Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking (1,000 point scale)

American Express 783
Discover Card 751
Industry Average 724
National City 721
Chase 719
U.S. Bank 716
WaMu 712
Citi Cards 710
Wells Fargo 709
Bank of America 692
GE Money 683
Target Visa 682
Capital One 678
HSBC 667

Source: 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Survey [J.D. Power and Associates ]

Do you agree with their results? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

PREVIOUSLY: JD Power Credit Card 2007 Customer Satisfaction Survey (Photo: Tengaport)

We wrote about Hoofnagle's research in February, when he was analyzing identity theft at banks. Since then, he's expanded his research to include incidents at all companies.

Although the research is useful, Hoofnagle concedes that it is imperfect: a customer who falls for a phishing scam doesn't necessarily impart any fault to the company. On the other hand, the amount of phishing-related identity thefts is dwarfed by other types of fraud, such as new accounts created from pre-approved credit solicitations. Hoofnagle asks for increased transparency by businesses, which would provide more useful data and lead to better analysis.

Measuring Identity Theft (Version 2.0)

In 2006 I received a pre-approved card from Capital One, I had used it once or twice and always payed my bill on time, In early spring of 2007 I had cut up the card as I did not want to use it anymore, and just wanted to pay it off. In Jan of 2008 I was no longer able to log in to the online bill payment section of the site, which was fine for the first month as I just sent a check in the mail to pay the bill.

I moved in Feb and called them to change my address, I had the lady on the line repeat it back to me to make sure it was correct and it took her 3 time to get it correct.

I had also asked her to fix my online account so I could pay my bill online once more and she transferred me to the online support. I asked the guy who I was talking to to fix the account and he said that he would un-freeze it. (I never bothered to ask why it was frozen in the first place). He told me to wait up to 24 hours for it to become unfrozen before I log in, I tried to log in later that week to pay my bill, and was still unable to.

As I was unable to pay my bill online I just waited for my statement and once again payed with a check, I payed with a check until May when I called to ask them to fix my account once again, and they claimed I had a bad check. But upon checking my bank statement It showed that the check went through.

In total I had talked to over 10 people during a three month period, and payed over 200 dollars to them. I requested a new card, which was never received.

This last week I had payed my bill 2 weeks before it was due, and payed more than the minimum amount. I checked on the account today and noticed that the payment went through and somehow I now have a past due payment, which I did not have before, and that I was -0 available credit, I don't see how this is possible seeing as I had been paying the minimum amount each month for a year, without using my card and had over 100 dollars available earlier that week and that it went down after paying my bill...

I have tried to fix this multiple times with no results... I am a young individual, and now I have horrible credit... Was just hoping you guys could help.

Perfect Credit, no more... Thanks Capital one

Okay, Joseph. We're not sure what your current balance is, or your current financial situation, but here's what we think you should do to fix this situation.

First, go over your story and document it in as much detail as possible—there's a lot of gaps in the above account. The months where your check cleared but they marked it late are particularly important. Also document to the best of your recollection every customer service call you made, what it was you requested on that call, and whether or not it was followed-up on the Capital One side. If you started using the account again after cutting up the card, or if you took cash advances, note it. Put all of this in a single document and make sure it's easy for you to reference while you're on the phone.

Make sure you have a case before the next step—if it turns out you mailed payments later than you thought, or missed a month, or you charged up your balance again in the past 12 months and forgot to include that in your story, then accept responsibility. When you contact Capital One, it should be to request that they correct an error on their part that you have clearly documented—not to help bail you out of a mistake you made.

Call Capital One's executive customer service line and request assistance. (Try these numbers: 703-720-2500 and 800-548-4593.) Explain that you've been repeatedly locked out of your account, that your checks are clearing before the due date yet payments are being marked late, etc. Make it clear what you want to accomplish, for example:

• remove any incorrect late fees
• regain online access to your account
• receive a new card

If Capital One can't help you and you have proof that you're right and they're wrong, file a dispute with each credit reporting agency. Check out this post for advice on how to file disputes.

Another thing you should do if Capital One won't help you is close the account. You'll have to pay it off like an open credit card but won't have access to it anymore, and yes, it will impact your credit score. But if you can't trust Capital One to report your payments correctly and they refuse to help you correct the matter, you're better off avoiding them entirely and waiting for another credit offer to come along to build up credit. The ding from closing the account will be less damaging than repeated dings from billing errors, if they won't fix them.

Stay on top of your credit history and Capital One—remember to check your credit report every four months. It's free if you use annualcreditreport.com and request your free report from only one of the three agencies each time. Do not use freecreditreport.com!

And lastly, always pay more than the minimum on any credit card bill, even if it's just $5-10. You'll ultimately save more money in the long run by paying less interest, and some creditors may even report you as paying more than the minimum.

Here's what some of you had to say about these two companies:

Capital One:
"Cap one is the most evil of all these companies!!Down with cap one!!"

"I'm tired of them wanting to know what's in my wallet."

"About six months ago, C1 gave me an unsolicited increase in my credit limit by $1k. Last month, mid-month and without warning reduced my credit limit by $500. I noticed this when I checked my account online and called them. Someone speaking broken English explained that C1 had "noticed I wasn't using the last $500 of the credit limit they had given me"

"Capital One won't close your account when you ask. I sent certified mail to Capital One, and my credit report shows that it was closed 2 MONTHS AFTER they received my certified letter."

"They nickel-and-dime their account holders with fees and charges, then ruin their credit ratings with their predatory, fraudulent practices."

"I've had CapitalOne for going on 10 years and never had an issue with them. They've always handled all my requests quickly and without an issue."

Diebold:
"Diebold, because they still haven't fixed their voting software, and they hate the idea of paper trails on voting machines. "

"Diebold = threat to the processes of freedom and democracy"

"I voted for Diebold, but it registered my vote for Pat Buchanan."

"...why is Diebold even on this list. I don't know about you, but I haven't bought, had contact with, or used anything Diebold... Ever."

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.

When I asked for more details, the representative (who sounded like he was from India), took vengeance on my account and told me he was closing the account and that there was nothing I could do. When I asked for his manager, he said “There is nothing he can do, the account is closed.” —CLICK— And that was the sound of him hanging up the telephone.

Chris says the CSR didn't even read him any account closure notice first.

All Chris was trying to do was find out why his account still showed $0.00 available credit when he'd recently paid off his balance in full—and why he can't get a credit line increase when he's had an excellent history of repayment.

I waited until about 8:40 AM to check the online account status and noticed that the available credit was still $0.00, despite what the representatives have told me. Frustrated with the vitriolic representative and the available credit still $0.00, I called the Capital One corporate offices and spoke with the executive resolution team and had them remove the account closure notice. I was also informed that the reason that I still had an available credit of $0.00 was that there was a “ten-day hold on the funds.” Angered that the funds had already been withdrawn from my bank account and not disbursed into my account, the executive team was able to override the hold and disburse the funds into the account, but only after calling the executive team a second time as the first person would not do it.

Chris points out that he's been an "excellent" customer for Capital One, particularly because he pays off his balance in full every month. We hate to dampen your spirits, Chris, but that may not put you in the prime customer category—credit card companies love people who carry high balances and generate lots of revenue in interest rates and assorted late/overlimit/cash advance fees. You might be better off just looking for another offer elsewhere that promises you a greater limit up front.

(Photo: Getty)

Capital One:

"they're a bunch of dicks that constantly send me auto loan offers even though they won't give me a credit limit of more than $500 and a shitty as hell APR."

"If you've EVER had to call Crapital One's customer service, the decision would be very clear to you. Being passed off to one incompetent rep after another, then transferred to the Spanish speaking line, then hung up on (elapsed time: 1 hour) is not awesome."

"I'm tired of them wanting to know what's in my wallet."

"They issued my daughter, who has terrible credit and no job a credit card a few months back. I'm sure they must have known, with her credit score and rating that she would never make the payments. So of course now she has late fees on top of late fees on top of an unpaid balance. Not saying it is their fault she is not paying her bill of course, but what the hell kind of business sense does it make to give someone a credit card when they have such bad credit?

America, no wonder we are on the road to ruin."

"Capital One sends us two credit card offers a week. Like clockwork."

"I have a personal history with capital one & really HATE them with a passion. Back in the day when I was not as consumer savvy.... I had a card through them. Even though I ALWAYS paid my bill on time every month, for some reason (at least 3-4 times a year) I would incur their $25 late fees. I believe this is because they have a special "processing facility" (in atlanta I think) that's sole purpose is to delay mailed payments before sending them off to the final payment processing place. This was just a theory I had long ago to explain why the bills I sent off way ahead of time didn't make it on time somehow.

There was also an issue when i went to cancel the card because of their late fee shenanigans. They kept keeping minute interest amounts on my card so they could keep me as a customer (talking about like less than 3 dollars). I had to LITERALLY OVERPAY to get it to where they would finally cancel my account. The miserable bastards!"

"Capital One sucks. I frequently carry a small balance on my card, always pay on time and never go over my limit, they're bombarding me with home loan offers now that I'm looking to buy a house, and I have a 780 credit score... YET, for some reason, will NOT raise my card's credit limit over $700. WTF?

I can't even buy a new fridge for the house I'm planning to purchase with that limit. I have the cash to pay, but want the added benefits/protections of buying it with a credit card, and don't want to have to open a new card to do it. Looks like I may have no choice..."

"

Voted for Crapital One... I have a card with them.

A year back, I applied for a secured card, where I had to put a deposit on it. Granted, I didd't have a credit history, and only had 1 other card open at that time (with my bank, and the limit was $500.00) I could see why they would charge me.

Fast forward 11 months later.. I now have 6 (yep thats right) 6 credit cards. That old card I had before Capital One, well now it's a gold card (Gold Cards in Canada, excluding Crapital one have to be a credit limit of $5k or higher), I have another US dollar card with a 5k limit, and 2 other gold cards from major banks.

What does Crapital do? Well they see I am not using my card, so they raise the limit to $1500.00 and dont want to budge on ever getting my security deposit back or getting rid of the damn annual fees! All my cards have 0.00 annual fee with the major banks, if Crapital wants to play, why dont they play fair!

Now I am getting purchasing checks every 2 weeks like clockwork... I am waiting until next month, thats when my 1 year anniversary with them is up and either they are changing my card to no annual fee and refunding my deposit, or I am cancelling "

"C1 sends my son, the unemployed college student, at least three offers a week. I usually intercept them (the Postmaster General can bite my hairy white ass) and run them through the shredder unopened, but just in case, I also made sure the kid gets the utter illogic of someone like him being in possession of a credit card. I'd almost rather see him join the Marines than get hooked up with Capitol One."

"I voted for C1 because the amount of paper they mail out, and the resulting ecological impact of all the dead trees and all the spent fuel of the mail trucks is atrocious."

AT&T:

"AT&T's willingness to help the government illegally spy on citizens that elevates them pretty much to the level of absolute scum."

"knowingly illegal colluding with the government + blatant attempt at monopolizing the telecom industry is really, really bad form."

"Now the problem I'm having with Ma Bell right now is that she's charging me Utility User Taxes for a jurisdiction I don't live in or have any connection to whatsoever. It's about $15 a month and it's adding up. I've called and faxed over official statements from my city's clerk and they insist I have to pay the taxes of the neighboring city. My zip code bleads into the big city so they insist I should be paying their taxes. I had this same problem with Verizon and they cried the whole administrative burden defense and said sorry we can't help you. After awhile I gave up because it was at the time an immaterial amount due to having a lower bill."

"Gee, didn't AT&T get broken up just a few years back into a lot of baby Bells because it was a huge, arrogant monopoly. And now it's right back to AT&T and being a huge, arrogant monopoly again. WTF. Don't we ever learn?"

"AT&T got my vote for helping W take a dump on the Constitution and for having poor customer service. Bonus points for that time in college when they charged me $7 for a 1 minute payphone call."

"hey sent my 84 year old father a CD for the $10 DSL which gave instructions for him to click here to finish and they left out the button to click to finish. I thought well maybe at 84 he can't see the button so I checked and sure enough it was missing so it couldn't be downloaded. So I tried to call the DSL number to find out why the click here button was missing and why when I tried to order the DSL online (after spending hours trying to find the $10 deal), it said they have no phone account for my father even though he has BOTH local and long distance service with AT&T. I got routed to 8 different states, not one of which was mine (NY). Each time they said let me send you to NY and each time I ended up talking to someone in another state who told me that they could not help me because I was from a different state. I said can you just tell me if they have DSL in New York. The answer from all was NOPE. The guy from Alabama asked me if the service he was providing was excellent causing me to spit out my coffee but I said well let's see if you can send me to a person in NY and then I will let you know. He sent me to Kentucky. I hung up. I will never do business with this company. I am in the process of changing my fathers phone service as well."

"AT&T is one of the worst companies ever. Even when dead, they managed to come back to life. They have screwed me out of some much money for cell phones and even back in the day for "long distance access". Remember that crap? I would love to have an iPhone, but will never buy one until they get rid of AT&T."

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america

STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: Sallie Mae vs eBay/Paypal, TransUnion vs Diebold, Best Buy vs CompUSA, DeBeers vs Verizon, Exxon vs United Airlines, Sony vs Ticketmaster, Comcast vs The American Arbitration Association

It seems just moments ago that credit card companies were continually thrusting offers at us like pistons in a car engine. Now they're trying to lower their risk exposure, by limiting people's access to credit, raising APRs, and closing down credit cards, like reader Rachael's card that she hadn't used in seven years. I guess they're worried that people in financial trouble are going to start pulling out those unused credit cards, max 'em out, and default on the debt. What this means, though, is the Rachael and people like her could start seeing their credit scores drop, as length of credit history is a factor in determining your credit score. Capital One's kiss off letter is after the jump.

After conducting a periodic review of our existing accounts, we noticed that you haven't used your Capital One credit card in the past 36 months. Because of the recent lack of activity, we're letting you know that we have closed your credit card account.

If you have attempted a transaction in the past few days, it may have been declined due to the closing of your account; we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have an outstanding balance, please continue to make payments until the outstanding balance on your account reached zero.

Maybe you originally wanted to have a Capital One card in your wallet in case of emergencies. If that's the case, we're thankful you didn't require our services. Perhaps you'd still like to carry a Capital One card - just in case. Please know you're always welcome to apply for a new account. Simply visit us online at www.capitalone.com

Hi Consumerist,

So two things happened in January. One: I started leasing a dedicated server from Sago Networks, and two: I asked for paperless credit card statements from Capital One. Little did I realize this would cause me
headaches for the next 4 (going on 5) months.

Sometime in February I received an email from Blockbuster Total Access that my card was refused. I thought that was strange, so I tried to login to capitalone.com (as I did every month to pay my bill) to check it out. So one of two things happened here: right after logging in I was either sent to http://www.capitalone.com/?state=timeout or I received a standard 404 message. I thought that was even stranger so I decided to call and see what was up.

Over the next month or two I'd call about twice per week, stay on hold for about an hour, then hang up. As a good Consumerist, I'd call the collect number on the back of my card and try to blast my way through to a human by repeatedly dialing "0". This did little good. Every time I called I was on the phone for a minimum of an hour, at which point I had to hang up because I was calling during my lunch breaks.

Once I finally got a hold of an actual human, I was told I needed the fraud department, which added to my hold time. When talking to the fraud department, I asked several times why my card was marked as fraudulent. They wouldn't answer. I was asked some simple questions, like my mother's maiden name, city of birth, then, "Did you charge $69 with Sago Networks in January?" (Gee, I wonder who was responsible for my card getting stopped.) I said yes, and then they supposedly reactivated my online account and sent me a new credit card.

Next time I logged in to Capital One I could navigate the website without errors, but when I clicked "Pay My Bill," I got an EMPTY SELECT BOX when choosing which account to pay! Over the next TWO MONTHS I ended up playing phone tag with a mysterious "special division of the fraud department." Every person I talked to told me I needed the fraud department. When I was connected to the fraud department, they told me I needed some "special division." They wouldn't give me any names, but they did tell me that this special division is only open M-F 9-5 EST (very inconvenient for me on the west coast). After holding for my entire lunch break, I had to hang up.

HOWEVER: This did not stop them from calling me on Saturdays. I turn my ringer off at night, but when checking my phone later on I'd see up to 3 missed calls from Capital One. Apparently their collections
department works all weekend but the fraud department is only available M-F.

So one day earlier this month I took a personal day and called Capital One again. This time I decided to take notes during my call:

Began phone call - 10:52
Talked to Ashley - put on hold at 11:04
Talked to Evelyn from 11:15-11:29
Talked to Marian (Collections department) 11:35
Talked to Kam (Fraud department) 11:45-12:07
Talked to Michelle (Account Manager) at 12:10
Hung up 12:35

Not one of these representatives explained why I was being transferred or told me I was being put on hold before they did so. Michelle finally helped me. She claimed she removed the 3 late charges attached
to my account and accepted a payment via check right there on the phone. Thing is, I checked recently: no payments have been made. They don't want me to pay them! I also asked Michelle to reactivate snail mail bills so maybe I'll start getting those...

They refuse to let me pay! Anyway, thought this might be interesting...

Keep up the great work Consumerist!

Video Professor hooks people on subscription plans, advertising that you can quit any time, then doesn't let you quit and keeps fraudulently billing you. Then when people posted complaints on infomercialscams.com, Video Professor tried to sue them out of existence and also sought the identities of the complaining consumers.

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america/

STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: eBay/Paypal vs COX, Apple vs SallieMae, Diebold Vs Pfizer, MTV vs TransUnion
CompUSA vs DirecTV
Target vs Best Buy
Allstate vs Verizon,
DeBeers vs 1800 flowers, Starbucks vs United Airlines,
Exxon vs Crocs, Google Vs Sony, Ticketmaster vs Wachovia, Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association, Comcast vs Menu Foods

In May of 2005 my wife was mugged at one of the elevated train stations in Chicago. After calling the police and filing a police report, she started calling each credit card company to cancel each account. Except she forgot about one card, her CapitalOne card. A card hardly ever used and only had a $500.00 limit...

When we got the bill, we immediately realized our mistake, called Capital One and faxed in the police report showing she had been mugged on that day. We even got the signatures on file from the local grocery store that showed the mugger's girlfriend signature was used, rather than my wife's signature. The mugger even signed my wife's last name wrong and the clerk who checked out the girl, knew the mugger (I guess they live in the same project housing complex, and threw a party with all that liquor they bought...on our dime). Anyway, any sane, logical person could see this is a pretty clear case of someone else using her card. However, Capital One refused to budge on the issue since it was out of the standard reporting time. They indicated we were responsible for all of the charges.

We tried fighting it longer and refused to pay the card. After a few months of trying to fight Capital One, the card now racked up $700.00 of late charges and over-limit fees that they said we were additionally responsible for on top of the thief's purchases. Finally, after talking to one of their bill collectors we said we were willing to pay the $500.00 of unauthorized charges and just be done with the whole thing. Them, in true greedy corporate fashion, refused that deal and said we were responsible for the whole $1200.00. We refused, and they have been sending threatening sounding collection notices since then (as well as ruining my wife's credit, for the sport of it).

Apparently, when we were on vacation this week, Capital One took us to small claims court, supposedly they sent us a notice but I am unaware and unable to find such court notice (It doesn't help that Chicago's postal system is notoriously unreliable). Since we were unaware of the court date, and we were out of town to begin with, the judge ruled in Capital One's favor. Now we have to pay them $1200.00... or we go to jail.

Mugger: 1
Capital One: 2
Average Joe consumer: 0

I'm pissed, frustrated and don't know what to do. Any advice?

-Andy

Your first action, do this now, is go to the courthouse that your case was heard at and file a motion to overturn the default judgment that was filed against you in your absence. You will have another court date, in front of a judge. You can explain there that you never got the summons to court. In most cases, the judge will overturn the default judgment and schedule another court date. I've seen this happen in CC dozens of times. Obviously it's better if you get a lawyer to help with this, but the CC Court Clerks are also pretty helpful.

(Thanks to Ellis!) (Photo: Getty)

(Photo: taberandrew)

As expected, the CSR didn't make canceling the card easy: "He spent roughly 30 minutes trying to convince me to keep my account open, offering me all these 'features.'" Finally the account was closed and Quenten was told to make sure all automatic withdrawals "such as AOL" were moved to another card or canceled. The CSR didn't mention any specific monthly charges, however.

Today in the mail I received a letter from Capital One stating that I have been sent to collections for owing $38.00. I figure this is a mistake because I closed my account, and have not received an email (I am on paperless billing), or a bill in the mail. I called the 1-800 number, as it turns out when I signed up for the card, I didn't opt out for "Total Protection", which is a very small fee that you pay each month, so that if you are unemployed and can not make a payment you are covered. So 20 days after I called to close my account "Total Protection" made a charge to my card for a whole 38 cents. Then they charged me another 38 cents for the month of January. This has ballooned to $38.00 now because of late fees. Speaking to the Capital One representative tonight, apparently when you "close" your account, it is not really closed. They leave it open for at least one billing cycle, to allow for any automatic withdrawals to continue. So several questions came to mind, and you won't believe the answers,

1. If "Total Protection" was added to my card through Capital One five years ago when I signed up for it, shouldn't it be closed when I closed my card? I assumed that since "Total Protection" was offered by Capital One that they where the same company.

Apparently not, "Total Protection" is a separate company, and Capital One will enroll you, but they will not inform the outside company you have closed your account.

2. Why was I not informed when I closed my account about "Total Protection" and given the number to call?

All Capital One is required to do (according to them) is read a generic discloser that states you should have all automatic withdraws stopped. They could not explain to me how I was to know that Total Protection service was not being offered by Capital One. When I asked how was I supposed to know the phone number to call this outside vendor, they told me I should have asked them when I closed my account. The Capital One rep. then gave me the phone number to call.

3. Why was I never sent a statement, paperless or otherwise, during the last two months I have been late?

Because my account was in a "closed status" they do not send out statements.

Something is wrong here, if they still allow charges to your account, and one is made shouldn't they send me a statement?

When I called the "Total Protection" company they informed me that it is Capital One's job to tell me I have this on my account and supply me with the phone number when I call to close my account, he then reversed the charges for the last two months. So now I am stuck with a collection on my credit report, and $38.00 worth of fees from Capital One, and a card still open. I really don't feel I should pay these fees when I was never sent a statement about them.

(Thanks to Quenten!)

The problems began when Mike discovered his new card would have a credit limit of $1000, far below what they'd need for such a long time away in multiple countries. Capital One wouldn't increase the credit limit, but they told him he could pre-pay above his limit—in effect, turning it into a Capital One-branded debit card.

Before he did any of this, he verified that it was allowable, first via the enrollment agent when he applied for the card and then again when he called to activate it. But when he tried to pre-pay online, the transaction was rejected, telling him: "You are only allowed to transfer up to 110% of your current balance. Your current balance is $0.00."

I once again called Customer Service, dreading the hold times and quality of service that I would surely be in store for on the day after Christmas. I slowly and carefully explained everything: the trip, the limit, the conversations with earlier reps. The agent told me that if I wanted to pay an amount that was more than 10% over the current balance, I would have to mail them a check. It couldn't be done on the website or over the phone.

I again asked for a higher limit, and was told it would come naturally when the time was right. When would the time be right? "Oh, that varies." Varies? Like what? Months? Years? "Oh, it should probably happen within a year." Giving up hope of a higher limit and now wary of believing what the reps tell me, I went over the plan step by step: I would write a check for $6000 and mail it to the address he had given me. A few days after it arrived, I would be able to charge up to $7000, using my credit card like a debit card. He confirmed all of this, but I still insisted he make a note on my account and read it back to me. I also spoke to the Fraud Department, repeated my whole life story, and begged them not to place a hold on my account if our travel looked like suspicious activity. I started to enumerate the dozens of countries and expected dates, but he cut me off and said he would make a general note that we were traveling.

[The account specialist] told me that a $6000 deposit on a zero balance was a huge red flag, and there would be a mandatory hold on my account. I started to explain everything, but he cut me off: "You have to understand, there are rules. I know you wish you could make the rules, but these are Capital One's rules." I was rather upset at being talked to like a fifth-grader, but I set that aside to focus on the matter at hand: how could I get the hold removed as quickly as possible?

I spent the next hour talking to him, his boss, the guys in Fraud, and even the fancily-named Account Supervision department. They all confirmed that: (1) Yes, the notes from the December 26 call clearly show that I did exactly what the rep had told me to do, (2) Despite that, this was still my fault because I shouldn't have listened to him, and (3) There was absolutely no way the hold would be removed.

Some final tips for anyone who might be planning a similar trip:
• Definitely shop around for a card with a low or nonexistent foreign currency fee; it adds up!
• Get the card as far in advance of the trip as possible. I was told multiple times that if my account had been more than six months old, they might have been able to work with me, but as a new customer I was screwed.
• Once you get the card, use it enough that they raise the limit, so you can avoid everything I'm going through.
• Add someone back home to the account so they can act on your behalf.
• Consider doing all of the above with multiple credit cards; it's not likely that they'll ALL leave you high and dry on New Years Eve.

(Thanks to Mike!)

RELATED
"Is It Legal To Record My Customer Service Calls?"
(Photo: Getty)

We think there's a secondary use for the Card Lab—it's a free teaching tool. Here in one interactive display you can see the relationship between credit categories and interest rates. The credit categories come with their own examples to better help you determine which one you belong to, which is also educational for those new to the world of credit scores. And by watching what offers go away when you select something, you learn which features are considered most valuable by the credit card company.

(*We kid—we know the mailings will continue.)

Card Lab [Capital One via Zen Personal Finance]

The bill due November 09, 2007 was already paid. We are being recharged before our statement date.

Basically the company double billed us in the same billing cycle. The charge amounts are for purchases that have not been posted to a bill yet. We have not received a statement for the November billing cycle, The representative who was in some foreign country told us to pay what we owed. The charges are correct, however they should have been applied to the November statement which we never received and is not due. All our statements are online and should be current. There is no statement showing these charges as the billing cycle has not closed. The money is chump change, I paid the charges before the statement was posted. I bet they bill me again for the same charges at the end of this billing cycle. We are closing our accounts with Capital One.

To this point I couldn't believe the horror stories I heard about this company. I am a believer now.

(Photo:taberandrew)

BusinessWeek introduces us to Van Rathavongsa, a factory worker from North Carolina who declared bankruptcy in 2002. One of the debts that was discharged by the judge was $9, 523 to Capital One, the huge (and notoriously shady) credit card company.

From BusinessWeek:

But Capital One continued to report the factory worker's discharged debt to credit bureaus as a live balance, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Raleigh.

This kind of failure by creditors to update credit reports happens with some frequency, consumer lawyers and court-employed bankruptcy trustees say. And it can have consequences: In September, 2003, when Rathavongsa tried to close on a $274,650 mortgage for a new house, his would-be lender, Wachovia (WB), said he would either have to pay Capital One or show proof from the credit-card company that the debt had been discharged. Despite several calls and a letter from his attorney, he says, Capital One never revised the credit report. To obtain the home loan, Rathavongsa eventually did what many consumers in this situation do. He gave in and paid Capital One $9,523 he no longer legally owed.

Owners of canceled liabilities can revive their value in two main ways: by directly pressuring consumers to cough up cash or by gaming the credit system, as allegedly happened in the Rathavongsa case.

Prisoners of Debt [BusinessWeek](Thanks, Jason!)
(Photo:loauc)

I have had a Capital One Mastercard for about 10 years. My interest rate has been 4.99% for as long as I can remember. I received my statement for October to find that my interest rate had jumped from 4.99% to 13.5%.

I called Capital One to find out why. After a completely confusing phone tree and 10 minute wait, I got through to a real person who explained that the increase was not because of anything I did, but because Capital One made an "executive decision" to increase rates "for all cardholders" because of "recent market conditions."

They then offered to transfer me to another person who has the authority to review my account and see if I can get the rate lowered. This second person re-explained the reason for the rate increase and offered to lower my rate from 13.5% to 12.9%. I argued that I would transfer my balance away to another card or pay it off entirely, but this made no difference. I grudgingly accepted the 12.9%.

My wife and I are carrying more of a balance than usual as we just had some work done on the house that we are floating on the card for a few months. The interest rate increase makes our monthly interest (the amount we have to pay to keep the balance flat) go from $59.20 to $147.11. The difference, $87.91, is more that I pay each month for cell phones, satellite TV or even electricity on most months.

We are fortunate in that we have savings and other cards with lower rates which will allow us to transfer our balance away from Capital One. I'm sure many others will not have that luxury. Why is this not big news? Or is Capital One just screwing me because I had such a low rate to start with and that makes me a bad (low profit) customer? For the record, my credit is excellent and I have NEVER had slow-pays or missed payments.

I'm wondering if any other Consumerist readers have had this experience with Capital One.

-Chuck

In any event, Chuck is doing the right thing by doing a balance transfer to a lower interest credit card.

RELATED: Discover Randomly Raises 400,000 Members' APR "To Remain Competitive"

(Photo: taberandrew)

Discover: For billing periods after Oct. 1, the late fee will be $19 on balances up to $250 and $39 on balances over $250.

Chase: Added a third tier. It now charges $15 on balances up to $99.99, $29 on balances between $100 and $249.99, and $39 on balances over $250.

Bank of America: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances over $100 up to $250; $39 on balances over $250

Amex: $19 on balances up to $400 and $38 on balances of $400 and over

Capital One: $19 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $1,000; $39 on balances of $1,000 and over

Citibank: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $250; $39 on balances of $250 and over

Pay your bills on time. Late fees make the Consumerist cry.

Why are credit card rates still out of control? [MSNBC]
Lowcards
(Photo:Jeffreywithtwofs)

7 Unwritten & Often Forgotten Credit Card Secrets [Blueprint for Financial Prosperity]
(Photo: Getty)

"Current conditions in the secondary mortgage markets create significant near-term profitability challenges," Capital One said in a statement. "Further, recent and continuing developments in the mortgage markets reduce the long-term outlook for profitability in the business, as the company expects markets for prime, non-conforming mortgage products are likely to remain challenged."

Capital One closes mortgage biz [MSN Money]

RELATED: How To Rock Executive Customer Service

Utilization basically boils down to this: If you've got a card with a $5,000 credit limit and you're carrying a $4,750 balance, you've got a 95 percent utilization rate. FICO's scoring system — which runs from 300 to about 850 — subtracts points for high ratios. The rationale is that people who are maxing out their cards are perceived as riskier and more likely to fall behind on payments.

On the other hand, say you're carrying a $500 balance on that same card — a 10 percent utilization rate. The FICO system rewards you with extra points because of your moderate and responsible use of available credit.

When a creditor withholds or neglects to report your limit, the FICO software cannot compute a utilization ratio. Typically, it either doesn't use that credit line to compute the score or substitutes your highest reported balance on the account for your actual limit.

A Boost for Credit Scores [Washington Post]
(Photo: garibaldi)

"She called customer service, and after getting a "It's a business decision that was a reflection of current economic conditions", she finally got a manager who said that she had been getting these calls all day."

Another reader says he got a white envelope from Capital One:

"Opening it up, I learned that Capital One has decided to increase APRs on purchases (and some other fees like on cash advances). The other fees I was not concerned with, but my APR is apparently jumping from the 4.99% I have been enjoying to an outrageous (in my mind) variable rate currently at 13.99%!!! This change is scheduled to occur on my September 2007 billing cycle. Now, I am still not carrying a balance at this point, but that kind of jump is ridiculous."

This one you should open so you can see what magical new rate Capital One has in store for you.

If you do decide to switch to another card, leave your old one open if you can. The length of your credit history is an important factor in your credit score.

(Photo:taberandrew)

What's in your wallet? A pink slip.

Capital One cutting 2,000 jobs, sees charge [Reuters]

Over at the News & Observer staff writer Dennis Rogers cannot get Capital One to respond to his calls. He's inquiring about a woman who is trying to close her husband's credit card account because he no longer uses it and is currently deployed in Iraq. She'd like to close the account because for some ungodly reason this particular Capital One card comes with a monthly fee of $6.95. Since her husband has no balance on the card, and is currently fighting in a war, she'd rather not have the account. The story that unfolds includes mysterious disappearing letters, unreturned phone calls, and lies about the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act.

Will Capital One ever explain itself? Will they ever call the reporter back? The real question is, why on earth does anyone use Capital One? —MEGHANN MARCO

Wife beat corporate horde [News & Observer] (Thanks, Myron!)
(Photo: bluepoint951)

Now, we're very bad editors. This complaint has been languishing in our tip box for well nigh two months. It's a shame, because following her postings, she closed her account without ever getting her money back. Maybe we coulda saved her...

Lessons: Don't bank with Capital One, and if your card was compromised, never say anyone might have known your PIN.

Samantha's woe, inside...

Samantha writes:

Stay far, far away from Capital One. Do not, under any circumstances, open an account with them. I can only hope that my hellacious experiences can serve as a warning to others.

On Sunday, March 4, after a lazy morning of sleeping late and eating cereal, I logged onto my online account with CapOne to see that $300 had been fraudulently been withdrawn from my account from an unidentified ATM. Sorry to say, but after paying bills this withdrawal came damn close to cleaning out my account. Since this was on a Sunday, the transaction was listed as pending, which meant that it would post on Monday. I called CapOne customer service and they told me that they couldn't take any action since the withdrawal had not posted, but that I should go into my local branch on Monday to complete a dispute form.

On Monday morning, I checked my account to see that the withdrawal had posted as an "ATM Withdrawal, Cypress and Jones, Houston, TX." I was subsequently charged $5.00 in ATM fees from both banks. I have no idea how this money was withdrawn from my account. I have one ATM card and it was in my wallet, which was in my purse, which, like me, had not left my apartment since Saturday night. This is still a mystery.

Anyway, on Monday morning I got a call from CapOne customer service, and the representative said they were calling me because they "noticed some suspicious activity on my account." I confirmed that I did not make the withdrawal, and they confirmed that I should go into my local branch to file a dispute claim to get my money returned. They said that it was proper procedure and that my money would be returned in "8-10 business days."

I went to my local branch and filed a dispute, which took an hour and a half. This did not particularly surprise me, as I had recently opened a new joint checking account (different from my personal account) at CapOne and that took almost two hours. We'll get back to that in a sec.

When I filed my dispute, the "relationship banker" who helped me seemed to have no idea what the proper protocol was. She had to call another banker over several times to help her fill out the paperwork. I'm from Louisiana, and my old bank, Hibernia, merged with CapOne a few years ago. As far as I can tell, my personal checking account was in the "Louisiana" computer system and apparently that was a huge complication. The banker finally had me fill out an affidavit swearing that the $300 withdrawal was fraudulent. She also canceled my ATM card, but when she ordered another one, she accidentally filled in the PIN without telling me the number. She then told me that I would have to come back to change the PIN when I got the card in the mail, instead of changing it right then.

When I filled out the affidavit, there was one question that said something along the lines of "Who, if anyone, may know your PIN?" I wrote "my mother," even though I didn't know if she knew my PIN or not, because no one else knows it, but if anyone would, she's the one. When the banker faxed off the affidavit, she told me "I'm not sure who I needed to fax it to, so I sent it to both Louisiana and Texas so you should be set!" I asked her when I would get my money back (remember, empty checking account here) and she confirmed what customer service said, eight to ten business days. This was on Monday, March 5.

Back to opening the other checking account: when my boyfriend and I went to open a joint checking account, this took almost two hours of awkwardly sitting in front of a (different) banker's desk as she pecked away at her keyboard and hummed to herself. She told us that she had just moved back to the US from living abroad and had to re-learn how to type, as she "was used to having [her] secretary type the correspondence." Weird.

We took those two hours to pore over the check choices to pick the check design that would most accurately convey our personalities. We chose Hello Kitty for the whimsy factor. The banker told us that the first order of checks was free and that it would arrive by mail within 3-5 business days.

Fast forward to March 11. By this time, I realized that our checks had never arrived in the mail, almost a month after we opened the account. I called the local branch and pressed option 5 "to speak to a customer service representative." I told the CSR that I never received the checks. She said that the banker who set up the account did not order them (then what was she DOING for two hours?!). The CSR said she could order them, but that she would have to charge me $20. I told her that they were supposed to be free. She told me that I would have to call my local branch. I told her that I had called the local branch and she (quite snippily) informed me that I would have to press "option six after dialing the number to talk to someone at the local branch. OK. Whatever.

I called back the local branch and spoke to the same woman with whom I filed the dispute for the fraudulent activity. She told me that she would order the checks, but that she would have to charge me. I told her that I shouldn't have to pay for the checks, as they were for the new account and mistakenly had not been ordered. When I said that you would have thought that I asked for her to authorize the mass euthanasia of a field of puppies. She sighed heavily and said, "I'm not SUPPOSED to do this, but I guess I won't charge you."

Since this was the banker who had helped me with the dispute, I asked if she had any information on the claim, if she could see where I was in the process. She said as fast as she could "I'm sure that customer service will call you have a good day!" and hung up on me.

The checks came a few days later. They're the plain ones but they get the job done so at this point I don't give a damn.

Back to the dispute: on Friday, March 16, about 10 business days after I filed the dispute, I called customer service to check on the status. The CSR had to put me on hold several times, and kept covering her headset to suspiciously whisper to someone else. I think I even heard "but this claim hasn't even been filed yet!" After putting me on hold for a total of about 20 minutes she came back on and said "ma'am, they have until Monday to issue a verdict as to whether or not you will get your money back."

Wait, what? IF I get my money back? I asked for clarification, and she said that they could always deny my claim. I explained in as calm a tone as I could muster that this money was important (remember, empty checking account) and that I was concerned. She apologized and told me to call back Monday.

I called Monday (today) and the CSR told me I had to talk to "Card Services." He then transferred me, where I got this message: "due to the high volume of calls, we ask that bankers please e-mail their questions and customers please leave a message with your name and number, and we will call you back the same business day." I left a message.

Right after I called customer service I went to my branch and asked to speak to the branch manager. She had trouble finding the paperwork but finally confirmed that yes, I did file a dispute and yes, it had been faxed to the appropriate place. She looked in a binder for the proper procedure and what was it? To call Card Services. She called Card Services and got the same message I did. She told me that she would call me this afternoon when she heard back from them.

The branch manager called me at 3:00 this afternoon and told me that my claim has been denied due to the fact that on my affidavit, I stated that my mother knew my PIN.

Incidentally, I called my mother after this happened and she does not, in fact, know my PIN. It seems as though I am (or WAS) the only person to know my PIN.

I got a little freaked out and asked the branch manager what my next course of action was. She told me that she could appeal the decision on my behalf, but that she would not guarantee that I would get my money back. I said something like "what do you mean? This is fraudulent activity, I have to have my money back!" She again stated that she would not guarantee that the decision would be overturned. I asked her when I would know. She said that I could call her back tomorrow afternoon, but then stressed again that she would NOT guarantee that my money would be returned.

Back to my apartment, one more call to good old customer service, and I finally got someone to give me the name of the claims processor who handled my claim, and the claim number. I also have the direct 800-number for Card Services, but surprise surprise, it goes right to that same voicemail. I left a message this afternoon, so fingers crossed that I'll hear something tomorrow.

I guess in hindsight I should have cut my ATM card in pieces, thrown it away and then gone to the branch and said that my card had been stolen. I should have lied on the affidavit as to whether or not my mother may or may not know my PIN. Silly me for being honest. To this day, I have no idea how my account was compromised or who took the money. I don't know if my card was copied or how something like that even works. It concerns me that CapOne doesn't seem too concerned that my card may have been skimmed. I don't know if I'll get my money back.

Throughout this entire ordeal, CapOne has been (in the two most diplomatic adjectives possible, and among many other things) unhelpful and inefficient, and has inspired no trust on my part as to their ability to protect MY money.

Now, to add insult to injury, they're denying my claim for a reason completely unrelated to the fraudulent activity. My mother does not have an ATM card for my account, nor does she know my PIN, nor does she live in Houston. The CapOne fraud department called me BEFORE I went to my branch to file a dispute to alert me to "suspicious activity." I have purchases on my card from Saturday the 3rd to prove that I was in Austin, and an eyewitness that I did not leave my apartment that Sunday morning, much less drive to Houston to empty my checking account at a foreign ATM. And yet, I may not get my money back.

If you've read this far you know this isn't a long story short, but take heed, brother: STAY AWAY FROM CAPITAL ONE. Bad, bad news. As soon as this clusterfuck gets resolved one way or the other I'm closing my accounts and taking my business elsewhere. Does anyone have recommendations for a non-shitty bank? Does anyone know what my recourse is should they deny my appeal? How hard am I going to have to fight for my money?

March 22nd:

Went to CapOne and bitched some more, but it didn't have any appreciable effect. Update: I got them to "provisionally reverse" the ruling, which means they give me back my $302.00 (really $305.00 with CapOne's ATM fees as well, but whatthefuckever) on a "provisional" basis for 90 days while the matter is turned over to Mastercard for "investigation." This means that I damn sure better have $302.00 in my account 90 days from now, because pending the results of their "investigation" they could always take the money back. Assholes. I'm definitely closing my accounts with them before 90 days, and if they give me any shit I swear I'll get a pair of pliers and a blowtorch and get medieval on their asses.

Anyway, they told me on Monday that the money would be returned to my account "The absolute latest by Wednesday at midnight!" Naturally, I haven't gotten the money back, and someone at the local branch is supposed to call me when I get it back, which "should" be "soon."

April 07:

BJ and I braved the rain to go close my account at CapOne (still no headway in ever getting my money back so I just cut my losses and let it go—I'm pissed but I'm trying to be Zen about it).

1) File a police report. In the comments on her livejournal when posted this complaint, Samantha expressed disdain that the cops would care about a 3 week old incident. Not true. Even after 2 months, she could still file a report.
2) Write a letter to the CEO. Include something about how federal law states that since you reported it within 2 days, you're only liable for the first $50.
3) Try an Executive Email Carpet Bomb.
4) If they don't act, file complaints with the BBB, AG, and Federal Reserve Board.

Even though her account is closed, Samantha still has a right to her money. It's just going to be a lot harder and it looks like she's already moved on by this point. — BEN POPKEN

Bankrate says that for making purchases, Capital One and Discover, with Wachovia and Washington Mutual not far behind. For making ATM withdrawals, it's Capital One.

Capital One charges 0% fee for credit card purchase made in foreign currency, no fee for debit card purchases made in foreign currency, and no fee for ATM withdrawal made in foreign country/currency.

The worst are 5/3 bank, JP Morgan Chase, and Citibank, with 3% penalties across the board.

Chalk up Capital One's niceness to their cosmopolitan and well-traveled Viking spokesmen? — BEN POPKEN

Currency conversion fees [Bankrate]
(Photo: Sam Wilkinson)

So, I wrote in recently to mention that WaMu had sent me blank "checks" in an open, unsealed envelope. I complained, of course, and got a generic reply. Today I got another unsealed envelope of blank checks from Washington Mutual. Hmm.

Today I also received blank checks from CapitalOne. They have a different strategy: in addition to the checks for my account, they included in my envelope the checks (the whole mailing, in fact) for some other customer in some other part of town. Don't worry, Rachid; I won't be using them.

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A tight race this week. It'll be interesting to see Monday how the time between airlines, banks and cellphone companies stack up against each other.

Previously: Time to Human thread.

Apparently at Citibank, 420 is a bank holiday...

Does the excitement ever stop?!?!

Previously: Time to Human thread.

In a stunning upset, Commerce Bank moved to first place and US Bank, yesterday's champion, staggered and fell behind. MBNA, while shaving off about four minutes time from yesterday, still finished amongst the laggards. Impressive gains for Washington Mutual as well.

We should convert this into a race track game and take bets on it. We would get Fidelity to underwrite it but what if we had to contact their customer service?

Previously: Time to Human thread.

For those playing at home, we apologize but this week the data is presented in seconds instead of minutes. For some reason, excel doesn't like playing with a base 60 system this week.

Washington Mutual, despite launching a campaign recently touting their friendliness and how much they're not old, white, bankers, performed poorly. And despite being overwhelmingly perceived as evil, Citbank was quick on the phone draw.

Last week we did airlines and before that, cell phone companies.