Consumer complaint received 2024-07-24
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: DISCOVER BANK (DE)

Discover Bank has been improperly reporting to credit bureaus for several years now and have refused to honor my request to opt-out of their reporting. They are misusing my report by furnishing wildly inaccurate information across several credit reporting agencies and have seemed to disregard their obligations to report their activities to the IRS regarding the true nature of my account. 

According to the IRS, specifically IRS Publication 4681, a charge off is in fact a Certificate of Indebtedness and is defined as a transaction made between an individual and a corporation [ Discover Bank ] that is considered taxable income, which is excluded from the manner of information permitted to comprise the contents of a consumers credit history ( please refer to attachments titled as such ). As stated in 15 U.S. Code 1681a ( d ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( I ), which expressly identifies the type of exclusions prohibited from a consumer credit report as, any-report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person [ Discover Bank ] making the report ( emphasis and brackets, mine ). In clear violation of this federal statue, Discover Bank first reported to XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( inaccurately, I might add further details provided below ) and has done nothing but report solely as to transactions their creation of the Certificate of Indebtedness for my consumer account since. Discover Bank has also failed their regulatory obligation to provide me with a copy of a 1099-C form as notice that they have created a Certificate of Indebtedness as income for my account to allow me to pay the requisite taxes on said income. As evidence of this omission, my IRS transcripts from XXXX and thereafter still show no 1099-C filled accordingly despite Discover Bank incorrectly reporting to the contrary. ( Please see attached excerpts from my transcripts ) Discover Bank, as a furnisher of information, is required by federal statute to provide accurate information to credit reporting agencies. In my case, Discover Bank has violated their obligations pertaining to the accuracy and integrity of information furnished to a consumer reporting agency ; per 15 U.S. Code 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A, B ), Reporting information with actual knowledge of errors : A person [ Discover Bank ] shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. To wit, by reporting a Certificate of Indebtedness to consumer credit reporting agencies, Discover Bank is willfully reporting inaccurate information and has been continually violating 15 U.S. Code 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A, B ) since XX/XX/XXXX! Additionally, even within this first violation, Discover Bank inaccurately reported a charge off to XXXX and XXXX first in XX/XX/XXXX, while a charge off was not reported to XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. ( Please refer to the attached copies of the credit bureau reports and the inaccuracies stated respectively herein ) Further, Discover Bank has also violated XXXX XXXX XXXX Chapter X, Subpart XXXX XXXX ( d ), where, Integrity means that information that a furnisher [ Discover Bank ] provides to a consumer reporting agency about an account or other relationship with the consumer : ( XXXX ) is furnished in a form and manner that is designed to minimize the likelihood that the information XXXX be incorrectly reflected in a consumer report. With the wild and careless inaccuracies that Discover Bank has published to the credit bureaus, where Transunions report shows no activity on the account between the date of its closing on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ; XXXX reports No Data Available since XX/XX/XXXX and lists no Date Closed ; and XXXX lists a possible closing date of XX/XX/XXXX, as no date is actually listed in their data, while also listing Current/Terms met activity on the account between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, Discover Bank miserably fails the test of meeting Title 12s Integrity furnished in a form and manner that is designed to minimize the likelihood that the information may be incorrectly reflected in a consumer report clear direction with their wildly inaccurate and inconsistent information that they have furnished to credit bureaus.

In an initial response to Discover Banks egregious violations of my consumer privacy rights, per 15 U.S. Code 6802, I elected to opt out of their third-party reporting via a formal request sent XX/XX/XXXX. After confirming that they were still reporting to credit bureaus, I sent a follow-up letter on XX/XX/XXXX. As of XX/XX/XXXX, my reports have not been removed as Discover Bank has apparently, and illegally, ignored my requests. 

In accordance with 15 U.S. Code 1681n, Civil liability for willful noncompliance, as a federally protected consumer, I am given with remedy regarding my consumer account for the damages that Discover Bank has caused to my overall credit profile. As specified in 1681n ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A, B ), In general ; Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of - any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than {$100.00} and not more than {$1000.00}. Evidenced by Discover Banks refusal to acknowledge my opt out requests, their persistent reporting of inaccurate information to credit bureaus for several years, and their refusal to perform their obligation to file a 1099-C for their creation of a Certificate of Indebtedness transaction for my account, Discover Banks flippant and belligerent actions regarding my account strongly indicate willful noncompliance with the federal statues cited above. Considering only the gross inaccuracies reported for the months since XX/XX/XXXX, Discover Bank has violated my federally protected consumer rights at least XXXX times! Since each violation is assessed a fine between {$100.00} to {$1000.00}, I am entitled to between {$3900.00} and {$39000.00} from Discover Bank in damages, in addition to their complete removal of information from my credit profile as reflected throughout all credit reporting agencies.