Consumer complaint received 2026-05-19 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with customer service
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: OR

Complaint narrative:
I am extremely disappointed with my experience with XXXX, particularly during a period of financial hardship after being recently laid off due to budget cuts within the school district where I worked. At this time, I have no income and reached out in good faith seeking temporary assistance or flexibility. Despite being a loyal customer with a strong payment history, XXXX has been unwilling to provide meaningful support. Over the last six months, I have consistently paid on time, and throughout the life of the account I have often paid above the minimum payment due. For example, there were multiple months where I paid approximately {$310.00} when the required minimum payment was under {$200.00}. I also continued making payments during billing cycles where my minimum payment due was {$0.00}. In addition, I froze the card because of the high balance and intentionally stopped using it to avoid increasing my debt. Aside from two very small transactions, which I paid off immediately, there have been virtually no new charges for a significant period of time. Despite this, XXXX continued increasing my monthly payment amounts without explanation or justification, even during periods with no transactions. I repeatedly contacted XXXX to request assistance and attempted to work cooperatively with them. At one point, I asked only to move a future payment date, not waive it, during a billing cycle where there had been no new transactions and after I had already made an overpayment the prior cycle. I was initially told this could be done, but then representatives reversed their position and stated they could not move the date without charging a late fee. I was also given conflicting explanations regarding when late fees apply. Representatives stated late fees only occur if another late fee had been assessed within six months, yet when they reviewed my account, the single late fee they referenced occurred approximately six months prior and they could not explain the discrepancy. I also have serious concerns regarding excessive and inconsistent interest charges and fees. During one billing period in which I had zero transactions and paid more than the minimum payment on time, I was still charged approximately {$180.00}. Over the last 12 months, my total purchases were just under {$600.00}, yet my total payments amounted to {$2400.00}. Despite this, XXXX continued charging interest exceeding {$150.00} per month, with amounts fluctuating significantly even when there were no meaningful changes to the account activity. They also refused to apply overpayments directly toward principal balance reduction. Over the last 24 months, my total spending on the account was {$2100.00}, while my total payments amounted to {$5200.00}. Despite my extensive efforts to repay this debt responsibly and communicate proactively, XXXX has refused to work with me in any meaningful way and has continued imposing fees and interest that I believe are improper and potentially unlawful. I have maintained screenshots, records, and documentation of my communications and account activity. Their actions not only violate federal statutes but also demonstrate a lack of integrity and legality, reflecting a disregard for their loyal customer base, myself included, who have persevered despite unsatisfactory service experiences. The practices on this account have become financially unsustainable and appear predatory in nature. The original balance was significantly lower than the current balance, yet despite my consistent efforts to make payments including payments above the minimum due the balance has continued increasing rather than decreasing without additional transactions on my part but often solely due to their predatory interest and hidden fees and charges. A major reason for this is that the interest charges have become nearly equivalent to, and at times appear to offset, the monthly payments being made. Even when I paid more than the required minimum and refrained from making new purchases, the principal balance did not meaningfully decrease because the majority of payments were applied toward interest and fees instead of the actual balance owed despite multiple explicit requests that it be applied to the principal balance. Additionally, XXXX continued increasing interest charges even during periods where there were no new transactions on the account. Despite freezing the card and intentionally avoiding additional spending, the balance still increased by thousands of dollars within a relatively short period of time due to accumulating interest and fees alone. This created a cycle where consistent on-time payments and overpayments did not substantially reduce the debt, making it extremely difficult to make meaningful progress on repayment. I repeatedly requested transparency regarding how payments were being allocated and asked that overpayments be applied directly toward the principal balance, but those requests were consistently denied or inadequately addressed. As a result, the account has grown disproportionately compared to the original amount spent, despite years of active repayment efforts and responsible attempts to manage the debt and active attempts at intentional clear communitcation. From my perspective, these practices effectively trapped me in a cycle where interest continued growing regardless of responsible payment behavior, which raises serious concerns regarding fairness, transparency, and potentially predatory lencommunication. They are acting in illegal predatory ways. They consistently -charged late fees when payments were actually made on time, -incorrectly calculated interest, -failed to credit payments properly, -gave inaccurate account balances -told me one thing and then contradicted it, -failed to disclose how interest was calculated, -gave inconsistent explanations about fees, -misrepresented hardship options -the APR increased improperly, -required notices were not provided, -interest was calculated incorrectly, -fees were hidden/charged without reason and not disclosed -payments were intentionally structured in a way that violated the agreement or federal regulations.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation