Discover was my very first credit card, and I’ve been a customer for over 8 years. I’ve maintained a good credit score of around 780, always taken my credit seriously, and never had to file a dispute in all those years. Unfortunately, my first experience needing help from Discover has completely changed how I feel about the company.
Here’s what happened.
I made a purchase, but the package was delivered to the wrong address. The delivery photo provided in the tracking information clearly showed a house that wasn’t mine. I never received the package.
I contacted the merchant immediately and explained the situation. I even sent them a photo of my actual house to demonstrate that the delivery location in their photo was not my property. The merchant opened an investigation with the carrier and told me to wait 3–4 days.
A week went by, and I heard nothing.
When I contacted the merchant again, their attitude had completely changed. They basically told me they couldn’t help me and that I needed to contact my bank or file a police report. A police report over a package that was misdelivered? Seriously?
By this point, I had contacted the merchant more than seven times through phone calls, live chat, and email.
I even contacted the carrier directly. Guess what they told me? To wait another 3–4 days and then contact the shipper (the merchant) if I still hadn’t received my package.
At this point, everyone was sending me in circles, and nobody was taking responsibility. So I decided to file a dispute with Discover.
I submitted everything I could possibly gather as evidence, including 8–10 PDFs containing the delivery photo, a photo of my actual house, my communications with the merchant, chat transcripts, emails, and a detailed explanation of the entire situation.
A couple of days later, I received a notification from Discover saying that their initial review was in my favor. They had requested documentation from the merchant and issued a provisional credit to my account while the dispute was being investigated.
I thought, great! At least someone is finally looking into the situation.
Then things took a turn.
Just two days later, Discover notified me that the merchant had submitted documentation and that the charge was considered valid. They reversed the provisional credit. Within another 30 minutes, I received a notification that the dispute had been closed in the merchant’s favor.
The most frustrating part? I hadn’t even received or had a chance to review the merchant’s evidence.
Discover mails the dispute documents, which apparently take 3–5 business days to arrive. There was nothing available for me to review in my secure inbox, either. Yet the case was already closed before I could even see what the merchant had submitted or meaningfully respond to it.
I immediately called Discover and spoke with an account manager to explain everything. I asked what evidence the merchant had provided that was supposedly enough to overturn the dispute.
Her answer genuinely shocked me.
She told me the merchant had provided the carrier’s tracking information showing that the package was delivered.
That was apparently the evidence used to support the merchant’s side.
I couldn't believe it. Did anyone even review my supporting documents? My entire dispute was about MISDELIVERY. I never claimed the tracking number didn't exist or that the carrier hadn't marked the package as delivered. I was disputing the fact that the package was delivered to the wrong house!
I had literally submitted the delivery photo showing the location where the package was left, along with a photo of my actual house to demonstrate the discrepancy.
How is a tracking status saying “delivered” enough to resolve a dispute when the actual delivery location is the entire issue?
When I asked the account manager about this, she seemed completely unconcerned. She kept telling me to contact the merchant or the carrier to resolve the issue.
I explained that I had already done both. The carrier told me to contact the merchant, and the merchant told me to contact my bank or file a police report. That was exactly why I had turned to Discover in the first place!
Note: I even told merchant/shipped/discover customer service that they can send someone at my property and take a look at the address. They’ll know it doesn’t match the delivery photo.
It felt like she wasn't even listening to what I was saying. Instead of addressing my concerns about the evidence and the dispute decision, I was being sent right back to the same people who had already refused to help me.
After eight years as a customer, with a 780 credit score and no previous disputes, this is how Discover handled the first time I actually needed their help.
I'm not saying a customer should automatically win every dispute. I'm saying that when someone provides detailed documentation showing that an order may have been delivered to the wrong address, that evidence deserves to be properly considered—not dismissed simply because the tracking system says “delivered.”
And closing a dispute before the customer has even had a reasonable opportunity to review the merchant's evidence and respond to it makes the entire process feel incredibly unfair.
At that point, I was so frustrated that I told Discover to close my account. I've since ordered an American Express and Chase card, and honestly, I have no interest in continuing my relationship with Discover or Capital One after this experience.
Eight years of loyalty meant absolutely nothing when I needed them to take a closer look at a legitimate problem.
I never expected special treatment. I expected my evidence to be reviewed, my concerns to be heard, and a fair opportunity to challenge a decision that went against me.
Instead, I spent hours trying to resolve an issue that nobody seemed willing to take responsibility for.
I'm done with Discover.
I’m now filing a complaint with the CFPB and hope they’ll thoroughly review the evidence and handle this matter fairly, since Discover clearly hasn’t given my concerns the attention they deserve.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with a delivery dispute? And is there any way to challenge a decision like this when the bank closes the case before you even receive the merchant's documentation?
