Capital One - Venture X (Complaint)

[CreditCrusader]

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@pip3man wrote:

Just so you know, financial institutions are NOT required to disclose the reason behind their decision to terminate a business relationship. It is embedded in their customer agreement disclosure which you accepted so therefore you are bound by the terms. I say that to say, they can and will close an account for any reason if and when they choose without your consent. Although, I think it's disingenuous of them refusing to refund the full annual fee or at least a prorated portion. What I will say tho, is something about you spooked them because Capital One I know firsthand has very lenient guidelines and it would take something very serious for them to take a drastic action like this. 

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1. I'll bet a buffalo nickel they will have to refund a prorated AF amount when the dust settles. Regardless of what Cap 1's policies are, the CFPB is very good at getting these companies to deal fairly with such situations in a manner that satisfies the customer.

2. That may be your experience with them. Others have had nightmare situations to deal with relative to their verification procedures, though Cap 1 is by no means the only CCC to run customers through the wringer. AMEX and Discover have been known to do the same thing...and sometimes legit customers with legit documentation are nixed.

You're 100% correct that these companies can cancel business relationships for any legal means. It is also fact that customers can become aware of what they may deem terrible company policies and choose to not do business with such companies.

That's the beauty of the credit game. There are nearly limitless players and options.

[redpat]

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@CreditCrusader wrote:

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@pip3man wrote:

Just so you know, financial institutions are NOT required to disclose the reason behind their decision to terminate a business relationship. It is embedded in their customer agreement disclosure which you accepted so therefore you are bound by the terms. I say that to say, they can and will close an account for any reason if and when they choose without your consent. Although, I think it's disingenuous of them refusing to refund the full annual fee or at least a prorated portion. What I will say tho, is something about you spooked them because Capital One I know firsthand has very lenient guidelines and it would take something very serious for them to take a drastic action like this. 

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1. I'll bet a buffalo nickel they will have to refund a prorated AF amount when the dust settles. Regardless of what Cap 1's policies are, the CFPB is very good at getting these companies to deal fairly with such situations in a manner that satisfies the customer.

2. That may be your experience with them. Others have had nightmare situations to deal with relative to their verification procedures, though Cap 1 is by no means the only CCC to run customers through the wringer. AMEX and Discover have been known to do the same thing...and sometimes legit customers with legit documentation are nixed.

You're 100% correct that these companies can cancel business relationships for any legal means. It is also fact that customers can become aware of what they may deem terrible company policies and choose to not do business with such companies.

That's the beauty of the credit game. There are nearly limitless players and options.

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I wouldn't make that bet unless I knew all the facts.  CO Venture and X version has had many approvals on these forums and this is a rare occasion to say the least that they have taken this action.

[Remedios]

Cap One, I think I've only seen them restrict accounts for non-payment, adding multiple unrelated AUs making it appear as if selling if TL is involved,  doing multiple BTs at regular APR to buy more time (no interest until statement time), and suspected fraud/abuse. 

@SanDAgo  Cap One really doesn't do this often, I think they are the last lender I'd associate with sketchy account closures/restrictions, so while you're upset now, I'd still work with them to figure it out.

Less threats, more patience. 

Account is not closed, you've already met SUB requirement (you stated you paid $4000.00), so if restriction is lifted, sub should be paid out. 

With that said, you might want to look at locations and nature of transactions, in addition to type of merchant. 

Perhaps there is nothing there, or something about your spend pattern on this card triggered fraud/abuse detection.  

It's possible to mimic that pattern without committing either, to a computer if it looks like a duck, it's undeniably a duck, this wasn't a decision made by human going over each transaction.  

It's going to be extremely hard for you to find many examples of "Cap One restricted account for no reason" 

I'd still work with them instead of working against them until they complete their internal investigation. 

[chuckwood]

If the card is that new and you had alot of transactions in a short amount of time and most of the transactions are (out of your own state) let alone overseas then it may raise a flag to any cc company. I know capital one verification can be a pain to get thru. I had to summit information 3 or 4 times a few years ago because I had put a fraud alert on my credit report and they out of the blue restricted both of my cards. The funny thing is I had a car loan thru them also. Just keep with it and it should work itself out. Good Luck !!! 

[SanDAgo]

@chuckwood I am sure that overseas transactions would have spooked them. But that shouldn't be the case when I have had a Quicksilver for the past 15 years with thousands of overseas transactions from the same city where I travel and work. This is what is so irritating. Never missed a payment, 800 credit score consistently for years (sometimes it is 806, etc. and then dips), USD 30K credit limit pre-approval, and they were constantly begging me to upgrade the Quicksilver. 

A mediation center contacted them for mediation (sort of a pre-requisite before filing a legal claim). Thereafter, I will proceed to court for a refund of $395. This is insane to file for $395, but for me it is the principal. There service is horrible.

[SanDAgo]

@Remedios Thanks for your response. Honestly, it is the first credit card company that comes to mind when it relates to being sketchy. A friend of mine was a law clerk for a Federal Bankruptcy Judge and informed me that the courts do not like Capital One for their aggressivness against consumers. Set all that aside, I won't judge on their collection tactics. I am only speaking to what happened with me after they approved me for a $30,000 credit limit. 

I am not sure if I can post details (screen shots in this forum due to moderator rules, etc. and don't have the time to research the moderator rules). But I am glad to share this information with everyone in full transparency to see what has happened with Capital One. Their customer service is poor. 

I offered to apply for a new Venture X and allow them to transfer my annual fee over. I offered to provide further information if they need it to verify. If those options do not work, I told them to just refund my annual fee. We will end up going to court for $395. The way I see it is that they will pay legal counsel to show up and that will be worth more than $395. I just want to make sure they do not get to record my annual fee as a revenue for shutting down an account with no valid reason. 

[notmyrealname23]

Aggressiveness, huh?

Here's my DP:

C1 was involved in my Chapter 13 for a thousand or two. Included them in my filing.

They literally never followed up and thus got $0 when the final order was agreed to.

Accepted me back on the spot when I reapplied for a Platinum post BK, six+ years later.

Funny, for how aggressive they are they sure left money on the table with me. (AMEX was far more so, but that's kind of their deal, they don't sell their bad debts, but still took me back, BofA wants nothing to do with me so far, though we will see in a year or two).

Anyway, I am not sure standing on principle about $395 against a large corporation means a whole lot, but you do you. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm keeping my VentureX though.

[SanDAgo]

@CreditCrusader and @pip3man 

Thanks for your replies. Capital One did respond to the CFPB stating: 

Dear XXXXX,

We’re reaching out to you regarding your concern to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB), about not being able to make purchases with your card and your refund request for the
Annual Membership Fee (AMF) on your account.

Our goal is to provide the highest level of quality service to all of our customers. We’re sorry to
hear that the service you received did not meet your expectations.

Our records show that on March 4, 2022, our Fraud Department restricted your account for
identity concerns. After review, the account restriction is permanent, and we are unable to
remove the restriction.

In addition, you also requested a refund for the AMF. We reviewed your account and the terms
for your account and, unfortunately, the account is not eligible for an AMF refund. We have also
confirmed that there was no error found with the AMF billing. I have enclosed your Customer
Agreement which provides additional information about the AMF.

If you have questions or concerns, please call 1-800-955-7070. Our Customer Service
Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sincerely,
Capital One Customer Advocacy Office

Capital One's terms and conditions state the following about fees:

Membership Fee
If your Account has a membership Fee, we may charge
the first membership Fee either on the day you activate
your Card or on the day when you use your Account,
whichever occurs first. If your Account terms include a
$0 introductory Fee, we may charge the first Fee when
the introductory period ends. If it is an annual Fee, we
may then charge it approximately once per year. If it is a
monthly Fee, we may charge it each Billing Cycle.

The CFPB closed the case on the basis that Capital One responded the complaint. I understand this to mean that CFPB won't get involved further and it is necessary to file a legal claim against Capital One. 

If Capital One has done this to others, I will file a class action lawsuit regarding unfair business practices for pre-approving an existing and current client, charging a $395 annual fee, and then stating that they cannot verify my identity (when I still have an on-going and current Quicksilver credit card with them). Wouldn't it make sense to close the Quicksilver account immediatley if there is fraud concern on the identity of the same customer? 

It is implausible for anyone to say Capital One is acting reasonable and not engaging in dodgy business practices. 

[redpat]

If these forums are an indication of a statiistical sample, the chances of a CAL are highly unlikely.  IMO, this occurrence seemed to only happened to you.  Internal counsel will handle this in court, so their cost would be travel and they mybe around your area for other cases anyway.

[Dalmus]

Assuming all facts are as stated by OP...

They say that the account was not opened by the OP because they can't verify the identity.

If that's the case, then the money they took from the OP in the form of the AMF is, by their own admission, money stolen from the OP (remember, their claim is that the OP is not the one that opened the account, but the money was most certainly taken from the OP).

If the OP has the disposable time and income to take this to court, it would be fun to watch CapOne be forced to admit the "real" reason they restricted the account, or explain why they are refusing to return stolen money (by their definition) to its rightful owner.

Again, assuming OP is giving us all the pertinent facts.