I apologize for the length of this, but I just became a member and this is my first post.
Capital One was my very first credit card and I had it for over 15 years...until my Dad had a heart attack in May of 2018. I fully expected him to pass away since he has been in bad health for many years. As I sat with him in the hospital, then during his stepdown to rehab, and finally home, I fell behind on ALL of my bills (since it was not the first thing on my mind). My credit score fell hard and quick. I have cried my tears over this.
As I began to gather myself back in to organization, I called Capital One and explained my situation and that I could not pay even the total amount past due all at one time. The lady I spoke to was so kind and understanding!! She explained that she wished I had called sooner because they had a program type thing that, in case of such situations, would allow me to pay a larger payment--when I could--until I got caught back up, and my account would not suffer any more late charges nor would it be closed. She told me that in order for this agreement to go in to effect, that I would need to pay a certain amount in the next 2 weeks. I was able to break the amount in to two payments, so I set up a one time payment with her for that day as well as an automatic payment to be taken out in 9 days when I got my next paycheck. She continued to explain that after I was caught up on payments and had payed on time for at least 2 months, that I would begin to be able to use my card again. I was so relieved!! That was in July 2019. I payed over half of my "past due" balance in just a couple weeks and thought I was back on track.
I had some unexpected health costs, but made another payment (although smaller than the others) after my next paycheck and continued to feel I was accomplishing getting caught up. Then, I received a letter in the mail telling me that my account had been closed due to late payment...I was sure it had been sent by mistake. I called the number on the letter and was told that my past due amount caused the account to be closed. I explained the scenerio I just explained above and she was also very kind and understanding. She said there must have been a mistake and she would submit an "appeal" on the decision for me. Because this consisted of an investigation, I was told I could not make any payments on the account until after it had been completed. I was told it could take up to 30 days to hear the decision.
In about 2 weeks I received a letter stating that Capital One had NOT made a mistake and the account was permanently closed. Once again I called to see why, since I had followed the instructions per the agreement that I was told. After much "conversation", I was told that my last payment was $30 short of the amount owed to cover the "interest charges" for that payment cycle. When I told her I didn't understand why that was an issue, she said that was part of the "agreement". I explained to her that I was not told that, and that I had made several payments in the last 6 weeks. I was basically told she didn't care what I had been told and that the account had been "charged off".
I then began to receive almost daily (or more) emails from Capital One stating "Give us a call, we can work this out". I did call, and by "work this out" they meant "set up a payment schedule". I told them how I felt Capital One had done me wrong. She simply said she would "note" that I felt that way and then asked what monthly date I wanted to use as my "due date". I also told her that I was unable to access my account to make online payments. She told me that I would not be able to access it using the app on my phone, but that I could access it using my desktop.
So, when the due date came, I tried to log in to pay, but to no avail since I still cannot access the payment center!! I just see a message stating "your account has been charged off" and a "learn more" button. After searching the website, using the "help" tab, "customer support" tab, "contact us" tab, and attempting to use Eno (which answers only with "there seems to be an issue with your account. I will be here to answer your questions only after that is resolved")
I can only find a phone number for "active" accounts so I don't know what to do. I don't understand why Capital One didn't stand up to their end of the agreement. I am very bummed about my current financial state, however, I would not trade it for the time I got to spend with my Daddy. I am trying very hard to rebuild my credit.
After reading some of the posts before I became a member, I decided to apply for the Discover it secured card...I wasn't accepted. I have a checking and savings account, but did not order any more checks. I have no major credit cards at this point. Even some the store cards sent me letters that they had closed my accounts due to my bottomed out credit score...although most of them had a balance of $0. Everything I do, except when I pay online, is done with cash. This helps in some ways since I can't spend more than I take with me, but stinks when I have to go inside to pay for gas everywhere I go.
