Consumer complaint received 2024-04-17
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (OH)

I has been job searching for months. I received an offer for a new position which I believed to be with a real company. Soon after accepting the position, I moved through the onboarding process, and was advised that due to my desired start date with the company, the equipment would have to be expedited and would be purchased with the assistance of their third party vendor. I researched the company, and believed them to be legit so I moved forward. 

On XX/XX/24, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, sent me a cashiers check in the amount of {$3600.00} and this XXXX XXXX instructed me to sign and mobile deposit it into my bank account. I did as instructed. 

On XX/XX/24, this person representing themselves to me as XXXX XXXX then advised we had to remit payments to their vendor for each piece of equipment. They asked if the funds had cleared and when I checked my account, the funds were available. I questioned the process but was pressured to move forward as they needed this done timely for the an equipment to reach me and due to their guidelines. Hesitant, Again, I complied. 

The next morning, on XX/XX/24, I was told there was additional equipment required and they needed to send an additional check. I had become agitated with them at what seemed to be poor execution and again received, signed and deposited. However, later that same afternoon, I received a call from my bank asking my about the checks I deposited. 

That was the first time I became aware that I had been defrauded. I immediately contacted the police department and filed a report. I have since researched the persons I could identify involved in this scam, and found that these people have been running various types of scams using the same names of XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX for the last few years. 

I have handed all of this information over to the bank, to the police, and have been completely compliant. However, Capital One refuses to banking business with me, which has impacted my husband as well since we share accounts. He was the primary account holder and totally uninvolved and yet they have restricted the banking account from him as well. I have been advised by the bank that they are holding the account funds until they complete their investigation which can take XXXX business days. I ended my employment prior to this happening because I believed I had a new position, and am now left without a job, without a bank account that I can access, thousands of dollars being held by the bank in an account with a positive balance. They also advised me that the only line of business that they were choosing to end involved the bank account, however there have also restricted our savings account from us as well. Yet, they continue to ask for payment for my auto loan that they hold and for my credit cards they hold. I am stuck and exasperated with them. They do not care that I have filed complaints, and continue to treat me like Im a fraudster further victimizing me. I left my prior employment due to XXXX XXXX reasons only for this to happen Im at my wits end with this whole experience ; ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE FACT THAT CAPITAL ONE CLEARED THE CHECK THEY DETERMINED TO BE FRAUDULENT. Wheres the checks and balances required for all regulated entities and industries? I myself work in XXXX and know this is not right. Most ACH transactions take at a minimum of 3 days to know if the funds will be cleared or not. I firmly attest they failed to conduct the required checks and balances prior to making the funds available! I further vehemently attest I had no idea I was being defrauded as I have never experienced this before. I depended on my financial institutions practices to protect me, as does nearly every human being banking in this world. Yet, they failed and I fell victim to the fraud. They themselves are victims right along with me, but they are conducting business in bad faith and with poor ethics. 

Please please help! Investigate them, inaccurate me of you have to, I dont care. But I need my life back.