Consumer complaint received 2017-07-21
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: IL
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: Overcharged for something you did purchase with the card

Complaint:
My son arrived in XXXX, XXXX the night of XX/XX/XXXX on a business trip. After a 15 hour flight, he was exhausted, went to a local bar, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which was near the XXXX XXXX where he was staying. When he was told that one after another of his credit cards was not working to process his {$11.00} drink charges, he ( unfortunately ) gave this establishment 3 of his credit cards, as well as his debit card - though he clearly, only signed one receipt. ( And despite his being exhausted, he had calculated the conversion and determined that what he signed was correct. Unfortunately, he did not keep the receipt because it was small and not reimbursable. ) The bar submitted close to {$3000.00} in fraudulent charges, and even took my son 's debit card and tried to take money out at a local ATM. I received an alert on two of the cards almost immediately, and was able to speak with both XXXX XXXX XXXX and Capital One right away. My son confirmed having had the two drinks, and let us know why he had given the bar so many different cards. He did have the cards in his possession when he returned to the hotel. Following my filling out all sorts of paperwork, Capital One let me know yesterday that we would be stuck with these charges, despite the overwhelming preponderance of evidence that this was fraud. The bar submitted a fake receipt, with a fake signature, but Capital One said that since a chip card was used, and my son acknowledged being at this establishment, and because he had not kept his receipt for the drinks, we were liable for the charges. I was quite upset to learn this information, and Capital One offered first a {$200.00} reduction on the {$700.00} charge - then upped it to {$350.00} - saying we were 'valued ' customers. They also insisted we were responsible for a second charge from the same bar for {$330.00} despite the bar not having sent any additional signed receipts for this amount. So we would be stuck with almost {$700.00} in charges! Capital One claims they have to follow Mastercard rules that resulted in our being stuck with these charges. And, by, the way, when we first filed the dispute, Capital One had not warned us that failure to file a police report could be a problem. In fact, my son would not have done so in XXXX anyway ( for safety and security reasons ), but he could have gone to the XXXX XXXX in XXXX for help. Because we have never had a problem in the past with credit card companies when false charges have been made, it never occurred to us that this would play out as it has. XXXX XXXX XXXX already agreed that the {$160.00} charge to our son 's debit card from the same bar was fraudulent, and we would get full credit on that charge. They are still in the process of determining the {$1100.00} credit card charge from the bar, and I sent them all my documentation today for the 3 credit card companies ( including XXXX ) involved in this matter. They seemed more sympathetic to our situation, and the credit card claims department employee said he would recommend to his supervisors that the XXXX fraud department contact the Capital One fraud department. So, for the moment, my complaint is only with Capital One as I have no final resolution from either XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX. The bottom line here is that this was fraud, plain and simple, and that should have been obvious to Capital One based on all the paperwork I sent them from the different credit card companies involved. We consumers were told that the chip card would protect us - but Capital One basically said exactly the opposite - that because a chip card was used and the card was not stolen, we were responsible for the charges - despite those charges being fraudulent and the receipt submitted to Capital One having a fake signature. ( And in the instance of the second Capital One charge for {$330.00} - no receipt had been filed by the merchant during the dispute process. So it 's even more perplexing that we could be held responsible! ) I hope you can help! I plan on calling my senators and congressman and anyone else who can work on this matter. This issue clearly goes way beyond our own family 's experience, and consumers need protection here!! Bottom line until then - KEEP EVERY RECEIPT NO MATTER HOW SMALL! AND NEVER GIVE AN ESTABLISHMENT A SECOND CREDIT CARD UNLESS YOU HAVE GOOD REASON TO DO SO!! Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation