Consumer complaint received 2016-09-10
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: TX
Product: Credit card
Issue: Unsolicited issuance of credit card

Complaint:
I explicitly needed a XXXX credit card so I could use it at Costco. On XXXX/XXXX/16 I logged into the XXXX website and shopped and compared credit cards. At the XXXX website, I clicked a link to CapitalOne to apply for a CapitalOne Venture card. ( The link did not specify the type of credit card. ) I WAS NOW ON CAPITALONE 's WEBSITE. While completing the application on the CapitalOne website, I noticed that it did not specify what type of card I was applying for, so I clicked on the CapitalOne " CHAT '' link. I asked the CaptitalOne agent what type of card this application was for and he/she replied " XXXX, '' so I completed and submitted my application on-line. The chat agent did NOT ask me if I had been directed to their site by a 3rd party link. The application was almost immediately accepted with a very high credit limit. 
On XXXX/XXXX/2016, I received XXXX MASTERCARDS in the mail. I immediately called CapitalOne and requested that they cancel these card and issue XXXX cards as their agent previously had confirmed. CapitalOne told me that because I had been directed to their site by a third party 's website ( XXXX ) they could only issue me a XXXX. I responded " then why did n't your agent let me know this before I applied? '' Their response was basically that the chat agent had no way of knowing that I had been directed to their site via a 3rd party 's site. They refused to issue me a XXXX card and told me I could cancel the MASTECARD ( which I have now done ) but that I was now blocked from applying for a XXXX card from CapitalOne for six months. 
The reason I received a XXXX is either because of a direct lie by their agent ( which I doubt was the case ) or because of a shortcoming in CapitalOne 's website in that their Chat agent should have had the information that I had been directed to their site via a third party so he/she could have answered my question accurately. I made no errors or omissions in the process. The CapitalOne manager we talked to on the phone on XXXX/XXXX/2016 would not admit to any mistake by CapitalOne and refused to acknowledge the fact that their database/enterprise HAD to know that I had been directed to their site via a 3rd party 's site as that is why their system issued me a XXXX. Therefore, they had the information that could have been supplied to the chat agent ; however, they chose not to have that occur and the agent chose not to ask me if I had been directed to their site via a third party before answering my question incorrectly. 
Note : If I had gone directly to CapitalOne 's website without using a 3rd party link, the answer the Chat agent gave me, " XXXX, '' would have been correct as CapitalOne 's manager told me that is the ONLY WAY to get a CaptialOne Venture XXXX card. 
Resolution requested : I would like to receive a CapitalOne Venture XXXX card with the terms and conditions for which I had originally applied. I do not want the application for this new card to appear on my credit report because multiple credit card applications in a short period of time will decrease my credit score further.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation