Consumer complaint received 2025-10-28 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: GA

Complaint narrative:
I opened a silver-one capital one credit card in XXXX XXXX I already had an online bank but I chose capital one to build my credit. I was paid WEEKLY on my job therefore I was able to pay off my credit card WEEKLY. Usually I got paid Fridays so I would IMMEDIATELY make a payment to capitol one the same day. I noticed that even though my capitol one account says it drafted my money, my other count looked unaffected. Confused ( so assumed since capitol one reflected they had the money, capitol one was made whole ) so I just went along with it. But then I got an nsf notice. Once I realized this penalty, I resubmitted the payment following the notice and AGAIN the error occurred ( because the first nsf made ach transfer take longer which I didnt know would happen. Now instead of just waiting 24 hours during the middle of the business week, which I did thinking this second submission was successful, more bills got paid from the same account when in fact now it would take capitol one 72 hours to draft the 2nd ach ) so then I was marked with 2 nsf for the same error that I was not intending to make. The timing of the banking system did not match the speed of me trying to QUICKLY pay off my credit card balances to be RESPONSIBLE with my credit. I was VERY DETERMINED but it clearly backfired. So I decided a NEW STRATEGY. When I get paid on Fridays, put the ach amount in a seperate account then monitor the account on Monday and wait until Tuesday night to initiate transfer so that Wednesday the transfer would be successful from my checking account to ENSURE the EXACT amount available was unable to be withdrawn by any other institution ( since next business day or even 2 business days out was no longer the ach schedule ). The third nsf came when capital started the ach process on MONDAY XXXX am, before business hours and my ability to transfer the amount back in time. Since XXXX transfers stopped occurring the next business day and it was happening 72 hours later ON A BUSINESS DAY ( payment Monday, taken Thursday ) I assumed they would take it that Wednesday. I didnt want to transfer the money too early to avoid any possible merchants or fraud taking the money from my account. But now ach went back to drafting within 24 hours of business days. No more delays, back to normal on my 3rd strike. 

IMMEDIATELY I woke up to the failed transfer at XXXX XXXX ( notification XXXX XXXX ) and called capitol one to see if they could take my payment over the phone at XXXXXXXX XXXX. They said because the ach process takes 3 days, they cant interrupt the process to take the funds directly even though it had only been MINUTES. And I called promptly at XXXX XXXX on purpose to show due diligence and that I am serious about paying my bills, I want to make my card whole, and it was a genuine error ( the first nsfs altered how soon ach was drafted. So now instead of next day or even next business day, it was delaying drafts at varying times which the bank didnt warn me and I had to figure out the hard way. So instead of draft starting on friday and being taken by monday, draft could start on friday but be taken wednesday or thursday. That discrepency in an age where most payments are made immediately and digitally, moving my money to another account until normal business hours seemed like a very smart idea. I honestly didnt think they would take the money until a wednesday or thursday like the previous transaction before that occurred. Its like it went back to the original schedule after 2 times not being on that schedule. ACH is what has the unusual and atypical rhythms that cause customer confusion ) That same Monday morning I rushed to withdraw the money out of my original account, and pay capital one in CASH by creating a debit card account ( which was soley made as temporary resolution to this particular day ), uploaded the dollar and cents EXACT AMOUNT and see if they could force take the payment that way. By XXXX XXXX that same Monday, capitol one still would not accept my 2nd immediate attempt to work around this digital confusion. After that failed ach returned back 3 days later they cancelled my card for those 3 nsfs. By this time it is XXXX. 

I only had the card for 2 months therefore I also could not open any new cards with any new card service company because it was so recent. I asked if capitol one can consider reopening my card since theyve been made whole, all my nsf came not from a true lack of funds nor reckless or un-integral practices but rather the varying process times and that my attempts to correct the issue shows that this is not intentional or something other than client-to-digital service provider chaos. They said they would reconsider but sent me a letter XXXX XXXX XXXX saying that my account will remain closed because of fraud alert at time of my request? That is very confusing. There was no fraud at least from me ( and I can verify all of my financial statements and sources ) but even more confusing is at time of request. At time of request ( assuming to reopen the account ) the account was CLOSED. How can any activity occur on a CLOSED ACCOUNT except to receive any balances owed, in which they were paid up by technically the same day the 3rd nsf occurred because I direct deposited payment from XXXX. Checking to XXXX. Credit card although it didnt suffice to void out the XXXXXXXX XXXX failed transfer attempt penalty/marks. 

My credit score went from good to poor simply because of closed account on my record in which I have XXXX BALANCE with capitol one and am waiting on a return check from capitol one. I was NEVER LATE on payments because I paid balances WEEKLY. I was proud to be responsible and building my credit. I was in the XXXX on my credit score but since a closed account in which I owe NO DEBT I was dropped down into poor credit when I started with good credit. 

So I called the company and asked since the reason stated on the letter was FALSE if there was a chance to reopen the account. The feedback from the agent was contrary to what was written on company letter head. I asked to speak to a manager because there is no way you guys obligate to be made whole, were made whole without having to request it of me, but then have my credit score SIGNIFICANTLY negatively impacted. I was not made whole or left in the same condition we started, as you were left in the same condition as we started. 

The fraud department hung up on me, as he verbally stated he was hanging up on me, as I requested to speak to higher management about this issue being unethical and severely damaging to one party as the other party has been made whole.

At this point, I want my credit score, including the one I had been level reflected at my highest level with capitol one re-established and I am looking for compensation for the loss of my credit options due to the 6 month wait-out time which then also leads to a delay from me making further necessary purchases that rely on my credit. I can not apply for any new credit cards right now and because my credit score has dropped to poor I can not continue to make vital purchases contingent on my score that otherwise would have been favorable with my original good credit score. To catch up on what I could have done even if capitol one extended a one-time reopen, considering this was not an ethics issue on my end yet now capitol one is facing ethics issues, I am also seeking direct monetary damages to be paid. 

The reason my account closed on my capitol one letter XX/XX/scrub>XXXX XXXX XXXX is NOT THE SAME REASON communicated to me over the phone. 

Fraud is any illegal activity involving deceit or false pretenses to illegally obtain money, assets, or property from a financial institution or its customers. Nsf just means I was short at the time of ach transfer ( in which my short was literally more about digital timelines being crossed than literally not having any money ) My NORMAL ACTIVITY shows how FREQUENTLY I paid BEFORE due dates, with all 4 weeks of each month active shows I always paid FULL BALANCE OFF especially before due dates. Never the minimum, never late. Even if I had an nsf, I had WEEKS before any payment was actually due. To simply say thats how the system works when it ALTERNATES even after you understand the most basic, functional purposes, trying to work with the system but no consideration of natural human trends especial to the user is just condemnation. I was literally a good client, favorable client, with some snags on errors that I tried to correct PROMPTLY to show and maintain my good faith, name, and reputation as a serious, diligent, ahead-of-time, above-minimum/full balance payer of my credit card. My source of payment was/is legal and verifiable. There was ZERO criminal activity or intent on my end.

They said the there was an investigator yet no investigator included my experience of other unique probabilities that would not be seen from only the company side. 

With all of this miscommunication, non-communication and even inaccurate communication, I am seeking compensation as aforementioned. This is an unfair and bias banking process especially for a bank that has no physical locations where human interaction or even physical ability to make payments is possible. I was already satisfied with my original checking bank. I did not want to open a checking account with capital one, yet I ended up opening one to try to quickly salvage a missed shot and you guys were still not satisfied yet were made completely whole and I was left in multiple deficits which impacts are exponential. XXXX to XXXX is 4 months 4 months of weekly, above minimum payments would look AWESOME right now for me. But instead I got RUINED beyond where I started. I wasnt left whole after I did my part to in the dissolution to make capitol one whole. That is not a light thing to just say its the way the system is while capitol one is expanding business and now me, as an average person, cant even lease a new apartment or credit-required practical need, based on this horrible new score and no way for me to rebuild it on my own within reasonable terms and consideration I would haven been eligible for.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation