Consumer complaint received 2020-07-08
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CA)

This is a follow up or extension of a previous general complaint against exploitative APRs during a particularly difficult economic crisis, when the prime rate for banks is at or close to 0 %, when they have benefitted from direct government relief programs, In particular AND when banks and just about every major business is trumpeting how much and how willing they are to help and assist their customers during this crisis. 

In particular, I just got off the phone with Capital One, whose Venture One Platinum Mastercard I have been using responsibly for at least 10 years. Last Winter, I had to use cash advances to pay my rent and to buy groceries as I lost most or all of my XXXX  in my XXXX XXXX XXXX, lost my healthcare coverage ( though got on XXXX here in California ) and have recently been working full time for XXXX, so money is coming in again. But I will have a very difficult time paying down my principle with such outrageous APRs that have only ever increased over the years. I remember when even with a bad FICO score, I never paid more than 14 % and 9 or 11 % was typical. That may have been before the 2008 Great Recession, but I also remember when the CFPB came into existence with the Dodd-Frank bill and all of the exorbitant insufficient fund penalties and late fees were curtailed sometimes less than {$10.00} per transaction and usually with a limit to how many penalties could be levelled per 24  hour period. Over the years, those same fees and penalties crept back up to where they were before and where they are now - often {$29.00} insufficient fund penalties and {$49.00} late payment fees. Having conducted research on how banks and credit unions organize the assessment and collection of these fees, I know that they account for a substantial part of their income and profits, and yet, I found no credible evidence that such penalties, fees, and increased APRs have any effect on customers and consumers other than exploitation. Tools of discipline, punishment, or encouragement - as banks will claim - they simply are not. 

On the phone, the customer service rep said that she was sorry, but " there are no programs of options to decrease your APR. '' Though she did tell me of a minumum payment adjustment plan that would reduce my minimum payments -- and assess a further interest rate to the difference, in effect charging me even more in the long run for reduced monthly payments. What an insult! What a joke! 

If XXXX XXXX was able to reduce my APR from 29 % to 5.9 % for an entire year -- with no belated interest and no penalties for paying off principle early, ... then I would expect something similar from Capital One. Considering that XXXX reduced my APR after my previous complaint to the CFPB, and considering that I have been offered a ( somewhat extreme ) deal by XXXX XXXX XXXX that would send all my accounts into default while they negotiate my debt down for me over the course of 3 years, ... I am hoping that CFPB can help me remain within the standard economy and not have to take such extreme measures. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA