Consumer complaint received 2025-12-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit 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
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
This is a billing error under XXXX CFR XXXX ( a ) ( XXXX ) involving returned merchandise that was never credited. The total purchase was {$740.00}, but the amount charged and disputed on my Discover card was {$700.00}. The merchant agreed in writing to issue a full refund once the aligners were returned. XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) confirms delivery of the returned aligners to the merchants authorized parcel locker in XXXX, WI on XX/XX/year>. The merchant has possession of both the returned goods and my funds. 

I filed a dispute with Discover on XX/XX/year>. Discover provided a temporary credit and stated that if the merchant did not respond, the dispute would be resolved in my favor. 

On XX/XX/year>, Discover issued a denial letter admitting : We are unable to validate the details of your claim. Accordingly, we consider the charge to be valid. Under XXXX CFR XXXX ( f ), an issuer can not call a charge valid without merchant evidence. 

The only document Discover provided was a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX showing a zero-dollar refund and a blank merchant explanation. XXXX later confirmed there was no merchant response. In this payment chain, XXXX is the merchant-of-record and Discover only communicates with XXXX. Because the merchant did not respond, Discover should have resolved the dispute in my favor under the written dispute conditions it provided at the start of the investigation. 

Discovers timeline shows a predetermined outcome rather than a reasonable investigation. The online portal lists a Resolution Date of XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX days before the XXXX form was generated on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, Discover reported the investigation as complete to credit bureaus, even though no denial letter was issued until XX/XX/XXXX. Reporting a completed investigation before merchant evidence existed violates the reasonable investigation requirement of XXXX CFR XXXX ( f ) and the accuracy duties in XXXX XXXX. XXXX ( b ) and XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I asked Discover to provide the internal communications from XXXX confirming whether the merchant responded or failed to respond. Instead of furnishing the requested records, Discover sent generic denial language on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX without providing documentation. By failing to provide the records I requested on XX/XX/XXXX, Discover violated XXXX CFR XXXX ( f ) ( XXXX ), which requires the creditor to furnish documentary evidence upon request when determining no billing error occurred. 

Discover also demanded merchant documentation containing my card information, even though XXXX does not disclose card numbers to sub-merchants. An issuer XXXX not deny a claim based on requiring an impossible document. 

Upon issuing the XX/XX/XXXX denial, Discover reversed the temporary credit and permanently deprived me of {$700.00}, even though it failed to provide the documentary evidence required under XXXX ( f ) to justify calling the charge valid. 

Finally, this dispute is not an unauthorized-use claim. While the original transaction was authorized, that does not waive my rights under XXXX CFR XXXX ( a ) ( XXXX ). The billing error is the reflection of a charge for returned property.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation