Consumer complaint received 2023-01-25 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
My husband and I have been banking customers of Capital One since XX/XX/XXXX. We opened joint checking and money market accounts on XX/XX/XXXX, and provided our identity and citizenship data at that time. Capital One also asked us for our employment information ( including our job titles ) and income. We elected not to provide this information, only listing our job titles as employed and providing no income information. Despite not providing this employment information, we were still able to open our accounts on that date. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, almost five years after first opening our accounts, I received a letter stating that, during a routine review of [ my ] account ( s ), Capital One had found that my employment and income information was missing. The letter claimed we need this information on file as required by our regulatory compliance program and threatened that if I did not provide this data, our money would be frozen and the account would eventually be closed as a result. There was no request for my husband to provide similar information despite our accounts being held jointly. 

My husband called Capital One on or around XX/XX/XXXX to ask for the specific basis that required us, as banking customers, to share this additional information about employment and income. He spoke with a customer service agent and their supervisor, and neither provided any specific reference merely stating that it was required because of Know-Your-Customer/Anti-Money Laundering ( KYC/AML ) requirements without providing any more specific detail. The supervisor reviewed my customer profile with my husband and me, and assured us that because we had previously provided basic information to complete these fields in Capital Ones system, our funds would not be frozen. We believed the matter closed at that point. 

The supervisor also put in a request for someone from the regulatory compliance program to follow up with us regarding our request for the specific regulatory basis for this demand. The next day, I received an email from a Capital One employee who identified himself as XXXX. The email provided no additional specifics, again falsely asserting that it was based on KYC/AML regulations XXXX The email further claimed that this information was needed as a result of our opening a new account or enrolling in auto-pay neither of which actually applied to us. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, my husband saw that our ability to withdraw funds from all of our Capital One accounts had been frozen, despite assertions from the customer service supervisor we had spoken with earlier. My husband and I called Capital One several times through the day and spoke with at least four different agents and/or supervisors, none of whom provided any specifics beyond the repeated false claim that this information was needed to satisfy KYC/AML requirements. We were told that Capital One would continue to keep our funds frozen until I provided this information, which I was ultimately forced to do. I also noted that, unlike legitimate KYC/AML required information, Capital One did not require any actual validation of the information I provided, and simply accepted the information I provided on face value without evidence. 

As a result of Capital One freezing our funds without any advance warning, Capital One failed to honor checks we had sent earlier to pay two of our regular monthly bills, which resulted in us being charged a late fee for both of these accounts. Capital One also denied an online payment for a drivers license renewal with the Virginia XXXX, which also resulted in a significant fine. 

My husband requested a refund from Capital One for the fine we received from the Virginia XXXX on or around XX/XX/XXXX. Capital One denied this request on or around XX/XX/XXXX. As part of their justification for refusing the refund, Capital One blatantly lied by saying that we were advised of what information would be necessary to avoid the restriction during the call on XX/XX/XXXX, when in fact we were told by the customer service supervisor on that date that both our profiles were complete and that no such restriction would be required. 

As a former XXXX XXXX XXXX at Capital One, I know firsthand that customer data of this type is used by Capital One for its internal data mining for marketing and analysis purposes. Further, as a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I know that employment information and income ranges ( especially given that this information was not validated ) is not part of the required information required by KYC/AML regulations XXXX 

Capital One is improperly collecting private financial information from their customers, not in response to any legitimate regulation, but presumably for their own marketing and analysis purposes. Capital One is holding their customers funds hostage in order to collect private data for this purpose in violation of the terms and conditions of their banking services, which has very real financial impacts on these customers. Further, Capital One should be closely examined to evaluate their use of unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices ( XXXX ) in falsely asserting to their customers that this information is required by legitimate regulatory requirements. Most customers will not know the specifics of XXXX regulation and will simply accept the legitimate sounding explanation for this unnecessary request for information without question.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation