Synchrony Bank

Saeren wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2023 12:36 pm

Beefy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2023 6:28 am

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 8:36 pm too many people approach them with a victim attitude or are abrasive with the lender which goes against the concept of asking for forgiveness.

I tell people on Reddit all the time the exact same thing, everytime you see some sob story of inattention "not my fault" narrative. Your autopay screwed up and you didn't bother to check for 6 months is absolutely your fault, own it, acknowledge your mistake and beg forgiveness.

I disagree that an autopay failure (that isn't due to insufficient funds) is on the customer. While I personally have read those stories and so I don't rely on autopay for anything (I have it set for everything I can in case something happens but manually pay everything) you can't expect everyone to be playing 4D chess with computer systems. If it was working before and it suddenly stopped working, that's on the creditor, and it should also be on them to reach out to the customer when it happens - through every contact point the customer has given them. While yes, 6 months is ridiculous, the first notification that someone had a missed payment should not be when Credit Karma emails to tell them about a score drop due to a late payment, and I've heard of exactly that situation happening.

While I agree autopay should work, at no point should you ever take that to mean you stop reviewing your accounts. Which is what I was referring to, and is exactly what ends up happening for too many people. If your bill is due on the 20th and autopay is setup on the 15-18th I’d be checking on the 19th every month. Ignore the possible payment issues why would you not be checking to make sure you didn’t buy 10,000 light bulbs in Laos, or something simple as got double billed or take your pick problem. I should also point out while it might be true autopay might on occasion fail the vast majority of people on Reddit saying “somehow” usually know a “how”.

Beefy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2023 6:28 am I tell people on Reddit all the time the exact same thing, everytime you see some sob story of inattention "not my fault" narrative. Your autopay screwed up and you didn't bother to check for 6 months is absolutely your fault, own it, acknowledge your mistake and beg forgiveness.

Right on, I couldn't agree more.

Beefy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2023 7:50 pm While I agree autopay should work, at no point should you ever take that to mean you stop reviewing your accounts. Which is what I was referring to, and is exactly what ends up happening for too many people. If your bill is due on the 20th and autopay is setup on the 15-18th I’d be checking on the 19th every month.

For sure. Keeping up with your accounts to make sure they're paid on time is the responsibility of the account holder. Go back to the days before autopay and online banking where you sent in a monthly check via snail mail. If your payment didn't make it there (USPS lost it, whatever) that's on you. It's your job to check your account to make sure the check cleared and that the payment was applied on time. Late payments don't get reported until 30 days anyway, so it's not an unreasonable expectation of an account holder to check to make sure their payment was applied at some point between the due date and 30 days later. The fact that people don't find out until a notification of a reported late payment just shows carelessness on their part, IMO.

How many of us can honestly say that we checked our accounts religiously until we actually had a problem? I know I sure as shit didn't. Doesn't really seem fair that you put your trust in an automated system offered by your bank and then you get fucked for it, sorry.

Saeren wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 1:17 am How many of us can honestly say that we checked our accounts religiously until we actually had a problem? I know I sure as shit didn't. Doesn't really seem fair that you put your trust in an automated system offered by your bank and then you get fucked for it, sorry.

I pay my bills every week and dont use autopay excessive? Yes. But it is part of my strategy to not over extend myself, and to stay on top of things every account I have the app is on my phone, I have them all lined up I start at the top and work my way down. it is so easy to do this on a phone and how I have always done it I can't imagine not checking my account for 2 months. Everyone is different, they have different amounts of time and effort they are willing to put to a task, but for me taking my phone into the bathroom with me and dealing with shit is easy.

Beefy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 2:50 am

Saeren wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 1:17 am How many of us can honestly say that we checked our accounts religiously until we actually had a problem? I know I sure as shit didn't. Doesn't really seem fair that you put your trust in an automated system offered by your bank and then you get fucked for it, sorry.

I pay my bills every week and dont use autopay excessive? Yes. But it is part of my strategy to not over extend myself, and to stay on top of things every account I have the app is on my phone, I have them all lined up I start at the top and work my way down. it is so easy to do this on a phone and how I have always done it I can't imagine not checking my account for 2 months. Everyone is different, they have different amounts of time and effort they are willing to put to a task, but for me taking my phone into the bathroom with me and dealing with shit is easy.

It's easy for me too now but that doesn't mean it's easy for everyone and besides, the point I was making is that a lot of people don't even think about the need to not trust the systems in place until they get screwed by them. 7 years for an automated system glitch is rough.

Saeren wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 1:17 am How many of us can honestly say that we checked our accounts religiously until we actually had a problem? I know I sure as shit didn't. Doesn't really seem fair that you put your trust in an automated system offered by your bank and then you get fucked for it, sorry.

The "check" is done on either end though. Maybe someone isn't going to log into their CC account every 30 days (even though they should be) to check on things, but nearly everyone is going to log into their bank account / wherever they pay from frequently enough to know if their payment(s) are going through. Basic finance is knowing where your money stands. I think most people would notice "hey, I've got an extra $500 or so in my checking account for some reason... oh, it looks like last week my payment to XYZ never came out." But regardless, I don't think anyone should put complete trust in an automated system when most automated systems in general are known to have issues at times.

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 7:02 am I think most people would notice "hey, I've got an extra $500 or so in my checking account for some reason... oh, it looks like last week my payment to XYZ never came out."

You'd think that, wouldn't you.

Slabenstein wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 11:22 am

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 7:02 am I think most people would notice "hey, I've got an extra $500 or so in my checking account for some reason... oh, it looks like last week my payment to XYZ never came out."

You'd think that, wouldn't you.

@Slabenstein has seen some things. lol There has to be a 'forgotten autopay' story in there somewhere. 4 to 6 consecutive monthly overdraft charges, perhaps?

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 7:02 am

Saeren wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 1:17 am How many of us can honestly say that we checked our accounts religiously until we actually had a problem? I know I sure as shit didn't. Doesn't really seem fair that you put your trust in an automated system offered by your bank and then you get fucked for it, sorry.

The "check" is done on either end though. Maybe someone isn't going to log into their CC account every 30 days (even though they should be) to check on things, but nearly everyone is going to log into their bank account / wherever they pay from frequently enough to know if their payment(s) are going through. Basic finance is knowing where your money stands. I think most people would notice "hey, I've got an extra $500 or so in my checking account for some reason... oh, it looks like last week my payment to XYZ never came out." But regardless, I don't think anyone should put complete trust in an automated system when most automated systems in general are known to have issues at times.

A lot of people don't even know how to balance a checkbook much less care to check their accounts every month. It's a habit that they end up learning out of necessity later but sometimes that also comes with a 7 year penalty and it's not always their fault that the automation failed. For my part I was never THAT stupid and I had transaction emails turned on from the start at least.

I don't know, I was pretty dumb in my 20s and may not have known what was going on all the time with my credit accounts (never looked at a credit report until my 30s) but I certainly always knew where I still with my checking account. It would be glaringly obvious if something like paying off my credit card, making a car loan payment or my mortgage payment didn't come out of my account.

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 12:30 pm I don't know, I was pretty dumb in my 20s and may not have known what was going on all the time with my credit accounts (never looked at a credit report until my 30s) but I certainly always knew where I still with my checking account. It would be glaringly obvious if something like paying off my credit card, making a car loan payment or my mortgage payment didn't come out of my account.

"Finances appear to be a touchy subject for millennials, with more than a quarter of respondents admitting they only check their bank account balance once a week (27%). Nearly half are unsure of the amount of money currently in their bank account (45%)." https://studyfinds.org/millennials-mone ... %20(27%25). We (I'm unfortunately a millennial since I was born in 84) grew up with computers starting to do all the heavy lifting and I'll tell you if my grandma never taught me how to balance a checkbook, I probably never would have learned. I always had some idea of what was in my checking account when I was a teenager and in my early 20s even if I wasn't checking it every day but I'll be honest, I didn't check it as often as I should have, especially when I switched to US Bank and they gave me a $2000 line of overdraft protection.

Wow, that study. This thread makes me think of the xkcd Ten Thousand rule:

Slabenstein wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 11:22 am

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 7:02 am I think most people would notice "hey, I've got an extra $500 or so in my checking account for some reason... oh, it looks like last week my payment to XYZ never came out."

You'd think that, wouldn't you.

The problem is if they are not reviewing their accounts they don’t know what is going on how would they know they have an extra 500 or 2k short if they are not tracking spending or payments? I frankly don’t care what someone’s excuse is not monitoring your accounts is sheer financial incompetence.

Cassie wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 2:22 pm Wow, that study. This thread makes me think of the xkcd Ten Thousand rule:

Do not google mentos girl… or maybe do, but you have been warned.

Beefy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 2:35 pm Do not google mentos girl… or maybe do, but you have been warned.

Nope.