Sued by Synchrony Bank in Texas Over a Store Card

Many people served with a lawsuit by Synchrony Bank do not recognize the name at first. They remember shopping on Amazon, buying an appliance at Lowe's, or paying a dental bill with CareCredit. They do not remember borrowing from a bank in Utah. Clearing up that gap comes first, because it tells you who is suing you and which contract the case is built on.

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Why a Store Card Lawsuit Names Synchrony Bank

Synchrony Bank is the lender behind many store-branded credit cards. In its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission for 2025, its parent company, Synchrony Financial, says it offers its credit products primarily through Synchrony Bank, controls the credit criteria, and owns the accounts and the loan receivables from the time an account is opened. Its products include partner-branded private label cards, "Dual Cards" that also work as general-purpose cards, and co-branded cards.

The card contracts say the same thing. The current Amazon Store Card, CareCredit and Lowe's agreements that Synchrony filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) each state that the agreement is between you and Synchrony Bank, of Draper, Utah. The store's name is on the card, but the store is not the lender. That is why the plaintiff is Synchrony Bank rather than the retailer.

According to the same 10-K, Synchrony Financial is based in Stamford, Connecticut, and Synchrony Bank is a federally chartered savings association whose primary regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Texas Debt Law is not affiliated with Synchrony Bank, Synchrony Financial or any of their retail partners.

Check Who the Plaintiff Really Is

The 10-K also says that after an account is charged off, Synchrony may keep servicing it, place it with outside vendors, or sell it to debt buyers. So a lawsuit over a store card can take two forms:

• Synchrony Bank is the plaintiff. The original lender is suing on its own account. There is no chain of sales to prove, so the case turns on the account records, the amount and your defenses.
• A debt buyer is the plaintiff, and Synchrony appears only as the original creditor. Then the buyer must prove it owns your specific account, and Texas bars debt buyers from suing on time-barred consumer debt (Finance Code § 392.307). Our guide to being sued by Midland Credit Management covers that situation.

Read the name at the top of the petition, not the logo on the card. If it is a company you have never heard of, see why a company you've never heard of is suing you.

Your Deadline to Answer

Justice court hears claims up to $20,000 (Government Code § 27.031), so a store card case may well be filed there. A suit there by a financial institution to recover a debt is a "debt claim case" (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 500.1(b)). Your written answer is due by the end of the 14th day after you were served (Rule 502.5). In county or district court, the deadline is 10:00 a.m. on the first Monday after 20 days from service (Rule 99(b)).

Use our answer deadline calculator to find your date. Talking with the bank or its lawyers does not pause the deadline.

What the Petition Must Say, and What Synchrony Must Prove

In a justice court debt claim case on a credit card, the petition must state the account or card name, the account number (which may be masked), the date the account was opened and the charge-off date if known, the amount owed as of a specific date, and whether the bank wants ongoing interest (Rule 508.2). Because the "card name" may be the store's brand, your petition may say "Amazon Store Card" or "CareCredit" even though Synchrony Bank is the plaintiff.

To get a judgment, even a default judgment, Synchrony needs evidence that the account was issued to you and you are obligated on it, that you defaulted, and of the amount due after all payments, credits and offsets (Rule 508.3). Store accounts have features that make the numbers worth a close look:

• Promotional financing. The current CareCredit agreement offers "no interest if paid in full" promotions. If a promotional balance is not paid in full in time, interest is charged from the date of purchase. Ask whether the balance includes that back-dated interest and whether it was calculated correctly.
• Returns and refunds. A returned purchase should show up as a credit. Compare your receipts and final statements with the amount claimed.
• More than one card. Some people hold several Synchrony cards. Make sure the account in the petition is the one you actually used.
• Collection costs. The agreements say that if Synchrony asks an attorney who is not its salaried employee to collect the account, it may charge its collection costs, including court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. Any fee request still has to be proved, and the court decides what is reasonable.

See also what to do if the amount they're suing for is wrong.

The Arbitration Clause, and the Deadline to Reject It

Synchrony's current store card agreements contain a section titled "Resolving a Dispute with Arbitration." If either side demands it, most disputes go to an individual arbitrator (the American Arbitration Association, or JAMS) instead of a judge or jury. Synchrony will not require arbitration of an individual case in small claims court or the state’s equivalent court, and arbitration may be requested after a lawsuit is filed, until trial begins or judgment is entered. The agreement is governed by federal law and Utah law.

Two details matter in a collection case. First, the clause says that assignees, agents and service providers that collect amounts due on the account may enforce it, so a debt buyer that bought a Synchrony account may also rely on it. Second, you could reject arbitration only by mailing a signed notice with your name, address and account number to Synchrony Bank, P.O. Box 71734, Philadelphia, PA 19176-1734, within 45 days after opening the account or after Synchrony first gave you the right to reject. Most people who are sued are long past that window. Whether to ask for arbitration is a strategy question for your lawyer.

Limitations Is a Defense You Must Raise

Texas generally allows four years to sue on a debt (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.004). When Synchrony sues on its own account, the debt-buyer rule in § 392.307 does not apply. Limitations is an affirmative defense that you have to raise, and in county or district court it must be pleaded in your answer (Rule 94). Write down the date of your last payment and when the account went into default, and read our statute of limitations guide.

A Past CFPB Order About Synchrony's Debt-Relief Offers

On June 19, 2014, the CFPB issued a consent order against GE Capital Retail Bank, which had changed its name to Synchrony Bank earlier that month (File No. 2014-CFPB-0007). The CFPB found that the bank's telemarketers misrepresented debt-cancellation add-on products. It also found that from 2009 to 2012 the bank left customers who preferred to communicate in Spanish, or who had Puerto Rico mailing addresses, out of two promotions for delinquent cardholders, one of which waived the remaining balance in exchange for a partial payment. The order required about $225 million in relief, including $169 million to about 108,000 excluded borrowers, and a $3.5 million penalty. The CFPB terminated the order on May 12, 2025, stating that the bank had met its obligations. The order concerned past practices and says nothing about your account or your case.

Your Rights While the Case Is Pending

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act generally does not cover a bank collecting its own accounts, but it does cover outside law firms that regularly collect consumer debts through lawsuits (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). The Texas Debt Collection Act applies to creditors as well as collectors and prohibits threats, harassment and misrepresentations (Finance Code §§ 392.301–.304). A violation may give you a claim, brought as a separate federal lawsuit (not a counterclaim) and a separate service from debt defense. Learn more on our Texas FDCPA attorneys page.

How Texas Debt Law Can Help

Attorney Shawn Jaffer has handled thousands of debt collection lawsuits in Texas, and our firm has had hundreds of debt lawsuits dismissed. We file your answer on time, test Synchrony’s proof, and negotiate when that suits you. We charge flat fees from $400, offer payment plans, work with clients statewide by phone, email and e-filing, and speak Spanish.

Our phones are answered 7 days a week. Call or text (214) 945-0000 before your answer deadline passes.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Retailers and Synchrony Bank are named only to describe lawsuits over Synchrony-issued accounts.

Sources

• Synchrony Financial, Form 10-K for 2025, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Amazon Store Card Account Agreement, Synchrony Bank, CFPB credit card agreement database (Q2 2026)
• CareCredit Credit Card Account Agreement, Synchrony Bank, CFPB credit card agreement database (Q2 2026)
• MyLowe's Rewards Credit Card Account Agreement, Synchrony Bank, CFPB credit card agreement database (Q2 2026)
• CFPB Orders GE Capital to Pay $225 Million in Consumer Relief (June 19, 2014, with May 12, 2025 termination notice), CFPB
• Consent Order, In re Synchrony Bank, File No. 2014-CFPB-0007, CFPB
• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 94, 99, 500.1, 502.5, 508), Supreme Court of Texas
• Texas Finance Code, chapter 392 (Texas Debt Collection Act; § 392.307)
• Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, chapter 16 (§ 16.004)

General information, not legal advice for your case.