age discrimination with credit card company

This is a new experience for me.  I have never been subject to age discrimination, but as the saying goes “there is always a first time”.  My wife and I have been members / credit card holders with Sam’s club for twenty-three years.  Approximately eighteen months ago the staff at our local Sam’s club suggested we look at the Sam’s club plus member Synchrony master card.    True to the card’s brochure it offers many more perks and was a master card that could be used outside the Sam’s / Walmart family of sites.  It increased our yearly membership cost to $110 but the cash back perk on select sales more than made up for the membership.  All was perfect until three months age.

My wife used the Synchrony bank master card to purchase admission tickets to Silver Springs State Park in Florida.  This is our home county, and the park is a world known ecology park with famed glass bottom boats.  Synchrony denied the purchase and shut down the card.  Synchrony did not notify us of a possible fraudulent charge, they just closed the card.  As with all credit cards Synchrony had multiple means of contacting us: text, phone call or email.  Synchrony chose none of those.  Synchrony just shut down the card.

We found out the card was shut down when I went to the card’s electronic site.  In our personal account the message was, “contact the fraud department, the card has been closed”.

We immediately called and after an hour of proving who we were on the phone, Synchrony reluctantly reopened the card.  What was the problem? Synchrony wanted us to take our pictures and send them to the card site.  That was not going to happen.  In today’s world that is not the way to go.

The next day we were in our home Sam’s store at the checkout with $500 worth of merchandise.  Guess what, Synchrony had shut down the card again without any notification.  Sam’s staff insisted they could not contact Synchrony even though we had opened the master card in person at that store.  Standing at the conveyor we call Synchrony.  Synchrony insisted we take a video of ourselves standing in line or the card would remain closed.

That wasn’t going to happen.  We left everything right where it was and walked out the door.  Thus began a two-month effort to have the card reopened and to ensure that our credit score was not affected.

Numerous phone calls and the insistence of moving up the chain of command did nothing.  The answer was always the same.  No pictures no card.  No pictures were required to open the card.   Finally, Synchrony said they would send us a letter by snail mail.  The letter would have a super-secret double probation code that would require another phone call to reopen the card.  At no time would any of Synchrony’s staff tell us why the card had been closed.  Two weeks went by, no letter. 

Another call Synchrony and tried to tell us the letter had been sent.  I asked if they used the US Post Office or the mail service of country the telephone staff was living in?

Another letter was sent. It took two weeks to receive the letter.  We called the Synchrony fraud department.  They never asked for the super-secret double probation code in the letter.  The agent went through now months old charges. We verified we made them.  A donation to a national political party agency was identified.  Yes, I said I made that charge.  Well, it was rejected, and no notice was provided to us.  Synchrony just closed the card. 

This started much ill banter on the phone.  What is Synchrony’s reason for not notifying us?  Guess what we were told?  We were deemed a high-risk account because of our age.  Synchrony would not guarantee that the same scenario would not occur again if Synchrony didn’t think the charge was legitimate.  All phone calls were supposed to be recorded.  We were not offered a copy of the call or a transcript. 

To all AARP members, Synchrony is no friend.  To AARP staff.  What agency should I share the story with?