Warning about Capital One credit card

[canadamom]

>:( This is a kind warning to all in Canada to really do your homework before signing up for a Capital One Card.

If you google " Capital One credit card Canada warnings"
You will find a host of topics in relation to how bad they are.

This is the biggest credit scam around, and has destroyed many good people & their credit in the USA first, and now is in need of new unsuspecting people in Canada to scam.
I am a victim of this and know first hand how bad it is.

This is a site that pretty much sums it up, if you can look past the side stuff, the complaint is very much to the experience I had and still dealing with.

http://gurujeff.com/?p=29

This is a site for people who complain & need legal help,
scroll down a little and you will see just how many there are!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/capital_one.htm

There are many sites from others all over the world who have delt with this company and this is why they are targeting Canada, we are still not aware yet, and Capital One is loosing consumers in the USA.

DO NOT EVER APPLY FOR THIS CARD!

[Newbieinvestor]

>:( This is a kind warning to all in Canada to really do your homework before signing up for a Capital One Card.

If you google " Capital One credit card Canada warnings"
You will find a host of topics in relation to how bad they are.

This is the biggest credit scam around, and has destroyed many good people & their credit in the USA first, and now is in need of new unsuspecting people in Canada to scam.
I am a victim of this and know first hand how bad it is.

This is a site that pretty much sums it up, if you can look past the side stuff, the complaint is very much to the experience I had and still dealing with.

http://gurujeff.com/?p=29

This is a site for people who complain & need legal help,
scroll down a little and you will see just how many there are!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/capital_one.htm

There are many sites from others all over the world who have delt with this company and this is why they are targeting Canada, we are still not aware yet, and Capital One is loosing consumers in the USA.

DO NOT EVER APPLY FOR THIS CARD!
They are advertising everywhere, that's for sure.

I've heard that the company's true goal now is to get people paying annual fees or to get a card with high rates with lots of defaulters and that their low rate cards have become extremely difficult to get.

[casperr]

They are indeed horrible. I opened an account with them and closed it after 8 months. After arguing with them, I gave up. They told me that even though my card has been deactivated and "closed", if I used it again, it will trigger their system to reactivate my card automatically. My online account still exists despite questioning them about it.

They are not reporting to the bureaus that I have closed the account so I had to fax to the two bureaus the letter that I requested capitalone to send me indicating that I have requested to close the account, only then my credit record got fixed. Ill see next year if they will not mess up my credit again.

[Jucius Maximus]

While it is obvious from the article that Capital One is engaged in some sneaky, snake-like business, the writer was obviously not reading the fine print. They did not educate themselves about credit cards and got caught in the typical traps that fund the hundreds and hundreds of dollars I have gotten in "free" benefits.

Please, let all the stupid people pay massive amounts of fees to credit card companies so the people who educate themselves will be rolling in benefits, rewards, etc.

[mikeycanuk]

Years ago I got one of their cards with a 6 month no payment period. It was great as we were moving into a new home so the bills were piling up. I paid in full when it was due. What drove me insane was the weekly pre-printed VISA cheques they kept sending in the mail. So I've got to take them to work to burn them (I have a 1000F oven in my shop) and what would happen if they got stolen before they were delivered? And they just kept coming and coming. I called them to cancel my card as I didn't want to get a surprise bill for someone else's spending with those VISA cheques. Oh and before I did finally cancel the card I over paid 6c on my bill so they sent statements over and over. Small revenge but hey. :twisted:

Capital one wants you to never ever pay off your bill. It just makes them too much $. Watched a Michael Moore type "documentory" on debt in the US. Most of it was bogus but there were a few insights. One is that banks make the most of the lowest 20% of society who pay minimum payments FOREVER. A woman who was famous for credit counselling did a presentation for Capital One (or Citygroup) telling them could cut defaults by screening for lower income and bad credit. At the end someone in the back spoke up and said "but those are the people we make our money from", he was the VP of the bank.

[thelefteyeguy]

stupid ppl that don't read the fine print aren't likely going to read some blok complaining / warning other ppl about credit cards.

[srg83]

Yeah...I'm pretty sure you can get burned like one of the people in the above links did with ANY credit card, not just Capital One. I personally have a Capital One secured cash back card that I use for gas; I pay it off every month and I have no issues. In fact a few times I have carried a balance, but because my payments end up covering the statement period, I haven't been charged interest yet. I'm fairly certain that I'm not getting the most of my cash back yet, but we'll see in a year's time. I'm letting it accumulate - the way I figure, I'm earning free gas, eventually, because that's what I'll use it for.

But the point is, like others have said, read everything about the card before you sign up. The best way to avoid late payment fees is to set up an automatic payment online - you don't have to wait for them to process your cheque that you sent several days before the due date.

[casperr]

In my case, I never had any missed or late payments, I make payments like at least twice a month to them. My concern is what they told me regarding the closure of my card. That is why I had to make sure I have the letter they sent me that the account has been closed as I read on the internet how they f@cked up someone's credit with similar case as mine.

[lillilland]

Sorry to hear about this bad experience... I've never had issues with my Cap One cards though, but I always pay my balance in full, and I like their reward program (I have 1% not tiered cash back), it's simple and I can redeem anytime I get to $15, which is something no other cash-back card lets me do.

[Newbieinvestor]

Sorry to hear about this bad experience... I've never had issues with my Cap One cards though, but I always pay my balance in full, and I like their reward program (I have 1% not tiered cash back), it's simple and I can redeem anytime I get to $15, which is something no other cash-back card lets me do.

Has anyone been approved for one of their low rate P+ cards recently?

[Mayoo]

Nope .. i had 745 score with no miss payments on all my bills and nothing so ever in my 2 credit cards. my income was over 65K. They declined me saying i dont have house or house mortgage >:( ..

Sad thing is due to this i couldnt able to apply any other card as during that application it ask whether any card got declined for approval ... also i belive my score might went down due to that too ..

[liorsyncro]

Sad thing is due to this i couldnt able to apply any other card as during that application it ask whether any card got declined for approval ... also i belive my score might went down due to that too ..
It won't affect your score much, if any at all. Trust me, I see credit reports that are sent to members, not the crap they give the public ;)

One inquiry every now and then doesn't have a big impact, sometimes no impact at all. 20 inquiries a year, however, although very unusual, will have a certain impact, especially if credit is declined for most of those inquiries.

[liorsyncro]

>:( This is a kind warning to all in Canada to really do your homework before signing up for a Capital One Card.

If you google " Capital One credit card Canada warnings"
You will find a host of topics in relation to how bad they are.

This is the biggest credit scam around, and has destroyed many good people & their credit in the USA first, and now is in need of new unsuspecting people in Canada to scam.
I am a victim of this and know first hand how bad it is.

This is a site that pretty much sums it up, if you can look past the side stuff, the complaint is very much to the experience I had and still dealing with.

http://gurujeff.com/?p=29

This is a site for people who complain & need legal help,
scroll down a little and you will see just how many there are!

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/capital_one.htm

There are many sites from others all over the world who have delt with this company and this is why they are targeting Canada, we are still not aware yet, and Capital One is loosing consumers in the USA.

DO NOT EVER APPLY FOR THIS CARD!
Capital One has been doing business here for about a decade now and I have their Mastercard and have had no issues with them. They're a little different than the way chartered banks operate here in Canada, but if you read the fine print you'll see all the conditions are listed there. Many people fail to read that crucial disclosure.

Certainly, the late and overlimit fees are not new or exclusive to them. All the banks practice it these days. Right or wrong (I personally think it's abhorrent, but that's my opinion), they're all the same ****.

You should never use your credit card for cash advances. The interest is charged daily until the withdrawal is paid in full (unlike purchases where there's a certain grace period), plus in most cases there is a minimum withdrawal fee at the ATM. As such, withdrawing cash from your credit card, especially these days in this turbulent market, is nonsensical. If you need cash, just learn how to save it in your bank account and sign up with a no-fee bank. Keep your money, save your money.

[Salinger]

This is a site that pretty much sums it up, if you can look past the side stuff, the complaint is very much to the experience I had and still dealing with.

http://gurujeff.com/?p=29


The guy in this first story is an idiot. Sorry, but he seems to have no smarts at all and certainly no idea how to deal with credit.

First off, there's a reason he only got approved for a $300 limit, and that's borne out by his actions. Almost immediately taking a cash advance for nearly the full $300, and then MAILING a cheque in for the "minimum payment". How bad must your situation be if you can only make a minimum payment on a $300 balance?? Bad enough that he should never have applied for the card in the first place.

He initially says he "doesn't need a credit card" and snarks at being only given a $300 limit, then immediately does a cash advance for close to the limit. Everyone but the most naive must realize that interest starts accumulating on a cash advance the minute you take it.

Then he "MAILS" in a cheque 4 days before his due date and is surprised it didn't get processed in time? Again, I know CapitalOne has been accused, and may well be guilty of, holding payments to charge customers late fees, but if you are at your limit, and are only sending in a "minimum payment" you'd better damn well make sure you get it off in lots of time, not 4 days before due date!

Sorry, I in no way am trying to defend Capital One, I had my own issues with them, but this guy's just an idiot who wants to blame someone else for his own stupidity.

[srg83]

The guy in this first story is an idiot. Sorry, but he seems to have no smarts at all and certainly no idea how to deal with credit.

First off, there's a reason he only got approved for a $300 limit, and that's borne out by his actions. Almost immediately taking a cash advance for nearly the full $300, and then MAILING a cheque in for the "minimum payment". How bad must your situation be if you can only make a minimum payment on a $300 balance?? Bad enough that he should never have applied for the card in the first place.

He initially says he "doesn't need a credit card" and snarks at being only given a $300 limit, then immediately does a cash advance for close to the limit. Everyone but the most naive must realize that interest starts accumulating on a cash advance the minute you take it.

Then he "MAILS" in a cheque 4 days before his due date and is surprised it didn't get processed in time? Again, I know CapitalOne has been accused, and may well be guilty of, holding payments to charge customers late fees, but if you are at your limit, and are only sending in a "minimum payment" you'd better damn well make sure you get it off in lots of time, not 4 days before due date!

Sorry, I in no way am trying to defend Capital One, I had my own issues with them, but this guy's just an idiot who wants to blame someone else for his own stupidity.

Agreed. Honestly I didn't really pay much attention to the details as I knew they didn't apply to me (I've said before - I make sure to cover at the very least the balance of the statement period if not the entire balance, and my payments are electronic and NOT mailed). But if you're using standard mail, I would expect 2-3 business days for it to be delivered anyway. Depending on how far it has to go it could be longer. Leaving 4 days is a bit close.

[najibs]

Nope .. i had 745 score with no miss payments on all my bills and nothing so ever in my 2 credit cards. my income was over 65K. They declined me saying i dont have house or house mortgage >:( ..

Sad thing is due to this i couldnt able to apply any other card as during that application it ask whether any card got declined for approval ... also i belive my score might went down due to that too ..

Weird. Back when I applied and got approved for mine was back in April, and my credit score was just under 700 at the time, because I had applied for 2 credit cards (amex 2%, mbna spg) just a few months before.

I do have a mortgage, so I don't know if that made any difference.

I notice that on the application they also ask you a few questions like how you plan to use the card, if it's for purchases or to pay debt through a balance transfer...I chose the option to pay down debt and use it to transfer balances to it. Maybe they saw me as 'in debt and vulnerable' based on my answer, I don't know lol

But as other people have mentioned, credit is a great thing IF USED PROPERLY. It's quite simple to maintain a good credit standing. I use my rewards cards for regular purchases, and if for some reason I need to carry a abalance or pay down a debt, I'll transfer it to my LOC or the Cap 1 card. THe other thing is PAY ON TIME. Something so simple, yet not many people do it. For cards like Cap1, if you don't pay on time, the P+0.9 interest goes up to over 20%, so as long as you pay on time, you have nothing to worry about. Even if money is super tight, just make the minimum payment. I always pay much more than the minimum payment though, otherwise you'll never get rid of the debt.

[mikeycanuk]

The issue that you have to pay online a few days before the due date due to processing times is a true farce and should be banned. I pay my payroll taxes on the 15th of every month. Sometimes the payment goes through a few days after I pay and gov't realizes this but as long as the payment is made on the 15th or before you are ok. How this doesn't apply to credit cards stinks and is a cash grab by the cc companies. Didn't one US cc company get fined huge bucks as they held cheques for a few days until it went overdue? There needs to be more regulation in regards to credit cards. Just wait for the defaults in the credit card industry. They are next behind the bad car loans.

[srg83]

I'm sure if you make an online payment on the due date and call up the card company with a confirmation number, they will make a note on your account that you've paid. I haven't done this too many times with credit card companies, but once or twice I've called and told them that information and they note it in the account.

[Newbieinvestor]

Nope .. i had 745 score with no miss payments on all my bills and nothing so ever in my 2 credit cards. my income was over 65K. They declined me saying i dont have house or house mortgage >:( ..

Sad thing is due to this i couldnt able to apply any other card as during that application it ask whether any card got declined for approval ... also i belive my score might went down due to that too ..
This type of thing appears to be very common, at least since September.

Is CapOne the next US institution needing a bail out or will go under?

[liorsyncro]

Then he "MAILS" in a cheque 4 days before his due date and is surprised it didn't get processed in time? Again, I know CapitalOne has been accused, and may well be guilty of, holding payments to charge customers late fees, but if you are at your limit, and are only sending in a "minimum payment" you'd better damn well make sure you get it off in lots of time, not 4 days before due date!

Precisely why people should pay their bills online. I pay my Mastercard off every month from my bank account and the payment shows up in 48 hours, including weekends because it's all electronic.

[liorsyncro]

This type of thing appears to be very common, at least since September.

Is CapOne the next US institution needing a bail out or will go under?
Funny that you mentioned that. They were one of the first banks to tap into TARP.