Consumer complaint received 2023-02-07
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY
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:
I fell victim to a deceptive and extortionate merchant, who charged my credit card for dubious sweepstakes, while also claiming to be engaged in raising funds in a charitable endeavor. The merchant refused to refund my money, so I disputed the charges with my credit card company ( Capital One ) under the claims and defenses procedures of the Fair Credit Billing Act. However, after about 6 weeks and multiple instances of Capital One sending conflicting letters to me of closing the dispute and apologizing that it was in error and reopening it, they ostensibly finally denied the dispute. Capital One claims that the merchant showed the " goods '' were received in good condition. The details of the matter are chronicled below. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and XXXX  are affiliates and the owners of a competition ( Organizers ) called XXXX XXXX XXXX  which supposedly brings women of XXXX XXXX XXXX and over to compete for the title of XXXX XXXX XXXX  Purportedly, the prize is a XXXX feature in XXXX XXXX XXXX and {$40000.00}. Winners are decided via public voting by supporters of the contestants, and the contestants advance through various stages of the competition until a winner emerges. Apparently, XXXX  is the non-profit arm of the affiliation, while XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is a for-profit entity. 

My wife was a contestant in the XXXX XXXX XXXX competition see attached XXXX of her Competitor Page ( XXXX XXXX ). She was randomly recruited for the competition on social media by an agent of the Organizers after she posted pictures of her XXXX birthday celebration in XX/XX/XXXX. There were various rounds in the competition, including XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  My wife advanced to the Finals. However, as she advanced in the competition and we got to know more about the business practices and reputation of the Organizers, it left us with a disquieting feeling that we were pawns in an immensely questionable campaign resembling a XXXX XXXX  She regrets having been lured into this contest, just as I feel having been misled into contributing to this opaque and questionable contest. The total amount that I personally paid into this contest between XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, for the purpose of voting for my wife, is {$28000.00}, of which {$10000.00} of that was charged to my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. See the receipts attached as XXXX XXXX 

I was under the impression that this was a contest conducted on a level playing field, where there would be transparency in the process and the Organizers would run a conscientious and honorable contest, but my experience and that of my wife says otherwise. 

For example, first, the full population of contestants in the competition was always kept hidden. You could not tell what the totality of contestants was at any time. The contestants were siloed into different groups, and you could not determine how many groups they were in total. 

Second, the contestant ( or anyone else ) could neither see the full list/number of votes cast for them nor who the voters were. The contestants XXXX only displayed limited information/data like top voters or three most recent voters, but never the full population. See attached screenshot of the Dashboard ( XXXX XXXX ). 

Third, how the Organizers tabulate the votes and its system and process for crediting votes remains a mystery. There are two categories of votes, Hope Vote and Free Vote. For the former category voters literally pay money to vote ( usually {$1.00} for XXXX vote ), while for the Free Vote category voters are limited to one vote daily. Additionally, for Free Votes, there are different numbers of votes credited for each vote based on the method used to verify the voter. XXXX is either by XXXX or by credit card, and two votes are credited for the latter versus one for the former. 

Abstrusely, randomly and from time to time, every vote cast ( either Hope Vote or Free Vote ) was given double credit ( 2 for 1 vote ). It is unclear if the Organizers gave precedence in their tabulation system to votes purchased via Hope Vote versus votes cast via Free Vote. Some contestants have vociferously complained that votes from their supporters via Free Vote were routinely not credited or accounted for, in subordination to Hope Votes. See the catalog of complaints lodged by contestants and voters alike ( reporting the XXXX XXXX XXXX competition as a scam ) on : XXXX, an excerpt of the online reviews is attached herewith as XXXX XXXX. 

Additionally, my wife used the services of a media outlet ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ), which has a presence in XXXX countries and has millions in its subscriber/audience orbit, to promote her candidacy in the competitionXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX confirmed that tens of thousands in its audience voted for her using Free Vote. However, there is no record of this activity on the Organizers portal or that the votes were credited or accounted for in their tabulation. This observation mirrors complaints on online forums like scampulse.com.

Fourth, there are unresolved questions about the competition money : where the money goes exactly, what specifically are the fees/costs/salaries/expenses that the Organizers or its partners claim from the total stake, and so on. The Organizers provide pro forma and nebulous answers in this regard.

I believe that the competition was a ruse to fleece supporters of the contestants and the public in general. I was constantly bombarded with messages from the Organizers to donate to support my wife. I feel like I have been extorted. Consequently, my wife quit the competition before the results were announced, and I requested a refund of all the money I paid to the Organizers on XX/XX/XXXX, but they refused to return my money. 

Consequently, I filed complaints with the following : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
. 
I filed a dispute with Capital One on XX/XX/XXXX. However, on XX/XX/XXXX they sent me a letter claiming that the case was closed. On XX/XX/XXXX, they sent another letter asking me to disregard the last letter of XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, Capital One sent another letter stating that " based on the information we have from you and the merchant, the original charge is still considered valid. We consider your case closed. '' Subsequently, on a phone call with Capital One around XX/XX/XXXX, they walked the last decision back again. The latest ( and they claim the final ) word on this dispute was a letter from Capital One on XX/XX/XXXX, where they have once again denied the dispute and reversed all credit provided to me in this regard.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief