Seeking tips on getting fast service from Discover Card customer service.

December 10, 2010 10:26 AM

Need tips on working with Discover Card customer service. We have not yet contacted Discover. I'm hoping the mefites can offer some strategies to help get very quick service.

Trying to help a friend correct a credit report problem:

Friend is applying for a loan. Credit check showed a late payment reported by on Discover Card. Loan company needs a letter from Discover, stating that the late payment fees were forgiven and refunded. With the letter, my friend can get good loan terms on a provisional basis, and then work on getting his credit history corrected.

Background: Earlier this year my friend was charged in error by a vendor. It took a couple months to resolve the issue. Discover posted late fees for two months, which he did not pay. When the issue was resolved, Discover credited the two late fees. This is all visible on the Discover statements. (Loan company will not accept the statements as proof.)

It seems that Discover reported his lateness to the credit agencies, but did not report the forgiveness. (Yes, my friend should have been more proactive and diligent.) He does not use this Discover account very much. Aside from this issue, his credit history is very good.

What is the best, fastest way for my friend to procure this letter from Discover?

posted by valannc to work & money (6 answers total)

I've always just called 1-800-DISCOVER to contact them. Why not try that?
posted by Tu13es at 10:47 AM on December 10, 2010

Try contacting the credit agencies as well. I had a similar problem recently and was able to resolve it online by explaining the late payment (All I had to say was that the balance had been paid in full and that the account was in good standing. In my case I actually cancelled the cards). Within a week my credit was back to its normally stratospheric level.

If you can fix the credit reports then you might not need to worry about the letter from Discover - just ask the lender to run a second credit check and your friend should be golden.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:49 AM on December 10, 2010

There might not be a quick fix, though I hope there is. In case there isn't, send letters to all of the credit bureaus disputing the reporting.

Your friend may also want to review the basics of the FCRA.

When your friend reviews the situation with Discover representatives, he should be ready to e-mail or fax copies to them of his bills (even though they should have them available) to show the error. He may also want to reference particular prior conversations with customer service, including dates and names of previous CS reps.

My guess is that this happens all the time. My guess is that they can get you a letter pretty quickly. I would also send them a written request to amend the credit reporting with a gentle reminder that the FCRA requires it. If your friend loses the loan, I'd consider seeing a lawyer.
posted by Hylas at 11:19 AM on December 10, 2010

(I used to work in a credit card call center, but it was not Discover Card. I do not know Discover Card's policies.)

This is a fairly common problem, so much so that our software had a built-in system for filling out the particulars of the form letters. An agent or an agent's floor manager should be able to generate this letter on the spot, read it back to you to confirm the information, and have it signed and in the mail to you almost immediately. If they refuse, balk, stall, or foot-drag, escalate the call. Don't accept "No, we don't do this by phone" for an answer. They can see on their screen where the fees were waived. They have the ability to put this information into a form letter. Be firm and persistent. This can be resolved in a single phone call.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:46 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thanks for all your replies. We logged into his Discover account and made a request via Customer Service chat. (I like chat because it allows rapid communication and you can copy and paste the discussion into your own notes.)

I was pleased and surprised at the responsiveness. The rep looked at the statements and got a manager to review them. She said "I was able to remove the past due history from your account and I've updated the credit bureaus."

Discover is sending a confirmation message to the account's secure message inbox. She's says it will take 24 hours. Now we need to determine if the lender will accept an electronic message.
posted by valannc at 11:48 AM on December 10, 2010

Just following up...

He worked with the Discover customer service through their chat support. Chat was a good option because you can copy the conversation and paste it into a document for your records.

It took several chats over two days. At first Discover sent an email saying the delinquency was cleared up. The lender said the email was insufficient. After further chats with Discover, they sent a fax directly to the lender. The lender accepted it and my friend got his loan on favorable terms.

Thanks to all for your responses.
posted by valannc at 10:45 AM on January 14, 2011