Capital One Complaint - Beware of their scam...

Posted by creditwrench on 2004-08-08:

Your story isn't all that unusual. Capitol One Sucks with an awful lot of people. And if you go to Google
or most search engines you and put in Capitol One you will find one of my webpages proclaiming that fact. There is also a message board that deals with Capitol One as well. Complaints against them are rampant all over the internet.

Posted by Mad Eye Moody on 2004-08-09:

As a side note...them and NCO are in bed together.

Posted by wizang on 2004-10-02:

Your lying. Capital One doesn't have a $25 annual fee and hasn't in about 7 years. More than likely you did pay your account off, but you paid it late. Then they billed you a $25 late fee that you didn't feel you were responsible for. If you are going to complain about a company, at least try telling the truth.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2004-11-26:

You owe the poster an apology for calling them a lier. They said the charge showed up on the statement as "annual fee". They said the customer service rep. told them it was a "mistake". Not once did they say customer service said the charge was for anything else. If it was because they payment arrived late, the customer service rep would have told them that, instead of saying it was a "mistake".

Posted by NobodyCares on 2005-02-25:

My experience with Capital One was very similar to the person who wrote "Beware of Scam". I had a card several years ago and I paid the balance off in full and they started charging me monthly (on a no annual fee card) and then sent me to collections. The collections person was very understanding and he said to write them a letter stating that I had not made any charges on the account and to remove the charges and close the account. Well, judging from the other entries I read on this site I should consider myself relatively lucky because they did close the account and removed the charges however, they never bothered to tell me that they wrote the charges off as "bad debt" and reported that I have derogatory credit to the credit bureaus. The worst part is that it has been on my credit report for 4 years and I never knew because I recently obtained a copy of my credit report and saw what they did. It was incredible to me that they could get a tax write-off for charges I never made! Of course I sent them a certified letter explaining that this is unfair and ridiculous to charge someone for a no annual fee card and then to put it on my credit report as derogatory credit after I cleared the mess up and without any notice. Of course, I never got a response. When I tried calling the company, the person I spoke with was extremely rude although I was trying to keep my composure and he refused to identify himself when I asked for his name. This company knows it is untouchable and treats us like dirt because we don't have any power. However, there is power in numbers and if anyone posting their bad experiences with Capital One is interested in getting organized and maybe suing the company to contact me at senta68@hotmail.com. I am not happy about having to go this direction with them but they are clearly making it their policy to cheat consumers who are powerless. I don't know enough about these laws to know if we have a strong case but it seems to me that the company habitually does not act out of good faith and takes advantage of the people who are putting money in their pockets. To me it's not about the money because they have not taken any from me but they did damage my credit and a lot of people out there did lose money. To be honest I doubt we would get any money even if we won, but it might force them to improve their policies and clear up the dishonest things they've done to us and others, also if the public finds out about it they'll lose a lot of business because no one wants a credit card from a company that habitually cheats people. I don't know...it's just a thought.

Posted by disfibulator88 on 2006-12-02:

Wow. I had a similar thing happen, only I stopped using the card, zeroed it out, and cut it up. I thought I cancelled, which was pretty reasonable considering I never received a bill after that. The card even expired (though I didn't know b/c I cut it up and disposed of it) and I never received a new one. Then, out of the blue about 15 months later (yesterday) I got a call from their collection department saying I was 45 days delinquent on charges and asking for a minimum payment of $60. She also asked for some personal-type info that I was not about to give her, yet they would not tell me my balance. I tried to explain how strange this was to me and how I do not understand how this could have happened. Basically, the only thing she would tell me was that I was enrolled in some sort of payment protection plan that caused some of the charges. I made it clear that I NEVER say yes to these plans and that I have NEVER been delinquent on a bill in my entire life.
She wouldn't transfer me without me giving her my SS# or account information I no longer had.

Anyway, after routing around for information I figured out the card number and expiration date, as well as the payment protection phone number. I called and got the plan cancelled, all the while adamantly denying any involvement or permission to be enrolled in the plan. After that I was able to find the right number to the people who could zero out my bill. The thing that freaked me out was that I had to go through the whole thing and when they found out that I physically had no card, there were no charges other than some "membership fee" and "protection plan," that I never received any bills or notice of changes to my account, and that I had tried to get this account closed over a year ago - after finding this out: 1) they didn't seem all that surprised, 2) they very quickly gave up and zeroed out/cancelled the account. My balance that they ended up zeroing out was about $200. They were trying to rip me off to the tune of $200.

Their practices are disgusting and it's good to know other people are speaking out. It's just unfortunate that you could not get your problem solved without a great deal of effort. Still, you have given me reason to make sure that in 30 days my account really is closed out and to never trust them until the account closing process is really finalized. Thanks.

Posted by Mittens on 2006-12-11:

Same thing is happening, and I'm still trying to get it all to stop. I'm up to $200, and I closed out my account about a year ago. I have called a dozen times and I keep getting shuffled to different departments and different people who are of zero help to me. It's been a headache.

Posted by ASAP Credit Card on 2008-01-14:

It seems like a lot of people have negative things to say about Capital One. Rediculous fees, low credit limits, APRs that change without notice - the list goes on and on!

We'd love to get your feed back. We recently started a poll on the Worst / Best Credit Card Issuers at:

http://www.asapcreditcard.com/blog/site-news/worst-best-credit-card-issuers-poll

Feel free to stop by and give us your opinions.

Posted by corey b on 2008-04-22:

I signed up for a $300 limit Capital One card in December 2007. They promoted no payments until May 5th 2008. That was the only reason I signed up for the card. I spent just under $300 so they charged my cad with fees to put me over $300 so they could charge me with more fees. Thats not the worst, I can live with that. Next they charge me evey month for not making a payment starting in December. I called them and reminded them that no payments were due until May 5th. They said there was no promotion like that and I needed to prove it. They are charging me for being over $300 every month and charging me late fees for not making payments and its not even May. Can someone he? This has also had a negative effect on my credit.

Posted by Westchaser on 2008-06-17:

June 2008: Capital One raised their "Minimum Payment Calculation" on my account to 3% of the card's balance. Since my balance is approx $10k, that one-percent is a significant increase to each month's payment.

Previously, it was 2% but I was late on one payment - a first since obtaining this card more than five years ago.

I received a call from Capital One's collections department, asking me to bring the account into good standing. I obliged and paid the late payment, their late fees AND the current month's payment in one shot, brining my account into good standing ($600+). The caller failed to tell me that he was raising my Minimum Payment Percentage. Guess he overlooked that little detail.

I wrote the company, asking to please put me back to 2%, but they responded with nothing more than a definition of how the minimum payment is calculated. Their letter closed with "You are a valued customer and we thank you for choosing Capital One".

How's that for a slap in the face? So much for "customer appreciation / service". Googling this company, I see that I am not the only one with the misfortune of being a Capital One card holder and experiencing similar frustrations with this shady company.

I am going to pay off the entire balance and close this account forever. Capital One is the worst credit card I have ever owned in my 38 years.

Posted by Westchaser on 2010-07-23:

I have been a Capital One cardholder for 10 years. In Feb 2010, I received a letter from them stating my "Introductory" APR expired. The net result was my rate immediately changed from a steady (for numerous years) 4.95% to 15.9%. After reading that letter, I immediately called their customer service line to ask (1) why since I have never exceeded by limit nor made a late payment and (2) what options did I have to get my rate back to what it was or at least lower. I was told (quote) "We understand your frustration but apologize as there's nothing we can do at this time to lower your APR. Please call back next month to see if it's possible at that time to reduce your rate. In the meantime, I'll notate your account that you called to inquire about lowering your rate." Since Feb 2010, I called each month with the same question and was literally given the exact same (scripted) reply. In the meantime, my monthly minimum payment more than doubled to Capital One. I've struggled but paid each one and did so on time. July 2010, after six months of struggling and calling Capital One, I called again with the same question and was told by "Seth" that I could "OPT-OUT of the NEW terms" that caused my APR to jump. I immediately reacted, informing him that I've been asking this question for six months .. why only now was I offered this wonderful news? His answer: "We are DISCOURAGED from telling customers about the opt-out option which also places your account in RESTRICTED status." I asked what "restricted status" meant and he clarified that "the card could NO LONGER BE USED for purchases BUT would reinstate your original APR of 4.95%." I nearly shouted "PERFECT!" when he told me this news. He said he would need to transfer me to a "senior account specialist" to complete my OPT-OUT request. I waited approx 5 minutes and another gentlemen took over the call. He was quick to tell me: "You've unfortunately MISSED the window of opportunity to OPT-OUT of the new terms and, therefore, you are STUCK (he actually said STUCK) with the new APR of 15.9%" WTF? I was LIVID. I told him how I've called for six consecutive months asking how I can get my old APR of 4.95% back but was told to call back .. and that my inquiry would be noted on my account. He proceeded to tell me "I'm sorry but there's no record of you ever calling - to ask about your APR or any other reason". If I could have jumped through the phone to strangle someone at Capital One .. I would have. I told him this is a SCAM and that I would be blogging this online on as many websites as I could locate. He said (quote) "I would do the same if I was in your situation". Either way, Capital One are running a DIRTY business of lending. Just google "CAPITAL ONE SCREWED" and you'll find a ton of posts like mine. I wish I could dump this account but, unfortunately, I'll be stuck paying off the balance well into the foreseeable future.

I have since submitted a complaint at: http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm