Consumer complaint received 2024-04-11
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: DISCOVER BANK (CT)

In XX/XX/XXXX, I opened a Discover credit card. It was XXXX of, if not the, first credit card account I opened. Throughout the nearly XXXX ( XXXX ) year life of the account, no missed payments occurred. Indeed, for several months, Discover actually carried a modest positive balance on the account ( which was eventually refunded to me via check ). Gradually, however, due to factors such as, inter alia, better rewards programs and more competitive interest rates, I transitioned to using other credit cards ( XXXX, XXXX ) on a primary basis. 

In XX/XX/XXXX ( this year ), Discover closed this account without notice to me. The reason stated was due to inactivity on the account. Discover then reported the account as closed to all major credit reporting agencies. As a result of the closure, all credit card reporting agencies which use the XXXX XXXX XXXX reported that my credit score dropped approximately XXXX points, from a score of XXXX, to a score of XXXX. In other words, my score dropped from a " very good '' to a " fair '' rating due to this closure *NOTE : my understanding is that XXXX XXXX, in contrast to the XXXX models, heavily weigh length of credit accounts in its scoring. The Discover account was one of, if not, my oldest credit account ( that I had opened in my early XXXX to, paradoxically, build credit ), and thus resulted in a significant drop in my XXXX XXXX based scores. My XXXX  scores were also negatively impacted, however to a significantly lesser degree ( ~ XXXX points ). 

Upon learning of the account closure in early XXXX, I contacted Discover, and spoke to numerous representatives, first about reopening the closed account, but later ( after receiving very clear responses that Discover does not reopen closed accounts ) about options moving forward to remediate the massive drop in my credit score attributable to the unauthorized and uncommunicated closure of the account. I was repeatedly informed by all representatives that I spoke with that ( 1 ) Discover does not reopen closed counts as a matter of practice, and categorically will not consider reopening my account, and ( 2 ) that Discover had no options available to assist in remediating the significant damage to my credit score, aside from " opening a new account '' with Discover. The final representative from Discover that I spoke with advised that I contact the individual credit score
reporting agencies directly ( i.e., XXXX and XXXX ) to remediate the damage to my score. I have since done this, and have active disputes with both XXXX and XXXX regarding this chain of events.

Moreover, this representative -- at my request -- initially agreed to mail me copies of any previous correspondence that Discover alleged that it had transmitted to me regarding the closure of this account. The representative later changed their response, and refused to provide copies of any such documents, generally citing " provisions in the accounts terms and conditions '' ( paraphrasing ) as forbidding this. The dramatic change in my credit score is highly likely to have a significant negative impact in my ability to receive favorable credit rates, including mortgage interest rates, and may also impact me in rental applications.