Consumer complaint received 2024-10-16
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (OH)

I called CFPB this morning and was told that I can not add more to a complaint I've already filed ( last week ), so I'm filing this new one. 

However, this new complaint is actually a follow up to complaints XXXX and XXXX. Both complaints were about Capital One Bank and this complaint ( 1 ) adds more infoormation to the compliaint I filed last week and ( 2 ) attempts to summarize all 3 complaints.

( 1 ) The information I would like to add to my complaint filed last week ( XXXX ) is that : a. I called Capital One Bank several days ago to ask them how I can/should get my completed questionaire to them, but they told me that ( i ) there were " irregularities '' or " suspicious activities '' ( I can't remember exactly what words they used ) on my account and that ( ii ) they would have to " verify '' my identity by having me send them a photograph! I've been a Capital One customer for probably 10 years ( maybe more ) and they have verified my identity virtually every time I've called but NEVER by demanding a photograph ( I believe this is part of a strategy to harass me- more on this below ). By the way, after this call I checked my account activity online ahd there was no " suspicious activity '' on my account. 

b. I called Capital One again this morning to cancel my card or close my account ( again, not sure what terminology they use ) and they again insisted that I first send them a photograph! They have verified my identity probably hundreds of times and it has always been by asking me questions like what is my address, what is my birthdate, what is my social security number, etc. NEVER by sending them a photograph! I said " I want to close my account, but I am not sending you a photograph. '' They kept insisting on the photograph, so I said " OK, I've informed you that I want to close this account ( actually 2 of them, since I have 2 Capital One cards ) and I'm not sending you a phootgraph, so I'm hanging up now '' and I hung up. I do not intend to call them again, EVER!

( 2 ) I believe that the complaint I filed last week -- - and the harassment I experienced on the 2 calls to Capital One I reported above go back to the first complaint I filed against Capital One ( XXXX ) in XXXX. Capital One just all of a sudden stopped sending me paper bills as they have for all of the time I've been a Capital One customer. I called them 3 times to ask them if they had sent my XXXX statement. The first time they would literally not answer my question, the second time they told me they'd sent it, but, when it still didn't arrive for several more days, I called a third time and they admitted they had not sent it. What kind of a company acts like this, lying bald-faced directly to a customer in reponse to a direct question?! 

When they finally responded to my CFPB complaint, they claimed that I had responded to a " promotion '' and had signed up for paperliess billing. I responded to that response at the time, but in a nutshell I responded that " I almost NEVER respond to promotions of this kind, and it is hard for me to believe that I would have responded to this promotion. I honestly can not imagine what kind of promotion would have enticed me to respond, much less to choose, or accept, paperless billing which I have NEVER accepted or requested ANYWHERE at any time '' because I've always preferred paper billing. I honestly believe that this explanation that Capital One sent to CFPB was created out of whole cloth. 

So I've used Capital One less and less these last 2 months. I thought I'd better use some other cards instead. I didn't trust Capital One anymore. 

I think Capital One has been miffed with me ever since, so they've decided not to even consider my disputes of charges using their card and are now actively harassing me in every way they can. They tell me there are " suspicious activities '' on my account when there aren't. They insist that I send them a photograph to verify my identity when they've never done that in 10 years. They send me docusign documents with no instructions on what to do with them. And they refuse to close my account when I ask them clearly and politely to do so. I've dealt with a few unfriendly organizations over the years but this is my first experience with what appears to be pure vindictiveness. 

As soon as I've paid my last bill, I will no longer be doing business with this evil bank.