@Anonymous wrote:They said it's 30% more than what they made 3 years ago. They are asking for 2017 and 2018 so it won't match. I understand they need to prevent fraud but not asking for the correct return could make someone seem like they are lying when they aren't.
Yeah, but many people HAVE lied to them in the past...and they are understandably paranoid about that when combined with today's quirky economic circumstances.
I have no great love for Discover. I find their policies obnoxious and carry none of their cards, but they are operating in a macro economy that may well look like this (my speculation only here):
Q1 -5% GDP
Q2 -12% GDP
Q3 +21% GDP
Q4 ????? GDP
I mean, they are literally trying to assess business needs in a year where a huge recession and recovery will take place in a span of less than 12 months. If you were Discover, wouldn't you verify income?
Discover pulls a report called "The Work Number", it's Equifax owned and guess who contributes to this report, your employer. I checked my report and it had my bi-weekly paycheck information for years. It's crazy how much private data about an American is being reported and sold all the time, we need better regulations.
@patoot10 wrote:Discover pulls a report called "The Work Number", it's Equifax owned and guess who contributes to this report, your employer. I checked my report and it had my bi-weekly paycheck information for years. It's crazy how much private data about an American is being reported and sold all the time, we need better regulations.
...or you can learn about said lender's policies, decide whether you want to volunteer that information (because Discover cannot have access to my information unless I authorize it), and then make an informed decision.
I select my credit cards VERY carefully. I don't base it on someone's potential rewards or how much money I can make from them. I base it per a range of criteria that matches what they offer, their policies as lenders and that which meets my particular needs.
Not all lenders pry so deeply into your personal life and finances. Most are perfectly content to have you send paystubs once a year...and as long as you are using their credit lines responsibly, they don't really give it another thought.
But AMEX, Discover and some other prime lenders are especially paranoid and scrutinize your financial health very heavily, as is their right. You can try to "regulate" this until the cows come home, but they have no obligation to extend you or anyone else credit.
You want to squeeze these creditors? Watch what happens as we revert back to the 1980s, where only a select few were afforded the privilege of having and using Visa/MC/Amex charge/credit cards. Talk to anyone who was a working adult even as recent as the late 90s. It was prety difficult to get approved for a credit card unless your credit report was pristine and your DTI was outstanding. I was a single working adult with an outstanding established credit history, $36,000/year in disposable income and no debt...and I could only get a $1,000 line out of Discover.
Trying to force them to be less demanding where income verification is concerned will not help the general credit-using public.
You totally missed the point.
This isn't about lenders or squeezing them, this is about privacy and what's out there and can be hacked/leaked like we see it happening all the times.
As far as reading the terms and policies of a lender before applying, hahahaha yeah right like Discover is going to list the 6 different consumer databases they will check you aganist before you get to click that "Apply Now" so that you know exactly what to expect. you don't even know which major credit report they will pull !
To sum up my response, lenders are free to do what they want but aside from lenders, we need better regulations and education on what is being reported about our personal life. My employer didn't tell me that they will be sharing my income info to the public, I found out on my own and frooze that report and thats just not right.
If you don't understand the danger of reporting misc. info about someone's private life, watch this video so you can learn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k
@patoot10 wrote:You totally missed the point.
This isn't about lenders or squeezing them, this is about privacy and what's out there and can be hacked/leaked like we see it happening all the times.
As far as reading the terms and policies of a lender before applying, hahahaha yeah right like Discover is going to list the 6 different consumer databases they will check you aganist before you get to click that "Apply Now" so that you know exactly what to expect. you don't even know which major credit report they will pull !
To sum up my response, lenders are free to do what they want but aside from lenders, we need better regulations and education on what is being reported about our personal life. My employer didn't tell me that they will be sharing my income info to the public, I found out on my own and frooze that report and thats just not right.
If you don't understand the danger of reporting misc. info about someone's private life, watch this video so you can learn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k
I didn't "totally miss" anything. I have been in the credit game for three decades, so I know exactly what they want and why they want it.
People are misrepresenting their income far too often these days. Some lenders are responding by requiring income verification, which is the responsible way for a lender to behave.
You are tragically misinformed about privacy and these lenders. You have to CHOOSE to accept their terms and conditions. You cannot go into a business relationship fully aware of their privacy policies...and then whine about them after the fact. No court in America is going to side with you on that...guaranteed.
And my point on "regulation" still stands. What you are suggesting amounts to SQUEEZING these lenders.The practical consequence of forcing them to ease their income verification policies will be fewer cards issued and lower credit limits. They will simply ditch customers whose income they cannot verify to their satisfaction.
This will lead us right back to the old days, where they all but required your DNA in order to issue a credit card. Heck, I remember having to bring monthly paystubs to Key Bank back in the 1990s on order to keep my first credit card with them. That was the price of using THEIR credit.
Either agree to the terms or ditch them. Those are your two options. If you open Door #3, be prepared for externalities that you will not like.
-end of rant-
My problem is that they want to pull 2017-2018 tax transcripts which is a good amount less than what I earn now and last year. I changed job 2 years ago which pay me much higher. I am still waiting for them to response. If they decide to close my account, I will offer them my last year tax return and current paystubs. In the grand scheme of things, I am in a much better position now financially as I have zero debt and my income is steadily rising. I just have to be patient with my rebuilding process.
Starting Score: 02/15/20 Fico (TU) 500 Fico (EQ) 512 Fico (EX) 490
30% is unlikely to make much of a difference. Discover is not looking to see that someone who is reporting $40k income only made like $32k 3 years ago; they are looking for someone reporting that they are making $200k a year didn't make $32k and $34k the previous few years. It's not Discover who is requesting 2017 and 2018, it's just that those are the two most recent transcripts available from the IRS. The previous year is unavailable until August, and for 2019 it will likely be much later as the deadline for filing has been pushed back to July 15th this year.
In a world where every part time Taco Bell employee is making $250k a year, it's not an unreasonable request from the lender. It's voluntary and not required; one can always just not keep the card.
As for The Work Number, not all employer payroll is compiled there and it is most certainly not available to the general public. Anyone pulling a report must have a permissible purpose.
