Consumer complaint received 2023-12-17
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: DE
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
XXXX, XX/XX/2023 Summary ( URGENT!!! ) : My credit card account is forcefully being closed. Please help me get justice from Discover Card ID Protection & Notary Team BEFORE XX/XX/2023 ( XXXX  ) or else their every answer will always start with an UNFORTUNATELY ( e.g., start a new application, apply for new card, cant do anything because card already been closed by then and many infinite excuses will be mentioned by their XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX as they have been mentioning since XXXX on most of their phone calls ) and there will be no use of the time and effort I am spending to make this complaint today. 

Kindly help me by calling them ( Discover ID Protection & Notary Team ) ASAP on this Monday, XX/XX/2023, at XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and ask them to extend my account closing date to at-least more than a year as we work through the progress of this complaint, PLEASE. 

Please help me save my card account. I am new to credit. This is my first ever credit card and I dont want it closed due to negligence of Discover Card team. So many other cases can be googled on many platforms like XXXX where many X-Customers voices were diminished like myself because Discover ID Protection, Notary or Customer Protection  agents/team never email so that no records can be saved to hold these agents accountable. Their X-Customers have also raised this issue of receiving very bad customer service and some of the most notorious attitudes by them. 

Discover Card ID Protection Team are closing my card account on XX/XX/2023 ( during holidays season ). Their Notary Team ( part of ID Protection Team ) will certainly be making an excuse that phone call verification wasnt completed or something. Even-though they know that : ( 1 ) There is massive time zone difference between the US and the XXXX ( as the requested form by Discover Card ID protection team is being notarized by the US Embassy XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX on THIS XXXX, XX/XX/2023 ). And ( 2 ) This is holidays season so they might not be able to answer phone calls during this time. 

Discovers Notary Team is not being helpful at all and they Straightforward Refuse to utilize an official email provided by the US Embassy Notary Service for verification -no matter what- as mentioned by their agents on many phone calls I have made to them and requested if they would kindly even consider? Answer has always been a NO. And that they will make a phone call, if not answered, REJECTED, and ACCOUNT CLOSED. Or account closed if the deadline XX/XX/2023, comes before even their Notary Team can attempt to make a phone call ( regardless of when the form was/will be uploaded as these both systems/services/agents dont work together/communicate to each other ). Which is such a shame for a large-scale company like Discover. 




Complete Description : ( Discover Financial Services ) issued me a credit card on XX/XX/2023 ( ATTACHED : XXXX ) with {$200.00} limit. During my application process I mentioned and uploaded my University Letter as a proof that I would be studying for some time abroad, yet they pulled a hard inquiry on my credit, took a couple of days to complete their checks and finally about a week later approved me. I was incredibly happy since this is my first ever credit card and would help to build my credit profile slowly, so I was really grateful. 

But sometime in the beginning of XXXX without my knowledge they blocked my card. I only realized when I found myself embarrassed at the register of a grocery store on XX/XX/XXXX. 

To understand why that happened I called them, and I was faced with some of the worst experiences and attitudes by their Customer Protection Service who then transferred me to their even worse High Security Team, and later I was transferred to their ID Protection Team. I received bad experience and really awful attitude by their agents who did not want to serve me ( just because I was abroad? ) I felt completely rejected and humiliated by the way they treated me just by asking what happened. There was zero apology requested by them on blocking my card all of a sudden. ID protection dept asked me of ID proofs. To which I sent my Passport, Social Security Card and my Bank Statement but they were not happy, asked me to have a form notarized and sent an email with instructions ( ATTACHED : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ). 

I then went ahead and paid {$25.00} service fee for the notary, completed notarization process, submitted notarized form to them and waited for almost XXXX weeks and no answer was received. 

I then rang up their ID Protection Team on XXXX. Agents on this line are always very rude with an upsetting attitude in their voice. They surprised me that notarized form was rejected by their Notary team. They then told me that I should have it notarized only from a US-Based Bank/Credit Union/UPS Store XXXX I asked what the solution for me is since you knew I would be abroad even during my application. They said they can only accept notarized form from the US Embassy.

US Embassy did not have any appointments available, so I constantly ( days and nights ) checked their website to have some luck. I finally have been able to book my appointment in the US Embassy XXXX, XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2023 ( Tuesday ) and once again this time I will be spending {$50.00} for notary and {$70.00} for my travel expenses to XXXX. But there are THREE MAJOR PROBLEMS. 

1. They have sent me Two types of forms ( conflicting information ) one that was attached in the email itself ( ATTACHED : Email Notary Form, 3 Sections ), and the other that opens up after I clicked a LINK ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) provided in that same email ( ATTACHED : XXXX Notary Form, 4 Sections ). Both forms are similar with one major twist. 
Email Notary Form has 3 Sections and is able to be attested by US Embassy in my case due to being non-US Citizen and visiting Abroad at the same time. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX has 4 Sections and excludes me as it doesnt give any option for non-US Citizens who are visiting abroad. 
I have tried several times to understand if they would accept the Notarized Email version form since that XXXX doesnt exclude me due to being non-US Citizen requesting US Embassy to Notarize. But I have not received any answer from them. They dont have email that one can reach to ask questions, even if you try to find one, they never responded because they dont want to be held accountable of their actions. I have even uploaded my questions in their Upload link provided instead of Notarized form just so it can reach the people who are looking into my case, but to this day I have not received any response. I called them but I received very little assurance on using the email version of the form I say that because they still didnt send me in email that I can use that Even-though agent said he has put note into my file that it will be ok, and that it should be fine even if the complete 5 pages were not sent by Discover to me, form which is page 4 of 5 is still ok to be brought to embassy without page number printed due to embassys policy on having full pages of the form otherwise no notary service. Agent said he dont know where the other pages of this email version of the form are, but feel free to bring this page only and later submit to us, this should be fine. I am submitting this here so in case their Notary team rejects this after I submit it on XX/XX/XXXX then we can hold this company accountable of providing false reassurance and once again letting me lose my money and time. 

2. Deadline to close my account is XX/XX/2023, which is holiday season. If I submit my form on XXXX XXXX ( as soon as I complete my Notary appointment in the US Embassy ) there is a major problem that their Notary is very old school and only verifies this form by calling phone numbers. US Embassy has said they will share a phone number and an email ( which is their preferred way of verifying ) for this verification purposes. But thinking of massive time zone differences between the US and the XXXX it is highly unlikely that Discovers Notary team will ring at the same time while US Embassy Notary team is also working ( working hours : XXXX  and XXXX  afternoons, as well as XXXX  mornings, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and be able to verify the form that will be submitted to them on XX/XX/XXXX. Due to holidays, it would be almost impossible to have this phone call go successfully. I have asked Discovers ID protection agents on phone if their Notary Team would consider sending an email to Embassys Notary Staff due to the situation complications ( i.e., time difference, holidays )? They straight out refuse and say if our Notary team calls them, and they dont respond then Account Closes. 

3. Discover Cards ID Protection Agent also mentioned that Notary team dont look into forms until about two weeks after submission. I then asked would you be able to update me via email on the status of what happens after I submit the form? She said No, we dont do emails/texts. You must call us to know ( with a very nasty attitude ). I then asked what happens if my form is uploaded on XX/XX/XXXX, but my account deadline ( XX/XX/XXXX ) arrives? She said account closes and submission cancels automatically. I asked if this is worth the trouble for me to go all these hoops to get that done? She said she doesnt think so and can help me close my account right away ( which is why I think Discovers ID Protection team is so awful ). I then asked her to let me speak to her supervisor regarding the forms she said I will be called but I never was. And no supervisor ever cared how much distressed these people have caused me. I asked that lady why would my account still close even if I submitted the form? She mentioned because the upload system and Notary are two different things one doesnt talk to the other. If account is in date only then Notary team sees the form, Or Notary team never sees that form if the account closed. I requested if Notary would be able to prioritize my form upon submitting and consider verifying via phone/email ( as most preferred way due to previously mentioned reasons ) she mentioned No we dont do priority. I was so disappointed. She made me feel so little by exerting her power as she is sitting in this position and made me feel like I am wasting her time ( the way she rushed to answer my questions without even letting me finish my sentences ). Again, when I asked for her supervisor due to her poor communication skills, lack of knowledge regarding two types of Notaries forms I received via email, her disregard and lack of empathy towards me, she said OK she will. But they never did. So pathetic and disrespectful person who is handling ID Protection Team in Discover Card.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation