Consumer complaint received 2023-03-29
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: GA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, As a protected consumer, I expect to be treated fairly and with respect, dignity and equal protection under the laws. I've never violated my card agreement and continued making payments as necessary whenever charges occurred. This is still a fact as of today. The series of adverse action events by Capital One XX/XX/XXXX continue to harm me financially, emotionally and mentally. 

1. I am writing to file a complaint against Capital One for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) 15 U.S. Code 1691 ( a ) ( 3 ), by discriminating against me with unfounded restrictions on my account, because I, a protected consumer, in good faith, exercised any right to access and use my credit card. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered that my Capital One account had been restricted without any notification or explanation from the company. I immediately contacted their customer service department and was informed that my account had been restricted due to an account overuse. I immediately disputed the validity of this allegation and the representative reviewed the account details and confirmed the account was in fact NOT used over the limit. 

As a protected consumer under the FDCPA, I have the right to receive written notification from Capital One within five days of any decision to restrict or close my account. However, I did not receive any such notification from the company until XXXX, XXXX. 

2. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a communication in from Capital One in violation of 15 USC 1125 ( a ), dated XX/XX/XXXX stating : " We have, with regret, suspended your charging privileges and restricted your account due to the severe delinquency or over limit status of your account referenced above. Please be aware that any further use of this account may constitute fraud as specified by the code of Virginia XXXX. 
We ask that you destroy any cards and checks associated with this account. You will also need to cancel all services billed directly to your account : for example, insurance premiums, credit card protection services, and monthly Internet Service Provider billings. 

Because you are the party responsible for repayment of this account, it is imperative that you call us immediately to make payment arrangements. Please keep in mind that it is in your best interest to resolve this matter quickly. Our customer relations specialists are pleasant, friendly and experienced in working with situations like yours. They look forward to your call. 

Again, please call us immediately. Thank you for your cooperation. 
Sincerely, Capital One Services, LLC XXXX '' 3. This was completely unexpected, and confusing. I called Capital One again and was told the exact same thing that was in the false communication in violation of 15 USC 1125 ( a ), blatantly providing false information and using the mail to commit fraud. I asked the representatives if any of this made sense and they said no, but they did not have anymore information to provide. 

4. Having no other avenue or options available to reasonably settle this problem with the debt collector, I sent an " AFFIDAVIT OF TRUTH AND CONSUMER COMPLAINT '' by registered mail ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) to Capital One, atttention to XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. The affidavit outlined the billing error, history of the complaint, actions taken thus far to resolve the matter and violations of law by Capital One. My affidavit was ignored and my account continued in a restricted status. I continued to make payment as they became due. 

5. After more than 6 months of waiting for a response, on XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a notice of default to Capital XXXX ( XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX / XXXX ) as authorized by 15 US Code 1666 ( b ), 15 US Code 1666 ( c ) and 15 US Code 1666 ( d ). The notice ( s ) was confirmed delivered on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a communication from Capital One, containing a multitude of symbols, in violation of 12 CFR Part 1006.22 ( f ) ( 2 ) and 15 U.S. Code 1692e, stating, " ... We are closing this account because activity on this or another account is not consistent with our expectations for account usage and violates the Capital One Customer Agreement. '' 7. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another communication from Capital One, containing multiple violation of 12 CFR Part 1006.22 ( f ) ( 2 ), stating : " Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX Re : Account ending in XXXX Capital One Case : XXXX We're reaching out to you about your correspondence to our Executive Office, concerning a billing error you stated occurred on your account. We don't accept your payment coupons located on your statement as an offset, payment, or presentment. Placing this stamp on your billing statement does not change it into a Money Order as you claim. We only accept legal tender for payments on accounts. According to the terms of your Customer Agreement ( enclosed ), all payments made by mail must be in the form of a check or money order, payable in United States ( U.S. ) funds and drawn on a financial institution located in the XXXX. 
Based on the information we received from you on XX/XX/XXXX, we feel that our previous response fully addressed your concerns, and our decision has remained unchanged. 
We have enclosed a copy of our previous response for your records. 
If you have questions or concerns, please call XXXX. Our Customer Service Representatives are available XXXX hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Sincerely, Capital One Customer Advocacy Office Enclosures '' 8. Capital One also never sent me the required notices by law and failed to comply with 16 CFR 433.2 - Preservation of consumers ' claims and defenses, unfair or deceptive acts or practices. 

These violations of the FDCPA and other United States Laws, have caused me significant inconvenience, undue mental stress, anxiety and financial harm, as I was not able to access my funds for an extended period of time. 

I urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate this matter and take appropriate action against Capital One for their failure to comply with the FDCPA.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation