Consumer complaint received 2019-12-01
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
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: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
This is a " scrubbed '' modified version of a Letter & Summary, that goes w/ Two Packets of  Documents w/ Notes. I am sending the entirety to Capital One by XX/XX/XXXX, but I think it's important for you to read exactly what I am sending them. 

To Whom it may concern, On XX/XX/XXXX, I immediately notified Capital One on the discovery of a fraudulent charge. That evening, I attempted to notify XXXX XXXX of said charge. The next day, XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving a shipping alert from XXXX XXXX, I requested that they NOT deliver said item. I absolutely DID NOT receive the item in question, and nor did my wife ( who was working from home, and was waiting for the package to be delivered to our residence that day, XX/XX/XXXX ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I also filed a stolen package report with the XXXX XXXX XXXX, and in the early morning of XX/XX/XXXX ( eastern time ), I filed a Police Report with our local Police Department. 

I made a final payment for this account on XX/XX/XXXX. The payment reduced the total balance to {$2200.00}, due to the fraudulent transaction made on XX/XX/XXXX ( {$2200.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NY XXXX USA ). 

Per Capital One 's credit card policy, I am NOT liable for this unauthorized transaction. I am more than happy to continue to assist them in the investigation of this matter ( for example, I am currently working with a representative at XXXX XXXX, who has re-opened an investigation with XXXX, in order to return the money to Capital One ). Finally, my good credit is extremely important to me. Please ask them to not use this fraudulent purchase, or my refusal to pay said fraudulent purchase, to negatively affect my credit. Once they have received the information I've sent, and confirm its authenticity, please have them refund the outstanding balance. In addition to the previous request, after the balance has been adjusted, I've asked them to close both of my Capital One accounts per my requests. 

Lastly, I want to draw Capital One 's attention to the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1975. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1975 ; if I notify Capital One, the Financial Institution ( within the first 24 hours ) ; I am not liable for the loss of funds, created by the theft of my financial information, regardless of the manner in which the scheme is carried out. Nor am I liable for the loss of funds due to the fraudulent online activity, regardless of how successful the crime committed. I hope they can adhere to this law and allow me to close my accounts ( without conflict ). If they can not, I will file a report with the New York, New Jersey & Virginia State Attorney General Offices, as well as the XXXX XXXX XXXX. I've already filed a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigations Online Crimes Division, the Federal Trade Commission & now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If needs be, I will also reach out to news outlets that specialize in shedding light on financial injustices. Finally, if all else fails to convince them of doing the right thing, I will be forced to take legal action. Its something I would prefer to avoid, but I will do what I must do to protect my rights as a responsible, law abiding citizen of the United States of America. 

I have documents available that will show ... 

I did NOT purchase said item, or authorize an agent to purchase said item ; I did everything I could to warn ALL parties involved of the fraudulent charge ; I did everything I could to STOP said item from being shipped ; I NEITHER received NOR signed for said item & NEITHER did my wife ; I attempted to get information that would lead to the arrest of the thief. 

More specifically, I have the following documents available for use ... 

documents that prove the signature provided for delivery of said item is fraudulent ; documents that prove I couldnt have been physically present to accept delivery documents that prove my wife wasnt given the opportunity to accept delivery documents that prove my email was indeed compromised at the time of this theft ; copies of credit statements that show an orderly well-adjusted credit history ; documents that prove our Chase card was also compromised at time of this theft ; a copy of the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1975 ; a copy of Capital Ones Credit Card User Agreement ; a copy of proof of final payment for my accounts ; a copy of the request to formally close both Capital One Credit accounts a copy of my license in case it is needed to close accounts ; documents that raise questions as to why this purchase did not raise alarm bells ; I've asked Capital One to please review the documents thoroughly and without bias. A lot of valuable time was spent to put it together. It is my hope, that with the information provided, they will see, I should not be held liable for the theft, and they will also see, how inadequate the Fraudulent claims systems are within Capital One, XXXX & XXXX XXXX. 

I thank you for your understanding and speedy response to this matter. 


SUMMARY OF EVENTS To Whom it may concern, On XX/XX/XXXX, at approximately XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX, I discovered a charge on my CAPITAL ONE account for {$2200.00} USD. Because I received an email from XXXX  at XXXX pacific time - to confirm the purchase made online [ see pg. 13-14 ] - Im assuming the charge was made around that time. The merchant was XXXX XXXX. Ive never purchased anything from XXXX in my life, let alone any product of this kind. I immediately contacted my wife to ask if she had made it [ see pg. 162 ]. She emphatically said, no. I promptly called the C.O. Fraud Department to report this charge [ see pg. 162 ]. They assured me the situation would be fixed, and that I had nothing to worry about when it came to be paying for the charge ( I wouldnt be held responsible for any unauthorized charges due to C.O.s {$0.00} Fraud Liability ). They then said the transaction would need to clear before an investigation could be opened, but in the meantime, they would lock my card and send me a new one as soon as possible. Because I am living/working on the west coast for a little while, I requested that C.O. representative send the new card ( as well as all future correspondence ) to my west coast address, NOT the permanent east coast address [ see pg. 34 ]. I left the conversation feeling uneasy about the apparent identity/credit theft, but confident that C.O. would take care of us.

Later that evening, I realized my inbox had been inundated with unsolicited newsletters and emails [ see pg. 105 ]. These emails, sent by people/companies I had not heard of, were thanking me for my interest [ see pg. 112 ]. At this point, I was extremely worried someone had fully assumed my identity and was contacting merchants to purchase their goods. I decided it would be beneficial to reach out to XXXX immediately, and NOT wait for the transaction to clear [ see pg. 162 ]. Unfortunately, because it was XXXX on the east coast, the XXXX Customer Service Offices were closed. I spent the rest of that evening attempting to clean up my inbox and trying to focus on my work. 

The next day, XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX pacific time, I received an email alert from XXXX, alerting me that the item in question had been shipped. Unbeknownst to me, the thief had managed to commandeer my email, home address & credit card information, and had used that info to ship the {$2200.00} handbag ( overnight ), to MY ADDRESS on the east coast. Because I was at work related events, and fully expecting C.O. to void the initial charge, I was VERY confused when I saw the notice. On the next break, I went to contact XXXX, but again the offices were closed, and so I reached out to them in the only way that was available to me, email ( I contacted them through their website email system ). I never received an adequate response from their customer service department [ see pg.22-23 ]. Around the same time ( XXXX pacific time ), I received an email from XXXX welcoming me to my MyXXXX-Account [ see pg. 20 ]. Again, I was scared by someone doing things in my name, and immediately I went to XXXX website to reset the password in order to access the account [ see pg. 21 ].  Minutes later, I contacted my wife to make sure she would be working from home the next day. Because I was on the west coast ( and still am today ), I conveyed to her that it was VERY important for her to be there and accept the package from XXXX. She said she understood, and would be working from home anyways, and so we left it at that [ see pg. 162 ]. 

The following day ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I anxiously awaited an update from XXXX, or a response from the XXXX. After not receiving an alert from either, I used the XXXX tracking number to get an update. The app said it had been delivered at XXXX eastern time and was signed for by MY LAST NAME [ see pg. XXXX ]. At XXXX pacific time, I again attempted to contact XXXX, and this time I was able to get someone on the phone. I told them what had happened, and they suggested I contact my Wife, as well as XXXX to get more information [ see pg. 163-164 I got off the phone with XXXX, and frantically called my Wife. I asked if she had accepted the handbag from XXXX [ see pg 163-164 ]? She told me she had been home all morning, and had neither seen, nor heard from XXXX. A few minutes later she texted me for more information regarding the delivery [ see pg. 159 ]. I went back to rehearsal for the next few hours. At XXXX pacific time, I both attempted to file an online claim with XXXX [ see pg. XXXX ] and contact them through their Customer Service Support telephone system as well [ see pg. XXXX ]. The rep said he would need to wait for the driver to return to the station before he could ask him any questions. He then said he would get back to me with more information and instructions later that night. The only information I received from XXXX, was an email, telling me that a person from my local package center will contact me within the hour. That I also needed to contact the merchant, and that they would need to do an investigation if the driver was unable to provide the necessary information [ see pg. XXXX ]. He never did. 

On the early morning of XX/XX/XXXX ( eastern time ), my wife, received an alert from XXXX, asking if she had just attempted to purchase something from XXXX for {$290.00} USD [ see pg. XXXX ) ]? She texted back, no, so the purchase was declined. Based on both of our credit card woes, XXXX suggested we call the police and file a report. So, she called the police, and requested they come over. At this point I am REALLY freaked out. So much so, I purchased a very expensive, year-long policy with XXXX, and started the tedious job of locking down every bit of personal information I could. Later, that night, the Police Officers arrived at our apartment to interview the both of us. Quick reminder, Im on the west coast working, so with my wife holding me up in XXXX, I told the police everything I knew [ see pg.173-174 ]. She gave her info as well. We left it there, believing we had done everything we could do to report this to the appropriate authorities. 

Later that day, I again received an email from an unsolicited vendor [ see pg. 112 ]. This time though, I called the number listed in the signature key [ see pg. 173 ], and to my surprise, an actual person picked up. His name is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and he is VP of Sales of the company. He was a little confused by my call, but I quickly told him who I was, and that my information had been stolen. I asked him if he had any other information, but he didnt seem to have much more than the emails provided in this packet. I got off the phone amazed and confused by the scope of this theft. Just to add a quick addendum to this part of the review I gave him a call this last week ( XX/XX/XXXX ), and he forwarded me the information he and his CTO pulled up from their servers, whatever data pertaining to the attempted impersonation, see the continued email chain herewith [ see pg. 174 ]. 

Fast forward to XXXX. The stolen money had been returned to my account, and everything seemed like it was back to normal. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed the {$2200.00} charge had been placed back on my account. Extremely angry & confused by what I was seeing, I immediately called C.O. to find out was going on. After spending hours/days on the phone with C.O., XXXX & XXXX, this is what I found out ... 

1 ) C.O. essentially abdicates all investigative responsibility to the merchants & delivery services. What does that mean for consumers? It means, if either the merchant, or the delivery service doesnt do their due diligence in investigating the theft, C.O. wont try to find the truth on their own. So, because the thief shipped the XXXX bag to MY address, using MY information, and intercepted the XXXX Driver using MY last name to sign ( even though I am on the west coast & Ive never used my last name as a signature ), C.O. wont help. With thieves becoming more and more clever every day, and information becoming more and more accessible every year, C.O. has made its customers more vulnerable to being taken advantage of by criminals, and they refuse to acknowledge it. 

2 ) Just take a moment and appreciate the that XXXX alerted my wife to a {$290.00} charge from XXXX, and C.O. let a {$2200.00} charge from XXXX  go undetected .... is that what C.O. calls excellent security? I dont. I have statements available for the entirety of last year, take a look at them and tell me that a charge of that amount, shouldnt have set off alarm bells ... [ see pg. 179-220 ]. 

3 ) XXXX has awful customer service. After I was told they would reach out to the driver, after I was told they would have investigators come to our address for interviews, after I was told they would call me for more information, they did nothing. The extent of the investigation they undertook rendered the result, the package had been signed for & delivered. Thats it. They never called me for more information, never asked for the police report, never had the driver come back to speak with my wife, never checked past signatures against the one made, never asked the driver what the person looked like, whether it was a man or a woman, short or tall. They did NOTHING, and they refuse to reopen the case. XXXX is basing their decision off that report, and C.O. is basing their decision on XXXX. Nobody is taking responsibility, and I am being made to pay for everyones mistakes ( pun unfortunately intended ). Can you see the flaw in this system? I can. 

4 ) Once you trigger the refund process through C.O., XXXX has policies in place that, in effect, wash their hands of you. XXXX  has been helpful, but even they have policies in place that XXXX customers over in instances of credit theft. If you trigger the refund process through C.O., XXXX will NOT allow you to open an official investigation into the theft. So, by doing what C.O. asks customers to do, report the fraud and lock the card, we essentially shoot ourselves in the foot by giving full control to C.O. to find the truth. Unless your systems change, I dont believe C.O. deserves our trust. 

I just want to be clear. Ive been a loyal customer to CAPITAL ONE for 8 years. This very card, the one that was fraudulently charged, is the very first credit card I applied for ( first of two C.O. credit cards ). My wife and I have our savings account with them too. We have been faithful in our payments. Reported crime immediately once found. Weve always used security measures to protect our personal & financial information, and yet, despite all of that, C.O. has treated me with a great lack of empathy & very little respect. I just want to be clear. Ive now spent hours on the phone with CAPITAL ONE, XXXX XXXX & XXXX. Ive now worked hours gathering information to prove my wife and Is innocence. Ive spent large amounts of money to protect our identity from future theft. Ive wasted SO MUCH TIME working on this when I should have been working on the amazing career opportunity that earned. It has truly been a terrible experience for us. We put our trust in CAPITAL ONE, our credit issuer and our savings bank, and they failed us. Please make them make this right. Have them refund the amount stolen and fix their policies & procedures. Their customers depend on them to do right by them. 

I swear that this account is written to the best of my knowledge. I send it, with the utmost sincerity & truth. I hope that they will not only do right by me, but also do right by ALL their customers. They need to take a hard look at their standards & practices. They need serious reexamination.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief