Consumer complaint received 2017-02-15
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I applied to a Capital One 360 Money Market account online but during the application, it said I needed to call in to verify my identity so I faithfully followed the instructions to call in. After some waiting, a customer rep answered and proceeded to ask me for my information. 

At first, it was just my name, last XXXX digits of my SSN, phone #, email and address, all of which are fairly standard. Saying that she ca n't verify my phone, she pressed for more information.. names of relatives, their DOB, address, and relationship with me. OK this is getting personal so I paused to ask how she was going to use this information. 

She assured me that she would be able to identify my identity through a third party so I sheepishly continued. House or apt , what color is the house, what are the cross streets. This was getting ridiculous but I continued because I already spent 20 minutes on the call and wanted to open an account. 

Where was my last address, how long have I lived in my current residence, how long in previous residence, when did I move. I had to look up some records but I answered everything. How long have I had my social security number. ... What? How am I supposed to remember that? OK I told her I was still a kid when I got it so I ca n't remember exactly when but I tried to be helpful and gave her a best estimate anyway. 

A short 30 seconds waiting ensued. Then comes the news that she 's " ending the banking relationship '' with me because she ca n't verify my identity. WHAT? I asked what she meant by that and she said ca n't provide any more information and needs to " end the relationship ''. I asked if there 's any other way to open an account. She told me to go to a branch. 

I explained that from my research, the account I wanted can not be opened in a branch and asked if there 's another way. She said she 'll get her supervisor. I was hopeful and thanked her. 2 minutes later, she said her supervisor is busy and that she needs to " end the relationship ''. I asked her if there 's ANY other way and whether she just needs more information. I was already worried about all the information I gave out but I was feeling desperate, especially since I spent so much effort already. 

She coldly told me to go to a branch so I asked her if she can confirm whether I could open the type of account I wanted in a branch. She said she ca n't confirm that I would be able to able to open an account and that she needs to " end the relationship ''. As I tried to clarify that I was asking whether it 's even possible to open the Capital One 360 account in a branch, she hung up mid-sentence. 

Feeling betrayed that I gave so much personally information out and she ca n't even answer one thing, I called back to see if I can understand the situation better. I was greeted immediately with a voice mail instead of the normal on-hold greeting. I can only assume she put my number on a blacklist. 

All I wanted was to open a Capital One 360 Money Market account, but not only was I not able to accomplish this, I was interrogated like a criminal, hung up upon disrespectfully, and probably blacklisted.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation