Consumer complaint received 2020-12-01
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I opened an account two years ago before leaving the country for XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXXI called Capital One and asked them to send me a new card to the same address on file, they needed to send a text to my phone to verify my identity. My number changed since first opening the account and I gave them my new number, this apparently alerted the fraud department. So I was transferred to the fraud department which asked me to upload a copy of my id into a portal for verification. After uploading my drivers license the representative tells me they are unable to accept it since it expired earlier this year - the purpose is to verify my identity and a drivers license whether current or expired still identifies me as the person who both hold the license which corresponds with the identity of the account holder : me. So I ask what other forms of identity are acceptable and I'm told there are none others. After speaking with a manager she tells me they can try to see if the system will accept my id from the Department of Veteran Affairs, which is a federally issued photo id that contains all the relevant information necessary to verify that I am who I say I am. They are unable to accept a federally issued form of ID. After asking what else can be done the manager then suggests I could upload a photo of my passport. The system for some reason kept rejecting the pictures of my passport even though the manager is able to see the pictures of my passport that I was attempting to upload. The manager then tells me the verification process can be escalated to a higher form of verification that she tells me I probably won't pass because I could pass this method. As I'd exhausted all suggested options at the point she escalated the case and I had to upload a proof of identity and residency to be reviewed by the fraud department 's back office and they would contact me within 7-10 business days. That call took 3 hours, it was partially extended becasue the manager sent the verification email to the wrong email address. On XX/XX/XXXX I still had not received any information from the fraud department so I called them again. Apparently they called the number on the account, which I already told them last call was no longer an active number as I'd changed my number since opening the account. After an hour and half waiting for the fraud department to answer the representative tells, XXXX, me they accepted my passport, but did not accept the letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal agency, addressed to me at the same address that corresponds to the address on file with Capital One, which is the same address I asked them to send my new card, because there are specific documents that can be accepted - though none of this was communicated in the email sent requesting the documents for verification nor was it stated on the website used to upload my proof of identity. However, she tells me I can send a bank statement to verify my proof of residency, which I promptly send. Once received she tells me she'll need to call the bank on 3-way with me to verify that the account is indeed mine, an extremely unnecessary step since this is the third document I've submitted indicating I, the account holder, live at the address listed in Capital One 's system, but I agree. After a brief hold she comes back to tell me Capital One can not accept my bank statement because my full account number is not visible, even though this is a document used to verify my residence not my account number. I explain that my entire account number is no business of Capital One and that while on 3-way with the bank they would in fact find out the account is mine and I live at the address stated on the bank statement, my passport, the letter from a federal agency, and also listed on my Capital One account. She says a manager would have to make a determination if the document could be accepted. So I'm transferred to XXXX, who tells me the same thing as XXXX. I go on to explain that banks rarely include a full account number on a bank statement for security reasons. XXXX then references a " terms and conditions '' document sent with the card, which I explain I do not have as I do not have the original card sent since I left the country after opening the account. When asked if he could provide me with a copy of the terms and conditions he informs me the only way to send them is via post as there is no pdf version available and he does not know where it can be found on the Capital One website because " it's not his job ''. So I go to the website and search for " terms and conditions '' while on the phone with him and he's unable to tell me which specific terms and conditions document to which he is referring since there were over 9 pages worth of results that returned for a search of " terms and conditions ''. He then goes on to tell me that the terms and conditions does not explicitly state the drivers license can not be expired nor does it state the bank statement must have a full account number visible. By this time I've spent 4 hours today trying to get this resolved and it seems that whenever I submit the documents requested there is always a loophole the fraud department pulls out in order to not resolve this matter, every time the reference this mysterious terms and conditions document that no one can send via email and no one knows where it is located online. When asked to speak to a manager above XXXX, he tells me there is no one else I can contact over him to resolve this matter. In total I've spent 7 hours on the phone with Capital One to resolve a very simple matter : send out a new card to the address on file and update my phone number. I asked XXXX if a bank verification letter, which includes my name, address, and account number would be sufficient and he told me he's not sure but would try once I receive the document otherwise it would have to go the back office for further review. At this point I simply want Capital One to send me my credit card as I've submitted a preponderance of evidence indicating I am in fact the account holder and that I still live at the same address on file with Capital One as indicated by an official letter from the federal government, an id from the federal government, an expired state issued drivers license, passport, and bank statement.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation