Consumer complaint received 2023-08-18
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XXXX I contacted Discover. I bought a monitor for {$110.00} from XXXX XXXX, it was pre-owned under 'Acceptable '' conditions ; the worst condition items are sold under for XXXX XXXX. I heard buzzing noises coming form the monitor after some use, and found out it was potential electrical failure that can start a fire down the line. I assumed they overlooked this in the inspection process as it was noticeable only after extended use of the monitor. 

On XXXXXXXX I went to the XXXX XXXX XXXX ( was closer to me ), and asked for a refund as returns are handled at any XXXX XXXX. They said they could not return the item and could only offer store credit. This was new to me as nowhere did it state store credit as the only means of receiving a refund for the item. I explained I did not want store credit as there is nothing else in the store I wanted to buy. They offered the store credit out of generosity as I was persistent and they wanted me to leave, but I decided to start a dispute with my bank as they would understand. I opened a dispute the same day ( XXXX ), and provided my case. XXXX month later on XXXX I lost the dispute, I saw the documentation sent by XXXX XXXX and realized it proved nothing in their favor, just their return policy with nothing highlighted. The same return policy they provided deemed defective items CAN be returned, and by consumer law I am guaranteed return within a 30 day window for defective items in California, even if the item is non-refundable or final sale ( which it was not in this case ). I highlighted the portions of their sent return policy and made annotations explaining the situation. And the date of the initial dispute opened and the transaction date which shows it was within a few days of the return window. To continue the dispute, I had to call the dispute team after uploading my documents to Discover. I called them and showed them my documents on XXXXXXXX they stated the reason I lost the dispute was because they wanted me to contact the store of purchase ( XXXX XXXX and ask for the XXXX to explain my case first. 

So I went to XXXX on XXXX ( I forgot the specific day but around this date ). I asked for a refund in person but the XXXX said since it was out of the return period they could not. I stated how I opened the dispute a few days after receiving the item, and already tried to return to XXXX XXXX within the return period initially but XXXX XXXX said store credit only and Discover took over a month to come to a resolution for my dispute, so of course it is out of the return window. She stated that unless I was a premium member who get extended return periods of up to 60 days, they could not help me. I knew this was just to encourage paying for premium benefits that I used to get for free. I tried reasoning and saying if they had purchases in the system 60 days old for premium members, there should be no reason why they could not make an exception for mine and override it in the system since logs can go that far back, but she continued to state I needed the XXXX XXXX plus membership before purchasing the item to get the extended return window. They also had 90 day returns during the pandemic, so I knew she was just being corporate and unhelpful despite having the ability to make things work. 

I went and called Discover XXXX  and explained how the XXXX denied me after visiting in person. Now the representative made a different excuse, saying something along the lines of : " they already offered store credit so they already tried a compromise which was denied initially ''. I explained how they offered store credit, not a refund, and by their return policy and law, I am obligated to a full refund for the defective item that I brought in initially to return. I said the store credit offered is not mentioned anywhere as a means of reimbursement in lieu of a refund, and was just courtesy offered by their team to satisfy me. No where is store credit used as the only means of reimbursement, and this was fully improvised and backed by no documentation. She was unhelpful for the rest of the conversation and we hung up after I said this. 

I found out about CFPB online and figured it was worth a final shot to contact you guys to get my a refund. To reiterate : I highlighted all parts of the return policy explaining I am entitled to a refund ( not just store credit! ), and by law for defective items I am granted a grace period for returns. I attempted return within 3 days initially ( return period is 15 days ), and XXXX XXXX and Discover waited a month to close the dispute against me so it was now out of the return window. I tried multiple in store and phone contact, each time yielding a different excuse. If you want you can get phone transcripts and see for yourself, and see my dispute documents uploaded to prove I opened a dispute promptly and highlighted all key info. 

Attached are all files I sent to them for the dispute, you can ask Discover for phone transcripts of my conversation. I do not know if XXXX XXXX would give me surveillance footage to indicate proof of attempted return but I can try that too if needed. The " read messages '' file is me highlighting the same document sent to me proving their own source enables me to refund my item within the time period, which I attempted. " Dispute Information '' file is just a pdf document of me explaining the situation to Discover.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation