Consumer complaint received 2025-03-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: KS

Complaint narrative:
This is a complaint about Capital Ones credit card division, with three components : 1 ) dysfunctionality of technical systems ; 2 ) dysfunctionality of customer service ; 3 ) a policy that incentivizes Capital One to delay the delivery of credit cards with limited-time promotional offers to new cardholders. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for and was approved for a Capital One XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXXXXXX. This card included a promotional offer that awarded cardholders XXXX bonus miles after spending {$4000.00} within three months of opening the account. This would be my second Capital One card ; I have had a XXXX XXXX from them since XXXX. Capital One has an online portal to track the creation and shipping of new cards, which includes a message saying that the card would be shipped to my address. However, the address displayed did not include my apartment number. I am positive that I included the apartment number in my application. Furthermore, Capital One has had my correct address, complete with apartment number, connected with my XXXX XXXX since I moved to my current address a year and a half ago. I went to check the address in my account and found that Capital One 's system had created a second, new address for me with no apartment number. I added the apartment number to that new address. I then saw that the online portal had updated the delivery address for my new credit card - but this time, the display showed my address with an apartment number, but no street number or street. I went back into the system and deleted the second address altogether, so that my original address connected to the XXXX XXXX was my default and only address. At that point, the online portal updated my delivery address for the new card to be the street number and street but, again, with no apartment number. All of these changes happened before the portal indicated that the card had been shipped. When the portal indicated that the card did ship, I waited for it to arrive. The system indicated that I should have the card by XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I still had not received a card. I called Capital One customer service, relayed my story about the address changes, and asked to confirm that it had been shipped to my correct address - specifically, that it included my apartment number , street number, and street address. The customer service agent said that yes, it did include all of those elements- and not only that, but that the card had already been delivered. I asked how it was possible for Capital One to have delivery confirmation despite the card having been sent by XXXX with no tracking number ( at least, none that that had been made available to me ). The agent responded that Capital One had their own internal tracking system, but without tracking numbers that they could give out to customers. Hoping that the card had been delivered to one of my neighbors by mistake, I wanted a few more days to see if the card would turn up. I never received that card. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Capital One to request a replacement card. The agent told me that their tracking showed that the card had not actually been delivered as I was previously told, but was on the delivery truck, and indeed had been on the truck for several days. The agent told me to wait a few more days for the mail carrier to deliver the card. I asked the agent to confirm once again that the address the card had been mailed to included my apartment number , street number, and street address ; the agent said that yes, it did. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Capital One a third time to request a new card, as the original still had not been delivered. This time, the agent told me that their tracking had marked the card as undeliverable because it had been sent to an incomplete address. I informed the agent that I had already called twice previously, been told XXXX different things about where the tracking showed the card to have been, and that both of those agents assured me that the address had been correct. The agent told me that their information had been incorrect. I asked if a new card could be sent by expedited shipping, on the basis that I had already been trying to obtain a new card for XXXX weeks but that customer service had told me repeatedly to keep waiting, apparently based on erroneous tracking information. I also asked if they could send the card by a company besides XXXX. The agent said that they would deliver the card as fast as possible, but that it wasnt possible to send it by a service besides XXXX. The new card was shipped on XX/XX/XXXX and I received it and activated it on XX/XX/XXXX. For some reason, my latest statement lists the opening date as XX/XX/XXXX, but I have documentation from XXXX Informed Delivery that I did not receive the card until the XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Capital One to request an extension of the three-month promotional period for the XXXX bonus points, on the basis that I had not received the card until a full month after approval, and only after making XXXX phone calls requesting a replacement card beginning on XX/XX/XXXX, and having been denied that request and given incorrect information twice until my third phone call on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told that I would have to wait XXXX more weeks to make a request to extend the promotional period. I replied that I needed an answer before that in order to plan future purchases. I was escalated to a representative who filed my request and assigned a case number to me : XXXX. The agent told me that if approved, my promotional period would be extended by XXXX weeks. She also told me that I would receive a response within XXXX to XXXX business days. I did not receive any confirmation by email or paper mail that my request had been entered into XXXX Ones system. There was nothing on XXXX Ones online portal that allowed me to track the status of my request. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX business day after making my initial request, I called to ask for an update. I was told that the case was nearing a resolution and that I would receive a reply by the end of the XXXX day period that followed my request. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX business day after making my request, I called to ask for an update. I was told that Capital One was working through a huge backlog of customer service requests because of a recent technical error involving gift cards, and that this was the reason for the delayed response to my request. She also told me that if my request for the promotional period extension was based on having received my card late in the mail, that 99 % of such cases are approved. Since that was the case for me, it sounded like a resolution was near. The agent told me that there was nothing I could do in the meantime, though, but continue to wait. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX business day after making my request, I called to ask that the case be resolved immediately. The customer service agent said that the case was still being processed and that I could not receive a resolution today. I gave my case number to the agent and explained that I had already waited well past the promised XXXX business day resolution deadline, and that because of a large upcoming purchase, I needed to know the outcome of this case immediately. The agent asked me what date I created the case, which led me to wonder whether it showed up in the Capital One system at all. The agent then said that there was nothing to do but wait. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was transferred to XXXX. It seems that if my case number was in fact real, it did not include any of the information that I had asked the Capital One agents to include in it, because I had to reiterate the entire prior course of events to this supervisor. The supervisor responded that my case could not be resolved today. I asked her to escalate the case to someone who could resolve it. She replied that this was impossible. I asked what the timeline for resolution was. She replied that she could not say. She also said that the XXXX business day deadline that Capital One had given me for them to resolve the case had been extended. I asked her to clarify why Capital One was extending their own deadline to respond to me. She replied that she couldnt say. I then explained that I was having serious second thoughts about keeping this credit card because of all the problems Ive had so far, including XXXX Ones lack of adequate customer service staff to deal with issues like this. The supervisor responded that there was no such shortage of staff and no problems with customer service infrastructure. Surprised, I then asked what her explanation was for the delay in my case, and whether it was because my case involved some sort of particularly difficult and time-consuming research. I had in mind the information from a previous customer service agent who told me that 99 % of cases like mine are granted an extension of the promotional period, and that this should not be a difficult case to investigate. The supervisor responded that she could not give me any explanation for the delay in my case. She did not mention anything about a backlog created by a technical problem involving gift cards as I had been told previously. I asked the supervisor what sort of resolution she had the power to offer me, given this unexplained delay with no timeline for a potential resolution. She replied that she had nothing to offer me and asked what I was even looking for. I reiterated that I was very concerned about continuing to do business with Capital One and was putting the ball in her court to keep me as a customer. She replied that there was nothing she could offer. At that point I told her I would take that information into consideration when deciding how to move forward and hung up. 

Ive decided to file this complaint in order to document the technical failings and customer service failings of Capital One and seek a resolution through the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. In sum : Technical systems that fail to : - properly populate a card applicants address to match the address on their application - check a card applicants address against extant addresses in their account - update the destination address for a new card after the cardholder updates the address prior to shipping - provide accurate shipping and tracking information for new cards - track complaints Customer service systems that fail to : - address the volume of customer complaints in a timely and/or reasonable manner - adhere to their own internal deadlines for resolving issues- provide consistent explanations for internal delays- provide alternative redress when violating their own internal deadlines to resolve an issue Each of these systems contributes to a situation in which the promised three-month promotional period is, in reality, reduced to an arbitrary length of time that hinders the cardholders ability to receive any advertised bonus points. 

The resolution I am personally looking for is simply an extension of the promotional period by XXXX weeks. But as I mentioned at the top, the best way to avoid this sort of problem would be for Capital One to begin their three-month promotional period on the date that new cards are activated, instead of beginning on the date that the account is opened. Right now, Capital One has an incentive to delay credit cards from arriving in a timely manner to new cardholders. With less time to reach the promotional spending minimum, cardholders are less likely to receive bonus points. I was denied requests for a new card twice on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ; only after a third call on XX/XX/XXXX was I finally sent a new card. And of course, I would have had my card much earlier if the technical systems were in working order.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation