Consumer complaint received 2019-05-01
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: MI
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 rewards from credit card

Complaint:
Capital One is falsely representing their rewards program to consumers- advertising as an emphatically clear- and I quote from their website ; " Earn unlimited 4 % cash back on dining and entertainment, 2 % at grocery stores and 1 % on all other purchases. Plus, earn 8 % cash back on tickets at XXXX XXXX   through XX/XX/XXXX. '' I opened the card 6 months ago, primarily to use it for entertainment and dining. I used the card for 6 months with no issue. 

The rewards on this card collects as you spend, and you can choose how to redeem your points. I choose to use the " purchase eraser '' on XX/XX/XXXX to cover one of my ticket charges for an upcoming concert. This was the first time since opening the card, I redeemed any of my accrued points. 

Instantly, my account went down. It showed, and still shows as " This account is currently restricted ''. I imagined it was just undergoing a temporary review or they were just ensuring the rewards redemption was legitimate and authenticated. 

Please note : Capital One never sent any communication to me during this time or provided a courtesy email letting me know the card was unable to be used at this time. 

After 11 days of the " account being restricted '', I called the number on the back of my card which is what my online account indicated I should do for any issues. 

I was told that this account is managed by a " specific department '', and they were unable to help me, but would " pass along my request '', and someone would get back to me. They literally could not tell me anything about this account. 

After 4 phone calls to customer support and speaking with a manager, I was told it can take 7-10 business days for someone to get back to me regarding this issue. 

A full 7 business days later, I finally get the call from the as they refer to themselves " back office ''. I was told- the account has been cancelled and can not be re-opened.

Astounded, I wanted to know why and what happened, as this is a personal account with no late payments and all legitimate activity paid through my personal checking account.

I spent 40+ minutes on the call ( which is recorded and can be listened to ) and the lady I spoke with, XXXX XXXX was absolutely useless and kept repeating the same vague info on repeat. 

Here is what I was told : Your account has been cancelled, as it was found to " not be consistent with our new policy ''. I asked, " what new policy ''? She blatantly lied to me and said on XX/XX/XXXX - they had a new company policy that says any account that is not used for personal, family, or household use can't be used anymore ''. THIS " NEW '' POLICY CAN NOT BE FOUND ANYWHERE ONLINE!!! I HAVE EVIDENCE. 

There were no communications sent to me by email or mail XXXX illegal ) - and she said you can refer to the terms and conditions online- well, they show a last update date of XX/XX/XXXX. I have screenshot evidence of everything. 

I then asked, well, can you please tell me what is inconsistent with those 3 categories above on my card? She said no. She could not tell me anything. 

I used the card for 6 months, strategically to take advantage of the rewards benefits for me and my family like any smart card owner would do, and they decided I was costing them too much money in rewards, so they LIED to me about this change of terms, and then closed my account. Not to mention, they did not even bother to let me know anything for 22 days!!!! - which in their terms say they legally have to notify me of any changes by mail. It has been 23 days since, and no mail received. 

They are falsely representing this card as having UNLIMITED 4 % cash back on categories such as sporting event, concerts, and dining- which is exactly what I used the card for- but then decide if they think you are repeating the benefits of this card too much they will shut your account down and not notify you unless you hound them over the phone for an answer. 

The worst part is they are LYING to people ( current card holders and new potential card holders ) - as if you look at their sales description- it is very evident there are no restrictions to the amount of awards you can get on this card so long as it is for personal, family, or household use. ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) I am a smart person, I know a good rewards program when I see one. They put this card out there, which does come with an annual fee of $ XXXX and probably realized they were losing money on this. 

Their solution? Close any one 's account which is deemed to be getting too many rewards even though it is advertised as UNLIMITED. Customer support was horrendous and I want people to beware of this card and this company. 

I have been a Capital One customer for sometime, and never had this type of experience. They are lying to people and practicing bad business practices by falsely telling people they had a change of terms- but that is a lie, and they just bank on people not reading through all the fine print- which I did. 

They closed a legitimate card holders account with a credit score of over 800- with no notice, and then lied about it to compensate for the fact they are abusing their rights in the customer agreement by saying, " we offer unlimited awards, but oh no, if you accrue too many rewards, we will just shut you down and never think twice. '' Solution? If they were smart, they would just cap the annual rewards like most companies do. That is fair, honest, and transparent. But, when you falsely advertise as unlimited rewards and then decide you are going to shut people down if you think their rewards accrued is too high, lie about it, provide no specific information to justify their cause, that is WRONG. 

As mentioned, I have documented evidence of the fact that nowhere in their terms does it say, " if we find your account to be inconsistent with our expectations of personal use, we can shut you down. '' DOCUMENTED NOWEHERE. TERMS HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE XX/XX/XXXX!!!!!! 

As an honest customer, I feel like I have not only been treated wrongly and unfairly, but there needs to be some kind of accountability for this behavior. I was told " you can try applying for a new XXXX card ''. I asked XXXX on the phone if there was even a possibility of getting another one. I have my credit frozen and said as a courtesy after all of this, if there is a policy in place that says you can't re-apply for the same card in X amount of time, to just give me the courtesy of saving my time and hassle. 

She said I am still eligible for the card ( oN RECORD ). So, I unfroze my credit, applied for the card, credit score of 800+, high income, and was INSTANTLY REJECTED. YET ANOTHER LIE. 

I also presume since it took so long to call me back, that there are many other customers affected by these bad business practices. Capital One needs to understand they can not prey on people and mislead them, to then treat them horribly, and lie about reasoning for cancelling the account. 

I intend to share my experience and truth with their Investor relations, on every online forum I can find, will provide as many reviews on this card as possible, blast on every social media outlet, and file as many complaints as possible, as this type of malpractice needs to be put to an end. 

Not to mention, since Monday they have already changed their sign on bonus from {$500.00} to $ XXXX which just FURTHER affirms my points above that they are trying to mitigate their financial impact from offering such a good card and screwing their customers over in the meantime! 

Please reach out to me for any future details, as I am happy to share my evidence and as I mentioned, this call with XXXX was recored. 

Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation