusing to send me proof of payment. I am needing something in writing for my credit union. They are refusing. How do I get something in writing before the 21 days. They are not easy to talk to. I have asked for a supervisor or manager but was told one would call me back in 24-48 hours. They can verbally tell me it is paid but they refuse to send anything in writing. How do I deal with a situation like this? I just need the settlement offer letter and they refuse. I am at a loss.
I typically want to get the settlement letter in writing first, before I pay. When you have that, and proof from your bank account that the amount stated on the letter was paid, you have what you need.
Are they saying they cannot get you something in writing ever, or within the 3 weeks you need it?
I opened a zulily account in 2020 (they use synchrony) and i had it a year and always made my payments on time. my sister does “credit repair” and told me i could max it out and not pay it and itll just go on my credit report and she’ll have it removed. Big mistake, i got served a few days ago. I dont want to deal with courts and sent a letter to the lawyer in the suit requesting to pay about $900 less than the pay off. Is it likely they will accept and settle outside of court??
Settlements out of court are common. How low you can get them to go is typically not nearly as good as settling before it goes to a law firm. More on that here: http://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-negotiate-and-settle-a-credit-card-debt-if-you-are-being-sued/
Synchrony often sells debt to a handful of large debt buyers. Is there a debt buyer named on your lawsuit?
Is it true that a judgement against you in civil court from unpaid credit cards makes you ineligible for student loans? I read that here I believe but when trying to verify that with FAFSA, it looks like that’s only if the US government has a judgement against you. Can you clarify?
I have seen people get their own student loans approved in this situation.
I tend to see people applying for parental plus loans get declined in this situation.
I have a collection with PayPal credit through synchrony. I had went through a huge traumatic experience last year that I wasn’t able to pay. It has been sent to collections but I want to know if I pay it off now can I use CareCredit for an important procedure through synchrony?
Do you have an open Care Credit account already?
How late are you on the PayPal Synchrony account?
Hello Michael
I got synchrony credit card for my lasik treatment. The credit limit was $6000 and the charge was only $3000, I paid off almost $1500 and other half left. But the promotion ended and they charged me with $800 interest, I didn’t notice till a month was over. Now the charge has increased to $2600 in 2 months. I have been calling them and they refuse to remove the interest charged and as well as late fee. I am ready to pay $1500 but I’m unable to get any help. They have been of no help.
Please suggest what should I do?
Thank you
Do you believe the fees were charged in error? If no there is typically little they will do to reduce the balance unless you settle with them after being several more months late.
Do you have other debts than this one? If so, what do they all add up to?
Same happened to me. A bunch of interest in one lump sum. I’ve used the card twice and now I’m over my limit. I’m considering letting it go until they try but I’m not sure how badly that will effect my credit! I’m so mad!
Missing payments for a few months in order to settle may clobber a credit score by more than 100 points.
Other creditors may see you missed payments to someone else, and decide to close your accounts, or lower the credit limits.
Is there any way to pay off Standard Purchases before Promotional Purchases? I have tried phone and mail to no avail with Synchrony for the last six months. Thank you.
You would want to work with Synchrony on that, and if they are not working with you after your efforts thus far, and I am not sure how you would force it, unless they are acting outside of their agreement and terms, or the issue you are having reaches to a regulatory issue.
I just received a validation letter from a Synchrony account that has recently been charged off and balance is around 11,000. I have severe hardship at this point and cannot pay even half of that amount and plan to answer the validation letter they sent thru Client Services Inc. but I am terrified they will place a judgement against me. Is it safer to answer the validation letter and hope they will sell my debt to another company then try to settle?
Client Services is not a debt buyer, just a contingency collection agency.
Synchrony will eventually pull the debt back from this collector, and then may sell it, or send it to another agency like Client Services.
We get settlements in this situation with many months to pay.
Would you be able to commit to half or less if you had it split up over many months?
I am current on my HSN card, but now cannot make the payments. Syncrony said they will only let me pay off the balance over 60 months! Syncrony has worked with me on all my other cards, but those were behind. Do I really need to be behind before they will settle? I just wanted this last account done with.
I do often see the need to have missed a payment, even by just a couple days, before Synchrony will talk about long term hardship plans.
Settling with Synchrony for less than half of what you owe will typically mean you have to be late with payments several months.
Will Ashley furniture repossess my couch if I miss too many payments? COVID kicked my a$$ and it’s either the mortgage or the credit card……
Synchrony issued the credit on the couch, and they do not want your couch. Just money.
You can circle back and deal with the Synchrony debt in the future, like with a collection agency or debt buyer, when your in better financial shape.
Your credit can bounce back later too.
Focus on what is important right now.
after my care credit/synchrony bank debt goes into collections, will it still accrue interest and late payments and more interest? Also if I make an agreement with then, will the interest still pile up
You tend to see unpaid interest accumulate on your Synchrony billing statements for 6 months, and then it stops.
You should also see a 38 dollar late fee added for 6 months, than then this fee stops.
I had dental work done about two years ago. My maximum amount I could borrow from Care Credit was 5,000. Since then I have paid at least minimum payments and at times much more. I have been late twice but always caught up. Anyway I received my monthly bill today and still owe 4,912.02. I am not rich by any means. I am in my 70s. I feel that I will never be able to fully pay off this debt. Its like throwing money away and I am barely making ends meet as it is. Care Credit is Synchrony Bank. Your video gives me the courage to stop paying but can they garnish my bank account. The bill is only in my name and my bank account is not.
You would have to be sued over the debt, and a judgment entered in court, for any concern of a bank levy to arise.
You can settle or set up a favorable low interest payment plan and prevent this risk from ever occuring.
If you are on Medicare and receive SSA benefit payments you have income that is protected from garnishment by anyone except the federal government and the IRS. They can still sue you and it will affect your credit but you can take your time paying them as you are able to pay.
Mom had a question. She has 2 Synchrony cards last paid early November. If she settles for those two cards or even more than two cards and wishes to keep a Care Credit with Synchrony open long term that she’s current on can she pull it off?
Also, this may be a silly question but I mentioned she last paid early November. That makes her currently just past 3 months late, correct? And she should shoot for late April VERY early May for a settlement if nothing comes our way first? Thanks!
I would not plan to have the Care Credit card still open and available after falling late with Synchrony on other accounts. It would more likely be an accident if that happened.
Many banks will lower your limit, or closer your account, if they see you late on any accounts, and not just other accounts you have with them.
If she last paid in November, but did not pay in December, she is 30 days late in January. May is the earliest I would have negotiation and settlement conversations with Synchrony.
Thanks Michael. If you’ll recall way back my mom was just planning on getting sued until she ran into some money to settle. At that time we had already sent a few polite “please do not call but send postal mail” letters before I was instructed not to by you. We did not send one out to synchrony for those cards. However, since we’re discussing the May settlement discussions here I thought I could bring it up here. Should she call the creditors up and tell them they’re allowed to call so she starts getting settlement offers? Or should she just initiate settlement talks out of the blue in May still? Wouldn’t that catch them off guard? Or do you think some offers will start coming by postal mail? Thanks!
Only a few banks send offers along the way to five months late. I still call to counter offer those, but typically not until 151 days late.
As a general rule, if she has the cash to settle with not just Synchrony, but all the accounts, I would proactively be calling at months late regardless of any offers received up to that point.
In your last paragraph there doesn’t seem to be a digit before the “months late” You meant 5, correct? And thank you for the response. So since November was her last payment, that makes December ground zero and you said Jan was 30 days late that means 5 months late would be May. I think I got it but correct me if I’m wrong. Take care
Sorry about that. Yes, 5 months, and May would be my target with Synchrony.
Still waiting for May. Just had a question. You said, “Synchrony is one of the few lenders that will refuse to send you a written agreement, or settlement letter, outlining what you negotiated with them over the phone, until your payments are set up in the system.” Does this mean with Discover, Target, and Capital One we should expect to receive a contract in writing via postal mail or email BEFORE paying a lump sum settlement? In other words, we shouldn’t pay them over the phone based on a verbal agreement?
Correct. I would not pay without the written agreement in hand first.
So if approaching Synchrony, TD Bank, Discover, Capital One, and/or Citi at the 5+ month point without lump sum offers sent to us first, do you have a video on how one goes about cold calling the creditors and asking them to accept 50/40%
Also do you have the specific percentages to safely negotiate for for those 5? I recall you telling me 40-50 as a general number. Should we just shoot for 50 or can you tell me which are 40? From memory I don’t think all of those have percentages in their specific thread and if they do they may be outdated.
Lastly, what’s the worst that can happen if our initial offer is turned down?
I have a post up about major creditor trends here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/review-top-7-credit-card-lenders-best-offering-debt-relief/
You can post in the comments of the dedicated creditor pages and get real time feedback. You can post in the comments of this linked article too.
Synchrony currently settles around 40 percent.
You should expect your initial offer to be turned down or countered. Not to say that you cannot get a settlement in one phone call, because you can, but it is normal to have to make several calls.
The video about what to say and not say when negotiating a settlement covers the basics.
Synchrony DOES decline to send a written agreement (or settlement letter) outlining what you negotiated with them over the phone IF YOU REFUSE to set up payments in their system during the NEGOTIATION CALL. However, once you set them up during that same call, they will immediately send you via email or postal mail (or both) the terms agreed upon. Only make this commitment if you will be able to make all of the payments on the dates due. I also highly recommend that you set out as far as Synchrony will allow—-the INITIAL PAYMENT. That gives you time to receive the Settlement letter BERFORE the first payment is auto deducted!
I am doing a debt consolidation loan at my financial institution. I have several charged off credit cards- Amazon store card being one. Do they offer a pay to delete option? Is it possible to do? Would I be wasting my time to ask? We are buying a house in the fall and want to attempt to get a conventional loan vs FHA. We were already approved for a FHA loan last year but never went through with it. I just want to clear my credit up to get the best possible rate for a home loan.
You typically want to resolve the Synchrony debt before going for the home loan, and whether they delete it or not.
Synchrony is not known for deleting, but you can still get a home loan with paid collections.
Synchrony sells a lot of their unpaid accounts to debt buyers, so don’t be surprised if you call Synchrony and learn you have to deal with a different company.
Post an update with who the account is with and I may be able to offer feedback from there.
Hey Ben,
Very Helpful forum, thanks for your sharing.
We have e a Sync Gap Card Debt of 9,000. Last payment was November 2019 – We got one letter from a private attorney on October.
Now we see that someone is trying to sue us, we have not accepted the court papers yet, not sure who sues us, the attorney or sync. I wanna try to negotiate with Sync direct, what is your advise on this, am I at a disadvantage that it is already falling into the courts, or sync will be happy and jump on the opportunity to settle with me on something they already considered lost, and if so, will the court orders be nullified?
Synchrony does not do much suing themselves, but they sell to debt buyers that do. You can go to your county courts website and search your name in the civil docket, and often view the lawsuit there. Who is the named plaintiff? I would expect it to be Midland Funding, Portfolio Recovery, or Cavalry.
You can work with the suing law firm to settle. The deals when sued are typically not as good as you can get when no attorney is involved, but post who the debt buyer is and lets go from there.
If I am trying to negotiate a payment plan with a debt buyer after Synchrony then HOW do I do it? Will they contact my mom by phone/mail? Do we flat out say we can do 50% payment but need an extended payment plan, how long can you do? Does she keep letting the voicemail pick up until we know who we are dealing with? Or will they contact my mother by mail? Also, if we get the payment plan at a 50% reduction, is the 1099c for the tax year at the start or the end of the payment plan?
My feedback will depend on who bought it. You can post an update when that happens.
If Synchrony sends mail to her address now, that will be the one the debt buyer has, or a collection agency for the debt buyer would use. This way you will be able to know who Synchrony sold the account to. It is important to open all mail.
The tax implications are not realized until the settlement is complete, so the year after the agreement is successfully paid off.
Understood. I will be sure to post at that point so everyone can learn from this experience. Question. With 10 or so cards going delinquent at once my mom’s phone will be ringing off the hook. (5 Synchrony, a couple larger ones, few of small ones) Do you have any advice to dealing with this influx of calls? I know she should always have room in her voice mailbox but is it ok if she never answers and let’s voicemail pick up to “screen” her calls and call back who she deems necessary? Would she be contacted by mail by all creditors and debt buyers as well? I read somewhere on another site to specifically request that the creditors write to you via postal mail only. Is there benefit to this or does this slow things down/ possibly make them mad? Take care.
Here are some very useful tips about stopping debt collection calls, and insulating yourself from the daily interruptions.
I am not a fan of sending off letters that ask to communicate in writing only. Over the years I have seen these interpreted as a cease communication letter, which has its place, but can leave only the courts as a form of communication to collect.
Thank you Michael. For our specific situation I thought it would be beneficial to send out letters because my mom is either waiting for only the debt buyer to contact her (Who would not continue to follow by the letter’s request, correct?) or are waiting to get sued anyway.
The cease and desist, if interpreted that way, is more than likely to not carry over to the debt buyer. You would typically need to send another one after the sale.
But I would not send one to Synchrony to start with, as you never know, and not when setting up something as simple as what I outline in that video will insulate from collection calls.
I was able to do the Google Voice tip with about half the cards. However, when my mom tore up her cards she literally tore them up and didn’t have access to her online accounts so she has a handful she cannot get into. On the back of the statements she gets mailed to her (with only the last four digits of the account numbers) are forms to mail in to request phone number changes among other things. Guess we have no choice but to give this a shot!
Michael, I was just reading over everything again and came up with another question. How often are different synchrony accounts from the same person sold to different debt buyers? Is it uncommon? You mentioned it’s possible. With 5 cards and around $14,000 starting point I guess they can get sliced any which way, no? Some 2 years, crossing our fingers for some at 4 perhaps? Or would it be more common for them to all fall under one?
I tend to see Synchrony accounts sell after the 6 month late mark, so earlier than you are hoping.
There are instances where I see multiple Synchrony accounts sold to the same debt buyer, and times where I see accounts split up among different debt buyers.
Thanks Michael! Just to clarify I meant 2 years and 4 years to be the terms of the payback agreement under the debt buyers. Not how long before they get sold to them. Sorry for the confusion. Happy New Year.
Thanks for the additional details.
Who Synchrony sells the accounts to will typically determine how long settlement payments can last.
In some cases the balance on the account will determine how long a settlement payment can be extended.
Mom has $14,200 in 5 Synchrony cards that have been closed for years. Kids have been supporting her but cannot anymore. She only collects social security so wages cannot be garnished but she can be sued by debt collectors once Synchrony sells the debt, correct? She only cares about keeping her and my dad’s home. Judgment liens can be placed on the home, right? Do you know if the debt collectors have been known to escalate those judgments to foreclosures? We live in Illinois where the Homestead exemption is next to nothing. Debt settlement is not an option as even if she stopped making payments on all cards she would still be in the negative and not be saving up for any payments. My parents are living above their means but they won’t move. If foreclosure is possible, would it make sense to pay some of the Synchrony cards to get the total delinquent balance down to possibly prevent foreclosure? Thank you!!!
Synchrony sells unpaid credit card debt to three of the largest debt buyers in the country, Midland Credit Management, Portfolio Recovery Associates, and Cavalry. All three sue as a major part of their collection efforts.
I do not typically see judgment liens for credit cards result in foreclosure.
You can settle with Synchrony, or the debt buyer, before it ever gets to that point, and you can settle after a judgment is entered too,
We typically have great success negotiating a settlement with Synchrony directly, and for much less cost than would be the case after they sell accounts.
Thanks for the prompt reply. Unfortunately there’s just no wiggle room to settle. Judgment liens will be placed. There shouldn’t be an issue with continuing to pay some Synchrony cards on time while letting others go delinquent and eventually get sued over, would you think? I’d like to keep the delinquent balance a lot lower than $14,000 (maybe closer to $6,000) by paying some of the cards monthly so that they have little incentive to go for a foreclosure judgment. (I know you said it’s rare) But again, it isn’t possible for any of us to do as a settlement. Do you see any issue with this? The only thing I can think of is when Synchrony sues for the $6,000 they might try to include all the money even the current cards or am I talking crazy? Thanks!
You will likely not be able to keep accounts open, but you can continue to pay on them after they get shut down.
These accounts could be sold to different debt buyers. I would not be thinking of them as staying with Synchrony, and that you will be communicating with a bank when sued. It will be debt collection law firms and debt buying companies. They will not care about any account other than the one in front of them.
Rather than Synchrony, I guess I would fear that multiple accounts would get sold to the SAME debt buying company and that company would have $14,000 or a hefty sum to go for. What happens when you have two delinquent accounts sold to the same debt buyer? Do they lump them together? Or could she keep paying her GAP card monthly with a debt buyer if she needs to but not pay her JC Penney card with the same debt buyer? I also assume it would be best not to have all accounts go delinquent the same month so that there is a less chance they get sold to the same buyer, correct? Thanks so much! This website is so helpful!
If it were me, I would take the same strategy for multiple accounts with the same debt buyer.
I am not sure staggering the delinquency on the debts will make a difference in the long run.
If she did continue to pay the Synchrony Gap card, it would never be sold to a debt buyer.
Synchrony will typically only sell accounts that get charged off, or went unpaid for at least 6 months.
How is Synchrony with negotiating a monthly payment? For example, one of her cards is $5,000 and she’s currently paying $140 a month closed no interest. Can she get any lower monthly payments than that by negotiating or is that pretty good? Even if it means bad credit? If so, what’s the best way to do it? If not, would she be better off trying with the debt collector?
The zero interest 60 month hardship plan is as good as Synchrony will do without having to fall behind and settle for less.
If settling with Synchrony prior to the charge off (less than 180 days late), the monthly payments are limited to 3 months. That is not Synchrony limiting the time, but the OCC, their federal regulator.
After the charge off the OCC 90 day settlement payment guidance does not apply, but that is also when Synchrony will send accounts to collection agencies and sell debts.
Debt buyers tend to offer the longest payment terms. One of the debt buyers Synchrony Bank sells to will allow about 4 years to pay a roughly half off settlement.
You also have to factor in the balance will grow a little for the 6 months you fall late (38 dollar late fee and unpaid interest).
So while it may be a different debt buyer who buys the delinquent Synchrony debt than the one you used as an example, it is still better than what we are currently doing by quite a bit, no? To clarify will that debt buyer allow for only half the debt to be paid and 4 years to do so? And we’d be off the hook for the rest? Is that what you mean? This sounds to be like the best route to take for most of the cards if not all.
Yes, that is the case, except for only one of the debt buyers regularly allows more than 2 years on the payments.
I have an Amazon card from many years ago that I’ve been paying on regularly. What I didn’t realize until last June was that the minimum payment was less than the interest and card security fee combined each month, so my balance has been going up despite the fact that I haven’t made a purchase on the card in 6 years. Once I realized what was going on, I was $400 over the limit of the card.
I’ve since increased my monthly payment to counter this, but at this rate it will be 30 years before it is paid off and my payments for the last 6 years (minus the card security fee) were enough to pay the entire balance 3 times over. Is there any recourse I have beyond just closing the account. The account is in good standing other than over the limit as I have never been 30 days late on it, so removing it from my credit report seems like a potentially negative move, but continuing my current course of action doesn’t seem like the best of ideas either. I should add that I have been a couple days late quite a few times in the past because I had screwed up in my budget and the due date marked as 5 days later than it was, so I was also racking up $39 late fees every month and not realizing it. I fully understand it is on me to keep an eye on my statements, and I wasn’t, but do I have any recourse to correct it, or at least improve it, this at this point? I am not expecting them to forgive the balance, but at least get it below the card’s max limit would be helpful.
You can call Synchrony and ask about waiving some of the fees, but I am not optimistic they will do it.
I would try to pay this down as fast as possible if it were me. Take any additional COVID stimulus, or next years tax refund (if you get one), or any other one off infusions of cash, to get a handle on it.
You could talk to Synchrony about a hardship plan where they lower the interest rate. If they agree to do it long term, they may close the account as part of that agreement, but I would be okay with that based on what you shared.
Synchrony sent me to collections from old accounts and I have since paid off my balances. They are listed as $0 balance on my credit report. Will Synchrony ever approve me again for credit? I had no idea that they were the creditor for SO MANY retailers and other companies. I’m trying to rebuild my credit and honestly regret paying off these balances because I still can’t get approved for anything even with a 680 credit score.
You may still get a Synchrony account in the future. It may not be for many years though.
Do you have any unpaid collections still on your credit?
Thank you for what you do! I am scared of what Synchrony will do to me. I am on mental disability (bipolar) and because of the pandemic I scrambled to prepare for “doomsday”. I had the CareCredit for years but never used it until past month. I have a balance of $3000 now! I don’t own anything and only have $500 in savings. I live on $1200 SSDI per month and rent apartment income restricted. I am struggling with expenses now. I don’t really care anymore about my credit score because at my age (60) I do not expect to make any large purchases. Can they sue me or put me in jail?
Synchrony is not suing much these days, but they do sell long unpaid bills to debt buyers. Those debt buyers can sue. You can also try to save up to settle the debt before that happens.
You would not have to worry about going to jail over this. We do not have debtors prisons. That said, if you are sued, and a judgment entered against you in court, be sure you follow any court instruction you may get after that. Ignoring a court instruction to appear has lead to issues for people in the past.
Is it better to pay in full or settle for less? Amount owed is $3,400. I am trying to improve my credit score to get a mortgage loan.
If your account with Synchrony is already passed 90 days late, I would settle it for less.
Once the damage is done to your credit, the same thing happens whether you pay in full or settle with Synchrony for less.
They will update the credit reports to show a zero balance owed and a paid collection.
I have a debt of about $12,500 with synchrony in 6 different cards, I can’t make payments anymore because all of this situation (pandemic), I am aware that synchrony may take money out of my account, people have said to me , just ignore them don’t pay anymore they won’t sue you or just file for a bankruptcy or is not worth filing for a bankruptcy because you will end up paying for an attorney to help you out with that. I don’t know what to do. What will affect my credit more a bankruptcy or all the problems may came with the debt collectors? Because I am very concerned that my children get denied a student loan because of my bankruptcy, I don’t want them to get hurt because of the consequences.
Are you going to apply for a parental plus loan?
Synchrony sells debt to Midland Credit, and Portfolio Recovery. These 2 debt buyers sue to collect. You can settle with them before that happens. You can even settle with Synchrony before they sell the debt.
Both settlement and bankruptcy will hurt your credit. You can rebuild credit after either option though, and often in a similar time frame.
I ran into a financial hardship in May 2019. I stopped paying all payments at that time. I hooked up with national debt relief, and so far they’ve only settled one account for me and it was the largest. Many other accounts are sitting and waiting for this settled account to get clear and so other funds will begin to accumulate to settle those. We are in a pandemic now and all of a sudden I’m getting offers from debt collectors that are representing the banks that are hold these accounts. I seem to be doing a better job alone than national debt relief. I’ve settled three accounts two for 30% of original, and one for 42% of original. I have 4 accounts with synchrony. Should I wait until I hear from a debt collector that is working on behalf of synchrony, should I call now and discuss one or more accounts directly with synchrony? Don’t think I want to wait until it ends up with a third party debt collector that owns the accounts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You can call Synchrony proactively to negotiate. If your Synchrony accounts are a year plus late, you will like learn the accounts have been sold, or placed with outside collection agencies. That is normal.
Post an update with the name of any debt buyer Synchrony sold to, as those can be a bit tricky, but settling with Synchrony if they have the account internal, or with a collection agency they placed the account with, is pretty straight forward.
I contacted Sync and I have five accounts with them. 3 have been sent to a collection agency called Portfolio. The other two are Amz and PPal, apparently they are still being handled by sync. They offered 50%, I told I told them that national debt relief will probably handle those 2. Thanks for your help I really appreciate it.
I received a settlement offer for my paypal account with Synchrony. Has their letterhead, and the last 4 of my account # . Like your article states, they won’t send me a written agreement letter, So I downloaded a call recording app. Basically, has anyone gotten screwed by the bank via this method? My balance is $3100 and they will settle for $920 in 3 payments.
I responded to you about settling your account with Synchrony in my video too.
I was not sure what you were asking Synchrony for in the settlement letter that was different than they already sent you.
I have PayPal Credit and I woe around $5,800. I didn’t make a payment in May or June I am on social security and with the virus going around cost of living is skyrocketed. Things in the store are almost double the cost. I can’t make anymore payments will they still take me to court even those I am on social security? What do I do?
Synchrony is not all that active suing people for collection, but they sell accounts to debt buyers who will often sue.
The risk of this happening begins after you fall 7 months late, and may never happen at all. You could end up having your Synchrony account passed from one collection agency to another.
If you hear from a debt buyer like Midland Funding, Portfolio Recovery, Cavalry, or others, you will have an opportunity to settle and spread that amount over many months. Let me know when that happens.
I settled and paid for less than amount owed, is there a way to get the negative history off my credit score report? I’m looking to buy a house and would like to remove my negative remarks. Thanks!
Synchrony is typically not going to remove the negative.
You can still get a home loan with paid collections on your credit.
Will synchrony do a deletion off your credit report if paid in full or settled for lower?
Synchrony will not do pay for delete. They will update that you paid the debt off though.
Hi Michael, my synchrony account have been sold to Credit Corp Solutions in January. I was wondering what are your experiences in settling with them?
Not great settlements with Credit Corp.
How much is the balance?
Do you have other unpaid accounts showing on your credit reports besides this one?
The balance is $4055. I have 5 other accounts and student loans I stopped paying over a year ago. I settled one of them (Discover) about 2 months ago. The student loans shows that I’m up to date but that’s because I was in deferment and the Cares Act. Do you think it’s possible to get 50% settlement with Credit Corp?
It is possible, but harder than would be the case with the original creditor, or other collection companies Synchrony sends accounts to.
When your credit shows a bunch of unresolved debts it can make negotiations on tougher accounts a little easier.
Hello, I have 3 synchrony accounts that are all past due and I’m looking at my options to settle. 1. Care -$5265, 120 days. 2. Jewlery $2422, 90 days 3. Dicks $665, 60 days. Do I call and negotiate all 3 at once or do I have to do 1 by 1 with different departments, also what other recommendations do you have for settling these. I do have access to some funds that would allow me to make lump sum payments for the right deal.
Hello max did you ever get a reply to this? If so can you share what ended up happening having 3 accounts? Thank you
You would typically be considered too early to settle these accounts with Synchrony.
Read through my debt settlement training program starting here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/settling-credit-card-debt-is-a-race/
Update: I was able to agree to settlement with synchrony recovery account manager on all 3 accounts on one phone call. Went through series of questions for each account individually and did lump sum for each account seperately, had scheduled out several weeks for letters to come In.
Care-$5428 150 days settled @ 30%
Jewlery-$2523 120 days settled @ 50%
Dicks-$720 120 days settled @ 50%
Nice work Max!
I have approx. 21000.00 in dept to synchrony under 2 credit cards.i tried calling them to see if I could have my interest reduced.they said no..I have never been late on any payments.sincecthe pandemic I have lost income.i still want to pay what I owe but now the interest is drowning me
You could get your interest rates lowered working through a nonprofit credit counseling agency. Call my hotline 800-939-8357 and press 1 to reach a counselor for a free quote.
You can learn more about these lower interest rate debt management plans here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/credit-counseling-services-help-lower-credit-card-payments/
I had a call today from (6th one) and finally answered after reading all of your guidelines. (literally read them all today) and I didn’t give too much information or discuss much, but basically let them know that I just can’t afford to pay right now. In school and don’t have a lot of money. My debt to Walmart is $878.04 and I am 189 days late (according to the guy I spoke with) and he said that my past due amount was $365. However, I had a minimum payment of $240. I asked about late fees and how much I had accumulated. I know I am behind 6 payments. He mentioned late fees were $35 and then I had one that was $38. But they were monthly. I was willing to pay the debt if he took off late fees and he didn’t accept because he “claimed” he didn’t know how much had accumulated. Which is obviously not the truth. So then he asked questions about other finances and payments (literally like you stated) and then asked if I could pay $56.00 to bring the account out of collections. (Which is def not true bc the account is closed and in collections and it just didn’t sound right)? I said I can’t make the payment today, but I would have to reconsider because I am not able to pay the full amount right now and I would have to wait to pay them. So then he offered to wait until the 17th for the $56. I said that I would call my other credit places to see if they had any plans that I could do first and then would let them know because I wanted to make sure everyone was being “paid in full/settlement”). After stating that, he then offered to talk with his supervisor and placed me on hold. He came back back in less than 20 seconds and then said, “Ok, the 26th, which is absolutely the last day, my supervisor said that we could accept a $56 payment then to keep from getting a charge-off, I mean out of collections, (see, lies) but I would have to set the payment up now with my account information.” I told him that I am not to give my bank information right now and will send in a cashiers check or call back with another card. He didn’t seem too upset or worried. I then asked if they had a settlement that we could discuss and he said that they didn’t have any settlement offers that they could give to me at this time and he really wanted me to consider making the $56 payment. He told me to call back when I get the payment.
With that being said, I really wanted to make that $56 payment to stop from a potential charge off, but I figured if I did that, it would start all over and then not be considered “delinquent or qualified for a settlement.” what should I do?
Charge off does not change your ability to settle. You may just be doing it with a collection agency or debt buyer is all. And settling after charge off can often lead to better payment flexibility. Pre charge off settlements are precluded from going more than 94 days, where post charge off settlements, especially with some of the debt buyers, can go many multiples of that.
I fell 2 months behind on furniture payments with havertys & Ashley furniture due to illness. Cancer & had to go through surgery. Does synchrony Bank repossess furniture?
Synchrony is not interested in the used furniture. Just cash.
You can settle debts for less that are owed to Synchrony.
Synchrony sells debt to debt buyers, so any later settlement may end up being with a different company.
What about musical equipment from guitar center? If a bankruptcy is filed, will they repo the equipment?
That would not be common for Synchrony to try at all.
I just had synchrony bank charge off two accounts. Wal Mart 580 and Care Credit for 4800.00.
Will they settle for less? Do they send these charge offs to collection agencies, etc.
If you could please help, I am stressed. Can you also supply me with lingo or a letter in order to try to satisfy this debt.
Synchrony will likely either send your accounts to a contingency debt collection agency, or sell the unpaid accounts to debt buyers. You can negotiate a settlement in either case. How prepared are you to pay the settlements of, say 40%?
I do not recommend sending a letter trying to negotiate, but to call and do that. You do want a letter from the collection firm outlining the deal before you pay.
Hey Michael great info, I have three credit cards from synchrony I m going to stop pay one would you suggest to stop paying all three. Or do you have to negotiate each one differently? Thank you
You can negotiate pretty much the same way, and at the same time if you stopped paying on all 3 accounts at around the same time.