Capital One business practices

[CreditGuy03]

Why do we as consumers have to resort to go to the EO to get things accomplished? Why is it that I have to go to them each time I want a CLI on my credit card?

[CreditDrama85]

IMHO Capital One has always had a majority of credit decisions made by computer and they tend too look more favorably or grant easier approvals to those who have thicker files. Recently they seem to have made changes by giving the option to request a CLI but the EO i think is just a way for reconsideration if you think your account has been overlooked. The EO should not be the normal way of business to request a CLI. We all have a choice, you don't HAVE to go through the EO.

[Dw4250]

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@CreditGuy03 wrote:

Why do we as consumers have to resort to go to the EO to get things accomplished? Why is it that I have to go to them each time I want a CLI on my credit card?

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+1000

It is a question I and many others on here have asked many times.  Seems dumb to have to write to their CEO's office for a measly $500 CLI or a PC, doesn't it???  One would think their EO would have better things to do, but apparently not.  

I think it boils down to Cap One has not figured out yet how to best service and transition their customers who previously had no credit/poor credit, but now have good/excellent credit.  As I mentioned on here the other day, I'm sure they lose a lot of business this way to their competitors.  My guess is they will either figure it out eventually, or drift more and more towards primarily servicing the building/rebuiding credit market.  

[TRC_WA]

Agreed. ^

I just had to go through the EO for a $500 increase after I requested $1500.

That card is 1 year old... My other is 9 months. I'm 99.999999% sure both will not survive past their 2nd birthday. I'll keep them that long for optimal FICO scoring... Beyond that I won't have much use for them.  

I already have better cards with much higher limits.

[fot1]

For me I look at Cap One as a stepping stone company... They get you from sub pirme lendercards to the  a spot you can now get Prime lender cards.. If you can picture the medieval river  boats.. They pic you up on the banks of Credit one/ first premiere and drop you at the shores of Amex/Chase/Discover..

[toi34]

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@fot1 wrote:

For me I look at Cap One as a stepping stone company... They get you from sub pirme lendercards to the  a spot you can now get Prime lender cards.. If you can picture the medieval river  boats.. They pic you up on the banks of Credit one/ first premiere and drop you at the shores of Amex/Chase/Discover..

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Great analogy! It made me smile.  

[Anonymous]

It CAN be a rational business decision.   Remember that Capital One is a huge lender, and a tiny tiny percentage of its customers will be aware of the EO  (in the same way that most people aren't aware of reconning for any lender for example).

So one approach, similar to that taken by my employer in telecom, is to have your CSRs largely unempowered, with strict scripts to follow.   This is cheap and allows you to hire employees with wide range of skill levels (including "very little" to "none").   Reps don't have to wonder how to deal with each customer special pleading (in telecom, "I signed the contract for two years, but after two months my husband died/left me, and I need to relocate to BoonieVille, where there is no service", on credit explaining how your record has really improved over the last year), they just say "Read the contract" or "Use the Request Increase Button and it will let you know"

Sure, you lose some dissatisfied customers, but a) there are always more, and b) the losses are anyway cheaper than having to have empowered staff.

[chalupaman]

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@fot1 wrote:

For me I look at Cap One as a stepping stone company... They get you from sub pirme lendercards to the  a spot you can now get Prime lender cards.. If you can picture the medieval river  boats.. They pic you up on the banks of Credit one/ first premiere and drop you at the shores of Amex/Chase/Discover..

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Wow. I love the way you put it and it's definitely true too.

[Kenny]

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@CreditDrama85 wrote:

IMHO Capital One has always had a majority of credit decisions made by computer and they tend too look more favorably or grant easier approvals to those who have thicker files. Recently they seem to have made changes by giving the option to request a CLI but the EO i think is just a way for reconsideration if you think your account has been overlooked. The EO should not be the normal way of business to request a CLI. We all have a choice, you don't HAVE to go through the EO.

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Exactly. And after the one time I did it I've not done it again and I'm just relying on the button. I'm rewarding them with usage as I feel like the button gave me a good enough increase that with more usage I should be able to get a good CLI the next time I click the luv button.

I don't subscribe to the belief that Capital One isn't a prime lender. Their cards are infinitely more valuable than some Amex, Chase, and Discover cards. It's all in your perspective. I think people let their credit "pride" get in the way too often. Way too often.

[elim]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It CAN be a rational business decision.   Remember that Capital One is a huge lender, and a tiny tiny percentage of its customers will be aware of the EO  (in the same way that most people aren't aware of reconning for any lender for example).

So one approach, similar to that taken by my employer in telecom, is to have your CSRs largely unempowered, with strict scripts to follow.   This is cheap and allows you to hire employees with wide range of skill levels (including "very little" to "none").   Reps don't have to wonder how to deal with each customer special pleading (in telecom, "I signed the contract for two years, but after two months my husband died/left me, and I need to relocate to BoonieVille, where there is no service", on credit explaining how your record has really improved over the last year), they just say "Read the contract" or "Use the Request Increase Button and it will let you know"

Sure, you lose some dissatisfied customers, but a) there are always more, and b) the losses are anyway cheaper than having to have empowered staff.

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  yes, i guess they are in this to make $$$ and keep $$$. that makes perfect sense to "get by" and keep the losses down. eh, i'm pretty clueless to what it takes to make money as a lender for sure, but from everything i hear from you guys, they just may need to re-vamp sometime in the future.