Hellopeter
Share Your Experience
RM
Ryanne M

1 reviews | Active since Oct 2010

08 Sept 2026, 09:13

**Discovery Bank refusing to close my own credit application and delaying my account upgrade**

Discovery Bank refusing to close my own credit application and delaying my account upgrade

I have been trying since Saturday, 5 September 2026, to have my credit application with Discovery Bank closed because I no longer wish to proceed with it. I personally initiated the application, and I am now personally requesting that it be withdrawn/closed.

My reason for doing this is straightforward: I want to upgrade my transactional account to either Black or Purple, and I cannot proceed with the upgrade while this credit application remains open.

I am now being told that I am not allowed to close my own credit application and that Discovery requires a letter from SAFPS before they can do so.

This makes absolutely no sense to me.

The SAFPS matter is a completely separate and disputed issue. I have already provided Discovery with documentation relating to the matter. The screenshot provided allegedly relates to a case against me, yet the case number has absolutely no connection to me, and the matter is not even a ***** case. This is significant because Nedbank re**** on an alleged ***** matter to list me with SAFPS, which I dispute.

I am not asking Discovery to remove or amend my SAFPS listing. I am simply asking Discovery to close an application that I personally submitted because I no longer wish to proceed with it.

I find it extremely concerning that I am being told a third party such as SAFPS needs to provide permission or an instruction before Discovery will honour my request to withdraw my own credit application.

If there is a legitimate regulatory, contractual or policy reason why I cannot withdraw my own application, I want this provided to me in writing, together with the specific basis for the refusal.

I have been trying to resolve this since last Saturday, and instead of assisting me, I am being sent back and forth and prevented from upgrading my banking account.

Discovery Bank, please escalate this to someone who can actually resolve the matter and close my credit application immediately. I want written confirmation that the application has been closed so that I can proceed with upgrading my transactional account to Black or Purple.

This should be a straightforward customer request and should not require intervention from SAFPS.

0
Replies (4)
Discovery Bank
Discovery Bank's reply08 Sept 2026, 09:24
Official
Hi Ryanne,

We apologize for the experience that you have had with us.

We are looking into this for you, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Kind regards
The Discovery Bank team
RM
Ryanne M's update08 Sept 2026, 16:41
Reviewer Update
Good afternoon,

I am following up urgently regarding case ***, which I was advised at 09:29 today had been escalated to an Executive Relationship Manager who would contact me directly.

It is now several hours later and nobody has contacted me, while the issue remains completely unresolved.

Furthermore, during my WhatsApp conversation with Discovery this morning, I was also specifically advised that someone from Discovery’s ***** Department would contact me regarding this matter. Once again, nobody has contacted me.

At this point, I feel that Discovery is simply passing the buck from one department to another, rather than taking ownership of the matter and resolving it. I have repeatedly explained the situation, provided the requested information and followed the correct channels, yet I am still being sent from department to department with no resolution.

The credit card application that was submitted in June is still showing as open. I have been advised that this application has remained open because of the SAFPS matter, which I am currently disputing. However, I am not asking Discovery to resolve the SAFPS dispute in order to close my application.

I have also been advised by the ***** investigator handling the matter that he is able to close the application for me, particularly because the previous application had already been closed and I subsequently submitted another application.

I am therefore asking Discovery to please stop treating this as an issue that requires me to obtain permission from SAFPS. I am the customer, I initiated the application, and I am now explicitly requesting that it be closed.

This has become a matter of urgency. I need to upgrade my transactional account from Gold to either Black or Purple, and the outstanding credit application is preventing me from doing so.

I am travelling to Dubai shortly and would like to maximise the benefits and facilities available to me through the upgraded account before I travel. I have been trying to resolve this since Saturday, 5 September, and I do not believe it is reasonable for a customer to be prevented from upgrading their transactional account because an application they no longer wish to proceed with remains open.

I have now been promised contact from two separate Discovery departments/representatives today, and neither has followed through.

Please have the Executive Relationship Manager or the appropriate senior person contact me as a matter of urgency and, more importantly, please have the credit application closed so that I can proceed with my account upgrade.

I would appreciate an immediate resolution rather than another referral or escalation. This matter has already been escalated, and I am still waiting for someone to take ownership of it.

Case number: ***

Thank you.


RM
Ryanne M's update08 Sept 2026, 16:46
Reviewer Update
I would like to formally escalate a further and very serious complaint regarding the way Discovery has handled my credit card application and the information I have repeatedly been provided by Discovery representatives.

I have now spoken to three different Discovery bankers, and each of them specifically advised me that my request to close my credit card application would be escalated. This is an old application dating back to June, which I have repeatedly requested to be closed.

Despite three separate Discovery representatives telling me that they would escalate the matter, nothing has actually been done.

This is no longer simply a delay. It raises serious concerns regarding the accuracy and consistency of the information being provided to me by Discovery’s representatives.

Where a Discovery representative provides financial advice or guidance to a client, I expect that information to be accurate, clear and sufficiently reliable for the client to make an informed decision. The FAIS framework and General Code of Conduct require financial services providers to act honestly and fairly, with due skill, care and diligence and in the interests of clients. The FAIS framework is also specifically intended to ensure that clients are able to make informed decisions. (SAFLII)

I therefore want Discovery to explain why three separate bankers have independently told me that this matter would be escalated, yet I am still sitting with the exact same problem.

More importantly, I am formally raising this as a Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) concern.

The FSCA’s TCF framework requires regulated financial institutions to deliver fair customer outcomes throughout the product lifecycle, including during advice, servicing and complaints handling. Among the six TCF outcomes are that customers receive clear information and are kept appropriately informed, that advice provided is suitable, that service is of an acceptable standard, and critically, that customers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers to changing or withdrawing a financial product or service or making a complaint. (FSCA)

In my circumstances, I believe Discovery is failing to meet these principles.

I am the customer who personally initiated the credit card application, and I am now personally instructing Discovery that I no longer wish to proceed with it and want it closed.

Instead of facilitating that request, I have been passed between departments, given conflicting information, promised multiple escalations that have apparently not occurred, promised calls from the ***** Department that have not happened, and told that I need a letter from SAFPS before Discovery can close my own application.

That is, in my view, precisely the type of unreasonable barrier to changing or withdrawing a financial product/service that TCF is intended to prevent.

I am not asking Discovery to resolve the SAFPS dispute in order to close my application.

The SAFPS matter is a separate and disputed matter involving Nedbank. I have already explained that the documentation provided to me allegedly relates to a case against me, yet the case number reflected on that document has absolutely no relation to me, and the matter is not a ***** case. Despite this, the alleged ***** matter was re**** upon by Nedbank as the basis for listing me with SAFPS.

I am now being put in the position of having to inconvenience myself by going to a police station to obtain documentation confirming that there are no pending cases against me, simply to try to resolve a problem arising from a disputed SAFPS listing.

I am also now having to consider obtaining legal representation and potentially pursuing litigation against Nedbank regarding the incorrect SAFPS listing.

It is completely unreasonable that I should have to go to these lengths simply to close an old credit card application that I initiated and am now requesting to withdraw.

There is also a serious customer-service and TCF issue here. I have repeatedly provided information, followed Discovery’s processes, spoken to multiple bankers and allowed Discovery opportunities to resolve the matter. Instead of receiving a clear and consistent answer, I am being passed from one department to another.

I do not consider this to be fair treatment of a customer.

I therefore require Discovery to provide me with a proper written response addressing the following:

  1. Why can I not close/withdraw my own June credit card application at my own request?
  2. Why have three separate Discovery bankers told me that the matter would be escalated when this apparently has not happened?
  3. What is the specific regulatory, contractual or internal policy basis for requiring a letter from SAFPS before Discovery will close my credit application?
  4. How does Discovery believe this requirement is consistent with the TCF outcome that customers should not face unreasonable barriers when seeking to change or withdraw a financial product or service?
  5. What steps is Discovery taking to ensure that its representatives provide customers with accurate, consistent and reliable information, particularly where the information may influence a customer’s financial decisions?
  6. Why have I been promised contact by the ***** Department and an Executive Relationship Manager, yet neither has contacted me?
I am now specifically requesting that this matter be escalated above the ordinary customer-service level to a senior executive at Discovery who has the authority to make a decision and resolve this matter.

I do not want another generic response telling me that the matter has been escalated. I have already received that response.

I do not want another promise that someone will contact me.

I want a senior Discovery executive to take ownership of this complaint, contact me directly and resolve the matter urgently.

This is particularly important because the unresolved credit application is preventing me from upgrading my transactional account from Gold to Black or Purple. I am travelling to Dubai shortly and need to be able to make full use of the benefits attached to the appropriate banking tier.

I have been more than patient.

At this stage, I expect accountability, accurate information, fair treatment and a resolution, rather than another referral between departments.

Please treat this as a formal TCF and conduct complaint and ensure that it is reviewed at an appropriate senior level.


RM
Ryanne M's update16 Sept 2026, 14:45
Reviewer Update
UPDATE: RESOLVED 🙏🏻

I just want to say a huge thank you to Calvin from Discovery’s ***** Department, who was eventually able to assist me and resolve my issue when, unfortunately, nobody else at Discovery was able to.

Calvin was incredibly knowledgeable, patient and genuinely willing to assist. I honestly wish Discovery had more employees like him, people who are knowledgeable, take ownership of an issue and actually make an effort to help their clients.

Thank you so much, Calvin. I really appreciate everything you did to get this sorted out 🙏🏻

And my sincerest apologies if I came across as a bit blunt during our interaction. I was extremely frustrated after trying to get assistance for so long, and unfortunately I was taking some of that frustration out on the wrong person.

That being said, thank you to Discovery and, most importantly, thank you Calvin for finally getting this resolved. Your assistance made all the difference, and it is genuinely appreciated. 🙏🏻