Consumer complaint received 2023-02-03
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card
Sub-issue: Can't use card to make purchases

Complaint:
I opened a capital one credit card and about a year ago I was out shopping and my card was declined though I had a substantial money on the credit card. After the verification I made a purchase and then another purchase which was declined and every single purchase after that was declined. I came home and called the card services department and verified every single purchase on my account, the amounts, and mind you the automatic text was sent to the number on file. 
They told me that someone would be in contact with me in 7-10 business days and I was so surprised because working as a XXXX XXXX we would immediately get to the bottom of this situation. 
Needless to say a year has passed and my account has been restricted for a whole year. 
I have paid every single payment on time and paid the card off in its entirety and while still having a " restricted '' label on my card. 
I have been unable to make any purchases and paid off my card, however they are worried about fraud. 
The narrative is now we needed you to send in documentation like my ID and Bank Account information and pay stubs. I would never send them a pay stub, for what reason when you also need general bank verification information. 
There is an annual fee for the card and on XX/XX/XXXX I was just charged a {$95.00} annual fee for a card that was restricted and just received a letter a few weeks ago saying if I do not verify my account it will automatically be closed. 
I am hard pressed to really understand how fraud is a real issue for capital one on this account when I get a letter in the mail a year later telling me if I do not verify my account it will be closed in a month. 
However, I was sent this letter to the address on my unverified account. If I would have missed a payment or not payed I would have been sent to collections and racked up fees. 
While being a customer at a national banker when there was an alleged fraud issue it was handled the SAME DAY. 
It was important for them to get to the bottom of this issue immediately. 
However that took EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY on time payment and even the lump sum final payment of over $ 1,000+ while the account was restricted and they were still unsure if it was me. 
I have {$22.00} in rewards that I could not access since my account was restricted I spoke to an attendant and she said that they could give me my rewards I spoke to a supervisor and she stated that she could not give me my rewards because my account was restricted and I would have to verify my account by sending in back statements, bank information and ID Cards o This was after I asked my account to be closed o Why would I send them personal information on an account that is about to be closed, what would you be verifying at his point? 
o Now I feel like Im being talked to like I am crazy My credit card is automatically linked to my bank account, so potential fraud is very serious so why it would have taken someone 7-10 business days to even get back to me after I called immediately to verify my account when it happened is beyond me. Thats a huge vulnerability for the customer at that point I was allowed to pay every single payment and pay the card off in full and be charged a {$95.00} fee for the card that I could NOT use since XXXX  o Were my potential account hackers kind enough to pay the card off monthly? 
I was given such run arounds for my {$22.00} in rewards. However on a still restricted account that I CAN NOT use, where they still needed to address fraud from XXXX, where the account has been paid in FULL, I was able to pay the {$95.00} egregious fee while on the phone ineffectively trying to get this issue resolved today on XX/XX/XXXX o Not Knowing if it was me because I still have not verified the alleged fraud from XXXX  they closed they account How did they know it was me? 
But I can not get my rewards because they cant verify that it is me and the account will be closed, BUT they took the {$95.00} fee payment AND proceeded to tell me that I will still be responsible to for additional charges Again how do they know that it is me? 
The way that I have been treated is so HURTFUL and ERGREGIOUS to be treated like this. I am filing a BBB claim and Attorney General Claim and debating a claim with the FTC. 
It feels like, I had some fluctuations in my credit, however, they had already issued me the card with a {$3000.00} limit. I had JUST made a purchase from XXXX online that was approved with no problem. Once I went out shopping that week, I think that they got wind of my credit fluctuations and decided that they could not take the card back, so they would restrict it with the fraud claims. And given the lack of urgency on their behalf with the fraud claims, they were able to keep the account restricted and receive on time payments without the risk of their being any potential of revolving high credit balances. I may be way off base, but in my previous line of work, the lack of urgency regarding a potential issue of fraud that had been allowed to casually and cavalierly go on for a year would have been a major issue for the department and organization as a whole. I am patiently waiting for a class action lawsuit to possibly come out against capital one because this is something else. Sometime you can not prove mistreatment, but it always comes out eventually. 
I have closed both my checking and credit card account on XX/XX/XXXX as a result of this issue.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation