Consumer complaint received 2020-05-19
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Didn't receive terms that were advertised

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I Opened a DISCOVER Savings account using their website. On their website it claimed that they have a {$150.00} or {$200.00} bonus if you open the account and deposit the respective minimums within a certain time frame. 

I met all the requirements and waited for my bonus to show up on my account. After not showing up on my account for a few months I called their customer support team on XX/XX/XXXX and asked why I never received the bonus. 

I was told it was because I did not input the " Promo Code '' for the offer which was pretty surprising to me because they advertised the bonus promotion on their OWN WEBSITE and on the same page that you click " Open An Account ''. 

After taking a look at their website I noticed in very small print on the bottom of the page they explain you need to put in a promo code on the following page to receive the bonus. I explained to her that this was very deceptive and was clearly built to trick people into thinking they were going to get a bonus but never receive it on a technicality. Why should the customer have to enter anything extra when the promotion is advertised on the their own page that leads to the sign up page? This was all on discover.com and not a third party website. 

I was transferred to a supervisor by the name of XXXX and I explained to her the situation. She said that she could put in a claim with the " Marketing Team '' and that since I met the requirements I should be able to get the bonus. She also agreed with me that it was very confusing the way it was setup and she could see how people would make that mistake. 

XXXX said in order to officially put in a claim I would need to provide her with the Promo Code and she would not be able to file a claim without a promo code. I laughed and explained to her that there is no way I would be able to retrieve a promo code that existed 3-4 months ago on their website. She kept saying that she could not file a claim without me providing her a promo code. 

After asking why multiple times- she said thats just the way it is on their system. This was very confusing and led me to believe this is also part of the deceptive behavior that Discover engages in. I told her I could look up a promo code online but it would not be the promo code that existed when I signed up since I obviously dont have access to that promo code anymore. 

She said it was fine and it should not impact the review process. I asked her multiple times to confirm that and she did. 

After receiving the mailed response weeks later it basically said they would not be able to honor the claim because the promo code I gave them did not match the dates. So I was rejected for the same reason XXXX said I would not be rejected for. Even though I met and surpassed the minimum requirements within the timeframe- they rejected it on another technicality that had nothing to do with the original bonus and offer. 

I put this on the back burner for a long time since I was busy with work. 

I called again the week of XX/XX/XXXX and was told the department I needed to reach was closed and they would get back to me. They left me a voicemail a couple days later and I called them back on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I spoke to another supervisor by the name of XXXX. I explained to him the situation and he gave me multiple reasons why they would not honor. When I explained the logic behind the reasoning was flawed, he had another angle to offer up. Which was also flawed. This went on for awhile until he finally said there was nothing he could do and it was all in the " Marketing Departments '' hands. 

I asked to speak to the marketing department and he put me on hold. After several minutes he returned and told me there was no way for me to contact the marketing department over the phone or email and he could provide me with a mailing address to send a mailed letter to. I told him in XXXX its ridiculous that I cant talk to someone on the phone or email them and I felt like I was getting the run around. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX they still have the promotion on their website and it is still set up in this manner. 

To Summarize : - Discover Bank has set up a deceptive Bonus Offer on their own webpage that leads customers to believe they will receive a Bonus if they meet two guidelines which are to deposit a minimum amount of money within a certain timeframe of opening up the account.

- Customers later find out they did not receive the bonus due to not entering a code they were suppose to enter which is not very clear on their website and is designed on purpose to mislead. 
- Their customer support team is trained to give you multiple reasons why they cant honor it and set you up in a matter as to reject your claim via mail and hope you give up. 
- Discover Bank uses a deceptive bonus offer and manipulative customer support to trick people into signing up for Savings Accounts and never deliver on their Bonus Reward.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation