Capital One and paperless billing!

[haulingthescoreup]

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cesmith64 wrote:
I just wanted to follow this up with my result. I called Capital One back several weeks ago and pleaded my case again with a different CSR. This time the CSR was very helpful and transferred me to a supervisor who I also pleaded my case with. The supervisor was very helpful as well and said he would do all he could to help me. I was very, very humble and apologized for MY oversight. I explained that I was a good paying customer and, as he could see, I have now paid off my bill in full. And though I hadn't received my paper bill, I said it was still my responsibility to pay my bill and that I would be more responsible in the future. I tried not to point the finger at Capital One during the call even though I still have no idea how I got signed up for paperless billing. I also explained that I was a single Mom trying to get into my first home and that this one slip up would effect my chances at getting a mortgage. I didn't beg but let me tell you I ate plenty of humble pie during the conversation and did not blame Capital One one bit during the conversation. I didn't ask for him to reimburse the last fees, only please do what he could to get the late off my credit report. The supervisor asked which agencies I would like him to report this too and I told him all of the them and he said he would submit the necessary paperwork that day. I thanked him for being so helpful and we hung up. Well I have let some time lapse before I checked my scores but finally I couldn't stand it anymore so I checked today. And......yipppeeee!!! Both of my scores are are back to 700 and 703!! Not as high as they were but I will take it. And no sign of the late. All accounts reported on time. I just thought my story my help someone else. The lesson learned for me was, if the first CSR says no and won't budge, call again, maybe even again. And keep your cool and eat that humble pie, even if you feel the CCC was in the wrong. The first time I called I was very angry and accused Capital One for screwing things up and it got me nowhere. I am just so pleased this was resolved and I hope this might help someone else get a result as well. Oh, I was also reimbursed for the late fees! Bonus!

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Oh, that's awesome! Thanks for the update, and congratulations on handling this so well!

[DI]

Congrats!  I'm glad things worked out in your favor. 

[cesmith64]

Thanks everyone for the support and the great advice. You guys are awesome. I am so glad I found these forums. 

[donkort]

Now....go get that home! 

I'm closing on a co-op now with a 703 middle score--so you should be fine. 

[MattH]

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@cesmith64 wrote:
Sadly, I was 30 days late. I know it was my fault as I should have kept up with the bill, paperless or not. I am just so annoyed. I have never missed a payment but I also just overlooked the bill since I didn't get my statement in the mail. I still can't figure out how Capital One could switch me without consent. Is there anything I can do to get Capital One to take this off my credit reports since I have perfect credit with them and everyone else apart from this mistake? Or is this just a hard less learned? My credit score is now so low I have surely messed up my mortgage prospects (or decent offers anyway) for the foreseeable future. This one oversight on my part now looks to have ruined my dream of getting out of this apartment anytime soon. I want to cry. 

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I gather in your case you persuaded the lender to remove the ding, congratulations.

For other readers: this shows how important it is to keep close track of all your accounts.  I find that online banking makes this easier to do. Every week I pull up all my recent payments sorted by creditor and date to check how long ago I paid each one; if it's been more than three weeks then I will either visit their website or call their 800 number, find out what I owe, and pay it. One trick I have to make this easier is, when I happen to have a zero balance I make an online payment of exactly five dollars (you can't do this from the credit card company's website, but you can do this from the website of the bank where you have your checking account). Then when I pull up my recent payments, I know a five dollar payment means I didn't owe them anything; this becomes a credit balance carried over into the next month. I find doing this greatly simplifies staying on top of my obligations, because it means in every month without exception I pay something on every account and therefore it's easy to spot which accounts I still have to pay.

Another thing I do is, sometimes a bill arrives and for cash flow reasons I don't want to pay the full balance immediately (I could always pull money out of savings but would prefer not to do that).  Well, in that case I will immediately make a payment equal to the minimum payment, then later pay the rest of my balance.  That way, should I forget to make the full payment before the end of the month at least I do not risk a late fee.  My basic policy is, on the day I get a bill I pay at least the minimum on that very same day before I have time to neglect it.

Message Edited by MattH on 10-23-2009 06:52 AM