Consumer complaint received 2023-09-29
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit 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:
This regards my Capital One Travel Card and Capital One 's refusal to 1 ) honor a travel credit and 2 ) refund me for flights that I was refused service on. This concerns capital one case number : XXXX This concerns a disputed transaction in the amount of {$5400.00}. XXXX travel miles were used to fund this purchase, in addition to {$4300.00}. We expect a full refund of travel miles and monetary amounts, for reasons explained below. The disputed {$5400.00} transaction consists of two flights : ( XXXX ) outbound from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ; ( XXXX ) XXXX to XXXX to XXXX. The costs were split down the middle for each leg after the application of our Capital One Travel miles. These were first class tickets. In dealing with our complaint, Capital One has ignored that this concerns separate transactions and erroneously focuses on one leg -- a concession that at least half the charge we dispute is improper on its face. Below, I first discuss the factual details pertinent to leg one and my entitlement to a refund due to erroneous, and likely fraudulent, representations made by Capital One Travel agents. Second, I discuss leg two ( return to XXXX ), and the factual details relevant to our entitlement to a refund due to the egregious mistreatment detailed therein. Leg One ( XXXX to XXXX XXXX ) My husband and I ere scheduled to depart from XXXX  on XX/XX/2023, at XXXX p.m. on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXXXXXX. Approximately XXXX hours before our scheduled departure time on XX/XX/XXXX, I called Capital One Travel for assistance rescheduling our flight to the following day as I was unable to get to the airport due to emergency circumstances out of our control. I reached a Capital One agent, who told us that I was well within the time frame for us to reschedule the trip and that there would be ( 1 ) no issue refunding the full cost for leg one ( including travel credit ) used to purchase the tickets and ( 2 ) applying the equivalent amount ( i.e., half of {$5400.00} ) toward booking another flight the following day to the same destination. However, the Capital One Travel agent stated that to effectuate the refund and apply the credit to book a new flight, I would first have to call XXXX XXXX to cancel our flight directly. I followed Capital One Travels instruction to do so and called XXXX XXXX to cancel our flight, which they did. When I called Capital One Travel back to utilize our refunded travel credits and rebook our flight, the new agent that I spoke with indicated that he was unable to refund the travel credit and rebook with the credit because the flight was cancelled by XXXX XXXX. This was contradictory to the instructions explicitly provided by the prior Capital One Travel agent. Under no circumstances would I have canceled our flight with XXXX XXXX if I knew the Capital One agent was going to refuse to provide us a refundI did so, to my detriment, based explicitly on the promises and representations made by Capital One Travel and its agents. At this point, Capital One Travel refused to utilize our promised travel credit to rebook the flight through Capital One Travel. The Capital One Travel agent further told us that he was unable to book the flight at all and stated we would have to work directly with XXXX XXXX. I did so, at a significantly increased costall based on representations by Capital One Travel. In effect, I was defrauded out of the right to refund and use travel credits through Capital One Travel and forced to incur additional expenses in booking the flight through XXXX XXXX directly. Capital One did not refund the cost of the cancelled flight onto our Capital One credit card and it must now do so. Leg XXXX ( XXXX to XXXX ) In the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX, my husband and I arrived at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX located in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) around XXXX XXXX  and navigated through customs and security without incident. When our boarding group was called, I lined up and showed the ticketing agent our boarding passes and passports. The ticketing agent told us both to proceed with boarding by walking across the tarmac approximately XXXX  feet to the waiting aircraft. Once at the aircraft steps, I once again showed my boarding pass and passport to another XXXX XXXX agent and was informed I needed to step aside and could not board. I asked for an explanation as to why I was suddenly being prevented from boarding and the XXXX XXXX agent stated that my boarding pass contained a passport number that did not match her passport. This was a lie. As I explained to the agent at the time, my boarding pass did not contain any passport number on it indeed, no boarding pass, including mine, contained any passport information and, even if it did, the XXXX XXXX employee who reviewed the boarding pass made XXXX effort to review my passport, meaning it was impossible for him to determine in the few seconds he looked at my boarding pass that the numbers did not match. After a few minutes of standing on the XXXX tarmac without any explanation as to why we could not board, an XXXX XXXX employee told me that I was randomly selected for a secondary screening and that I would need to walk the approximately XXXX feet back to the airport terminal. I was informed that I could not accompany my husband and that he had no choice but to board the flight without me. This was extraordinarily bizarre to us as I had already gone through the security screening process and had shown her boarding pass to XXXX XXXX security officials and the gate/ticketing agent without issue and without any indication that further security screening was necessary. Further, we observed that other passengers who had been selected for secondary screening were informed of the screening on the loudspeaker in the airport terminal prior to boarding. I had not received any such notice or announcement. To that end, I asked for an explanation about what type of screening was now suddenly required and why, and none was given. At this point, I was extremely concerned for my safety, given XXXX XXXX refusal to explain why I needed to undergo additional screening at this late juncture in the boarding process and the suspicious and erroneous reasons that were being offered. In asking to return to the terminal alongside my husband, I explained to XXXX XXXX that it would make me more comfortable if we could remain together as we were traveling in a foreign country. I am a petite framed woman who was now being inexplicably pulled from the plane steps as she was about to depart a foreign country ; our request to remain together, or at least within eyeshot of each other, was entirely within reason. I further explained I suffer from anxiety and wanted an accommodation, as my husbands presence would make me feel safer. 

Instead, XXXX XXXX ignored our requests and demanded, again without reason, that XXXX go with them alone despite already having passed through multiple screening processes without issue. Notably, they did not take my bags with them, undercutting any notion that they were genuinely interested in conducting a legitimate security screening of my belongings. I was terrified but complied with their requests and followed the XXXX XXXX employee back to the gate without issue. At the now-empty terminal, I was told to sit down and shut up by a group of female XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The XXXX XXXX agents continued with their wildly inappropriate behavior by throwing my items onto the airport floor. When I asked the agents if she would be able to board after the search, as I was now alone in the terminal, the XXXX XXXX agents jeered at me and refused to answer. Meanwhile, my husband was still seated on the airline and all other passengers had boarded. An XXXX XXXX agent informed him that the flight was leaving and that if he left the flight, he could not reboard. Facing the option of leaving his wife behind in a foreign country, he was forced to exit the plane so he could rejoin my wife and ensure her safety. He walked the approximately XXXX feet back to the empty terminal where he saw my me ; I was shaken and was surrounded by XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX agents. The employees promptly backed up when they saw my husband enter the terminal and continued to snicker with each other. I asked for an explanation as to how we could fly home as they had needlessly and arbitrarily prevented us from flying on our purchased flight and the XXXX XXXX agents told us to exit the area and go down to the XXXX XXXX ticketing counter to re-book our flights. When we went downstairs in attempt to do so, the XXXX XXXX agent at the ticketing counter told us she was inexplicably unable to book us another flight. Indeed, they stated they would only be able to rebook us if by giving us a direct call, which we found strange. Nevertheless, we returned to our hotel and waited for the callto this day, no one from XXXX XXXX has reached out. If we did not book another flight, as detailed below, we would effectively be stranded at XXXX XXXX. After returning to our hotel, and realizing XXXX XXXX was going to be unhelpful, we promptly booked return flights home with XXXX XXXX for the following day. Unfortunately, we were forced to incur significant monetary damages in connection with XXXX XXXX inexplicable and arbitrary failure to permit us to board our purchased flight. These costs include a stay at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, our main cabin seating flight home via XXXX XXXX, round-trip taxi transportation to and from the airport/hotel, additional meal expenses, and additional long-term parking at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We were so distraught by the bizarre event that we contacted the XXXX XXXX to report the incident and filed a police report with the XXXX XXXX police XXXX We also drafted a detailed legal demand letter which we sent to XXXX XXXX XXXX Department via first class mail to ensure delivery. XXXX XXXX did not respond, nor have they refunded the flight to our Capital One credit card on which the flight was purchased. Capital One Travel can not allow XXXX XXXX to wrongfully keep payment for which no service was rendered. Because the flight was purchased through Capital One XXXX, Capital One must refund the value of the flight. In sum, we expect that this information is sufficient to establish our right to a full refund of the disputed fee and travel miles. We think Capital One should honor its agents statements to us and issue a full refund for the disputed fee. Thus far, this case is a clear example of Capital One Travel failing to honor their agents explicit promises ( and, thus, the type of corporate fraud and abuse State and Federal agencies are designed to protect against ).

Company 's Actions to Date To date, we have explained all of this to Capital One, with documentation. Capital One 's latest response stated that they closed the matter because we failed to provide certain information -- this is false. As can be seen from the detailed explanation above, we have provided all information available to us -- Capital One, for its part, refuses to take its blinders off and actually investigate this matter, and instead is clearly trying to just avoid this matter and give us the runaround. Capital One further continues to blame XXXX XXXX, stating it is with them, which is nonsensical -- the entire purpose of a chargeback is for the credit card company to resolve the dispute on their end, with the proof we have provided, and then deal with the merchant themselves

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation