Capital One Refused to timely refund my credit balance McClean Virginia
I asked Capital One to refund a $5,000 credit balance (overpayment). They told me I would have to wait 15 days after the next statement closing date. I reluctantly complied.
Now they say that I must write them a letter to formally ask for my money back. Then 30 days after receipt of the letter they will mail me a check. And, I should allows 10 days beyond that for mail time.
I find that totally unreasonable. They are getting interest-free use of my money for almost two months, not to mention the financial strain this is causing on my budget.
Thank God for ripoffreport.com. Maybe others will benefit from reading my experience and avoid Capital One like the plague.
Thomas
Athens, Tennessee
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Jennifer
Richmond,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Very unreasonable!
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, June 26, 2006
Let me preface this response by saying that Capital One's policies change all the time, and I haven't worked there for almost a year, so maybe things have changed regarding credit balance refunds since I was there last. But I'd be surprised if it has.
In the three years I worked at Capital One, a credit balance in excess of $1000 couldn't be refunded for 15 days after the payment posting date. This is to help combat fraud, because sometimes people will overpay excessively on their accounts, then ask for refunds before their payments bounce (which they know in advance will happen, of course). So that part of what you were told sounds about right.
However, once that 15-day hold period ended, there would be no reason to not refund the credit balance at that point. I do not recall a policy where the customer had to send a request in writing, and I know I NEVER told a person they had to do that. Instead there was an internal request form I would submit which would give the applicable information (bank info, payment posting date, etc.) so that once the 15-day hold period was up, the refund would be sent out.
Otherwise, if a credit balance just sat in an unused account (anything greater than $1.00), after four months it was automatically refunded to the customer via a check by mail. Sometimes people were simply unaware that they had overpaid and never used their cards again for whatever reason, so they obviously didn't submit a request in writing. Yet they still got their refunds.
Again, perhaps that procedure has changed. But if it has and what you were told is actually true, I agree it is totally unreasonable. I recommend calling Capital One and asking to speak with a supervisor. If the supervisor won't budge, then ask for an account manager. By the time you get to that level, most likely you'll get a positive result. Best of luck.