Consumer complaint received 2023-12-15
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: WV
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
In XXXX XXXX, Capital One Bank changed vendors for their online banking system and " migrated '' users ' online Bill Payment information to the new system. A notice was emailed to users beforehand saying the system would be unavailable for several days of a weekend. 

When the new system was available, it had a completely new user interface. Billers ( i.e., payees ) and scheduled payments were listed in full whether you wanted them or not. And, there was no access to recurring payments to change due dates or payment amounts. I began calling Capital One every few days to find out when I would be able to edit a recurring payment - and was told " There are temporary problems with the ability to edit a biller. Try again later. '' Then, one day, I was told that the only way to " edit '' recurring payment was to delete the existing scheduled payment and enter all the information again by setting up a " new '' payee. Initially, I refused to do this and insisted that the edit capability must be restored. Finally, around XX/XX/XXXX, I gave up and deleted the old payment and tried to start a new/replacement payee. But, the system hit a " snag '' and said to try back later. I called again and raised a major fuss about the incompetence of CapOne 's IT operation and their inability to provide access to my accounts and money so that I would conduct banking operations. 

My complaint was escalated and I was told someone in IT would contact me about my problems. The supervisor admitted that he was fielding many complaints such as mine and that all the other supervisors he worked with were also receiving complaints about the " Bill Pay '' portion of their system. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email saying that the new payee I had attempted to add had been successful and that I could proceed to set up payments. This morning, ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I tried to do that and the message was " Oops, we've hit a snag - try again later ''. I called again and asked to speak to a supervisor. Her name is XXXX. She listened to my long-running set of compaints, said she could see records of my previous calls, and told me there was a " system-wide '' failure of online banking this morning but that IT was working to resolve problems. I was not satisfied. She said she could provide me with my Case ID number ; they had opened a file on me : ID XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. She then said she had received an email during our call to tell customers not to change anything regarding their online banking info. I told her that, at this point, I am being reduced to writing a check and mailing it to the payee because CapOne 's online banking system was denying me access to my money - which I said was illegal. This is a monumental, colossal failure of a major banking institution to effectively manage computer system operations and amounts to a denial of service. They have my money but I can't spend it in the manner which any online banking system should provide.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation