Consumer complaint received 2023-08-18
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: FL
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 XX/XX/XXXX I reached out to Discover Bank to initiate a dispute in reference to a charge made of {$1300.00} USD to my credit card for a company called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Discover Bank proceeded to follow the protocol of initiating a dispute in reference to the charge made. I was informed it would take 30 days or maybe more to determine the outcome. In the meantime I was given a temporary credit of {$1300.00} USD back to my credit card balance account, which put me in a positive balance since I had no balance due on my account. I proceeded on my end to scan/email over documentation I received from XXXX and XXXX to Discover Bank to provide proof of the situation occurring in pleading my stance to the initiation of the dispute process.

During the days that are passing by as the process is trying to be resolved, I was confident that I was going to have the case be resolved in my favor. On XX/XX/XXXX I proceeded to donate to a XXXX XXXX to the victims of the XXXX wildfire that lost their lives and the disastrous impact that occurred. Since I have a positive balance of {$1300.00} on my credit card, I proceeded to donate it as a humanitarian assistance. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX am I received an email from Discover Bank in reference to the dispute resolution. I proceeded to log into my account and learned that Discover Bank had rescinded the temporary credit of {$1300.00} USD and ruled in favor of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I proceeded to call Discover Bank to request the dispute be re-opened and further elaborated with the representative of the billing department that issue and the nature of the matter of the business transaction was done. The representative informed me that they will request to re-open the dispute and if there is anymore documentation that I can provide to just send it. 

I am initiating this complaint as a documentational support for my dispute in the transaction of the amount of {$1300.00} USD to be sent to Discover Bank and to have CFPB involved with this matter to have a evaluation be assessed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I reached out to XXXX XXXX and XXXX via the internet website XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in regards to the services they provide to learn further about their craft in resolving credit report inaccuracies. As a consumer I was under the impression that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was a legal law firm business conducting credit repair due to the advertisement displaying on their website displaying a picture slogan of a XXXX which by definition is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the capacity of a presiding officer. 
Under the XXXX symbol it states in words saying quote Our attorney-managed, 4 round process is personalized for each client by an investigative research team all at a reasonable cost Upon submitting my name and contact number to be reached, I received a call from a female employee named XXXX and states that she is a credit analyst. During the conversation I have with XXXX, she proceeds to probe and ask personal questions regarding my goals, my job title, aspirations and etc., which to me did not seem relevant to the topic of the credit repair but to maintain a peaceful dialogue I did not proceed to be abruptly disdain about the personal questions. XXXX informs me that the nature of their business is attorney based and backed to dispute and win cases to fixing peoples credit report. XXXX proceeded to direct me to a website called XXXX XXXX XXXX and informed me to sign up and pay out of my pocket a fee so I can do a soft pull of my credit report from the three major credit bureaus. Once I completed her directions to pulling my soft credit report, XXXX informed me what is it that I was seeking to accomplish from viewing my report, and I explained to XXXX the following factors that I was observing on the soft credit report and how I would like to solve the discrepancies. XXXX proceeded to then inform me that there was an initial investment fee of {$1300.00} before she can proceed further in starting the case of the dispute process with the credit bureaus. I was further informed that to see the results and services fully provided it would take 6 months, and that there was an additional payment of approximately {$200.00} dollars for every month of the 6 months process. However, for the time being XXXX informed me that I just had to pay the initial investment fee for the time being. 

XXXX proceeded to then pace process by sending me the documents to my email address for me to sign in authorizing the payment to be made for the initial investment fee, as well as emailing her my Drivers License and Social Security Card. After all the documents were quickly signed via the internet and I sent my personal identifiable documents, I was informed by XXXX that any correspondent letters I receive from the credit bureaus to just email it to her and to avoid talking to the credit bureaus directly/ indirectly if I receive any calls or any method of contact from them. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a legal document from XXXX which states word for word quote We applaud your recent efforts to take charge of your credit. We want you to know were on your side, and were here to help support you on your path toward credit health. 
We recently received a request that included your information, but it didnt appear that you or a properly authorized third party sent it to us. We take the privacy and security of your data very seriously, so we wont process requests unless they come directly from you or an authorized third party. If youre working with a third party such as a credit repair company or credit clinic, they have to identify themselves in their communications to us, and provide proof that youve authorized them to communicate with us on your behalf. 
It's important to know that if you see something on your XXXX credit report that you believe is inaccurate, you can dispute it easily and securely on your own for free, without paying a fee to any company. If youve hired a credit repair company and they insist on payment up front, encourage you to misrepresent your credit information or instruct you not to contact a credit reporting agency directly, they are not acting lawfully. Learn more about credit repair and your rights at XXXX 

You can count on us as a resource as you work to achieve your credit health goals we want you to be able to get the financial opportunities you deserve. 

Sincerely, Your XXXX Support Team After reading the correspondence I received from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX I immediately called XXXX to question the correspondent I received from one of the credit bureaus. XXXX informed me that the letter XXXX wrote is a tactic used to prevent individuals from obtaining credit repair and not to trust what XXXX wrote. I proceeded to ask XXXX how would she know that the credit bureaus concoct such a response to prevent people from resolving their credit discrepancies. XXXX proceeded to inform me to just send over the letter they wrote to her and she would take care of it. I asked XXXX if she was an attorney to interpret and represent clients in cases of the nature with credit repair disputes and XXXX just hung up. I immediately proceeded to contact my bank in connection to the credit card I used to authorize the funds to be paid for the initial investment fee, and initiated a dispute to be filed in reference to fraud. This dispute was initiated within the 30-business day / calendar day period, which I did not receive any services from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX/ amending the discrepancies due to their evasive business operation being conducted and unlawful charge of fees that I was charged. Further to elaborate, there was no disclosure presented to me from XXXX by phone or email regarding my consumer rights in reference to Federal consumer laws, no transparency in the documents being shown to me of what they are writing to the credit bureaus, and misrepresentation of advertisement with connection of legal jargon and symbols confusing the public consumer. Eventually I received another legal letter from XXXX stating the same word usage as XXXX, and emailed it over to my bank for further reference into the matter. As of today XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX are still with the funds and have not released the funds to my bank. 


The reason I pursued in the first place to inquire about resolving my credit report discrepancies and inaccuracies was due to Discover Bank reporting me late on XXXX payment for the month of XX/XX/XXXX during the XXXX Pandemic. I have never been late on any of my payments being due and never have been late with other banks I do business. This has been a technical mistake, however, this one late payment that was reported to the three credit bureaus has been a delinquent marking on my credit report and Discover Bank is standing their position that I was late. What I find surprisingly incoherent, is how a financial banking institution is going to demand and expect payments to be made in the year XXXX when there is a humanitarian catastrophic disease decimating human lives. There is no sense of understanding with common coherence to reality and financial expectations to be made with the disease of COVID-19 causing havoc and turmoil in society. 

I did my part to reach out to all my banks, especially Discover Bank in the year of XXXX to defer payments which no financial institution objected to because of COVID-19. Yet as a good reliable customer I have been, I still went out of my way to pay Discover Bank as well as my other banks the minimum payment due. No other banks I have business with ever reported me being late. I have always been reliable, professional and on-time. So it is very disrespectful to report me as late to the credit bureaus during XXXXOVID-19 when I have never been late on any of my payments due. And to this day, I have still never missed a payment with any of my banks I report to. Unfortunately and unjustifiably I have a derogatory / delinquent report on my credit report of the missed payment for the month of XX/XX/XXXX reported by Discover Bank which has caused damages by limiting my financial opportunities, such as being declined for certain offers and the damage of negative reliability banks perceive me as when reviewing my credit report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief