Discover complaints 1
This is an email i sent to Discover Card today, it pretty much states everything that has happened:
Over a month ago I received a pre-approved credit card from Discover. Part of your introductory offer was 0% APR (finance charges) until September and $0 charges for balance transfers from another credit card. Considering this offer, I filled out the information. There was also a space on this information card to enter in any balance transfers. So I filled out this area to transfer my American Express credit card balance to this new Discover Card.
A couple weeks later I received my American Express bill and the balance had not been transferred yet. I read through some of Discover’s information and found that someone making a balance transfer should still make regular payments to the credit card they are transferring from, etc. This was fine. So I decided to call you (Discover Card) to inquire about my balance transfer since it had been a couple of weeks, and if they had any status on it. When I spoke with a representative, he said they had my application processed but there was no record of any balance transferred. So he said we could put it through again, but it would take about 2 weeks. So I gave him all my information for American Express and that was fine.
Meanwhile I keep getting phone calls on my cell phone, with no caller id. When I pick up, the other line is dead. Now my cell phone is new and the only company that has my number is Discover Card (and the last company that I will put my cell phone number on after this). So I can’t even find out who it is, to tell them “take me off the list, whatever it is”. These calls are about 5-6 times a day (no exaggeration) and usually in the evenings. So it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that these are the telemarketers that we all love.
I called Discover card, to let them know that my phone number is a cell phone number for my credit card ACCOUNT. Meaning if my card got lost, there’s something wrong with my account, etc. Not to be given out to other people or departments. Your rep. said it could very well be Discover calling me on my cell and he would put through a request to take me off this list. Guess what…the calls continued and I still have them today. This was several weeks ago that I had called about this. 5 times a day is ridiculous.
After Discover card failed to resolve this issue, I called my wireless provider and explained the situation. My wireless provider told me quote, un-quote “This is harassment” and the most they can do as my provider is change my cell phone number if this continues for no charge. He also said that he believed that this situation was a violation b/c if you specifically ask not to be called or to be taken off this list, the company must oblige. I should not have to change my number because a credit card company can’t have reliable and efficient telemarketing systems, that do not know whether they call someone once a day or once an hour. On top of it all, the system hangs up everytime!!
But the saga continues….So I finally get this infamous Discover Card that has been causing all this commotion. I call to activate my credit card on Feb 18th. I spoke with Lorraine Kessel and her manager is Tracy Sharply (I did not speak with Tracy). Now I spoke with Lorraine on one call to Discover card. I am almost positive it was on this occasion, to activate my card. If it was not on this call, it must have been on something that was going on with my balance transfer on another call. I remember Lorraine being very polite and helpful to my situation. So I call to activate my card and Lorraine goes over some brief agreements and I hear her mention about an APR percentage and finance charges here and finance charges there. I stopped her and explained that I had an introductory rate of 0% and 0 to transfer balances.
She puts me on hold and then comes back on the line and tells me I’m correct, it is a “glitch in the system”. (Glad I actually listened to that agreement speech, b/c at this point we know how reliable Discover Card is). So fine, I get my correct finance rates. Then I decide to ask about my balance transfer. Lorraine proceeds to tell me that she sees 2 transfers that were trying to go through, both for American Express. She said the 1st one was canceled. (Canceled? …this is getting even better). But the 2nd one looks ok. Good, at least SOMETHING is finally going right.
So at the end of this conversation I made sure to get her name and her managers name, b/c as I said before Discover Card hasn’t exactly been reliable, and has yet to prove me wrong.
So I get my 1st billing statement a couple of days ago. As usual Discover Card has lived up to low expectations. I have 2 finance charges, a periodic and a transaction fee (for the balance transfer). HA…I don’t believe this! So I called Discover Card on March 19th, explained to rep. that I had been wrongly billed. My finance charges should be $0.
He pretty much didn’t have a clue as to what I was talking about, and didn’t know of anything like the 0% APR until Sept and 0% to balance transfer. (I could kick myself in the butt for not getting his name). He simply told me my APR is at 9.9% and there was nothing he could do to change it. If “I wanted” he could transfer me to balance transfers and maybe they could do it. I explained to him, what would balance transfers have to do with my APR? And he re-explained he could not change my APR, etc. So I said fine. He ends up hanging up on me instead of transferring me.
GRRREAT! So I have to call back and wait AGAIN for a rep. in the middle of my work day. So the next person I talked to was very polite and helpful. I told him what had just taken place and he proceeded to tell me there was not anything balance transfers could do, he doesn’t even know why that rep. would’ve done that. So he said he could not lower my rate, but he would put an urgent note on it and send it to the appropriate group to be researched. He told me to call back in 2-3 days.
Getting back to your telemarketers, for the 1st time last night someone was actually on the other end when I picked up. And guess who it was……..you guessed right! So explained to Discover Card’s telemarketer, I am not interested please stop calling me, this is a cell phone not to be used for marketing. And told me to take me off the list.
Now this is to date. So I’m dying to know what Discover Card is going to say to me when I call back. This should be quite interesting. All for opening a credit card. The purpose of this email is to inform those who need to be informed of this situation. Who would think opening a new credit card and a simple balance transfer would cause this much of a commotion. This is a waste of my time, my cell phone time, and your representative’s time and the resources they have to use to resolve this issue.
If this issue is not corrected promptly, I will be canceling my card and will never be using Discover Card or anything affiliated with Discover Card again.
