Consumer complaint received 2025-11-14 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: KS

Complaint narrative:
b'I was improperly charged a fee over my purchase with a hotel iXXXX XXXX XXXX  I tried to remedy this when I was there for my stay.  They kept claiming it was not their charge by Discover Card\'s charge.  Discover has denied me disputing this back to them.  Here is the email chain with the merchant about this.  I closed my Discover card because of this.  It is wrong for me to not be able to charge this backXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXThank you for showing us your statement. It\'s completely understandable that this looks confusing, but this is a normal part of international credit card payments.\n\nThe difference you see is due to two main factors, both controlled by your bank or card issuer (Discover), not by our establishment.\n\n1. The Exchange Rate Applied\n\nThe amount we charged and received from XXXX  was the exact agreed-upon rate: 1,666.20 EUR.\n\nThe line on your Discover statement shows the conversion that your card issuer applied to change the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXn\nThe total amount debited from your account is XXXX XXXX XXXXased on a conversion rate set by your bank. This rate is almost always higher than the official market rate (like the one you see on XXXX or in the news).\n\n2. Foreign Transaction Fees and Spread\n\nYour total of $XXXX XXXX XXXXludes extra costs charged by your bank:\n\nCurrency Conversion Spread: Your bank adds a margin, or a "spread," to the exchange rate to make a profit on the currency conversion.\n\nForeign Transaction Fee (FTF): Many US-issued cards, like Discover, charge an additional percentage fee (often 2% to 3%) on all purchases made outside of the US. This fee is automatically added to the transaction when your bank converts the currency.\n\nIn summary:\n\nWe, the establishment, only received the net amount of XXXX XXXX The additional cost you see in US Dollars ($1,980.55) is the total amount your bank charged you, which includes their fees for processing an international transaction.\n\nWe suggest you contact Discover Card directly for a breakdown of their foreign transaction and conversion fees, as these charges do not come to us.\XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX \n\t\nI will dispute that fee back to you on my card. It was not a fee I should have paid.  Please check the local laws about charging  me the sum up transaction fee of XXXX  percent.  Discover told me they DID NOT charge me that fee.  Your XXXX  euros exchanged to XXXX\n\n\nIt did not come from them.  That us a no transaction fee card.  It is sum up\'s processing fee and not for me to have been charged.\n\nSee attached.  Today\'s exchange rate is a little more.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  processing fee for credit cards to you, as this is a business expense that is illegal to surcharge to the customer in many regions, including XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX states, unless the hotel can prove it was passed from the card provider. In the XXXX surcharging for credit card payments is generally prohibited foXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX payments. If this occurred, you should request a corrected invoice or disputed the charge with your credit card issuer, noting that this is a prohibited fee. \nWhy this is unusual/illegal\n\t\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX merchants are generally prohibited from adding a surcharge to credit card payments. This is a directive from thXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  designed to protect consumers. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  processing fee is a cost of doing business for the hotel, which is what a merchant usually absorbs as their own expense. \nWhat to do\n1.\t\n1. Request a Corrected Invoice: \n\nPolitely ask the hotel for a corrected invoice that does not include thXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXxplaining that this is not allowed in the XXXX XXXX XXXXontact Your Credit Card Issuer: \n\nIf the hotel refuses to provide a corrected invoice, contact your credit card company to dispute the charge. You can state that the fee is an illegal surcharge on a credit card transaction in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  does charge a fee, this is a merchant fee, not a fee they pass on to the customer as a separate line item. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX \n\nThank you for showing us your statement. It\'s completely understandable that this looks confusing, but this is a normal part of international credit card payments.\n\nThe difference you see is due to two main factors, both controlled by your bank or card issuer (Discover), not by our establishment.\n\n1. The Exchange Rate Applied\n\nThe amount we charged and received from XXXX  was the exact agreed-upon rate: XXXX XXXXnThe line on your Discover statement shows the conversion that your card issuer applied to change the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX.\n\nThe total amount debited from your account is XXXX XXXXSD, based on a conversion rate set by your bank. This rate is almost always higher than the official market rate (like the one you see on XXXX  or in the news).\n\n2. Foreign Transaction Fees and Spread\n\nYour total of XXXX XXXX XXXXncludes extra costs charged by your bank:\n\nCurrency XXXX XXXX  Your bank adds a margin, or a "spread," to the exchange rate to make a profit on the currency conversion.\n\nForeign Transaction Fee (FTF): Many US-issued cards, like Discover, charge an additional percentage fee XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on all purchases made outside of the US. This fee is automatically added to the transaction when your bank converts the currency.\n\nIn summary:\n\nWe, the establishment, only received the net amount of XXXX XXXX The additional cost you see in XXXX XXXX XXXX is the total amount your bank charged you, which includes their fees for processing an international transaction.\n\nWe suggest you contact Discover Card directly for a breakdown of their foreign transaction and conversion fees, as these charges do not come to us.\n\nKind regardsXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  have told you several times the extra charge is not a charge by my bank. It absolutely is not a charge by my bank. It is a charge by sum  up for the credit card processing fee. I am going to contact Discover and have them dispute that extra amount back to you. I have said this several times.  it is not a charge by my bank or by my credit card.  According to the laws of XXXX XXXX hotel establishment is not allowed to pass on a credit card processing fee to their customers.\n\nThank youXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX have already talked to Discover as I told you they have a detailed breakdown of the extra amount that was not a charge by them. It was a charge by the vendor/customer, which is you. That charge came from your end. My Discover card has no foreign transaction feesXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXThank you for your message.\nWe have contacted SumUp regarding this matter and are currently awaiting their response. We will keep you informed as soon as we hear back from them.\nWe truly appreciate your patience and understandingXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation