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Jano J

1 reviews | Active since Jul 2016

06 Mar 2019, 10:46

Discovery Card blocks your card without notice for Fica when you need it most

My secondary platinum discovery card was cancelled last Friday by Discovery without informing me. Yes, last Friday was also my little girls birthday party and my wife had a plethora of things to buy with the discovery card which was cancelled. That's not really a problem all my wife had to do is call me and I could jump in the car and drive through town buying everything my wife would have done. But here comes the problem, I had no one to call to quickly take over all the work I had to do that day - and guess who needs to work to earn the money... jip, its me! I called discovery, multiple times and have escalated the issue three levels up to the point where the manager, Hagashree Moodley is on leave but don't worry, someone else will call me (which for some strange reason, they don't). Which is also funny is that I have a read receipt from Hagashree who is apparently reading her work emails while on leave... My wife's card is still blocked, discovery has admitted that no communication was sent out. I have absolutely no problem with the Fica requirements which FNB has apparently put on these accounts, however I have a huge problem with how this is handled by Discovery who fails to understand that I don't merely want her card unblocked, I want to have answers as to why they signed off on a process where you should apparently get an SMS instructing you to send identification documents to an email address and react on it. If you do not get this sms, they simply block your card on the day of your little girls birthday party. I'm in the process of moving my business but would still like answers from someone who understands that the issue is not getting the card unblocked, it's way more than that.

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Replies (3)
JJ
Jano J's update11 Mar 2019, 10:38
Reviewer Update
I was consequently contacted by Discovery Card who could not explain why FNB requires ID but not proof of address for FICA which does not make sense. Nonetheless, we agreed that I would be sent the requirement from FNB which has also not happened to date. My wife is still sitting with a de-activated card. I'm looking at joining another provider and so should anyone reading this. The American Express card issued by Nedbank seems to have greater benefits than the Discovery card, even though I'm on Diamond status!!!
JJ
Jano J's update18 Mar 2019, 15:24
Reviewer Update
Discovery has now sent me a letter on a letterhead, signed by no one with no contact details for me to follow up. This is useless in itself, however the content of the letter is interesting. Where they first advised me that this was a FNB FICA requirement, they've now made a U-turn stating its not a FICA requirement and did not come from FNB either. They have also apparently removed the hold on the card. I have still not been contacted by Hagashree Moodley as I originally requested neither have I been contacted by Deanan Govindasamy whom is supposed to stand in for her while she is on leave. Both of these individuals have read my email requesting to be contacted. In the mean time I've asked Segomotso Nthite to email me Hagashree's managers details which he just ignores. My very reasonable request to find out why this has happened remains unanswered and requires URGENT attention.
JJ
Jano J's update19 Mar 2019, 11:58
Reviewer Update
The saga continues... Discovery has now blocked my card in an absurd turn of events. They have apologized profusely about blocking my wife's card which they state they have unblocked but they now went and blocked my card. This is just great - NOT! They probably made another corporate decision which they do not convey to their card holders but proceed in blocking their cards, but that's just a guess as you just don't know with them! Furthermore, in their reply, Discovery has again made an about turn and now states it is still a Fica requirement which differs from the letter they sent me. They have still not provided any contact details for me to speak to a manager in person as I've requested more than two weeks ago. I've resent emails to the managers they did provide who again read them and did not get back to me. (one of these managers apparently went to another part of the business, the other one, Deanan Govindasamy, just keeps ignoring me.) Lastly, they apologize for they manner this situation was dealt with and offer me a voucher, yet, no one has made contact with me and there are no numbers for me to call, not even an email address.