CHARLOTTE — Suuz Martines owns businesses and teaches fitness, but she had a problem with someone else’s company.
She told Action 9 that she paid thousands up front for services for herself at a spa, but then the spa shut down. She was hoping for a refund.
“I’ve already paid this and now I can’t go get my services because they’re closed,” she told Action 9 Attorney Jason Stoogenke.
She says she disputed it with the bank behind the voucher: Synchrony Bank. She says they kept denying her request for months.
“So then I put that into ChatGPT, and it was amazing,” she said.
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The AI chatbot suggested “core” terms to use, the “best” phrasing, a list of supporting materials she should submit, possible legal grounds (“claims asserted”), and even a script should she get a real person on the phone.
“You can’t just automatically tell ChatGPT something and believe everything it says. You have to really pore through it,” she said.
But then, she says, “Five days later, I got an approval letter.” Then she got her money back.
Action 9 first reached out to Synchrony Bank in March. The company said they would investigate and it could take 60 days to reply. Action 9 tried emailing again this month. The company responded they’re “beginning” their investigation process.
Stoogenke says there’s a time and place for AI. It’s not a substitute for professionals, but it can give you ideas how to craft emails, letters, complaints, etc.
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