Consumer complaint received 2019-10-22
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Application denied

Complaint:
Hello, I'm XXXX XXXX. In the fall of XXXX due to major medical XXXX resulting in medical bills and also job loss, i had to file chapter XXXX bankruptcy which XXXX all of my debts. I needed to re-build my credit profile by getting a secured credit card. I had a very small secure DiscoverIT card and that account was eventually closed ( this was XXXX XXXX of XXXX ). 

Now i need to continue to re-build my credit profile in order to get ready to purchase my first home. My income has increased and i'm now in a much better financial place where i can responsibly manage a credit card. Yesterday evening, i used the Discover pre-approval too, which told me that i was pre-approved for their " SECURED DiscoverIT '' credit card. The problem is that once i filled out the official application online a few minutes later, i was then DENIED ( present day is XX/XX/XXXX ). Enough time has passed to re-open an account and become a discover customer. They pride themselves on having a credit card for " everyone '' and they really don't. Please fix this. It will prevent me from purchasing my first home in the future. This issue is also preventing me from applying for secured credit cards with other major banks as well, i keep getting denied because of the discover account. The account was closed and i do not owe them anything, they refunded my {$300.00} security deposit. 

The problem is : 1. It's a secured credit card, so there is no risk and my financial situation has improved dramatically. I would be using my own funds as the credit line. 

2. How do they expect people to " re-build '' their credit if we can't get the opportunity to start over and build good credit history using a secured credit card? It's counter intuitive. 

3. Now, this will result in a negative hard inquiry on my credit report which of course lowers my score some more. 

What i need from CFPB as a resolution is this : Get Discover to re-consider and APPROVE me for a " secured '' credit card using my own funds. i am not asking for an unsecured card, just a secured card to be able to start over. Then i need you to reach out to the three major credit bureaus ' ( XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX   ) and ask them to remove all of the negative inquiries on my credit report so that my credit score increases. I believe this also affects my XXXX score, which prevents me from opening secured cards elsewhere and it also prevents me from opening a standard bank account. So please reach out to XXXX  as well, and make sure that is resolved and in good standing. That one minor {$300.00} secured credit card makes up an entire 35 % of my credit score, so it is literally bringing my score down. 

I also contacted Discover myself and they refused to help me or appeal their decision. They wouldn't even look into the matter. That's why i'm asking CFPB to step in. 

Please contact me Asap! 

Details : Discover Account ending in # XXXX My SSN : XXXX Name : XXXX XXXX XXXX DOB : XX/XX/XXXX Phone : XXXX email : XXXX Current Mailing Address for correspondence from CFPB : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, MD XXXX XXXX contact Info : Payment address : Discover Financial Services XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, IL XXXX Discover Customer Service : Discover Financial Services XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, UT XXXX Discover phone number : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( please contact them also ) Attn : Consumer Relations XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, MN XXXX Phone : XXXX v/r, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief