Consumer complaint received 2026-06-09 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding Capital One 's repeated practice of immediately removing newly deposited funds intended for essential household expenses and doing so during non-business hours when consumers have no meaningful opportunity to contact the bank before the funds are taken. I have been a Capital One customer since approximately XXXX and have maintained my relationship with the bank for over a decade. For the past XXXX, I have been dealing with retaliation and discrimination issues involving my former employer and am actively pursuing an XXXX matter. As a result of the loss of my income, I recently qualified for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX for cellular service and currently receive XXXX benefits. This is the first time in my life that I have relied on government assistance programs, reflecting the severity of my current financial hardship. The events giving rise to this complaint occurred on the evening of XX/XX/XXXX. My mother sent me money through XXXX specifically to pay her portion of our XXXX home internet bill. This was not employment income or discretionary spending money. It was money designated for an essential household utility payment that was due by XXXX p.m. that night. After receiving the money, I transferred it into my Capital One savings account and immediately logged into XXXX to make the payment. Before I could complete the payment, Capital One removed the funds from my savings account almost immediately after they were deposited. The timing of this transaction is one of the primary reasons for my complaint. The funds were removed at approximately XXXX p.m., outside of normal business hours, leaving me with no meaningful opportunity to speak with a representative, explain that the money was intended for an essential utility payment, or request assistance before it was taken. I was actively on XXXXXXXX XXXX website attempting to pay my bill when I discovered that the money my mother had just sent had already been removed from my account. The pattern of Capital One 's actions is what concerns me. For weeks, both my checking account and my savings account remained with only nominal balances. Those balances remained untouched during that entire period. More recently, I moved those small balances, leaving approximately {$2.00} in my checking account. Those funds remained in my checking account without being removed. However, the moment my mother sent approximately {$40.00} through XXXX for an essential household utility bill and I transferred those funds into my savings account, Capital One immediately removed the newly deposited money. The small balance that had existed for weeks remained untouched while the newly received family assistance intended for an essential utility payment was removed almost immediately. This is not the first time this has happened. In XXXX, Capital One immediately removed money that my mother had sent to my checking account. I filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding that incident. That complaint resulted in Capital One returning my funds, and the matter was closed after the company responded. During my recent telephone conversation with Capital One, I directed the representative to review the notes from the prior complaint. While reviewing the account history, the representative read aloud that the previous reversal occurred because " the customer requested to do so. '' This demonstrates that Capital One previously exercised discretion to restore the funds after my request. I also explained during that call that I am currently experiencing severe financial hardship, am pursuing an XXXX matter, recently qualified for XXXX XXXX receive XXXX benefits, and rely on my mother 's assistance to help maintain essential household expenses. My XXXX internet connection is one of my primary means of communicating with my attorneys and managing ongoing legal matters. The immediate removal of money specifically sent by my mother for that essential service placed my household in a difficult position and jeopardized my ability to maintain that communication service. This complaint is based on a repeated pattern : In XXXX, money my mother sent to my checking account was immediately removed. After I filed a CFPB complaint, Capital One returned those funds. In XXXX, money my mother sent for an essential XXXX internet payment was again immediately removed, this time from my savings account, almost immediately after deposit and during non-business hours while I was actively attempting to pay a bill due that same night. I respectfully request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigate this repeated pattern and require Capital One to explain why nominal balances remained untouched for weeks while newly deposited family assistance intended for an essential household utility was immediately removed. I also request that Capital One restore the funds and review its practices regarding immediate after-hours removal of newly deposited money so that consumers are provided meaningful notice or an opportunity to communicate before essential household funds are taken. The attachments submitted with this complaint include documentation of my XXXX XXXX XXXX account balance and service status, current Capital One account activity, prior Capital One account activity showing the previous reversal, and the prior CFPB complaint information demonstrating the repeated nature of this issue.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation