"Capital One - No Hassle" They must be joking (Capital One)

Member Name: Euan Scott

Product:	Capital One
Date:	21/03/03 (1648 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low Interest Rates

Disadvantages: Poor Customer Service, Confusing Documentation

Decided to take advantage of Capital One's low rates and balance transfer deal.
Completed online application (printed off copy) including details of current card and amount of balance to transfer and sat back to wait.

14 days later and forms appeared to sign & return before card could be sent. Also enclosed was form to fill in current card details and amount of balance to transfer(?) Thought I'd already done that, knew I had cos I had screen prints to prove it. Rang Customer Service to query. Girl was not sure if form needed to be completed again, put me on hold while she checked. On her return she was still not sure but had been told that 'if it was done online it will be alright' but with no conviction. Decided not to complete transfer form but sent rest back. Sat back to wait.

10 days later an avalanche of post. Three envelopes, one containing the card itself and associated paperwork, one containing a letter confirm that the transfer request "had been completed" and confirming the details and a third containing the PIN number. I was not impressed that the card & PIN number arrived in the same post, whatever happened to fraud protection? I was impressed that the transfer had "been completed" I checked online, a useful facility my old card has that Capital One doesn't. The transfer has NOT been completed at all. A second call to Customer Service. Went through the usual rigmarole, entering card number date of birth etc, then get to a person who asked all the information again. He asked me to repeat my date of birth and then told me ha could not discuss the account as I had given him the wrong date of birth. I pointed out that I did know my date of birth but he insisted it was wrong and that I had made a mistake when completing the telephone application. I told him I had applied online and had a screen print that showed I had not made a mistake. He said I would have to write in and confirm
my mistake, Again I pointed out that the mistake was theirs not mine. Despite not being able to talk to me about the account he did tell me how much had been transferred and that this would take up to 10 days to show on my old card account. I asked to speak to his Supervisor.

This was probably mistake number four (The first being applying for the card in the first place). I have never spoken to someone with such a low level of 'customer service' skills in my life before. (I work in a call centre looking after a team of 18 Customer Service Advisors). Apparently the only way I could correct their mistake was to send my, original, birth certificate so they could update my account. I had confirmed my name, full address, post code, mothers maiden name etc, but no she needed my original birth certificate. I pointed out that I would not send this in as I felt that if they could not get my date of birth right, how could I be sure they would get my house number & post code right and I would actually get my birth certificate back? This 'automaton' just kept offering me the address to send in to and would not consider trying to be helpful.

Bottom line is they had my custom for one day. I contacted my current card company (Goldfish) and asked them to pay the amount being transferred to themselves straight back from where it came.

Capital One? There's and 'r' missing in there somewhere!

Summary: