Consumer complaint received 2021-05-18
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill — Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (IL)

In XXXX of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic and work stoppage, I entered into a payment arrangement with Capital One in order to keep my credit intact. During this time, I had over 20 people in my life XXXX  or contract the XXXX. It was extremely scary, stressful, and sad. My own mother had contracted XXXX. 

I was completely out-of-sorts and mistakenly thought my payment date was XX/XX/2020, and went online to make my payment to Capital One on XX/XX/2020. My payment date was actually XX/XX/2020, and not XX/XX/2020. I immediately called Capital One and apologized and explained what I was going through. 

The agent, XXXX XXXX, helped to bring my account current. I did not realize this would be on my credit report. Capital One 's representative, XXXX XXXX, did an interview with the XXXX  XXXX ' XXXX  blog and said that Capital One would not report late payments to the credit bureaus due to the work stoppage and pandemic. https XXXX XXXXXXXX/ I wrote a letter to Capital One and asked them to please remove this late payment from my account as I have had several crises to deal with and had, otherwise, made 100 % of my payments on time. 

Later, I received a letter from Capital One saying they would not remove the late payment. I called them again and told them that their representative, XXXX XXXX, had stated that they would not report late payments and again explained how the XXXX was affecting my life. 

The agent put me on hold for a while and then explained that I should write their Credit Bureau Dispute department again and provide proof and they would remove the late payment from my credit report. 

I wrote them, again and again, received a letter saying they would not remove the mark from my credit report. I called them again and spoke to a supervisor who pulled my record and indeed saw where their agent told me they would remove the mark. However, he said they would not remove the mark despite what I was told. I told him about XXXX XXXX 's statement to XXXX and he said that customers were to call them. I explained the chain of events to him and that I had called as soon as I was aware of the problem. Capital One 's own CEO, XXXX XXXX, put out a statement saying " we encourage customers to call '' not that it was " mandatory that they call by a certain day or time. The supervisor simply continued to repeat that they would not remove the mark. 

Part of XXXX XXXX 's statement : We have a range of policies and programs to accommodate customer hardships. For customers who let us know they are being impacted, we are here to support and work with them. We are offering assistance to consumers and small business owners, including waiving fees or deferring payments on credit cards or auto loans. Our frontline associates are well-trained and well-prepared to serve customers in times of financial stress or hardship, and I am grateful for the service you are providing as the number of hardship cases increases. 

I am moved by the heartfelt notes of gratitude from our customers who, despite all the chaos and uncertainty in their own lives, have taken time to write to Capital One. They are emotional about how our associates have served them with kindness and compassion, and they are grateful for how our company is supporting them during this crisis. 

https : XXXX Capital One is refusing to work with me on this and for no good reason. I was extremely overwhelmed, not working, and had many people in my life XXXX from XXXX. Thankfully, my mother pulled through and is still with us. 

This has been going on for over a year and the late payment is the only late payment on my credit report. Capital One should remember the state of our country at the beginning of the pandemic and honor their own agents, statements, and words, and remove this late payment.