Consumer complaint received 2025-12-16 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Complaint narrative:
I am a U.S citizen and a Capital One credit card customer whose Capital One Quicksilver account was frozen shortly after I relocated to XXXX on XX/XX/year>. 

I specifically obtained the Capital One Quicksilver card in preparation for my relocation to XXXX as a student, based on its advertised suitability for international use. 

Prior to travel, I was informed by Capital One that I did not need to submit a travel notice in order to use my card abroad. Despite this, my card was frozen a few days after arrival upon foreign usage. 

Capital One 's own website states that contacting them prior to international use is unnecessary, and I relied on this guidance when preparing for my relocation. 

Capital One recommends updating contact information when traveling internationally. However, at the time of the freeze in XX/XX/year>, my accommodation was temporary ( a short-term stay of approximately 10 days ), and I did not yet have a stable address to provide. Additionally, Capital Ones account system only allows U.S.-formatted phone numbers, which prevented me from adding my Swedish phone number or providing a local means of contact while abroad. 

Beginning in XX/XX/year>, I repeatedly attempted to resolve the restriction. During my initial phone contact, I was informed that documentation would be required ; however, no secure upload link or written follow-up was provided. The representative adopted an aggressive and accusatory tone, framed the resolution process as unusually burdensome, and implied misconduct on my part. 

Between XXXX and XX/XX/year>, the card remained restricted without any written notice sent directly to me explaining the restriction or providing actionable instructions for resolution. Capital One does not provide email or secure written customer support, which forced me to place multiple international phone calls from XXXX. Initially, these calls were made using my XXXX phone number with XXXX XXXX XXXX, resulting in several XXXX dollars in direct out-of-pocket charges solely to access customer support. After obtaining a Swedish phone number, I continued to incur additional out of pocket costs, as each required international call to Capital One 's U.S.-only support lines approximately cost XXXX sek per call on my Swedish carrier. 

In XX/XX/year>, Capital One mailed account-related correspondence regarding my card restriction to both my registered U.S address, and my sibling who lives in the United States , but who is not an account holder, authorized user, designated contact on my account, nor lives at my registered U.S address . I became aware of this correspondence only after my father shared the letter mailed to my U.S address with me, alongside shared evidence that my sibling had received account-related correspondence regarding my card restriction. These mailings occurred months after the restriction was first applied. 

Only after contacting Capital One again in XX/XX/year> was I finally sent a secure document-upload link. I promptly uploaded all requested documents. Capital One later reported issues with the initial upload, which I corrected and resubmitted as instructed. On XX/XX/year>, I complied with an additional document request and provided exactly what was requested. After this final submission, Capital One failed to provide any response, confirmation, approval, denial, or further instructions. 

Because my Capital One Quicksilver card earns a flat 1.5 % cash back on all purchases and was marketed as suitable for international use, I lost approximately {$330.00} in guaranteed cash-back rewards that I otherwise would have earned, among other rewards based on date-sensitive spending minimums. At the time of relocation, I held approximately {$22000.00} in savings and intended to place routine expenses such as rent, groceries, and travel expenses on the card and pay the balance from these savings. 

Because I was unable to use the credit card, I was forced to draw directly from my savings each month, reducing my accrued savings interest. Additionally, because I could not pay rent by credit card, I was required to use international transfers through XXXX and XXXX to meet my housing obligations, incurring several XXXX dollars in additional transfer fees. 

Because most merchants in XXXX rely primarily on XXXX and XXXX networks, I had limited practical alternatives once my Capital One credit card was restricted, further compounding the impact of the freeze. 

Additionally, XXXX operates largely as a cashless society, which further limited the feasibility of cash-based alternatives once my card access was restricted. 

Because I was required to draw directly from U.S dollar savings to cover expenses denominated in XXXX XXXX, I was forced to convert funds under fluctuating exchange rates, increasing my exposure to currency volatility during a period of heightened exchange-rate movement that I would otherwise have been able to manage through normal credit card use. 

Had I retained access to my credit card as intended, I would have been able to preserve liquidity and manage cash flow more efficiently by revolving expenses and paying balances from savings over time. Instead, I was forced to rely solely on direct withdrawals from savings, accelerating depletion of my cash reserves.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation