Capital One - the nightmare goes on......

Advantages: Capital One will give a credit card to virtually anybody
Disadvantages: You'll probably regret applying

...~~ Disclaimer ~~ This review is based on my personal experience of Capital One which may or may not be representative of the company as a whole - you decide. ~~ Background ~~ I applied for, and obtained, a Capital One Classic credit card in January 2003 which surprised me as :- - my credit history was chequered to say the least - I had been turned down by a few other companies - I had moved house 4 times in the previous 3 years So the message seems quite clear - Capital One will give a credit card to virtually anybody - I'm living proof of that. ~~ The Company ~~ This is an American owned company so it's hardly surprising that the CEO has a name like "Rich Fairbank" - my theory is that he was christened "Poor Fairbank" and made his name change after discovering gullible people looking for credit :) Capital One...

nigeofnewbury 14.06.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Capital One

Capital one Visa

Advantages: Helps build credit history- Online account maintenance-Good customer service
Disadvantages: Very high APR

...My experience with Capital One has been really good till now. I did not have a credit card and no credit score/rating in UK to assist me to fetch one. After being a secondary card holder for a while, I applied through my Bank for a Credit Card. But it was refused on the grounds that was NEVER revealed to me. Eventhough I tried to get in touch with the credit agencies to know the reason...but I was not convinced with their explanations. In the mean time I happened to search the net for Credit cards that would help people with absolutely no credit history to built one. There are three cards CAPITAL ONE, AQUA & VANQUIS that I came across . I applied with capitalone and auqa. The latter was rejected. But the first one was approved. After reading some of the reviews online..one of which said that a security deposit of £200 needs to be...

Sree123 10.04.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One

CAPITAL ONE PREMIER

Advantages: improves your credit rating
Disadvantages: high costs

...apparently therein lies the problem, if you have never had any credit then the credit card companies will not entertain you it is as bad as having a poor credit rating. That is until I discovered Capital One, this company specialises in supplying credit cards to those of us who have never had credit or for people with poor credit history's. I applied and was duly accepted for their card, although it comes at a price. The yearly fee is £18 and the Apr is much higher than normal credit card companies, but I suppose this is how they offset their losses when they take on dodgy customers who don't pay their bills. The other downfall about this card is that the credit limit offer starts of quite low, apparently they range from £200 to £1000. I started of on a credit limit of £600 which after a year I was able to increase to £1000. although not...

veramck 13.01.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Premier

Not The One For Everyone

Advantages: It's a MasterCard, Quick Turnaround
Disadvantages: Variable APR, Add on Extras YOU Don't Ask For

...Recently, my husband and I have had need for a credit card, not because we tend to spend on it, but because we hadn't had one for a long time, a couple of years maybe. Having not had a credit card for a while, we took a friends recommendation on a credit card, seeing as balance transfers and 0% rates weren't going to be applicable to us, we decided to apply to Capital One as they were offering 0% on balances & 0% on purchases both running until November 2008, so, as you can see, we went with completely the opposite to what we needed. The APR after the terms is a 'typical' 15.9%, I'll come on to this 'typical' rate later.... Capital One offer several types of card aside from this one, mostly MasterCard's, but they do offer a 'repair your credit history' Visa card, with a typical APR of a whopping 39.9%. The platinum card-0...

memphisto_chick 08.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Capital One

Loyalty is worthless with Capital One

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Don't value loyalty

...I have had a Capital One card for over 4 years and have always paid on time, kept within all the limits....what I consider to be a good customer. I chose Capital One because I couldn't get a credit card elsewhere and thought I would build my credit rating through it, which I did. Today I decided to give their customer services a ring and see if I could change to a lower rate of interest from the extortionate 30%. I have a credit limit of £1500 which has increased from the measley £200 I had to start with so I thought they must value my custome. Their customer services had the attitude 'if you don't wan to pay the rate you can always cut the card up'. I said that I would do that and there was no argument or referral to another staff member....nothing. So, once you have a Capital One card, you can like it or lump it! I'm off to get...

dixterdawg 19.05.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One

REBUILD YOUR CREDIT WITH CAPITAL ONE

Advantages: it's a credit card primarily for those people that can't get one elsewhere
Disadvantages: £18 annual fee and 29.9% interest rate

...This is one of those credit cards that you see advertised for people who can't get one anywhere else. We have had several mailings come through the post from Capital One, for both of my sons who had rather shot themselves in the foot with injudicious use (to put it mildly) of their first credit cards. Fine so they were both 18, had a bit of money to spend, but they both looked upon the credit limits given to them by their Miidland Bank mastercard as a 'bonus'. They forgot that once they'd used it - they had to pay it back. One of them has since had a loan turned down by his bank - not because he is in really dire financial strats, but because he ran his c/c up to its limit within 2 weeks of getting it and there it has stayed. Capital One offer two cards - the Platinum (which is not the one we are discussing here) and the Premier...

nipples 13.03.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Premier

Stay Away from Capital One

Advantages: Erm, I cant think of any!!!
Disadvantages: Rate, Maladministration of your account, etc

...Following a divorce several years ago and having got into a few problems with credit as a result I took a conscious decision to get rid of all lines of credit I had available to me. So one night I cut up all 14 of my credit cards (with a total available balance of 105,000 believe it or not) and negotiated a reduced rate with all of the card companys. Since that time I have not even tried to get anymore credit cards as I didnt think I would be able to due to bad credit, but then I saw an ad online from Capital One saying that anyone was guaranteed to get a card if they applied online. The way they did this was by saying that either you would have a very low credit limit or for the people with the really bad credit history you would have to send them a cheque which they would then sit on all the time your card was active and if you...

SteveDunstable 15.06.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Classic Mastercard

A word in Capital One's defence

Advantages: Credit card for those with previous problems
Disadvantages: Extortionate APR

...Firstly, Capital One are not perfect. The interest rate is exceptionally high (APR is 29.9%), they are quick to jump on late payers with enormous charges, and the credit limit, to start with, might as well be a few quid cadged from your Dad rather than a serious amount of credit with which to juggle your cashflow. However, after being made redundant six years ago, I ran into severe debt problems because I had chosen not to take out payment protection (please, anyone that reads this, NEVER make that mistake - for a few pence a month, you will keep an unblemished credit record should you be made redundant or suffer any other unforseen disaster). In terms of a credit record, I was hardly whiter than white. I had really stuffed up, and didn't think I'd ever get credit again. I applied for a Capital One card, and after six months...

Zoe_South 23.05.2002 (24.05.2002) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Premier

Capital One is a good thing

Advantages: 0% for first 6 months, also sensible credit limits.
Disadvantages: The 6 months has to end sometime :-)

...There's obviously mixed feelings in this area about Capital One. I've had no problems with the Capital One Platinum Card. They appealed to me to start with because of the 0% interest for the first six months, also because of the low rate on balance transfers. In fact, they offered me a free CD player walkman thing if I transferred over £1000 onto the card along with the application form. I promptly received my credit card, telephoned the 0800 number to activate it and then a few days later, I got my CD player. I promptly then paid the card off with cash at the bank and I got charged about £7 for the interest inbetween transferring the £1000 onto the card and paying it off in full. Not bad for a CD player :-) I've used the card extensively within the first six months but I'm still paying it off nearly as quickly as I'm spending...

Andrew.Self 28.09.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Platinum

Captial One Can Help!

Advantages: Good for bad credit
Disadvantages: High interest rate

...I have one of these! I have had my fair share of debt problems and hence my credit rating is not too brill - this is where Capital One came to the rescue. The hubby has no problem getting credit - but as for me - well they see me coming and run a mile - except for Capital One that is. They do a card especially for those with a duff credit history and they very kindly gave me a card all in my own name. Just on a side note did you know that how you handle your credit and pay your bills affects more than just your ability to get credit. Apparently quite a few lenders and employers will check your credit rating not just to see if you are viable for credit but also as a judge of personal character! Landlords and insurance companies are some of the few who use the credit scoring system and many other non-financial companies can...

freaklikeme 01.06.2004 (02.06.2004) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capital One Classic Mastercard