Do two wrongs make a right? Capital One and MBNA.

[adamtheman]

I'm not sure which company has the worst business model: Capital One or MBNA.

I got a letter in the mail from Capital One saying I was pre-approved for a no fee platinum card at prime+1% about four weeks ago. I applied online using the code and got my card in the mail today. It's not a platinum card, it's a gold card. Furthermore, the letter they sent me with the card only contained my credit limit ($750, bahaha!) and nothing else. No interest rate information, no informational about fees. It had lots of fine print but generic stuff none relating to my card.

I call up and activate the card and then afterwards I decide to check out the website to see if there might be more information on the "Gold" card. I then see on the website it is a $59 annual fee card which is real funny. So I call up the online bank and sure enough my account has a debit of $59 on it - sort of a "Welcome to Capital One" fee. No problem... I proceed to smash the "0" key on my phone continuously until I hear a weak pakistan voice on the other end yelling "Sir, can I have your name and date of birth please".

After giving him my date of birth I proceeded to rip into the $10 an hour CSR somewhere overseas about something he probably hears 50 times a day. I was then told by him "Sir, I can give you $30 off the annual fee" to which I replied "No, I will never pay an annual fee ever". He then asks me if they cancel the whole fee if I will keep the card and I say yes. He transfers me to some CSR representative who, would you believe it or not, reads me a pre-typed speech. YES, Capital One has a pre-typed speech for customers who have been charged an annual fee "by accident". He goes, "To show you how valuable of a customer you are and how flexible Capital One is, we would be happy to remove the annual fee for this year....... (I fell asleep and woke up and he continued on)...... and our benefits that you can take advantage of and all of our great rewards and insurance..... blah blah blah".

At this point I was too enranged to tell him that cancelling the annual fee for 1 year was not enough and I never would pay for one. But I figure I will just keep the card for a year and then switch it over to a no fee platiinum one at the end of the year. Still, I wonder why I keep getting credit cards from these douche bag companies. MBNA and Capital One deserve each other! Now I just wonder how long it will be before Capital One spam suffocates my small little post office box

[matradley]

I'm not sure which company has the worst business model: Capital One or MBNA.

I got a letter in the mail from Capital One saying I was pre-approved for a no fee platinum card at prime+1% about four weeks ago. I applied online using the code and got my card in the mail today. It's not a platinum card, it's a gold card. Furthermore, the letter they sent me with the card only contained my credit limit ($750, bahaha!) and nothing else. No interest rate information, no informational about fees. It had lots of fine print but generic stuff none relating to my card.

I call up and activate the card and then afterwards I decide to check out the website to see if there might be more information on the "Gold" card. I then see on the website it is a $59 annual fee card which is real funny. So I call up the online bank and sure enough my account has a debit of $59 on it - sort of a "Welcome to Capital One" fee. No problem... I proceed to smash the "0" key on my phone continuously until I hear a weak pakistan voice on the other end yelling "Sir, can I have your name and date of birth please".

After giving him my date of birth I proceeded to rip into the $10 an hour CSR somewhere overseas about something he probably hears 50 times a day. I was then told by him "Sir, I can give you $30 off the annual fee" to which I replied "No, I will never pay an annual fee ever". He then asks me if they cancel the whole fee if I will keep the card and I say yes. He transfers me to some CSR representative who, would you believe it or not, reads me a pre-typed speech. YES, Capital One has a pre-typed speech for customers who have been charged an annual fee "by accident". He goes, "To show you how valuable of a customer you are and how flexible Capital One is, we would be happy to remove the annual fee for this year....... (I fell asleep and woke up and he continued on)...... and our benefits that you can take advantage of and all of our great rewards and insurance..... blah blah blah".

At this point I was too enranged to tell him that cancelling the annual fee for 1 year was not enough and I never would pay for one. But I figure I will just keep the card for a year and then switch it over to a no fee platiinum one at the end of the year. Still, I wonder why I keep getting credit cards from these douche bag companies. MBNA and Capital One deserve each other! Now I just wonder how long it will be before Capital One spam suffocates my small little post office box

All I can say is that "sucks"! It is too bad you did not get warned about the annual fee. I can say I have had a similar occurrence when I applied for a credit card with Wells Fargo - because they had an interesting deal about being able to withdrawl cash from an ATM and not get charged interest until the due date. However, I proceeded to go through the whole process and was approved. They, initially, approved me for a $1000 limit and when I receive the card in the mail, it was a $500 limit with a $25.00 /year annual fee that I never heard of. So, I never activated the card. :/

[lesnar]

I'm not sure which company has the worst business model: Capital One or MBNA.

I got a letter in the mail from Capital One saying I was pre-approved for a no fee platinum card at prime+1% about four weeks ago. I applied online using the code and got my card in the mail today. It's not a platinum card, it's a gold card. Furthermore, the letter they sent me with the card only contained my credit limit ($750, bahaha!) and nothing else. No interest rate information, no informational about fees. It had lots of fine print but generic stuff none relating to my card.

I call up and activate the card and then afterwards I decide to check out the website to see if there might be more information on the "Gold" card. I then see on the website it is a $59 annual fee card which is real funny. So I call up the online bank and sure enough my account has a debit of $59 on it - sort of a "Welcome to Capital One" fee. No problem... I proceed to smash the "0" key on my phone continuously until I hear a weak pakistan voice on the other end yelling "Sir, can I have your name and date of birth please".

After giving him my date of birth I proceeded to rip into the $10 an hour CSR somewhere overseas about something he probably hears 50 times a day. I was then told by him "Sir, I can give you $30 off the annual fee" to which I replied "No, I will never pay an annual fee ever". He then asks me if they cancel the whole fee if I will keep the card and I say yes. He transfers me to some CSR representative who, would you believe it or not, reads me a pre-typed speech. YES, Capital One has a pre-typed speech for customers who have been charged an annual fee "by accident". He goes, "To show you how valuable of a customer you are and how flexible Capital One is, we would be happy to remove the annual fee for this year....... (I fell asleep and woke up and he continued on)...... and our benefits that you can take advantage of and all of our great rewards and insurance..... blah blah blah".

At this point I was too enranged to tell him that cancelling the annual fee for 1 year was not enough and I never would pay for one. But I figure I will just keep the card for a year and then switch it over to a no fee platiinum one at the end of the year. Still, I wonder why I keep getting credit cards from these douche bag companies. MBNA and Capital One deserve each other! Now I just wonder how long it will be before Capital One spam suffocates my small little post office box

Pre-typed speech is pretty damn annoying!! Twice a week i would get a call...as soon as i pick up the phone they begin their speeh..."i"m calling from ____ we would like to offer you _______blah blah blah....." (hang up) :D

[boyoflondon]

I applied for their platinum card and got platinum ...
When I called in to activate, I spoke with an english speaking person and had no problems what so ever.
With my card arrived a detailed explanation of terms/conditions and my interest rates (I have 0% till the summer).


btw, you can get out of a 'annual fee' from any financial institution ;)

[grant]

Why even keep the card at all if it's not the Platinum Prime+1% that you wanted? I'd cancel that sucker the instant I saw it had no bonus features.

[bluedcfive]

you should have read the fine print and done your research

[weqa]

btw, you can get out of a 'annual fee' from any financial institution ;)

Interesting point! but how? I have this CIBC aero classic card for two years. How can I get out of its 'annual fee' ;) Any trick here?

[gman]

Interesting point! but how? I have this CIBC aero classic card for two years. How can I get out of its 'annual fee' ;) Any trick here?

Tell them you want to cancel it. They ask why. You answer "annual fee".

[Monsoon]

Call CapitalOne again and ask to speak with an account supervisor. You'll get someone based in the US, just explain that you were sent the wrong card and they'll be able to fix it for you.