Consumer complaint received 2017-12-19
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
Here is the XXXX view of the problem:

A company called XXXX XXXX stole money from me by charging my Capital One card when they should not have done so.

Despite my proving XXXX Inc was wrong, Capital One dropped the investigation and said it was my problem, not theirs.

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
With slightly more detail: XXXX XXXX gave me their instructions for cancelling my account with them.
I followed those instructions, exactly, but XXXX XXXX stated I was late.
I have proof that I was not late. (See attachment: original_msg.txt)
Capital One has ignored that proof and will not credit my account. XXXX XXXX no longer responds to communication by Capital One or by me.

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************

On XX/XX/XXXX, I signed up for a month of service from XXXX XXXX. at a promotional rate of $XXXX/month. I read, and was told by phone, that my second month's bill would have been $XXXX unless I would cancel, by phone, on or before XX/XX/XXXX. 

The results I got from my first month's worth of service from XXXX were XXXX. No results at all, so I elected to cancel the subscription and was very careful not to miss the deadline I was told about.

I called the company at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX and again at XXXX  PDT to cancel. (These dates & times are recorded on my cell phone.)  I was told the cancellation was made, and as such, I went about my business. Weeks later, I happened to notice XXXX had billed my Capital One card for a second month @ $XXXX.  I canceled that payment with Capital One, who then launched an investigation.

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Capital One, saying XXXX  Inc had "...provided information to support the transaction," causing Capital One to reapply the charge to my account.  I called XXXX at the same number, above, and left a message, as instructed by the voicemail bot at XXXX. The bot stated the call would be returned within one business day. (I never got a callback from XXXX XXXX.)

I read the refutation letter XXXX sent to Capital One. 

XXXX claimed I had been one day late in canceling my XXXX service, stating that I had E-mailed my request to cancel on XX/XX/XXXX. That claim is false on both of its premises; 
1. I did not E-mail my request to cancel, I made the request by phone (as previously instructed by XXXX). Apparently, someone at XXXX isn't paying close enough attention to the details to construct a decent lie.
2. I made that phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, not XX/XX/XXXX (inside the period XXXX gave me to cancel the service).
So the argument that passed as "information to support the transaction" is completely false and obviously constructed to be deceptive.

	Proof of Return/Cancellation
I have a recorded E-mail, from XXXX, responding to my cancellation request, dated (by Gmail) XX/XX/XXXX, which proves XXXX had received my cancellation request on or before XX/XX/XXXX.
XXXX 
This E-mail shown below:
 ________________________________________

	Second Opinion 

A XXXX search revealed someone else who was scammed by XXXX, in a very similar way.

XXXX

Merchant Name: XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXXTRANSACTION XX/XX/XXXX: $XXXXTRANSACTION XX/XX/XXXX: $XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX called me on XX/XX/XXXX. They are a XXXX XXXX XXXX company that is supposed to manage your advertising campaigns on XXXX. They apparently are advantageous because of the volume of business they do with XXXX you are supposed to get a better rate than going to XXXX  directly. They told me they are running a 2 hour rush sale and that it is urgent to sign up immediately in order to be able to advertise with them. We ran through a series of examples of how they would help me and told me that I was able to cancel at any time after 30 days of use, however if I paid for 6 months in advance that I would be able to save 50% and if I still wanted to cancel after 30 days that I was able to. Thinking that there was not much to lose I decided to sign up.Initially XXXX seemed like a representable vendor. The first 2 days was a great experience and I had a few different coworkers, friends and family test the searches to make sure that they were working properly, and the first few days they were. After the first week however I noticed a drastic change. The service that they promised was no longer working, barely any of my paid searches would come up. I called XXXX  numerous times and could no longer reach them. I sent many emails and never got a response. I then finally received a call from one of the managing partners, XXXX and I told him that I no longer wanted to continue the service. XXXX refused to listen and told me to let it play out the rest of the month, and if I was still unhappy that he would refund me for the remaining 5 months. XXXX assured me that I would be in his circle of preferred customers and that I could reach him at any time if I had any questions or concerns. I tried emailing XXXX a few times after the call and I never received a response.I then called XXXX and filed a dispute. The information that I received from XXXX that XXXX submitted says a few things that proves that they are untruthful. On the bottom of the page of Chargeback Comments it says, Provided to said client was 9 ads placed in the Top 3 spots on the first page of XXXX, shown in the state of Florida and 4 surrounding states, on all devices (mobile ect.), ads are up 24/7, unlimited clicks to website from ads placed, extra text lines and also sitelinks making the ad larger and increases traffic First off I want to say that I am not licensed to do real estate in any state other than Florida. Why they would set up 4 other surrounding states is beyond me and could actually get me in trouble with the Florida Board of Realtors for advertising and doing business in a state other than Florida. Secondly, I have proof that my ads were not up 24/7 and they removed certain ads to save money with XXXX and did not do as promised by advertising my ads 24/7. You will see various screen shots attached proving that the ads were not working 24/7. I intentionally had many other co-workers, friends and family test it out and see if was working. They also experienced the same as I did and did not see any of my ads.Lastly I called XXXX XXXX directly and showed them the document that they emailed you and me showing the clicks that were supposedly clicked. I knew immediately that they were manufactured based on how big the area is. For example: if you researched and looked up how many people XXXX searched XXXX XXXX, NY and XXXX, AL you would get 100xs more searches for XXXX XXXX, NY. The same is true with some of the searches that I signed up for. The data that XXXX provided just didnt make any sense. So I called XXXX XXXX XXXX  and they confirmed to me that it looked like it didnt make sense. They also told me that most companies would not copy and paste that data into a word document because there is nothing from XXXX indicating that the statistics and data is accurate. They told me that I needed to get a report from XXXX that shows the data not a inputted text in an email.Attached you will find unresponsive emails, search test done and much more. Thanks so much for looking into this further. I look forward to talking to you and discussing how we can fix this. Thanks. 
(There was a section that gave the company an opportunity to rebut the accusations. No rebuttal was offered.)

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************

Below is the full E-mail thread between XXXX XXXX and me:

XXXX
Welcome To XXXX XXXX.
Inbox	x
 
XXXX XXXX. 
	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
 
*** ATTENTION: PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. This email has been automatically generated through our internal emailing system.

Congratulations - Your XXXX XXXX Placements are now ordered!
**You will receive another email when your Online ad campaign is LIVE**
Any additional questions you may have can be answered at XXXX. If you do not receive the 2nd email within the 2-3 business days please check your spam folder.
Your Exclusive XXXX Search Areas:
XXXX, XXXX Thank you for your business. We look forward to promoting your business to its peak!
Order Confirmation:  (Month-To-Month Agreement)

Billing Information 
Client Name: XXXX XXXX XXXX
Street Address:XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX City, State, Zip: XXXX XXXX, CA, XXXX:


Payment Method
Credit card type: XXXX
Last four #: XXXX 

Client Account Information
Website: XXXX 
Phone: (XXXX) XXXX
Email: XXXX 


Amount
Mobile Feature/Click to Call: INCLUDED
First Month Total Charge: $ XXXX ( includes set-up if applicable )
Monthly Service Fee: $XXXX Beginning: XX/XX/XXXX
Payment Made Today : $XXXX
*Go to XXXX to read over our terms, conditions and cancellation policies. This must be submitted within 5 days of your ads being up and running: NOTE This does not activate your account or your Search Engine ads.
________________________________________
We've included our terms here for your records and convenience.
________________________________________
XXXX XXXX. Term and Conditions:
XXXX XXXX, XXXX is an online marketing group that works with clients across the nation. Our objective is targeted demographic marketing for our clients on XXXX, the world's largest search engine. By agreeing to partner with XXXX, you are also agreeing to the following terms and conditions.
Privacy Statement:
We will never sell, trade, or otherwise disclose personally identifiable information to anyone. We will not share your email address with any other company. We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on our behalf. These companies may employ cookies and actions tags (also known as single pixel gifts to web beacons) to determine your advertising effectiveness. Any information that these third parties collect (via cookies and action tags) is completely anonymous.
Online Search Phrase:
Our marketing experts perform widespread detailed research to establish the most valuable and cost effective marketing position for each and every client. We place every client on XXXX to ensure they are reaching their targeted market 24/7. We research multiple marketing strategies to place our clients in the most cost effective position, with the highest return on their investment. XXXX may grant additional marketing on a client's behalf to further increase their results and exposure.
It is our ultimate goal to ensure that all of our clients get the most out of their XXXX  XXXX on XXXX However, XXXX cannot guarantee the exact position of a client's campaign ad, nor the number of hits, clicks, leads, or sales as an outcome of their online marketing. There could be events outside of our control that can temporarily hinder our capacity to secure XXXX  placement(s). These events may include, but are not limited to, Search Engine System updates, XXXX account reviews, and any other events out of the direct control of XXXX. XXXX has no power over our client's personal website(s) and has no means of measuring the outcome of sales from our client's online marketing campaign. We require our clients to keep track of their individual results by asking each and every person that contacts their business how they had found their name and phone number. XXXX is not an entity of, nor directly affiliated with; XXXX. XXXX is a privately owned marketing group that concentrates on the construction and maintenance of targeted marketing ads for our clients on the major search engines. For more information about Online Search Phrases/Placements please email us at XXXX or call XXXX XXXX  during our business hours.
Warranties:
THE INFORMATION AND SERVICES THAT XXXX XXXX. PROVIDES ARE ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" "NO REFUND" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY XXXX, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY HEREUNDER.
Subscription Details:
This Order authenticates the arrangement that was made between you and our marketing specialist from XXXX to partner in our service(s), as was recorded with your authorization. Unless explicitly contradicted by this Order Confirmation, the recorded agreement described above continues in full force and effect. Your campaign has been set up on a month-to-month basis unless otherwise agreed to. All of our month-to-month agreements begin on the date that you first established participation and you will continue to be billed automatically by direct deduction on the monthly anniversary day of every month. XXXX Billing will reflect XXXX XXXX. and shall appear on your banking statement(s) as XXXX XXXX. XXXX guarantees that we will NOT increase your monthly payment, unless given your express consent. Your monthly payment will be fixed throughout the lifetime of your account. However, changes to your Online Search Phrase(s), at your request, may be subject to rate changes and additional phrases will be subject to the then current rate even if it is different from the rate for current phrases you may have.

Further any further details regarding your account can be answered by emailing us at XXXX or calling XXXX XXXX during our business hours.
Licenses:
You hereby grant XXXX non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide license under all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, privacy and publicity rights and other intellectual property rights you own or control, if needed, in order to direct traffic to your website through the Online Search Phrases.
General Terms:
Authority to Bind: No employee or specialist of XXXX XXXX. or any of its divisions are authorized to offer or agree to any binding agreement with another party by email without the approval of an Account Manager. Governing Law: This Contract is made and shall be construed and performed under the laws of the State of Oregon without giving effect to choice of law principles. The parties agree that exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any action hereunder shall lie in the Circuit Court of Oregon, XXXX County.
Waiver:
Failure to insist upon strict compliance with any term or condition of this Contract shall not constitute a waiver of such term or condition, nor shall any waiver or relinquishment of any right or power under this Contract at any one or more times be deemed a waiver of relinquishment of such right or power at any other time. If you have questions on your account, please email us at XXXX or call XXXX XXXX during our business hours.
XXXX XXXX. Cancellation Policy & Payment:
It is your responsibility to update XXXX with any and all changes to your customer information, including but not limited to, your personal and professional contact information, your subscribed website address, and your payment information. If your payment fails for any reason, your campaign may remain online for up to 30 days as we attempt to contact you to collect updated payment information. This does not negate your obligation to pay any and all monies owed to XXXX. If your account is not brought current within 30 days we have the right to immediately turn off all of your marketing and turn your account over to a collections agency.
PLEASE NOTE:
All cancellation requests must be submitted to XXXX OR by calling XXXX XXXX
All cancellation requests MUST be received at least three (3) business days prior to the monthly anniversary date. If notice of cancellation is not given within said time frame, XXXX cannot prevent an automatic charge to the account and therefore you will be charged for an additional month.
XXXX XXXX. Client Services
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX 
XXXX

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************

XXXX 
Transaction Receipt from XXXX  XXXX. for $XXXX (USD)
Inbox	x
 
Auto-Receipt 
	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
WELCOME TO XXXX!
Make sure to print a copy of this receipt for your records. As a new XXXX client, we are excited to get to work on promoting your business! Please stay tuned. Soon you will receive emails notifying you of our progress on creating your XXXX XXXX campaign. If you have any questions, concerns or comments please feel free to reach out to our client service dept. 
Order Information
Description:	Goods or Services
Invoice Number 	XXXX
Customer ID 	XXXX
	

________________________________________
Billing Information 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX
US
XXXX 
Shipping Information 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, CA XXXX
US
________________________________________
Total:		$XXXX (USD)


Payment Information
Date/Time:	XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PDT
Transaction ID:	XXXX
Payment Method:	XXXX XXXX
Transaction Type:	Purchase
Auth Code:	XXXX
	


Merchant Contact Information
XXXX XXXX.
XXXX, OR 97005
US
XXXX XXXX XXXX. Client Services XXXX or XXXX  XXXX


 
XXXX XXXX 
	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to XXXX XXXX  XXXX - The Active Agent
REALTOR | XXXX At XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA XXXX XXXX | XXXX XXXX XXXX | Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
XXXX 
Your Exclusive XXXX XXXX  Positions (Action Required)
Inbox	x
  XXXX this?   XX/XX/XXXX XXXX.  
 
XXXX XXXX. 
	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
 
Be careful with this message. It contains content that's typically used to steal personal information. Learn more
Report this suspicious message   Ignore, I trust this message
 
Congratulations XXXX XXXX  your XXXX XXXX positions are now LIVE and ready for new clients to see! 
REQUIRED ACTION. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ACCEPT XXXX XXXX. TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 
XXXX  
XXXX requires clients to have terms and conditions completed within 5 days of this email or XXXX will pause all active accounts until submitted. Terms and conditions takes just a few moments of your time. In the best interest of your advertising needs, we suggest that you complete it after you are finished reading this email. 

***GOING TO XXXX DOES NOT ACTIVATE YOUR ONLINE ADS. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO OUR CLIENTS TO ENSURE THEY UNDERSTAND OUR TERMS, CONDITIONS AND CANCELLATION POLICIES. 

Although your ad campaign has been launched it may take a few hours to get your ads into the correct position. 

Your exclusive ONLINE search phrases are listed down below.
------ IMPORTANT NOTICE! ------

---- PLEASE DO NOT CLICK ON YOUR OWN ADS ----

---- THIS NEGATIVELY IMPACTS CONVERSION TRACKING DATA ON YOUR ACCOUNT ----
Clicking on your ads is for new clients only. This will ensure the statistics on your account are always as accurate as possible.
XXXX will flag accounts that are repeatedly clicked on by the same person or computer. This is to protect your ads from people who are not serious about your business.
If you consistently search the search terms from your computer XXXX will show you different results. After searching your ad over and over if your ad is not appearing to you, simply wait for an hour and it will appear again.
NOTE: We monitor your ad campaign activity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure maximum exposure on XXXX.
You may contact a Customer Service Representative Monday-Friday to show and walk you through your placements live on XXXX. Contact information below. Any additional questions you have may be answered at that time. Any changes you wish to make to your ad(s), phrase(s), or personalization may be done free of charge.
Your exclusive XXXX Ad Campaign search terms are as follows:
To see your AD(s) simply click the link(s) below.
XXXX
real estate encinitas ca
carlsbad ca homes for sale

Or if you prefer, follow these steps:
1.	Navigate to XXXX
2.	Type your SEARCH TERM as shown above into the XXXX search box and submit the form if necessary.
3.	You should see your AD. If not, it may be necessary to wait a day while XXXX reviews and approves your new AD.
4.	If you still can not see your AD, please see XXXX AND/OR contact us at XXXX
Thank you for your business, we look forward to promoting your business to its peak!
XXXX XXXX. Client Services XXXX
XXXX 
XXXX XXXX 

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
XXXX 
PLEASE READ : XXXX XXXX. CLIENT HANDBOOK
Inbox	x
 
XXXX XXXX. 
	 XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
Welcome Again To
 The XXXX Team!

 Attached to this email is the CLIENT HANDBOOK. It is attached as a pdf file. This handbook will help give you a better understanding as to how the advertising works and what we can do to better the service. If you need help with the client handbook or want to make adjustments to your account, please contact the number listed below. We are excited to see where our service takes you and your business! Let's take your business to it's peak!



Thank you from all of 
us at XXXX!

If you need assistance 
CALL : XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX Attachments area
*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
THIS IS THE E-MAIL THAT PROVES I CANCELLED WITHIN THE TIME ALLOWED BY XXXX INC:

XXXX XXXX XXXX cancellation.
Inbox	x
 
XXXX via XXXX 

	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
We're sorry to see you go. Notice has been sent to our client services department and a copy has been emailed to you. You will be contacted to verify the cancellation of your advertising with XXXX.

Name: XXXX XXXX
Email: XXXX
Last 4:XXXX IP: XXXX

 - - - COMMENT - - -
No results.


*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
XXXX
We Are Sorry To See You Go!-(XXXX XXXX.)
Inbox	x
 
XXXX 
	XX/XX/XXXX
 		 
 
to me
 
	
                              
                                                      



Hi XXXX,

Thank you for doing business with us! We are sad to see you go! We value every client that gives us an opportunity to earn their business.  Please call the number below or email a good time we can reach you. We want to ensure that we are providing the best possible service month in and month out. We have some new features to improve the presence of your campaign that not everyone has at the moment.  We are pretty excited about it! We also want to get any feedback to help better our service for the future. Look forward to speaking with You! 

Thanks, 
XXXX XXXX.
Customer Loyalty Dept.
XXXX
XXXX XXXX 

*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
The totality of communication between XXXX Inc and me was done through two media; E-mail and telephone. I've supplied all the E-mail, and I have only the times of phone calls recorded on my cell phone in case anyone needs that information.

Its possible that someone at XXXX XXXX overlooked the XX/XX/XXXX communication, and that might have led to my case being marked Late Cancellation or some sort of thing.  Short of that, it appears that XXXX  XXXX is intentionally stealing money from me, using Capital One as a tool.
*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation