Consumer complaint received 2018-12-08
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due

Complaint:
I have two complaints : ( 1 ) Deceptive advertising ( 2 ) Capital One is refusing to let me know what my balance is and debiting from a checking account I do not authorize.

1.Capital One conducts periodic account reviews. XX/XX/2018, is my twenty forth month of on-time payments. As a result, Capital One increased my credit limit automatically ; I did not ask for a limit increase. However, Capital One informed my card is restricted and it can not be used until all of my authorized users mail a copy of their drivers license and social security card. 

I currently dont have any authorized users and believe this is cumbersome because I use to have 7 authorized users a few months ago ( I requested to have my authorized users removed in XX/XX/2018 ). The representative said I still need to have my authorized users verify their identity because they want to make sure they consented because it affects their credit. The agent further said its mentioned in my card holders terms and condition insert. 



However, Capital Ones website promotes the use of authorized users and has an entire page dedicated to the promotion. Their websites states : ( highlighted in relevant part ) Together, you can maximize your cards benefits. 

What is an authorized user? An authorized user is someone you add to your account without any additional application or credit check. They'll get a card with their name on it and share your line of credit. As the primary cardholder, you'll still be responsible for all charges and, if you have a rewards card, you'll earn on every dollar they spend. 

Ready to add someone to your account? It only takes about a minute : Tell us their name, phone number, Social Security number, and date of birth. Double check the info is correct. Thats it! Well send you a card for them to start using right away. 



Also, I read the totality of their online terms and conditions, additional disclosures, and Patriot Act Certification. The word authorized user is not mentioned in all three online disclosures ( press Ctrl+F to search by key word ). 



I believe this is deceptive advertising. Under the Federal Trade Commission Act : Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive ; Advertising must have evidence to back up their claims ; and Advertising can not be unfair. 



According to the FTCs Deception Policy Statement, an ad is deceptive if it contains a statement- or omits information- that : Is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances ; and Is material- that is, important to a consumers decision to buy or use the product. 



Capital Ones website is misleading because they omit information that is vital and relevant to authorized users. I was lead to believe adding authorized users only takes a minute and is easy as 1,2,3 as their website promises. And this was the case at first, until now, I need to have 7 of my previous authorized users photocopy and mail their drivers license and social security card to a company they don't conduct business with and do not feel comfortable sending in copies of their personally identifying information in an era of the XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX breaches and fraudulent activity conducted by XXXX XXXX employees ( opening accounts in customers names without their consent or knowledge. ) If Capital One placed a disclosure on their website or on their online terms and conditions then this would be fair, however, this was never informed to me until after the fact. 


Second complaint : 2. I called Capital One on innumerable occasions, and they are refusing to tell me my current balance. It is relevant to know my account balance in order to make a proper payment. Capital One is also refusing to confirm payments I recently made. I need to know what payments posted in order to know my new balance. I want to make my payment in full but I am not able to do so because they are refusing to let me know my balance. 

Also, a manager names XXXX, gave me an erroneous balance ( on XX/XX/2018 ). He told me my balance was {$470.00} which is not possible. My balance was around {$500.00} the month before, however, I made two payments for the month of XXXX ; first payment for {$35.00} and second payment in the amount {$100.00}. I have not made any new purchases and do not have any recurring charges with any merchants. It is improper for a financial institution to refuse to let the consumer know their account balance. I have a right to know in order to make payment. 

Also, I called Capital One on XX/XX/2018. I informed the manager I became aware Capital One debited my XXXX XXXX checking account on my due date ( XX/XX/2018 ) for {$35.00}. However, I already made a payment for my XX/XX/XXXX billing cycle for {$130.00}. My minimum due is {$25.00}. There's no reason to debit my checking account when I made two manual payments over the phone using my XXXX XXXX   account. I told the manager I no longer consent to any autonomic bill payments from my XXXX XXXX account. The manager egregiously said he can not do anything about that. This is clearly illegal. 

Please be advised, I had this account for two years and never had a late payment or missed payment. I am considering filing suit.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation