Consumer complaint received 2020-05-09
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: WA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
Capital One ( " bank '' ) refuses to return a deposit of {$1000.00} plus interest, falsely asserting by XX/XX/2020 letter that it has closed the account and that it has confirmed issuance and cashing of a check. Bank also has wrongfully charged an early withdrawal interest penalty of {$720.00} after it unilaterally closed a 10 year CD in a different account. Bank terminated the relationship after first denying my wife 's login access to her account which she discovered on XX/XX/2020, Friday night. Bank next restricted my access to my funds but not my login, which I discovered on XX/XX/2020 Monday morning after we called that day to inquire about a suspicious activity alert from bank regarding her accounts that we first saw on XX/XX/2020 Friday night. Calls during our three hour personal meeting with a Capital One employee on XX/XX/2020 from the local CapitalOne Cafe, following calls on XX/XX/2020, and calls on subsequent days did not resolve the issue. Bank would not share with us what credible information caused it to restrict the accounts other than to say on XX/XX/2020 that someone named " XXXX '' in New York was seeking access to my wife 's account. We explained that my wife was merely trying to link her account to XXXX XXXX  in New York so that she could transfer funds to a high yield CD. Bank accused us on that call and a subsequent call that morning when we were cut off during the first call of giving access to an unauthorized person ( XXXX? ) and stated that for that reason " they were terminating the relationship ''. They never seemed to understand that XXXX is a bank that merely needed routing information to make trial deposits of a few cents before establishing the link. My wife was unable to complete the planned transfer to XXXX as a result of the bank 's actions so lost the opportunity to receive significantly higher interest from a competitor. I was also unable to make planned routine transfers. My wife had asked me to participate in her calls because her native language is not English and she is new to on-line banking. Bank would not let either of us access our own accounts to transfer our funds to pre-existing external linked accounts and insisted instead on mailing checks totaling several hundred thousand dollars that arrived several days later, after being repeatedly warned that they were putting the funds at risk of theft or accidental loss or mis-delivery, based on actual experience with regular mail deliveries to our residence. Bank 's actions also caused extra risk for us as senior citizens and others during the Covid-19 pandemic because we had to make needless trips outside to personally  deposit these large checks. Numerous requests by telephone, email, courier, and regular mail, including letters also to the highest levels of the company, have not resulted in return of the one deposit and the early withdrawal penalty interest, nor any disclosure either of what credible risk of a security breach was occurring with respect to our personal information and the funds in our accounts. The only written response was a XX/XX/2020 letter from " XXXX, On Behalf of Capital One '' XXXX, ext XXXX stating in part, " After thoroughly researching your concerns surrounding our decision to end our business relationship with you, it was determined that all actions taken by Capital One were done so appropriately due to our current policies and procedures. Per the Capital One Rules Governing which pertains to all deposit accounts we may close any account in our sole discretion at any time, for any or no reason and without notice to you. '' " XXXX '' also stated that the funds in acct.no. ending in XXXX had been " confirmed as cashed ''. My wife and I responded by letter dated XX/XX/2020 but have not heard back.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief