topic Discover not reporting statement balance in General Credit Topics

Discover not reporting statement balance

expatCanuck — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:47:26 GMT

Hi folks. Here's a potentially useful datapoint.

Until moments ago, I had a recurring charge billed to my Discover card. The charge hits on the 5th of the month; the Discover statement cuts on the 7th.

Reviewing today's EQ report, I learned that while the charge does not show on the statement (the statement shows a zero balance), Discover does report the charge to the bureau (i.e. - Discover reports that I owe a balance). Which ticks me off a little.

Needless to say, I've moved that charge against a different card, 'cause I try to maintain AZE3 or better.

FWIW ...

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

pinkandgrey — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:34:08 GMT

Hmm that’s interesting. I’ve never had that happen before on any of my cards.

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

calyx — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:39:45 GMT

@expatCanuck wrote:
Hi folks. Here's a possibly useful datapoint.

Until moments ago, I had a recurring charge billed to my Discover card. The charge hits on the 5th of the month; the Discover statement cuts on the 7th.

Reviewing today's EQ report, I learned that while the charge does not show on the statement (the statement shows a zero balance), Discover does report the charge to the bureau (i.e. - Discover reports that I owe a balance). Which ticks me off a little.

Needless to say, I've moved that charge against a different card, 'cause I try to maintain AZE3 or better.

FWIW ...

Thanks for the info! I've noticed that Disco is a little squirrely with its reporting when there are charges (recurring or otherwise) around the report/cut date for me. Fortunately for me, it's my first year with them, so I'm pounding them for the double cash back and I do want it to report (though sometimes as much as it does report...). Your confirmation let's me know it's not just me.

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

Remedios — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:50:08 GMT

That's never happened to me. The only times Disco reported off cycle is when I asked them to do so and when I added AUs.

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

expatCanuck — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:57:12 GMT

I wouldn't say that Disco is reporting 'off cycle'. It's reporting on or about the 7th each month. What I am saying is that Disco is not reporting the Statement balance. I suspect that the statement cuts, the charge subsequently posts, and then Disco reports -- a series of unfortunate events.

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

K-in-Boston — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:10:02 GMT

I believe that is likely the exact sequence of events, and is a great point for those who decide to do something like AZEO if Discover is one of their "zero" cards.

As for reporting off-cycle, I've mentioned it a few times (still bitter LOL) but when I first opened my account my first statement close date was about 7 weeks out. I opted in for a large balance transfer when I applied, but my approval was only for a fraction of that amount so I assumed the BT request would be discarded. My SL was only $2,500 so I was using the card like mad to try to force a large CLI and started making mid-cycle payments from week one. 2 or 3 weeks into the account being opened, they decided to partially fulfill the balance transfer almost to my remaining credit limit, and reported the account to the credit bureaus on the day of the month that my statement closes (even though there was no statement the first month), with the balance being 90+% of the credit line! Needless to say, I learned my lesson to never ask for a BT during the application process and at least I got a $3,000 CLI about 60 days in (but only another $4,000 in the 2 1/2 years since).

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

expatCanuck — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:17:48 GMT

Yeah, you are bitter -- I read that story just a week or so ago.

Re: Discover not necessarily reporting statement balance

K-in-Boston — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:25:47 GMT

@expatCanuck wrote:
Yeah, you are bitter -- I read that story just a week or so ago.

I am. Let Discover drop your TU FICO 08 to 690 and see how you feel.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 17:31:38 GMT

OP I have to ask, given the scores in your signature, why bother? I have similar scores and have found the difference between all accounts and one account reporting to be small enough that l will still qualify for the best rates. Are you simply playing the game for fun or just trying for 850? Not to be taken the wrong way I'm just curious. Personally trying to maintain a certain utilization across accounts drives me nuts.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

expatCanuck — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 18:12:46 GMT

Fair question.

Yeah, I enjoy the game. But the purpose of my original post (as noted) is to let people know of this behavior, so they can act accordingly in case it matters.

Personally, I find the situation troubling because an issuer should bloody well be reporting to the bureaus the same friendly thing that they're reporting to cardholders. In other words, if you tell a consumer that he/she doesn't owe anything for a billing period, that's what should be reported to the bureaus. And the underlying IT systems should be built accordingly.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

MakingProgress — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:22:12 GMT

@expatCanuck wrote:
Fair question.

Yeah, I enjoy the game. But the purpose of my original post (as noted) is to let people know of this behavior, so they can act accordingly in case it matters.

Personally, I find the situation troubling because an issuer should bloody well be reporting to the bureaus the same friendly thing that they're reporting to cardholders. In other words, if you tell a consumer that he/she doesn't owe anything for a billing period, that's what should be reported to the bureaus. And the underlying IT systems should be built accordingly.

US Bank and thier subsidiary Elan Financil report your balance on the last day of the month regardless of statement balance.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Caardvark — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 13:31:43 GMT

So... Is there a predictable timeline on what/what they report. For example, is it known whether they always report the current balance x days after teh statement cuts? Or, is this limited to situations when charges are made right around the statement cut date?

Also, any idea on how this may impact payments? For example, my statement cut on the 5th. I subsequently made a payment the same day. I'm wondering if their next report will show the balance before or after the payment.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

dynamicvb — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:38:13 GMT

I did not think I was affected by this but noticed today this is the way it works. My statement cuts on the 5th and reporting normally happen's on the 9th. After reading this I paid attention and sure enough, it did not report the statement balance but the balance as of today. I need to keep this in mind

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

calyx — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 18:28:11 GMT

@Caardvark wrote:
So... Is there a predictable timeline on what/what they report. For example, is it known whether they always report the current balance x days after teh statement cuts? Or, is this limited to situations when charges are made right around the statement cut date?

Also, any idea on how this may impact payments? For example, my statement cut on the 5th. I subsequently made a payment the same day. I'm wondering if their next report will show the balance before or after the payment.

When looking at my reports, I see that they always report the 4th
My statement is cut the 5th (the 1st is my payment due date).

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Caardvark — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:38:28 GMT

Interesting...

It seems that for both expatCanuck and dynamicvb, Disco is reporting the balance on a date several days after the statement cut date. Yet for you, Disco is reporting the day before your statement cut date.

There seems to be no predictable pattern and that each of us (who cares about such things) needs to find out our own reporting dates.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Remedios — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:42:39 GMT

For me the statement day is 17th, and it's usually updated on EX either the 18th or 19th.

Only statement balances were reported, never pending charges if there were any.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

drewopa — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 18:40:52 GMT

This happened to me last month. The pizza joint I visited did not take Amex and the only other card I had on me was Discover. The authorization was given on the 24th. My statement closed on the 26th with a zero balance. However, they reported a balance to the bureaus which was $30 for the pizza. I tried to pay it right after the meal but was denied a payment option because my balance was zero. In the end, the fault was mine for even having the Discover in my wallet being so close to the cut date.

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:37:52 GMT

@expatCanuck wrote:
Hi folks. Here's a potentially useful datapoint.

Until moments ago, I had a recurring charge billed to my Discover card. The charge hits on the 5th of the month; the Discover statement cuts on the 7th.

Reviewing today's EQ report, I learned that while the charge does not show on the statement (the statement shows a zero balance), Discover does report the charge to the bureau (i.e. - Discover reports that I owe a balance). Which ticks me off a little.

Needless to say, I've moved that charge against a different card, 'cause I try to maintain AZE3 or better.

FWIW ...

Glad you reported this finding! It has happened to me before and it is more than Discover that has done it to me. Makes me darn mad ... why do they do that? Leave a foot print in the bureaus just like HPs versus SPs so the other creditors know?! Time for a RANT!

Re: Discover not reporting statement balance

Andypanda — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 02:35:51 GMT

Same thing just happ7to me, exept it wasn’t a reoccurring charge. At least I’m not apping for anything for a couple of months. Now I know to be careful of large purchases just before the statement cuts.