I was a Discover Card member for about 15 years or so. I was always pleased with their customer service. During that time I was charged a late fee for a payment they claimed they did not receive in time. I phone Discover about this. They recommended I send in my payment 5-7 days before its due date, and credited my account. From that time on I sent my payment 7 or more business days before its due date.
A few years later Discover charged me a late fee, but quickly credited my account because of a problem with their processing of payments. That's fine.
A couple things about my credit history. I maintain a large balance on other credit cards because they provide me with a 0% interest rate. I keep enough money in the bank to pay off that large balance in case the interest rate is raised. On several ocassions I've had to pay the balance in full because they wanted to raise my % rate. No biggie. I pay it off, and they offer me 0% again. I only used my Discover card for monthly charges, typically $2,000 to $3,000, which I paid off in full every month. I liked the 1% cash back.
In January 2002 Discover claimed my payment was late, although it was mailed 7 business days before its due date. They credited my card for the late fee and finance charge and suggested I send the payment 7 to 10 days before its due date. Fine. In February 2002 I mailed the payment 10 business days before its due date. Again, Discover claimed the payment was received a day late, on Sunday. I called them again to resolve this.
Discover stated they wouldn't credit the account this time because it was 2 times within 6 months. They recommended I make my payments on-line or at a Sears store because the post office is unreliable. However, they refuse to dismiss the late fee or finance charge. Therefore, I informed them I would be cancelling my card and send them a check for what was still owed on my card minus any late fees or finance charges.
Discover has continued to charge a late fee of $29.00 every month and finance charges on the late fees. I've refused their billings, but the last bill I saw they had run their bill up to $700 or so. They have called me to try to resolve this, but I refuse to pay even $0.01 because this is outright FRAUD. I've asked them for proof showing the payment was late. All they can offer is their word. They have filed negative reports with the credit agencies, which I will start fighting now.
Is there any way to find others who have been fraudulently charged with late fees by Discover and file a class action lawsuit. Also, wasn't there a Federal ruling some years back which ruled that once a payment was in the mail it was considered paid. This is how Federal agencies require payments because they can reference the postmark as to whether the payment was on time or not, rather than trusting the credit card company.
Also of interest is that the payment in January and February of 2002 was to their Salt Lake City office. Any significance to that? The Winter Olympics took place in SLC at that time. Could that effect mail in the area? Possibly, but Discover considers that my problem.
Do not do business with Discover. There are plenty of other honest credit card companies out there.
Michael
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.