Consumer complaint received 2015-07-08
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NC
Product: Credit card
Issue: Credit card protection / Debt protection

Complaint:
About XXXX years ago, i received a credit card of {$300.00} issued by HSBC, with 0 % financing for a year. I purchased insurance on the account, as I was afraid of being layed off ( I am an older worker ). I was told at the time, by phone, by the insurance company and HSBC, that if I became unemployed, the insurance would pay off my account. A month or two later, I was layed off due to my illness, and initiated the program, providing the information needed to both companies. When I returned to work XXXX months later, the program ended, and when I checked my balance, I still owed about {$300.00}. When I inquired with the insurance, they claimed that they payed out around {$30.00} a month for nine months, or around {$270.00}. When i inquired about the account with HSBC, they said they dropped the interest rate when they froze the account. Now if the insurance company was paying at least the minimum on the account, why did the HSBC change the interest rate without informing me? This product was sold to me with the intention of preserving my credit by paying on this account, and was misrepresented by both parties involved. To make this story worse, HSBC was bought by Capitol One. I discovered this after I got a call from Capitol One saying I need to send a payment on my account. I told them, I do n't have a Capitol One account, wherein they told me that my account was purchased by HSBC. I told them of the problems with HSBC, and they told me, that they had no idea where that money went, but that Capitol One purchased the account. I told them that I have already paid via my insurance on that account, and the amount owed should have been less than a XXXX bucks, not the {$300.00} they claim as the balance. They claimed to know nothing about my situation, so I tell them I am not paying them money I do not owe. Flash forward to today : its been years since that conversation, Capitol One has accessed late fees on a credit card account I do not own. This was then turned over to an odious collection agency called XXXX XXXX, after upping the ante from {$300.00} to {$500.00}. I have told these people for years I am not paying them, and will not. I may one day settle this, but its not going to be for {$300.00} or {$500.00}, it will be for the amount owed on the original account, minus the amount paid by the insurance. In the years between, I have purchased cars, and other items with credit, paying them off in a timely manner. Recently, I have left work again, due to my health problems, and have related this to XXXX XXXX, who still wants to collect for Capitol One. They wanted me to put an account of this in writing to them, but I have instead opted to put an account of this in writing to you, in the hopes you will forward the complaint to both Capitol One and XXXX XXXX. If my failing health and employment issues do not sway them to write this off, then the next window to conclude this chapter is XXXX 2016, when I file and receive my meager income tax return, wherein I will offer again, to pay the original amount due, minus the money paid by my insurance to whoever is collecting it. Or nothing if they like. I currently do own a credit card ; HSBC was my last.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief