Consumer complaint received 2022-04-22
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Closing an account — Funds not received from closed account
Company: DISCOVER BANK (MI)

I have held a discover credit card for a few years now. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Discover Bank sent me an email about an online savings account with a good interest rate and a new account bonus. To the best of my knowledge, it was affiliated with, but a separate entity from, the Discover credit card that I held. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I opened an online savings account with Discover Bank. I added my husband, XXXX XXXX, as a Joint Account Owner. I did read through all the fine print, such as account holder agreement, consumer disclosure, etc. And saw nothing to be concerned about. 

After the initial setup and funding of the account on XX/XX/XXXX, with an {$8000.00} initial transfer from XXXX XXXX, I was required to merge my credit card online account with my savings online account. Which made me question if this would be considered a " new account '' to qualify for the new account bonuses. So I sent a message asking, through the secure message center in the online bank account. I was assured that the bonuses would apply if I met the minimum deposit threshold to qualify for the bonuses ( XXXX or XXXX ) within 30 days of opening the account, and all was well. 

I initiated the trial deposits to link external banks accounts on XX/XX/XXXX, so I could link my XXXX XXXX  checking account, my XXXX XXXX checking account, and my XXXX account to this new discover bank savings account. 

The trial deposits were verified and all accounts were linked together on XX/XX/XXXX. I then initiated more deposits to meet the minimum Discover Bank bonus threshold, by sending {$4000.00} from my XXXX XXXX account, and {$3000.00} from my XXXX account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I deposited an additional {$700.00} from my XXXX account to Discover Bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email that stated, " Dear XXXX, We're writing to let you know that we noticed unusual activity on your account. For security purposes, we have suspended access to your account. If you have already spoken to us about this, no further action is needed. 
Here 's what you need to do : Call us immediately at XXXX ( TDD XXXX ) to discuss your account. '' I called them immediately. I was told that " discover bank made a business decision to close my account, and I could expect the funds from my account to be returned by check in 60 to 90 days. '' I protested, and asked for access to my funds sooner than that. I was told the only method to get my money sooner was to contact the banks that the deposits came from, and ask them to recall the transactions. 

I contacted XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX  and XXXX. All three institutions said Discover Bank had held the money too long for them to recall the funds for this type of transaction, and the only way they knew to get it faster was for Discover Bank to reject/kick the deposits back to them. 

My husband called discover multiple times on XX/XX/XXXX, both before and after we spoke to the other financial institutions. XXXX was the person who answered two of his calls at Discover Bank, and her manager, XXXX, spoke to XXXX and I once. We did not get the names of the other people who answered the calls the other times, but since " all calls are recorded '' it should be no trouble for an investigator to find out their names. The story from Discover Bank has not changed, regardless of who we spoke to there. " It was a business decision '', " if your other financial institutions are unwilling to recall the transactions, there is no other option than to wait 60 to 90 days for us to issue a check '' " no, there is no one else in any other department at discover bank that can help you get your money sooner ''. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received an email from Discover Bank stating that the funds transfer service has been suspended, and to contact us at XXXX to reactivate your suspended account, and that You are receiving this e-mail because you are a Discover Bank account holder. On XX/XX/XXXX, my husband, XXXX XXXX, responded by calling the number. He was transferred to the fraud department and spoke to XXXX XXXX confirmed that the account is closed, suggested that we recall the funds at the banks they came from, and the only other recourse is to wait XXXX days for a reimbursement check, which is absolutely unacceptable. 

Discover bank says they can not kick or reject the transactions, and kept insisting that the other banks recalling the funds is the only way to access the money faster than this 60-90 days before they issue a check and mail it method. 

I reread the fine print of the account agreements. Nowhere in there does it indicate ( not even in the " account closure by us '' section ) that Discover has the option to hold my funds for this length of time. Check deposits can not be " held '' for more than 10 business days by federal law... so where/how/why is it allowable for them to hold up my cleared CASH funds for 60 to 90 days without my consent? Point to the law, statute, regulation, or agreement that allows for this, because I do not believe their actions here are legal. We also have trouble believing this promise that we will receive our funds in 60 to 90 days from an institution that treats us this way, and we currently see nothing stopping Discover Bank from making another business decision to keep our funds indefinitely. 

They have a right to choose to close my account. They do not have the right to hold my principal deposit amounts from me after I demand them. I demanded the cash from my savings account, and they should be able to supply it IMMEDIATELY. Not 2 to 3 months down the road.