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Capital One - ruthless banksters

Friday, July 06, 2007

Capital One billing screwed up - changed payment cycle - over limit fees ….

Since I’m very careful to NOT go over the limit, I checked some credit card account balances before making an online purchase on July 4.

Got to one of my Capital One cards:

We apologize, but Online Account Services encountered an unexpected error while processing your request. Please try again later. If the problem persists, US customers please call 1-800-951-6951 and Canadian customers please call 1-800-481-3239 to speak to a Capital One representative.

It showed my balance $200 over the $7,000 limit and I couldn’t understand why.  Just last Thursday I had to call them because the available credit didn’t look right.  It turned out that while they POSTED the $350 check for my latest lawsuit, they also deducted those $350 from my available credit.  The guy fixed it right away (after a couple transfers) and I used it at a few stores that day, 6/28. I had NO idea how my balance got to over $7,200.

Did someone fraudulently use this card again?

I could log into my other Cap One accounts just fine.  So I called the 1-800-951-6951 in the error message, only to once again be not able to find ANY option to get to a person.

I tried the “recent charges” option, there were NONE.

Hitting 0 many times finally got me to a person who told me that a $20 phone charge on Saturday brought me to $7,010.  How could that be?  I still had about $140 or so available on Friday when I checked online.  She mentioned an almost $30 charge for the Tracfone I ordered online well over a week ago.  Why would the charge just post now?  And why would it bring me over the limit?

FINANCE charges were added on 7/3. 

WHAT?  Why on 7/3?  My statement date is the 25th or 26th.  What’s going on?

She couldn’t explain it, other than to also tell me that I was also charged an over limit fee. 

I had a hard time understanding her, she was in the Philippines and I asked to speak to her supervisor or at least someone in the states..  She repeatedly told me that Capital One is a “global company”—why would I care?  I wanted to talk to someone with a clue and who spoke better English.  She finally transferred me.

The guy told me right away that the finance charges posted on 7/3 because Cap One is going to a 25 day grace period.  I then realized that they had NOT charged any interest on the 25th or 26th when my billing cycle should have ended, that’s why I was over the limit, but I still don’t know why by so much.

At any rate, he credited the overlimit fee and said I would then be able to log in again.

The next day I STILL got that error message.  How can I pay my bill and get back BELOW the limit?  Well, all I had to do was click on the payment button.  The error message fooled me. I paid and then the error message went away, but there was still no statement or any of the June/July charges.

Finally today I was able to get the 7/3 statement.  This sure is very strange.  Why don’t they let people know when they’re changing closing dates?

And I can see now that I did have several small charges last week that I’d forgotten about and they did NOT show up when I had checked online last weekend.

Why is the payment due on 7/28?  It used to be that the statement date was also the due date.  I suppose now they REDUCED the time you have to pay your bill to 25 days.  I see.  But why?  To get more late fees?

At any rate, this was just ONE of my 4 Cap One cards and if you’re having similar problems because charges didn’t show up online, get your over limit fee credit.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Reader mail:  Capital One no longer recommended

Hi,

I read your case against Cap One.  I have two Capital One accounts.  I have always been pleased with them until recently.  I was qualifying for a house, and I noticed that Cap One does not report the credit limit which obviously restricts the lender from seeing what the ratio is.  Obviously that affects your credit score because it is listed as one of the factors used to determine your score.  I called to ask that Cap One report my limit, but they refused and said they “don’t do that.”

Last week I paid my bill on the day it was due, but I paid at night.  There was already a $39 late fee on my account, and it was the same day!  I had to call 4 people to finally get them to remove it.  I had 3 supervisors tell me that they could not remove it.  Yeah right.  Then why would they have that title?  I just kept calling until someone took care of it.

My credit has been in perfect standing with them for over 5 years, and I wanted a rewards card.  I applied for one in March.  They sent me a letter saying that they declined me and 1) they had not checked my credit score and 2) i had too many Cap One accts.  Had they bothered to check my score and look at my account standing, they would have seen I am well worthy of such a card.  So I went to GM Flex and opened a rewards acct. w/ them. 

I am so disgusted with Cap One.  I used their cards for over 5 years.  I plan to pay off my balances by August and will not use those accounts again.  I even used to recommend Cap One to first time credit card holders, the Seniors in high school that I teach.  Never again!

...

I’m glad you got a different card.  But do NOT close the Cap One accounts as the account history is very important if you have no other old open credit cards.  And anyone looking for a mortgage should keep in mind that inquiries and new accounts can lower the FICO scores.

If you opt in for promotional offers and you have good credit, you should receive offers for 0% interest balance transfers, often good for over a year. Unless your Cap One balances are from one of their special low rate offers, pay them off with one of those balance transfers.

Regarding the Capital One failure to report the credit limits:

1) Dispute the limits with all three credit bureaus, best in writing.

2) If they don’t fix it, send them your Cap One statements with the limits as documentation.

All three CRAs are being sued in class actions for failing to report the Capital One credit limits and it’s important that consumers DOCUMENT the continued refusal to report the limits. 

Sooner or later, they WILL report the limits, you can help to accomplish this sooner.  The more consumers dispute, the greater their legal liability.

I know it’s work, but there are MILLIONS of consumers who have no idea that they pay more for insurance and credit and that they are even declined for apartment rentals due to Capital One’s and the CRAs’ vile conduct.

And if helping others and yourself with disputes and ultimately getting the limits reported isn’t enough of an incentive, you can of course file your own lawsuit if they don’t correct or be part of the class action, which might get you a few bucks.

Disputing with Capital One will NOT result in FCRA violations you can sue for, you have to dispute with the CRAs.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Reader mail:  Capital One served “John Doe”

… have actually served me as a John Doe in her case. I have been unable to reach anyone at the law firm in Phoenix, so I guess I will be writing some letters. ...

Has anyone else seen that?  Why would they name a John Doe in a debt collection case?  After all, they KNOW who is responsible for the debt.  This makes no sense to me.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Capital One VP Scott Hildebrand lied to Senate?

Scott Hildebrand, Capital One’s vice president of direct-marketing services admitted to the U.S. Senate in 2003 that his Company routinely withholds reporting credit limits in a process it calls “credit line sloping.” As reported in the Los Angeles Times on July 30, 2003, Capital One justified withholding the credit limit information claiming it was proprietary and a way to manage lending risk, assuring the Senate that the practice had no negative impact on consumers.

That’s from a complaint against Cap One for the failure to report the credit LIMITS.

Is Hildebrand still with Cap One?

How can I get a transcript of his testimony?

Wouldn’t it be perjury to lie to the Senate?

Who else testified and why did the Senators believe Hildebrand?

This reeks of corruption.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

How to use the CDIA eOscar credit reporting manual

The screenshots of the instructions requiring the reporting of credit LIMITS

EVERY type of account is listed in this Manual.  Whether it’s the incorrect reporting of collections as tradelines or any other credit reporting issue, just look it up.