Consumer complaint received 2017-04-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Delinquent account — 
Company: DISCOVER BANK
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
I fell behind on my monthly payments on my Discover Card account due to some unanticipated expenses. When I was finally in a financial position to make payments again, I contacted them to make payment arrangements. The individual that I spoke offered me a settlement ( the account had been closed ) that would have me paying half the balance owed ( approx. account balance = {$13000.00} ), and as long as the monthly payments were met ( automatic withdrawals they scheduled ) they would credit the other half. At the time I was dealing with my mother 's health issues, and was relieved to have it taken care of. Unfortunately, I neglected to request a written copy of the agreement, and one was not sent to me. Additionally, since the account was closed, I was no longer receiving account statements and I had no access to my account. The payments were withdrawn as agreed though, totaling half of the account balance, and I thought all was well. Several months after the final payment though, Discover Card sent me correspondence stating that I still owed the other half of the balance on the account. I have disputed that, but Discover Card claims that they no longer have the recordings of my conversation with the representative that negotiated the agreement and scheduled the payments. Supposedly deleted after 90 days, even though the payments were scheduled to continue for not quite a year. They claim to have no records about the agreement that I made. The only " notes '' state that I rejected an agreement of {$7200.00} - which they extrapolate to mean that I agreed to pay the total account balance. Who would do that?! When I asked to speak to the individual who negotiated the agreement or his manager, since I distinctly remember the representative putting me on hold in order to get the agreement approved, they claim that information is not recorded in the account. They have sold the debt to a debt collection company, and now claim that the debt collection has " all '' the information about the account. Yet, when I disputed the debt, the debt collection company contacted Discover Card to request the records ( which were just copies of statements that were never sent to me ). I feel sure that there is a record of what actually transpired, either in the representative 's notes or his supervisor 's records, but Discover Card is refusing to provide any information. Are credit card companies required to maintain records of these types of transactions? And how does a consumer with a dispute compel a credit card company to provide all records related to an account? I recognize now that I should have requested a copy of the agreement. Some websites have even recommended not authorizing payments until a copy of the agreement has been received. I did not have that advice at the time, unfortunately. I have had no previous experience with this process, and was experiencing a tremendous amount of stress due to family issues ( and still are ) are my only excuses though.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief