Consumer complaint received 2024-01-12
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 (CT)

IN SHORT : I submitted the attached to the CapitalOne credit card company re : an apparent scam perpetrated on our traveling group in an attempt to have a {$700.00} charge by removed from my credit card charges. 

CapitalOne unreasonably and, what appears to be, in a knee- jerk manner, sided with XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and denied my request to reject what I believe was a scam charge perpetrated against me. I do not think CapitalOne did reasonable due diligence in evaluating XXXX charge and rejecting my complaint, but rather took the easy way out while reaping its share of the charge. 

It is my understanding that Capital One ignored the fact the basic important fact - that their merchant ( XXXX ) did not provide any service as our reservations had not been cancelled so no services had been provided. We have never been provided proof that any reservations needed to be or were reinstated, rather just the contrary. 

My belief at the time was if it turned out to be a scam, Capital One would work with me and protect my rights as one of its cardholders and not ignore the obvious scam. 

Now it is my belief, that XXXX has studied Capital Ones approach in evaluating alleged scam claims and what strategy it would take for CapitalOne to reject cardholder objection to a charge and implemented that strategy. Consequently, XXXX sends out the unreasonably onerous terms in Exhibit X knowing that CapitalOne would then use that as a basis to reject legitimate cardholder complaint about a scam charge. 

BACKGROUND ( ALSO SEE ATTACHED SUBMISSION TO CAPITALONE FOR MORE DETAIL ) : Thinking we had reached XXXX XXXX ( an affiliate of XXXX ) by phone while attempting to sign in for our return flight from XXXX XXXX to XXXX for later that day, we were advised over the phone by a XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX, that our XXXX reservations had been cancelled and we needed to pay $ XXXX to reinstate such reservations for later that day. 

Relying on XXXX assertions that our reservations had been cancelled ( they hadnt ) and feeling like our backs were up against the wall in a foreign country, I gave my CapitalOne credit card info and I was forced to agree to some unreasonably onerous terms presented by XXXX in an email. See Exhibit X. 

At the time, the choice I had was believe XXXX and accept their unreasonable onerous terms or possibly be stranded in a foreign country and approve the charge with CapitalOne. 

It is a hollow argument if CapitalOne tries to use the fact that I approved the charge with a confirmation to CapitalOne at the time of the charge. CapitalOne needs to admit that it needs to see the BIG PICTURE and not rely on unreasonable technicalities. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX SAID NOT CANCELLED. We later were advised by XXXX ( both at the airport that day and later in an email ) and by our travel agent, XXXX XXXX, that the reservations had not, in fact, been cancelled. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX WEBSITE. Based upon XXXX XXXX XXXX website, we are not the first to complain about XXXX. 

A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT CAPITALONES APPROACH HERE : 1. Not being its first rodeo and rather being an experienced credit card company, CapitalOnes specialists should see how scams develop ( requiring cardholder to agree to unreasonable onerous terms and not requiring services have been provided by merchants. ) 2. CapitalOne should have seen the Red Flag of having a merchant asking a cardholder to verify a charge, in writing. I dont believe that has ever happened to me before. 
I believe XXXX has studied the technical portions of CapitalOnes procedures and knew what CapitalOne would require to have a scam charge go through and not be rejected. 

3. How often does CapitalOne encounter unreasonable onerous terms such as in Exhibit X. This should be a large RED FLAG! Capital One should know that unreasonable agreement just smells of a scam scheme that Capital ones guidelines would buy.

4. Why does CapitalOne seems to ignore the fact that no services were provided. Allegedly reinstating a reservation that had not been cancelled in the first place, is not providing a legitimate service.

5. CapitalOne was and continues to be in the best position to stop scams, however, of course, if the charge is rejected then CapitalOne do not make money that is presumably paid to them by a merchant and in this case, by XXXX. It is in CapitalOnes best interest for all charges to go through. 

SUMMARY : I ask you to kindly have CapitalOne reject the XXXX charge as the alleged reinstatement services were never needed or provided. CapitalOne should have known better and, as a credit card company with sophisticated financial savvy individuals working for it, CapitalOne was and continues to be in the best position to see through the approach taken by XXXX against me and presumably others and to help stop scam charges. CapitalOne is missing the big picture. As a large financial company, they need to do better. 

As a result of acting on this complaint, hopefully the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can also getting CapitalOnes attention to the BIG PICTURE in scams and, in the future, also protect its other cardholders from scams. 

Thank you for considering this complaint and please feel free to contact me if any additional information is needed.