Capital One Classic Mastercard

I chose the Capital One credit card when I needed to get a credit card quickly to pay for my work expenses. I’d managed to avoid getting a credit card when at university but was forced into getting a credit card when I started my job as my work travel company wouldn’t accept switch. And so I was faced with deciding between the hundreds of credit cards that are available. (Please ignore the two long paragraphs at the end of this review if you’re not in the mood for some serious ranting – I just had to get it off my chest!)

My priority when choosing a card was speed – I needed a card fast and wasn’t too bothered about interest charges as I was only going to be using my card for work expenses that I would be reimbursed for. I didn’t want to be burdened with any annual fees and wanted to be able to pay the balance off in full every month. And so I chose the Capital One card…

*Application*
Application for the card is entirely on-line. This was really handy. The decision was made there and then – I was accepted without any problems. None of the questions I was asked were too probing and the speed of decision led me to believe that they’re not too picky about who they give cards to. However, I was happy as my card arrived within the promised two weeks. One of the questions you are asked when applying for the card is what style of card you want. There is a choice of about ten different designs to choose from (ranging from the standard silver card which I went for to some wild designs with dragons etc). I’m not aware that other credit card companies offer this kind of choice of card.

*Card Services*
The card offers all the usual credit card services. The card is accepted nearly everywhere as it has the mastercard symbol on it and you are given a pin number so you can withdraw cash from an ATM if you need to (although you need to be careful with this as the interest rate charged on cash withdrawals is higher than on normal transactions). You are also provided with Capital One cheques which I presume can be used in the case where credit cards are not accepted but cheques are. Although in this day and age I imagine that this circumstance is becoming less and less frequent.

*Financials*
The annual rate of interest is around 30%. This interest could really add up if you don’t pay off your balance regularly but I suppose it’s not a great deal worse than other cards that are out there.
You are obliged to pay a minimum of 5% of your balance each month and interest will be charged on the remaining balance. This is in line with most other cards. I understand that if you have a poor credit history then you must pay 10% of your balance each month. This seems like a good idea as it encourages better credit control if you’ve had problems in the past.
I was given a credit limit of £3,000 and this limit hasn’t increased over the couple of years that I’ve had the card. It’s great that they don’t automatically increase your credit limit because, in my opinion, it’s morally reprehensible to do so.

*Mail*
Capital One send out a statement every month. The statement is really clear and has all the usual detail on it i.e. amount spent during month, payments made, interest charges and any penalties.
However, this isn’t the only literature that Capital One sends to its customers. At least three times a month they send me either a loan offer or another cheque book. All this despite the fact that I’ve never once requested a loan or used one of their poxy cheques. Extra mail doesn’t bother me too much but what does bother me is that their mail has my card number splashed all over it. All it would take for someone to get access to my card details is for one of these many missives to get lost in the post.

*Customer Service*
Now, this is where my issues with Capital One really begin – please prepare yourself for a long rant! I’ve had two occasions on which I’ve had to contact Capital One and each time I’ve been left feeling frustrated to put it mildly!

The first of these occasions was when my card expired two years after I obtained it. As the end of January approached I noticed that my card was about to expire and that I hadn’t received a replacement one, which I understood was supposed to happen automatically. About two weeks before the expiry date I called the company to find out why I hadn’t received a new card. I called the number (finally got a response after about five minutes on hold, at premium rate) and was told that I had been approved to receive a replacement card and that it would be with me by the end of the month. I was told to ring back later if I had still not received my card. About a week before the expiry date I rang back (another five minutes on hold) because I knew that if my card hadn’t been sent out it would take at least a week to arrive. At this point I expected that I would receive an apology for my card not arriving, an assurance that it would immediately be cancelled and a promise that my new card would be sent immediately. However, this was not to be the case! I was told that it definitely would arrive by the end of the month and they refused to cancel the one they claimed to have already sent and issue a new one. Surprise, surprise the new card did not arrive by the end of the month! I’m not blaming Capital One for my card not arriving – maybe Royal Mail didn’t mis-delivered it or it was nicked by one of my less honest neighbours – but what I am blaming them for is leaving me for two weeks without a card. I fail to understand why they couldn’t have cancelled the card they claimed to have sent originally and sent me a new one when I told them it hadn’t arrived. I had to pay for a flight for work during this period and had to ask a colleague to pay because I didn’t have a card – most frustrating! OK, rant number one is over.

Rant number two is on a related topic. When Capital One finally cancelled the card they had sent but didn’t arrive they also cancelled my bank mandate. Fair enough, I hear you say. However, what they didn’t do is to renew the bank mandate when they reissued my card. This meant that they didn’t take February’s payment from my account and charged me a £12 penalty because they had been unable to take the money from my account. When I phoned up to complain the boy on the phone could barely speak English and kept insisting that I had charged because there was not enough money in my account, which I knew not to be the case. After about ten minutes of arguing with him he finally agreed that, as a goodwill gesture, the £12 would be refunded. Still, however, he did not admit that it was the company’s fault! Then, to my horror, about a week later I received a patronising letter from the company giving me advice on how to keep up with my payments and informing me that if I failed to make payment again there would be no further goodwill gestures! I was absolutely fuming! End of rant number two.

I was tempted to end my relationship with Capital One after these events but on the whole, the company hasn’t given me too much reason to complain and it’s too much hassle to go about applying for a new card. Assuming that I don’t have any similar issues in the future I won’t be looking for a new credit card and would recommend this card to others as it’s really easy to apply for and very quick too.