Consumer complaint received 2021-06-12
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Delay in processing application
Company: DISCOVER BANK (NY)

I applied for a Discover card on XX/XX/21 and was approved. An email sent that day confirmed : " Congratulations, your application is approved! Your card arrives in 5-7 days, but you can see your credit line and approval details at our website right now. '' The email includes a link for " see my info '' which links to the Discover website. This info says : " Congratulations!

You're approved for a Discover Card. 

Welcome! Soon you'll be earning rewards on every purchase with your new card. 
So watch for it in the mail - then activate it right away. 

Your credit line is [ redacted ] '' On XX/XX/21, I received an email from XXXX with an XXXX logo in the email, which stated : " Discover Financial Services requires your consent to receive tax information from the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) to verify information on your account. Within 5 days, please click the 'Review and sign ' link above to provide consent via IRS Form 4506-C. Until this verification is complete, a temporary hold has been placed on your Discover card account. Your account will be closed if you are unable to provide the requested consent by the indicated response date. '' The email looked like a scam, and I checked my account info on the Discover website. Nothing had changed from the first check on XXXX, stating that my card was approved and on the way. I called Discover and was shocked to find that this was a real request being made, though it is not reflected in my account information online and the email does not come from Discover. 

I verified with Discover that my account was officially opened. And if I did not comply with the request to give access to my tax return, my account would be closed. 

My first complaint has to do with the system in place for making this request. The request should come from a Discover email, and my account information on the Discover website should reflect this request. 

My primary, second, complaint is that Discover should have requested this information BEFORE approving and opening my account. Asking for tax returns runs into myriad privacy issues. Customers should understand the request before the account is opened, giving customers the right to consider the request and the option to not move forward with opening the account. 

In this case, my only options were to turn over full access to my tax records, or to have my account immediately closed. The latter option would create a significant hit to my credit, if my account was opened and closed like this. 

I can not afford to take a hit to my credit, and I complied with the request of turning over tax documents, though I find this request extremely problematic. I felt forced into this option, and I would not have opened an account with Discover if the request had been made as a part of the application process. 

This system simply should not be allowed. A creditor should not be able to open an account and then request verification after the fact, threatening to close the account if not supplied. Further, customers should be able to verify income in other capacities, such as through employer paystubs. I asked for this alternative, and my request was denied. 

Researching Discover 's practices online, I see many, many other customers baffled and upset by similar requests. This needs to stop.