Consumer complaint received 2018-04-27
Company: BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Application denied

Complaint:
I applied for a clearpoints credit card with BBVA after they solicited me to apply through a targeted mail. My application was denied because I am not a US citizen which I thought didn't make any sense given that I live her permanently and I have a valid social security number and a valid credit report. 

Here is what the company said regarding my denial. 

" XXXX XXXX, according to your CFPB complaint, you applied for a ClearPoints Credit Card Account with BBVA Compass ( the Bank ). You stated that your application remained pending for over a month and when you contacted the Bank, you were provided incorrect information. Ultimately, you stated that you spoke with a Supervisor who advised you that the Bank would not approve your application because you were not a United States citizen. It is your belief that the Bank discriminated against you on the basis of citizenship and country of origin. You request that the Bank to remove their credit inquiry from your credit history. In an effort to address your concerns, we have reviewed our records. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), users of consumer reports, such as financial institutions, may obtain prescreened consumer reports to make firm offers of credit or insurance to consumers, unless the consumer has elected to opt out of being included on prescreened lists by contacting one or more consumer reporting agencies ( credit bureaus ). The FCRA also requires users of prescreened consumer reports to send firm offers of credit to consumers that have been prequalified for credit based on information contained in prescreened consumer reports obtained from consumer reporting agencies. Based on the prescreened consumer reports the Bank received from the consumer reporting agencies, you were prequalified for a credit product with BBVA Compass. As a result, the Bank mailed correspondence conveying a firm offer of credit for the Banks ClearPoints Credit Card product in connection with the prescreened consumer report information received from the credit bureau. The product information mailed to you included a reservation code that allowed you to apply for the product through our website, www.bbvacompass.com, by telephone, or in person at a branch. Bank records indicate that you responded to the prequalified offer online for a ClearPoints Credit Card Account on XX/XX/XXXX. In order to apply for a BBVA Compass Credit Card, however, you are required to either be a United States Citizen or be able to provide documentation that showed you are a permanent resident. During the application process, you selected the box that stated I am a citizen of the United States. This allowed you to proceed with the application process and resulted in the Banks inquiry that was placed on your credit history. Upon submitting your application, you also certified that all the information you provided was true and correct. Your application was forwarded for additional review and the next day, the Bank sent you an e-mail stating that before we could move forward with the credit card application process, we required you to provide the following documentation : Copy of your Social Security card ( front and back ) Copy of your Valid U.S. Resident Card/Green Card ( front and back ) or Certificate of Naturalization The Bank requested that you provide this documentation either by confidential e-mail or fax within five ( 5 ) days. The Banks e-mail advised you to contact the Banks Origination Review Team at ( XXXX ) XXXX in the event you had further questions. On the same day, you e-mailed the Bank stating that you had a Social Security Number which was used by the Bank. You also stated you had Employment Authorization documentation but you were unsure as to the reason the Bank was interested in your legal status. You also stated that you could e-mail or visit your local branch with the documentation. However, none of the requested documentation was provided to the Bank within the five ( 5 ) days. As a result, your application was denied on XX/XX/XXXX.  According to your CFPB complaint, you were advised that you did not have to provide documentation to verify your identity because you were already verified. During our investigation into your concerns, we were able to locate four ( 4 ) calls between you and our Telephone Banking Department. On a call dated XX/XX/XXXX, the representative misinformed you that you no longer were required to provide documentation. However, a review of call dated XX/XX/XXXX showed that you were advised to go to the branch to provide that documentation. Furthermore, we reviewed the call dated XX/XX/XXXX with the Supervisor referenced in your CFPB complaint. During the call, you were advised that to apply for the ClearPoints Credit Card Account, you had to be either a United States Citizen or a permanent resident ; however, as the conversation progressed, you stated that the Bank solicited you to apply for the credit card but denied you because you were not a United States citizen and the  Supervisor did not correct your claim. You also asserted that since the Bank knew your situation and sent you an invitation to apply, the inquiry from your credit history should be removed. The Supervisor advised you that proceeding with the online application was dependent on whether or not you selected the box stating you were a United States citizen. He also advised you that upon submitting the application, you certify that the all the information you provided was accurate. You continued to believe that the Bank should not have sent you an invitation to apply if they were knowingly going to deny your application. Our review found that the Supervisor was courteous to you and tried to assist you, however, he did not appear to fully understand the application requirements for a permanent resident. All of the reviewed calls were submitted to management in the Telephone Banking Department to address the issues that were uncovered with the representatives and the Supervisor. We sincerely apologize for the miscommunication. Lastly, you assert that you contacted the Bank on or around XX/XX/XXXX regarding your application and were advised that it was still pending review because we did not receive the requested documentation. We were unable to locate a telephone call on or around XX/XX/XXXX. During the call dated XX/XX/XXXX, the  representative advised you that your application was still pending. Additional documentation ( i.e. Copy of your Social Security card ( front and back ) and Copy of your Valid U.S. Resident Card/Green Card ( front and back ) or Certificate of Naturalization ) was required. Without providing more information, we are unable to further investigate this claim. On XX/XX/XXXX, the Bank received the following documentation from you : Employment Authorization Card Drivers License Social Security Card ( stating valid for work only with DHS Authorization ) Since the Bank had already denied your application, we were unable to reopen the application upon receipt of your documentation. On XX/XX/XXXX, the Bank mailed a letter to your address of record advising you that you application for a ClearPoints Credit Card was denied. The Banks decision to deny your application was based on the following reason-Potential Fraud Risk Indicators Present. A copy of your Adverse Action Notice is attached to the CFPB portal for your review. In summary, the Bank sent a prescreened firm offer of credit for a ClearPoints Credit Card account based on the information received from XXXX  in a prescreened consumer report. BBVA Compass reserves the right not to approve your BBVA Compass ClearPoints Credit application, if you respond to the offer and do not meet all of the criteria. When you applied for the credit card account, you selected the box that stated I am a citizen of the United States, which allowed you to proceed with the application. Although you provided identification documentation, this information was not provided until after your application was denied. As a result, the Bank correctly made an inquiry on your credit history based on the application you submitted and we are unable to remove that inquiry. To address your allegation of discrimination, our review of your concerns was unable to substantiate your claim that the Bank discriminated against you based on citizenship or country of origin. It is the policy of BBVA Compass to fully comply with all relevant provisions of fair lending laws and associated regulations, and all applicable laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices. It is the Banks policy to offer its financial products and services and conduct its activities in a fair and responsible manner and to prevent discriminatory lending practices. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. '' Here is my question. 

If I was misinformed by your incompetent customer service according to your response then the words " We apologize '' doesn't really make everything OK. You claim that I failed to meet a 5 day deadline to submit some documents even though I contacted the bank more than 5 times during those 5 days and was told I didn't need to submit anything. How is that fair?. Am I supposed to get the information from customer service representatives and then do the opposite of it because that's how things works according to BBVA?! 

Nothing in the letter stated that I can't apply online if I am not a citizen. And I don't recall checking a box that says I am a citizen and I don't need to lie about my identity. 

The denial letter is a joke. What fraud are you talking about when I was practically calling everyday and trying to work on my application and getting wrong information from customer service representatives and also I submitted personal and verification documents to verify everything and you still think I am a fraud. I think BBVA is a fraud for not evaluating my credit worthiness and denying me for not being a citizen. This is a complete discrimination. 

Finally I don't understand why the bank is having a hard time contacting the credit bureau and requesting to remove the hard inquiry. The same way they contacted the credit bureau and requested my credit report in the first place. 

If you keep admitting through your responses that you didn't treat the customer right. What did you do to fix that for the customer?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation