I applied for a Capital One card for probably the same reason as a lot of other people, I was not left with a great deal of options......
I had a bad relationship which broke down and left me with a vast amount of debt which I am still paying off. This led to numerous defaults and behind payments. I applied to Capital One due to the fact that my current account I was left with only had a cash card availability.
Having grown tired of endlessly borrowing my parents card to make purchases over the internet I saw Capital one as maybe the answer.
Now even with my chequered credit history I was accepted, obviously I was very pleased about this, but later I recieved a letter asking for a £50 security deposit for my card. So by this point, I hadnt even recieved my card yet and was already £50 out of pocket. My card eventually arrived and I was informed of my limit £200. So really £150.
Now the kind of things I wanted to buy on my card were things like presents, my season ticket etc but this now wasnt possible due to the low limit. So I was left to buy things in stages or once again asking to borrow my fathers card.
I was informed that I could apply for increases in my card limit but only after a period of time usually 6 months, well ok fair enough I thought. After paying off my balance in full each and every month, I applied again for an increase nothing and to this day 2 years on, I have had nothing, still on the £200 limit.
Now on top of this, and I have come unstuck on this before, payments take 5 working days to clear, no you read that right, 5 WORKING DAYS. I pay my bill through internet banking and it takes over a week to register, how is it getting there? Are Barclays posting it? Are they hand delivering it? I think payments must be processed in a big room where premium customers have theirs done immeadiatly and slowly they process the other payments as the apr of the customers get higher. It is ridiculous.
When I queried this, I was put through to a call centrein India, where I spoke to a lady who's name I cant pronounce, who tried and failed many times to help me. Now as pleasant as these operatives are, I very rarely am able to get problems solved over the phone cos they just dont understand me. Now im not from the heartlands of birmingham, scotland, liverpool or anywhere like that, my accent is slight (im from the wirral) but they just dont understand me. You have no idea how frustrating and infuriating it is, for both of us!!!. Any queries these days have to be sent through the internet and these can take over a week to be replied to, hardly prompt service.
Onto the interest rate, now my interest rate was 25% per annum, high but not really an issue, what do I recieve for paying off my balance in full and having a crappy limit? An increase in my limit to 34.9% APR.
Well, by now as you can imagine, ive had enough. Ive just changed banks to the Co-Operative (due to their ethical policy) who have given me a visa electrondebit card so that will do me. I have now cancelled my Capital One card as I no longer am prepared to (or need to) put up with there inadequacies any more.
They are quite possible the WORST financial institution, I have EVER had to deal with, now if you'll excuse me I'll have to make another phone call to try and get my £50 "security" back.
Avoid at all costs if you REALLY can, if you just want a card to pay for things with get a pre-paid mastercard, a whole lot let hassle.
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Apr 18th, 2007
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