Consumer complaint received 2018-05-25
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: DISCOVER BANK (CA)

We wrote to you very recently regarding a defective item charged on our credit card which the merchant has not in good will tried to resolve for us. Discover also failed to resolve this issue for us, but also sadly is failing to HEAR us. 

We are not disputing the validity of the charge, we are disputing the item or product sold to us as defective. The item is a body kit for a 2008 XXXX XXXX XXXX. The body kit was not immediately installed because it fell to the very bottom of what we were prioritizing at the time : Moving from XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, my husband 's status as a XXXX Veteran, my ten ( 10 ) month period of XXXX due to a severe injury, the sudden and unexpected death of our beloved dog and faithful protector, XXXX, who supported my husband thru his XXXX for over eleven ( 11 ) years, and many other things that took precedence at the time. 

In the interim, the merchant issued a credit of {$100.00} because the tail lights were never delivered to us as they had been discontinued. 

When we finally had the time, the space, the health and the money to have the kit installed by our body shop, ( which may have occurred after a respite of many months ), we were advised by our body shop that the kit sold to us by this merchant did NOT fit. The body shop gave us an estimate for their work and clearly noted that this kit does not fit, and as such, was defective and not usable. 

It appears Discover 's basis for not mediating on our behalf and simply taking the merchant 's word, or testimony, ( though I would like to point out that no one from Discover has ever spoken to either of us thus far, to take our statement of facts ), Discover used as a basis to side with this merchant, the fact that we waited too long to install the kit and dispute the item. 

For the many reasons noted above, the installation of a vehicle body kit was not a priority at the time. But regardless, the fact we waited to have the kit installed is irrelevant and should not be a basis to disprove our case and side with the merchant. 

It also appears that Discover sided with the merchant on the basis that, as they contend, the merchant issued a {$100.00} credit to us in XXXX. The merchant did issue a credit, which we did not remotely remember, hence, no reference was made about it. However, the fact that a credit was issued by the merchant, because they failed to deliver the tail lights which we had paid upfront, does not absolve them, nor does it resolve this issue, nor does it discredit or weaken our position. The reason the merchant issued a credit of {$100.00} in XXXX was because the tail lights were never delivered as they had been discontinued. 

The crux of our complaint is that the item, in its entirety, was sold to us as a defective item. It does not fit our 2008 XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

We implore CFPB, Discover and specifically, Senior Associate, XXXX XXXX XXXX, from the Executive Office of Customer Advocacy, to please, as his Office indicates, please advocate on our behalf. This merchant is not acting in goodwill ; the merchant, whom we can only reach by phone, flatly refused to take the item. The item, which is still new and unused, is defective,