Consumer complaint received 2021-12-13
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with balance transfer
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (NM)

On XX/XX/2021, I took advantage of a balance transfer offer from Capital One. I transferred {$9800.00} and was assessed a balance transfer fee of {$190.00}. I didn't receive this {$9800.00}. I called to check on it a week later as it had been deducted from the card even though I hadn't received it. The representative I spoke to didn't understand I hadn't received it it, just continued talking about what the offer was. She finally got me to a superior, who upon looking into it told me a check had been mailed ( rather than a direct transfer into the account ). I cancelled the balance transfer. This was on XX/XX/2021. They removed the balance transfer but not the {$190.00} fee. The agent told me it would take a billing cycle for the fee to be removed. I spent nearly and hour on the phone getting this taking care of. 

It is now XX/XX/2021. The {$190.00} fee has still not been removed. So I called customer service again, only to get caught up in some medical alert advertisement. Twice. So I called technical online support in order to access customer service somehow. The agent there researched this for a period of time and then sent me over to a transactions department, who needed all this information again. Then, upon her researching it, she acted as if the fee were supposed to be assessed. I finally got through to her that I had reversed the balance transfer. She had me on the phone over half an hour looking into this and discussing it with an " account specialist. '' Then she transferred me over to an account specialist! It turns out she couldn't do anything herself and simply wasted my time. The account specialist went over this, for a third time, with me, and is right now having me on hold as she, well, I don't know what she's going to do. I am writing while having to wait on hold, now nearly an hour into this call. 

Well actually, they have just now hung up on me. Probably not intentionally, but they have not called me back. This means I'm going to have to call and go through this whole hour plus process again just to get money they are supposed to have automatically returned to me. And risk the same thing happening again... 

Clearly Capital One had nothing in place to remove this balance transfer fee. It was not going to happen automatically. They were quite content to keep {$190.00} that was not theirs. This balance transfer fee refund should have happened immediately. ( Had I cashed that check, which I destroyed as promised, they could have immediately reassesed the {$190.00}. ) Instead, I have had to call to get a series of runarounds and put significant energy and effort into getting back money that I do not owe. 

This has gone from feeling like a series of mistakes to intentional fraud. I'm not sure how they're allowed to get away with this. Capital One still has {$190.00} of my money that does not belong to them. I have no idea what it is going to take to be successful in having it returned to me. How are they allowed to do this? Is this not akin to theft or fraud?