Consumer complaint received 2019-01-04
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
I have been a Capital One XXXX customer for years. I contacted Capital One to inquire about possibly upgrading my card to one with no annual fee and was told that was not possible. I then requested that the annual fee be waived this year possible and the customer service rep advised that He would be unable to waive the fee at the time we spoke because it was early and the fee had not yet been assessed. He suggested that I call back and request a waiver of the fee once assessed. I called back and was told that my account did not qualify for a waiver based on the systems algorithm?? when she tried to submit the request. I asked what the algorithm was based upon, I cant recall ever being late etc ... and she was unable to answer. In the interim and I received a preapproval offer from Capital One for a XXXX XXXX Card. I was considering booking a vacation, so I went online to see what perks they were offering with the card as well as the terms and conditions rates etc.. Online the XXXX XXXX offered showed a promotion that stated that if you spent {$1000.00} in the first 3 months you would receive {$20000.00} bonus points. I attempted to apply for the card online, but since I was logged into my account. The system kept diverting me to enter the confirmation number for the preapproved offer Id received. Not stiputlating that the terms would be any different. It would not allow me to just apply for the card otherwise. Needless to say, I booked my vacation, the charged went through. I called later to inquire as to when I should expect the points to be posted and was told that my account did not qualify for the promotion. I went online while the rep was on the phone and confirmed the details. She then stated that the promotion was not included my MY specific offer! What?? I would not have accepted the offer had I known that this was the case. I have plenty other cards that I could have used and received some benefit for my purchase.the young lady agreed that I met the conditions and state that she would escalate my concerns and follow. A few weeks later she called back and stated that her request was declined and that points would not be applied. I was so frustrated at this point, I just hung up, figured Id pay the card off and both or transfer balances or whatever. Coincidentally, I then receive a call from their Executive Customer Relations department, inquiring about my complaint.I explained my concerns to the young lady, who stated that she would research and follow up, I do not remember her name, but Im sure the call was recorded, that was before XXXX, I believe and to date I have not received a follow up call. This is like bait and switch. Their system would not allow me to apply online unless I used their confirmation code. The current promotions were advertised online, the only difference was the promotion but how is a consumer to know that. It never stipulates that this does not apply if you use a preapproved offer. And that itself is backward, wouldnt you want to give a preapproved customer a better offer? This is clear deception of a loyal customer

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief