Consumer complaint received 2024-01-25
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (VA)

I am an XXXX XXXX  and XXXX, I get paid cash daily and deposit cash into my checking account often therefore my balance changes constantly. I depend on checking my balance in the app to decide whether I use my debit card or cash when making payments. 

XXXX XX/XX/2023, I have a payment of {XXXX  to Capital One credit Due. I also have a rent payment of XXXX} due on the XXXX but can make that payment up until the XXXX without penalty. On XX/XX/XXXX my XXXX XXXX  payment of {$15.00} was authorized. On the XXXX I deposited {$660.00} and my CO checking had a balance of {$680.00}, I then authorized my CO credit card payment of XXXX before the close of the business day as this is what I needed to pay first to avoid a XXXX late fee. I assumed I also had enough to cover my XXXX rent payment, however my XXXX XXXX payment hadnt processed until after I deposited the cash and checked my balance and my account was just short of being able to cover both my rent and credit card payment. This was okay because my rent payment doesn't have a late fee and wont process if theres insufficient funds. However, my rent payment did automatically go through on XXXX XXXX ( third business day since authorization ), leaving my account balance at {XXXX. At this point I had additional cash and funds in my XXXX account that I couldve deposited into my checking account. Worried that my credit card payment would get declined because of the rent payment when I opened my CO app, saw a positive balance in my checking account, looked at my CO credit card account and saw the payment was posted and assumed, seeing as it had been the XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX of XXXX, ( all business days ) since I authorized the transaction, that the payment had gone through. I had more money than I expected in my checking account but with how often I deposit cash and the inconsistent amounts, is not unrealistic to XXXX the exact amounts. So I discover on XXXX XXXX when I receive an email from CO credit that my payment was returned and a late fee of {$40.00} was applied to my account on XX/XX/XXXX ( fourth business day since authorization ) I was appalled and determined to prevent this from happening in the future. Notably I never received an email from Capital One Checking that the attempted payment was declined, only from the Credit side 5 days after the payment was authorized. 

So on XX/XX/XXXX, when my payment was due I authorized a payment of {XXXX} knowing I didnt at that moment have the funds in my checking account to cover it. However, it was a XXXX, the following Monday, XX/XX/XXXX was a federal holiday, the first business day after I made my payment was XX/XX/XXXX. I knew it took Capital one multiple business days to process transactions, on XX/XX/XXXX I deposited {XXXX  in my checking account before the close of the business day. At the time I deposited the cash my credit account showed the {XXXX} payment and no return charges. That night at XXXX I receive an email from my checking account that my payment was declined. ( Did not receive an email from checking account in XXXX ) My Credit account does not show a return payment or late fee. The next morning, XX/XX/XXXX, when I see the email, I call the checking account service line and they inform me the payment was processed on the XXXX ( the first business day since I made the payment. ) They transferred me to the Credit card service line because I asked why the payment was still shown as posted on the Credit account. They said there was nothing they could do until they received the return payment from the checking department. I then hang up and immediately authorized a second payment of XXXX to my capital one credit card, and see the balance go down as if I had made both payments. I did this in the hope that even when the payment was returned, my account would still be up to date and I would avoid the late fee. This all occurred on the XXXX of XXXX, a XXXX. That XXXX  I checked my CO credit account. And saw the return payment posted and late fee on my account dated XX/XX/XXXX. 

So in XXXX for two business days I had sufficient funds in my account, on the third, when I did not have sufficient funds, the payment was processed. In XXXX, when I didnt have sufficient funds in my account the first business day, but I did the following days, the payment was processed on the first business day. Had the payment been processed on the other two out of the three business days following my authorization in both XXXX and XXXX I would not have received a late fee. 

Every other payment I make with my debit card/checking account either happens instantly or shows as a pending charge on my checking account. It is only when I make payments to capital one credit cards that I have this issue. The cynic in me believes Capital One is purposely choosing to process payments when they know they will get declined/return. However that conspiracy is pretty unlikely. I do believe that Capital One knows this is an issue affecting customers yet purposefully does nothing because it is increasing their income through late fees. They process other transactions instantly but credit card payments in batches, leading to a higher likelihood of missed payments. They dont show credit card payments as processing on checking accounts but show other processing transactions, leading to customers checking their accounts and seeing more money available than they actually can spend. They have the ability to do these things differently, like they do with every other transaction, yet dont, leading to a misleading experience for the consumer. They are aware that customers are having this issue. The customer service rep I spoke with has submitted multiple customer complaints about the delay in both actual processing time and the delay in informing the customers of the processing ( ie them sending emails days after they actually process the transactions. ) Customer service XXXX XXXX employee ID XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX informed me that she was aware of how these procedures are negatively affecting customers, shes aware that theyre causing an increase in late fees, that shes submitted these complaints but does not have the decision making power to do anything about it.