Consumer complaint received 2015-10-14
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: MD
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I have had a checking account with Discover Bank for over a year. During that time, I have had no issues with my account -- that is until recently. XX/XX/XXXX I went to XXXX for a few weeks. When I returned and starting going through voicemail messages, there was a message from Discover Bank 's Fraud Unit. 

Shortly after listening to the message, I contacted Discover Bank. I was transferred to another department after my initial contact with front line customer service. However, neither the front line CSR or the person to whom I was ultimately connected would tell me what department I was to speak to. Nevertheless, the representative informed me that my account was being closed due to being overdrawn by {$35000.00}. My first reaction was that they must have my account confused with another customer because I have never initiated {$350000.00} in transactions during a one month period. However, the representative confirmed it was my account, and he went on to tell me that in reality, my account was NOT currently overdrawn, but has a positive balance of {$2200.00}. He told me the {$35000.00} was the result of multiple online bill payments, but they were returned as NSF and my account had been closed. 

I told the representative that I never initiated these transactions, nor was I home at the time they were made. He told me he was going to check to see if the representative handling my account was available, but after waiting on hold for about XXXX minutes, I ended the call. I attempted to call back, but I was told that the department with whom I needed to speak was closed, and that their hours are XXXX-XXXX EST M-F. Oddly, when I spoke to the representative in the undisclosed department, it was outside those hours. 

In the meantime, I have tried to make contact with Discover to no avail. I am told that either the undisclosed department is closed, or I am placed on hold for excessive amounts of time, and I do not have the time to idly sit and wait to speak to someone. 

Since this fiasco began, I have had multiple LEGITIMATE ACH transactions submitted, only to be returned by Discover with a notation stating " ACCOUNT CLOSED/BLOCKED -- DO NOT RESUBMIT. '' Because of this, I have incurred multiple returned payment fees from creditors, and XXXX of my accounts have been reported to the credit bureaus as late even though I paid them on time and had sufficient funds in my account. This has caused my credit score to drop nearly XXXX points, and XXXX creditors have slashed my credit lines due to these late payments. I am attaching screen shots of my XXXX credit report to confirm this information. 

Discover clearly could care less about the fact that I neither authorized nor initiated the online payments that caused my account to overdraw by {$35000.00}, and that 's fine. Discover stated my account was closed, yet {$2200.00} sits in my account, and I am unable to access it to pay bills. I have suffered a financial loss both monetarily and by have a blemish on my credit report. 

At this point, I have no desire to maintain a relationship with Discover. I thought they had closed my account, but that turns out to be inaccurate because I have not been refunded for my account balance. However, regardless if my account has been closed by Discover, at this time I request Discover close my accounts and return all funds to me in an expeditious manner, preferably via express service. In addition, I am asking that Discover reimburse me for the incurred returned payment fees, which total {$140.00}. I also ask that Discover reach out to the creditor who is reporting the late payments and explain that this is through no fault of my own.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief