Consumer complaint received 2023-10-20
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I went inside the Capital One Cafe located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Ca XXXX. A male employee offered to help me make a cash ATM payment for my Capitol One Business Spark Credit card for my business. The bill was {$85.00}. I gave the Capital One employee {$100.00} cash to pay the full bill. The employee put the cash in the ATM and it malfunctioned eating the cash. It did not disperse the cash back out, no receipt nor did the ATM return the cash back after the employee tried to even cancel the transaction. At XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX the male employee called Capital One customer service by phone and spoke to Customer service rep XXXX ( ID XXXX XXXXXXXX or XXXX ). The male employee identified himself as a Capital One Cafe employee, gave his employee ID, ATM terminal ID XXXX, address of business, and explained in detail the ATM ate the {$100.00} cash completely malfunctioning issuing no receipt nor return of the {$100.00} dollar cash bill he had inserted into the ATM. I then also spoke to Customer service rep XXXX identifying myself, personal information, account credit card numberetc. she then issued me a case number XXXX. Capital One sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating essentially they were investigating the missing cash that within 30 days I needed to respond to them with documentation of an ATM receipt, or total amount of payment, Branch address, ATM terminal ID, which wouldve been located on the actual ATM, payment date and time. The letter indicated if they dont receive this information within 30 days, my account will be rebilled for the amount of any temporary credits. In regards to the letter I called Capital One on XX/XX/XXXX and reminded them that on XX/XX/XXXX the capital one caf employee provided them with all the information and that I was aware that it was a recorded call in which they should reference back to the customer service rep XXXX, who took the information because it was provided. I was told to disregard the letter that matter was resolved that I didnt need to do anything further because they did have the information provided and that the letter sent to me was an automated generated type of letter. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from Capital One saying that the payment discrepancy on the capital one account was closed unfortunately due to the fact that they did receive the documents that was requested within 30 days and so the request can not be filed ; the case was closed referencing the case number XXXX. That letter prompted me to call Capital One on XX/XX/XXXX at which time I spoke to XXXX, who was a senior account manager. I spent two hours on the phone with her explaining what have been happening with this ATM investigation. She indicated that they would need to reopen another investigation regarding this matter and gave me {$100.00} credit back to my account pending investigation. I was informed there was no payment due and no late fees. I then spoke to a capital one rep named XXXX who made a {$100.00} balance adjustment on my account and stated that the late fees would also be removed or adjusted citing case number XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received two separate letters from Capital one regarding my Capital One business spark credit card where by one letter indicated they were still investigating the payment error that I had reported and that on XX/XX/XXXX they had placed a temporary credit adjustment on my account for {$100.00} while they investigate. The second capital one letter also dated XX/XX/XXXX indicated they were contacting me regarding the payment discrepancy requesting that I provide documentation of the payment in question which should include my name and the case number listed above, referencing case number XXXX. 

Then on XXXX, XXXX XXXX I received a letter regarding claim number XXXX indicating unfortunately that they were denied the claim because the ATM records do not show an error or a completed transaction for the dollar amount or date that was indicated. I was instructed to contact Capital One if I had any questions. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted Capital One and spoke to investigator Senior account person named. XXXX indicated that the account reflected that there was no extra cash found with the ATM and at that time I requested whether the investigation reflected if anyone had reviewed the ATM video footage. I was not given the answer to that question. At that time my account was reflecting that I owed capital one an extra {$100.00} which made no sense because my total bill in XX/XX/XXXX was only {$85.00} total. Furthermore, On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted capital one about the two letters that I received both dated XX/XX/XXXX and at that time I spoke to XXXX as senior account supervisor about my concerns that my situation was not diligently being investigated, and I wanted to know if the investigators with capital one had reviewed the video footage from the ATM. She was unable to provide me that information and said that she will call me back because she found some errors that needed to be looked into regarding my case. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a voicemail from XXXX stating she was still working on the case that she would contact me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called back to Capital One and I spoke to a customer service rep named XXXX because it was reflecting on my Capital One account per my statement that I had received in the mail showed that my account was {$110.00} past due with a late fee. XXXX adjusted my account to reflect a credit of {$100.00} pending investigation after I explained to him what occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. I then asked to speak to the investigators who sent me the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, and at that time I was transferred to speak to XXXX a Supervisor in investigations ( ID number XXXX ). XXXX escalated the matter to a Capital One unit where I spoke to XXXX again ( ID number XXXX ). XXXX indicated there was an error in the previous information and that the information needed to be reviewed again. At that time I asked XXXX to provide me with the name of the male employee who originally helped me at the ATM at the capital one caf, and she couldnt provide it to me. XXXX asked me about reference case number XXXX which she states was a case that was closed on XX/XX/XXXX. I provided XXXX with the original case number that have been given to me by Capital One customer service rep XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. At that time she acknowledged that there were two cases, and she was unable to explain why. I also informed her of the letters that I had received which were two dated XX/XX/XXXX, and one dated XX/XX/XXXX referencing the new case number XXXX. The matter was referred for yet another investigation. 

My credit card statement due for XX/XX/XXXX reflected that {$100.00} of my credit to my account adjusted on XX/XX/XXXX. However, when I receive my credit card statement due for XX/XX/XXXX it reflected I owed Capital One {$100.00} which had been a payment adjustment on the credit card statement the prior month. So on or abouts XX/XX/XXXX I went in person to the Capital One Cafe to speak to the manager and was told she was not available. So an employee there called Capital One customer service on my behalf to again report what was initially reported on XX/XX/XXXX. At that time I was told my account was again given a credit for {$100.00} pending the investigation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called capital one again to request for the status and was told by Supervision, Senior account specialist, XXXX that the case had actually been closed that the ATM had no extra cash. At that time I asked her if anybody had reviewed any of the video footage from the actual ATM, whether Capital One investigators ever bothered to interview the employee working at the Capital One Cafe regarding the malfunctioning of the ATM on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX either refused to give me that information and or was unable to state whether the investigations ever bothered to review the ATM video footage, or even interview the Capital One Cafe employee who had assisted me in reporting the incident. XXXX informed me that in order for the matter to be investigated again I would be required to have to write a letter and I could email it to them after she sends me a link via email which is in fact what I did. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, using the link sent to my email by Capital One I submitted a four page handwritten letter in which I gave details about the incident and the malfunctioning of the ATM during the transaction where it failed to disperse My {$100.00} cash back. In my letter I noted the time that the incident was reported and that there was no receipt because the ATM completely malfunctioned. I reminded them that on XX/XX/XXXX that a Capital One employee assisting me, gave them the date, time, address, ATM terminal information and a detailed explanation as to what happened to the {$100.00} cash when he put it in the ATM. I reiterated in my letter that the Capital One cafe employee spoke to XXXX by phone and she was on speaker the entire time when the report was taken, verifying my name, my address, business information, and any other pertinent information at the time, along with referencing the original case number XXXX. My letter went onto address that this matter has been ongoing for six months and has not been resolved. That I am continuing to suffer on my credit report with my credit score dipping up and down from this fiasco and that I continue to get billed for {$100.00} in which I do not owe to Capital One. My letter went out to explain that this adverse information is truly affecting me and I wanted this to be finally resolved. I requested that the investigation include interviewing the Capital One Cafe employee who had assisted me with my cash payment on XX/XX/XXXX, I requested that video footage from the ATM be review to substantiate the claim and that if Capital One failed to resolve this matter my only option would be to seek legal counsel for any damages done to my new company business credit. I indicated how I could be contacted and that I was no way delinquent on this account. I signed my name and my phone number to contact me. It should be noted that on XX/XX/XXXX my credit card statement from Capital One Spark Business correctly shows that I only owed a total of {$85.00}. To this date, Capital One is trying to bill me to pay them {$100.00} which I have never owed them. If anything on XX/XX/XXXX, my Capital One Spark business credit card account shouldve been credited for {$15.00}. 

I received another letter from capital one dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that they received my claim number XXXX and that they were denying my crying because the ATM did not show an error or a completed transaction for the dollar amount or date indicated. I was instructed to contact the payment investigations department either by fax, phone, or mail. I called Capital One on XX/XX/XXXX and I asked to speak to someone and the payment investigations unit and was told that they were not available. So I spoke to a senior account manager named XXXX ID number XXXX. She pretty much gave me the same explanation as prior employees did from prior phone calls. She stated the ATM so no errors and then I have a past due amount of {$100.00} and which I told her I do not go to capital one that my original credit card statement back on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX was for {$85.00}. I explain to her that this matter has been going on on result. For six months she was asked to provide me the name of the employee that assisted me in the Capital one caf, and she refused to give me that information. I also again asked if they investigations unit have reviewed the video footage that I was aware all ATMs have a video because of pretty much what I do for a profession. She was not able to provide me with anything, and I did request that my matter be escalated up And who above her I could speak to because I was getting no results regarding this entire situation. She said there was nobody that she could escalate it up to and then she offered to call me back after I had asked what I could do at this point, and she just kept saying I needed to send a letter in order to do another investigation. I repeatedly told her Ive already done that and that is not working. She didnt say if she could call me back in which the fact she did she was not able to look at the notes and see who the employee was she said his name was not there then she told me that there was no record that. XXXX took the employees information down when it was reported on XX/XX/XXXX. I was flabbergasted by what she said and then she told me that she was informed that I couldnt file another investigation, and that it would be pointless because the result would be the same. One of the things that I kept asking her was that the fact is all calls to capital one are being recorded at XXXX she was not able to access any of the recordings in order to confirm the information that was provided to XXXX on XX/XX/2023 ; she refused to answer it, and would not even say whether or not investigators had investigated this case by listening to the recorded calls. XXXX hung after I placed her on hold because I had received a call from the manager from the Capital One Cafe. 

The manager from the Capital One Cafe returned my phone call after I had left her a message in the early afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX. I explained in detail to the manager this nightmare situation and she informed me that she had never been informed of the situation or investigation. I described her employee that assisted me and she made it clear that she knew who that individual was and that she needed a week to look into the situation. She asked me for the original case number, and which I gave to her and she asked me for the last case number regarding this incident. I explain to her that I wanted to get the name of her employee that assisted me and she said she needed to look into it first before she could provide me with that information. I asked her if she was the manager of the capital one Caf on XX/XX/XXXX and she said she was. Immediately after the call I located information on how to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against Capital One. 

At this time I am seeking assistance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because I believe there is some fraudulent criminal activity being conducted by Capitol One. The ATM in question is taking cash, not operating legally, not functioning properly and Capital One investigators are not properly conducting an investigation by reviewing footage from XX/XX/XXXX, nor fairly interviewing their own employee who assisted me reporting the ATM malfunction. This might be happening for other consumers when using cash at ATMs that Capital One is using robbing their own customers. I need to protect my new business credit worthiness and this situation has affected my business credit for more than six months. My credit card Spark business is repeatedly being billed for late fees that are repeatedly being placed on the account causing creditworthiness issues with my new small business. As I have said, this matter has been ongoing for nearly 6 months. I feel Capital One is engaging in criminal activity in not diligently attempting to resolve this matter because they continue to close investigations without providing information about the methods of their investigation. They refuse to say whether they have reviewed the ATM footage from XX/XX/XXXX. They are refusing to indicate whether they have interviewed the Capital One Cafe employee that reported to customer service representative XXXX on the day of question. I feel that capital one is fraudulently conducting business requesting for me to pay them money that I do not owe them and allowing an ATM to steal cash from people. 

I need help with in addressing the criminal activity taking place with Capital One and or help with closing this account to take my business elsewhere without harm. Please help me with this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief