Consumer complaint received 2025-06-11 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Unable to receive car title or other problem after the loan is paid off
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CT

Complaint narrative:
My email to the CEO : XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX I called to explain that my mother, the account owner for the vehicle in question, has advanced XXXX and was in a XXXX XXXX. I asked how to send the Power of Attorney and what the process was to refinance or get the title. I was repeatedly told that I needed to mail or fax the Power of Attorney and wait 5 business days. I say repeatedly, because I specifically said to the representative that it is 2025 and there is no way a national company 's only options were to use snail mail or outdated fax to send and review an important document. Again, assured that it was the ONLY way. This phone call lasted XXXX minutes. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX, I called to confirm the POA was received and to be informed of the process. The first representative repeatedly told me the document was not received and that I would need to submit again. I said this was unacceptable and escalated the call. The next representative also told me that same information, but finally near the end of call magically located the document. He then proceeded to tell me that I could not refinance and the only way for me to get the car was to pay it off or find another company to refinance. I asked why this couldn't have been told to me on XX/XX/XXXX and was told they couldn't give me information for the account without the POA. I educated the representative that answering a process question is not related at all to the personal account ( and since I was already given the payoff amount in the previous phone call, this would have been a privacy violation, no? ). I thanked them for wasting XXXX business days of my time and went on to attempt to locate another company for the refinance, as I am a single parent and the caretaker for my mother, with no help from anyone. This call last XXXX minutes. 
XXXX ) I spent weeks trying to find a company that would refinance and got repeated no 's for various reasons ( XXXX said they didn't do refinances, my credit union said no refinances under XXXX ) and finally ended up having to take out a personal loan at a 12.5 % interest rate so that I could pay off this car and obtain the title. This process was filled with tears and distress. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX, I call to pay off the car and was told that while the POA is in the account, no one had reviewed it so they would gladly take the payment, but they would need to mail the title to the address on the account. On recording, I repeated to the representative that their solution was for me to send them money and not be able to receive the title to my address. I asked them in what world that made sense and to escalate the phone call. I reminded them that I took out a personal loan to pay this vehicle, and that I could not register or insure the vehicle without the title, and that Capital One Auto was costing me money, time, and emotional distress. I was told my call was escalated and I would receive a call back from some type of business office or supervisor within 24 to 48 hours. Surprise, that call never came. This call was 39 minutes. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX, I called and explained the situation from XX/XX/XXXX to date and asked for escalation right away. The first phone call lasted 22 minutes and I was conveniently " disconnected. '' I called back and said again I want a supervisor or someone that knows what they are doing right away. I was then transferred to the " Office of the President. '' This new person looked at the account and informed me that the company 's policy had changed and POA 's needed to be uploaded. I again informed this person that I had spoken with at least 5 capital one employees during the previous calls, pointing out how ridiculous the policy of faxing or mailing in a POA and not having it reviewed for 30 days was, and not ONE employee knew there was a " new '' policy. I asked for some type of consolation prize like a discount, etc. I was provided with an apology, told to upload the document, and call back within 7 business days. 
XXXX ) TODAY XX/XX/XXXX, I called and was told that the document was in and I could make payment and receive the title to my address. I asked about a secure/trackable mailing option and was told it would be sent via regular mail. I offered to pay for some type of overnighting or certified option, since I have absolutely XXXX TRUST in your company due to the documented misinformation and bad service that continues to cost me time, money, and emotional distress. I was told that there was no supervisor or manager to speak to regarding this and the representative 's only option was to put in a request for an overnight that would be at Capital One Auto 's expense, but I could not get a guarantee of that. I repeated my experience with the company and explained that any logical person would not be willing to hand over {$5000.00} to a company that has repeatedly screwed them, without a guarantee of some type of tracking or secure mailing option for the title. I am very aware that {$5000.00} is nothing to any of you, but for a single mother working at a non profit it is. I can not sit here and wait again for weeks and then have to call to speak with improperly trained and unsupported representatives to find my title that has no tracking information. The first call today lasted XXXX minutes before i was again conveniently disconnected ( do you have the phones set up to do this to people on hood for a certain time? ). This time the worker actually called back and the second call lasted XXXX minutes. This representative attempted to get the title department or someone else to speak to me during the XXXX minutes, but at the end could only tell me she put a request in for the overnight mail and that I will receive a phone call in XXXX to XXXX business days. Seeing as I never got a call back from the XX/XX/XXXX phone call, I will not be holding my breath.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation