Denied from Capital One Secured Card

[Anonymous]

I was denied from the Capital One Secured Card because they couldn't confirm my income. As a student, my only source of income is my summer internship, in which I'm receiving $4166/month (which is equivalent to $50K annually). An associate at the firm I'm interning at told me to put $50K as the annual income even though I'm not technically making that amount. Capital One requested further proof and I sent them a signed letter from my employer stating proof of employment and my exact salary. Is there a way I can successfully dispute this result? If not, what should I do now? I'm in the process of credit repair after a family member used my SS when I was a child, so I'm feeling quite discouraged after being rejected from a secured card.

[Anonymous]

You can ask your bank if they offer secured credit cards, I asked mine when i was in the branch for something or other and they did so i went ahead and started one with a $1k balance. Worth a shot. Elan Financial was the company that handled my banks cards, i guess they are pretty wide spread. Good luck with your rebuild, its not hard, just takes patience, persistence and read these threads when ya can.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately you got called out on income.  It rarely happens.  Bad luck.  When you graduate they’ll be begging you to apply. BofA has a great secured card program.  So does Navy Federal.  You can do a search and find many options.  

Next time you apply just add up your internship $ and any money received to pay your bills per year and divide it by 12.  It may not lead to a big limit at first, but it will grow.

Good luck to you!  As always ymmv.

[silver_idle]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was denied from the Capital One Secured Card because they couldn't confirm my income. As a student, my only source of income is my summer internship, in which I'm receiving $4166/month (which is equivalent to $50K annually). An associate at the firm I'm interning at told me to put $50K as the annual income even though I'm not technically making that amount. Capital One requested further proof and I sent them a signed letter from my employer stating proof of employment and my exact salary. Is there a way I can successfully dispute this result? If not, what should I do now? I'm in the process of credit repair after a family member used my SS when I was a child, so I'm feeling quite discouraged after being rejected from a secured card.

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Honestly its rare that I hear about people being denied for a SECURED CARD. Honestly, it shouldnt matter about income when applying for a secured card, youre making a security deposit (though cap1 does have different tiers of deposit depending on what youre qualified for), which would cover some, or all of the balance in the event of a default. It might be best to go with something like Discover IT Secured Card (easy to get) or maybe check with your local bank to see if they offer secured cards. You should also be able to apply for a student card if you are new to credit (or have some).

In regards to your SS being used when you were a child, that can be easily disputed and resolved. May take a couple of months (should be less) but extremely doable because you were a minor at that time and couldnt apply or be liable for anything.

[Anonymous]

Update: Capital One ended up reconsidering my application and accepting it after I submitted my dad's income and a letter saying that my dad paid for my expenses...it was a frustrating process, but at least it worked out in the end.

In terms of the identity theft, I've been able to clear up parts of my history (mostly personal details), but I've disputed the negative account with the credit unions and they are saying that it's a valid debt. It might be because I was 17 when that particular account was made, which is very close to 18? My birthday was also wrong on my credit score when the account was made (it said I was 37 instead of 17). I still don't how to prove that the account wasn't mine...

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you're making huge strides! Grats!

[Anonymous]

Don’t give up the dispute over any account established before you were 18. The only way you would owe is if you make a payment or promise to pay now that you are an adult. Contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They will help you. Make sure you’re story is complete, organized and you have your supporting documentation to back it up. The Credit Bureaus, collection agencies and banks alike must respond to the CFPB within 14 days. They hold financial firms accountable. You might want to read the details on the CFPB site before you file your complaint. I have used them when I couldn’t get results on my own. The bank was responsive and I got the results I wanted.

Congrats on the Recon! Cap1 doesn’t do that. They really like you.

Good luck with your disputes!

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much!! I've never heard of the CFPB dispute process and am looking into it now.

If you don't mind, I had one more follow-up question: which party should I direct the dispute towards? Credit agencies, original creditor, or collection agency?

All 3 credit agencies show the negative account and Credit One Bank was the original creditor, but it sold the account to the collection agency. It seems that you only have one chance to dispute each problem and I want to go about it the right way.

[Anonymous]

Start by using the sample collection agency account validation letter that can be found on these forms. Depending on how long you’ve been 18 or how long they’ve had the debt (and can state when they sent the initial letter (informing you of your rights) the collection agency must validate the debt. If they’ve had it for less than 30 days then you are safe. They have to prove the debt exists, that it’s yours etc. You can do this without the CFPB. And sample letters can be found on this forum.

If they sent the initial letter informing you of your rights more than 30 days ago and you were 18 or older then you will need the CFPB to get involved.

I would start with the collection agency. They don’t care that they cannot collect against a minor. They know if you pay any amount as an adult or promise to pay any amount as an adult then they’ve got ya. BTW you are not required to speak to them. And any info they collect WILL be used against you.

Since we are getting off topic for this thread please feel free to PM me. I also recommend creating new threads under General Credit Topics or Rebuilding Your Credit. This will allow you to get the experience of the community. I would feel really bad if you followed my advice and for some reason it didn’t yield the results you wanted.

My disclosure YMMV

[Anonymous]

I'll make sure to do some more research before taking any further action, but thank you so much for your help!!