Lack of transparency

In March 2020 I became a Discovery Bank client by acquiring the Bank's credit card. This is after doing the careful calculation of the various credit card options in the market and those offered by Discovery. I decided to go for the Gold credit cards as although the interest rate was high, I was mainly attracted to the 55 days interest free selling point.

The nightmare started when I made the first payment to a service provider on 5 March 2020. The app duplicated the payment and when this happened I immediately called the call center to have the transaction reversed and I was told that there was nothing the bank could do and it was therefore my responsibility to call the recipient and request that they refund me the amount which I would still be liable for. No responsibility for the duplication of payment was taken by the bank whatsoever, it was merely my problem to sort out. As I was still dealing with this issue, in late March and early April I received smses from the bank requiring that I make a minimum payment towards the credit card. I called the Bank on 2 April requesting clarification as to why I was required to make a minimum payment as I was still within the 55 interest free period. The agent I spoke to said she would consult and call me back. A call that would never materialise.

On 7 April I received a call from the bank about the minimum payment, I again asked the agent about the 55 days on no interest period which I was still under, she then told me that the interest free only app**** for 30 days and not for 55 days as advertised. I then made the minimum payment albeit disappointed in the lack of transparency from the bank.

The following day I received my statement for the month and noticed that I had been charged interest for April. I then looked at the March statement and had also been charged interest then. I called on 9 April 2020 to request clarification as to why this was. Another call center agent then told me that the 55 days interest free did not apply to EFTs made from the credit card. I am not sure if this is even the case as I am yet to receive consensus from the bank's employees as to. However I would like to pose the following objections to the above: 1. The EFT issue was not explicitly stated when I acquired the credit card, had I been informed of this I would have never taken the credit card. 2. The amount was paid to a service provider who only takes EFT payments. What am I meant to do in such cases? Decline to pay them because Discovery dictates how payments should be made??

I am deeply disappointed in the customer service and lack of transparency from the Bank. As soon as the matter with the interest charge is sorted I am keen to end my relationship with them.