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I was recently approved for a Discover More. When I signed up, I followed a promotion on Discover's site that says when you spend $500 in purchases during the first three months, you'll get a $75 cashback bonus. It was one of the reasons why I applied for the Discover.
When I activated my new card a week ago, I asked the rep. on the phone about this offer, just double-checking. Lo and behold, they knew nothing about it. Ha! I called then an account "manager" on a weekday who said that if I gave her a printout of the website (their OWN website), she would research the matter for me, vaguely insinuating that she would then sign me up for this program. Ironically, I printed out the page in question from their own website and wrote a cover letter and sent it off today to get something THAT WAS PROMISED TO ME WHEN I APPLIED!
I'll hope it'll turn out in my favor. After all, I am not asking something unreasonable here. Leaves a sour taste in my mouth already! Oh, and when I asked the lady on the phone if I should just tell her how to find the LINK on their OWN website she said that she didn't have access to the internet. Huh? They cannot see their own website? I hope this is not a game that they're playing with me.
Here's the link. Nothing new to most of us, probably:
https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/getapp?sc=KAU7&iq_id=a161194parFOF492518198
It's extremely common for employees in any call center, but especially ones dealing with financial/personal information, to not have access to the internet -- including the company's own public website. Access is usually restricted to their internal CRM program and/or limited intranet pages which provide only the streamlined info needed for that employe to be able to perform what limited tasks they are required/authorized to do. With your average employee and your average calls, removing internet access stops more problems than having it would solve.
Perhaps you should just spend your $500 and see if the $75 shows up before you spend too much time on it.
It wouldn't be unusual for application source codes (and the promotions/terms that may be attached to them) to not be visible to a front line rep -- but still be properly coded on your account and picked up by the computer when necessary.
Bostonte, thanks for your reply. You are probably right even though it is hard for me tto believe that Discover employees aren't aware of their most common sign-up special. Well, the letter is already off to Discover. I'll just wait and see.
I have been promised by Citi that I will get $150 if I spend $800 in first 3 months. Lets see how that goes.
I was promised $30 cash back on my first $30 purchase on my Citi Platinum Select MC. First purchase was for over $1600. Got the credit on my first statement.
I dont believe you will have a problem.
Chase burned me on a similar offer, but I digress. Bostonte is right. In the financial services, most employees do not have internent access for security purposes, however, for any one in a sales environment within the retail sector, there is a mind blowing number of promotions and incentives to keep track of.
Thanks for your replies. Yes, I am now confident that they'll honor their agreement! It's disappointing though to call a company where the left hand doesn't know what the right hand does. Disjointed and incoherent.
I am also afraid to call them: Everytime they try to sell me something. It is ANNOYING! I have an inquiry and I then become the victim of a sales pitch. Ok, I wanted to become a cardmember, not a target for their subscription services (insurances, score watch etc.)
i am wondering if i am getting 75 dollar cash back ?
@wollepopolle wrote:I am also afraid to call them: Everytime they try to sell me something. It is ANNOYING! I have an inquiry and I then become the victim of a sales pitch. Ok, I wanted to become a cardmember, not a target for their subscription services (insurances, score watch etc.)
I love everything about Discover except for this. This drives me crazy. I once had two calls on the same day asking me to sign up for payment protection. Even more annoying was that the second CSR didn't seem at all concerned or apologetic when I mentioned I'd already been called earlier that day.
Well, here's an update. I had written a letter to Discover with a print-out of the sign-up special. Two weeks later, I get an email saying that Discover has not been able to reach my phone and that they need to speak with me. I checked all of my phones. They never called them. So, I call up the Discover number.
Call one: I activated a card for my wife (AU) and then asked about the issue. The guy saw that there was something marked on my account but he couldn't see what it was. He transfered me to a different department. They didn't know either. Then I get transfered to yet another department (flipflopping between Utah and Arizona), and the guy there told me that they have absolutely nothing to do with that issue and cannot look it up. In frustration, I tell the guy that I've had it spending half an hour on the phone to no avail. Out of curiosity, I call the general Discover number up again:
Call Two: Now I am at a customer center in Ohio. Huh? Oh well, the guy sees that there was an inquiry that I submitted and then he tells me if I had proof of this cashback bonus offer. I told him that I was now at a loss because it was exactly the proof that I had submitted in a letter. Eventually, he realized that I was trapped in a catch-22. He then transfered me to his supervisor who was the first one to ever have heard of this cashback bonus. I couldn't believe my luck! She told me that she knew about this because other customers had inquired, too.She said that if I hadn't received my bonus in November, she would take care of it manually. I thanked and then hung up. Before, I was asked to complete a survey rating the customer representative. In fact, every time I call Discover, I am asked to rate the representative. I hung up. I just don't have the time to play their marketing games.
I fail to see what makes Discover so great. What I sensed: 1. the usual chaotic structure where nobody knows anything beyond their ken. Show me any bigger bank/ credit card company that is worse, for that matter! 2. the overweening control over the customer who at every step that he takes and at every move that he makes is asked to complete a survey or to decline yet another offer for added wallet protection or account protection or unemployment account minimum payment coverage or any such rigmarole.
I'll use the Discover in the future. I like their simple and straightforward web design. I like their little rotating 5% cashback categories.I tremble at the thought of having to call them up ever again. Brrrrrrrr....