Consumer complaint received 2024-02-25
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CA)

This is an edited version of a letter I sent to Capital One to complain about how my application has been handled. I have received no response from this letter, sent via U.S. mail to the address listed on the adverse action notice. I've removed personally identifiable information as instructed above. 

To Capital One : Im writing to object to the denial of my credit card application XXXX  and the subsequent failings on Capital Ones part to rectify issues that caused the application to be denied. To help you understand the exact series of events that have resulted in my choosing to write to this address, below is a breakdown of whats happened : 1. Pre-Approval In XX/XX/2023, I went to Capital Ones website and found that, based on my information, I was pre-approved for several credit cards, including the XXXX XXXX card that this application is the subject of. I accepted my offer, and was told that I would need to provide documents to prove a ) my identity, and b ) my social security number.

2. Documents As prompted by the online application tool, I uploaded a picture of my California drivers license to prove my identify. I had questions about proving my SSN because my Social Security card was in the process of being replaced by the Social Security Administration ( since been replaced ). My pay stubs and W-2 only show the last XXXX digits of my SSN. I called Capital One to inquire if that would be okay, but I was told that I needed all digits to be shown. As I was not required to file a tax return last tax year, I asked if I could submit a page from my parents tax return listing me as a dependent that shows my full SSN. I was told that the agent could not, of course, guarantee that any particular document would work, but that it should do and if there was a problem, I would be contacted, and it would be no big deal.

3. Initial Adverse Action Letter On XX/XX/2023, I received an email telling me my application had been declined. On the letter, the only listed reason for the rejection was that the application submitted is incomplete or can not be verified.

4. Attempting to resolve this matter by phone Naturally, my initial assumption was the whoever read my application did not like the tax return as proof of SSN, but since I had been assured that I could provide an alternate document should there be an issue, I wasnt concerned. I called Capital One to inquire. At first, I was told that, for privacy, they could not tell me what exactly was incomplete or can not be verified. This seemed absurd, given that I was the applicant. After getting a supervisor on the line, I was told that I could just request an appeal of the decision. XXXX XXXX  later, I was told that my application had been denied again. I had never been informed that the appeal would be processed by a computer, nor informed that I would not have the opportunity to provide new documents if necessary, even though the agent had read back to me specific instructions I had dictated to him about this confusion with the SSN document, and that I wanted to chance to supply a different document and to work with Capital One to sort this out. This call took over an XXXX, and I had to hang up.

I tried again a few weeks later. The first person I spoke with told me, for the XXXX  time, that my documents were illegible. I, of course, offered to submit them again if for some reason they
couldnt be read. After a lengthy time on hold, I was told that, actually, they were legible, but that my drivers license was unacceptable. When I asked the agent what this meant, she suggested I look at my license to see if I could spot anything wrong with it. When I asked for an example of what could be wrong with a drivers license that was not expired, she had no suggestions. Eventually, I got on the line with a supervisor who finally seemed to grasp just how ridiculous this process had gone, assured me that, of course, nothing was wrong with my license, and that she was talking with an office that could help fix the issue. After over XXXX minutes on hold, she apologized for the wait and offered to call me back the next day. 

Well, the next day ( and then week ), came and went without a call, nor any attempt to contact me in any way. 

A XXXX  later, I called again and was told ( after XXXX minutes ) that my license wasnt scanning properly. I pointed out that that wasnt my fault, and would they like me to send another picture, or maybe just use a photo of my passport? No, I was told that couldnt be done. After speaking with a supervisor, he eventually suggested ( without once apologizing or even acknowledging all the previous failures and inconsistencies in this odyssey ), that we could send an email to a team that could see about reopening the application. He then came back on the line and send hed sent the email, even though I had told him previously that I hadnt told him all the finer details of the application because it would take a long time. Had I known it was he who was going to send the email, and not myself ( which he never made clear ), I would have made the effort the relate all the details I have now written above. Weeks have passed, and no word from Capital One about this matter, the onus is now clearly on Capital One to rectify their error.

This is, to date, all the developments in my attempt to get a credit card I was pre-approved for, and declined, not because of a low credit score or anything like that, but because of an opaque reason relating to my documents that no one from Capital One has explained the same way twice. Ive been told different, contradicting stories, and had many promises broken by Capital One representatives after spending many hours on the phone. The lack of clear communication and skillful customer service is highly disappointing.

Because Im protective of my credit score, Im hoping that Capital One will do the right thing and work with me to rectify the many failings on Capital Ones part in this process. I have had to put in an astonishing amount of effort to get the smallest amount of information via phone. My hope is that this letter will allow Capital One to figure out what is actually going on with my application, and figure out what needs to happen to approve it. As I have said countless times on the phone, I am completely happy to provide or re-provide any and all documents Capital One would like to see. Throughout this entire process, I have done everything that has been asked of me, even in the face of staggering incompetence and great difficulty.

Please contact me regarding my next steps to rectifying this error. You can reach me by post at return address, email at XXXX and phone ( during limited hours ) XXXX XXXX 

Thank you for your consideration. 

XXXX