Beware Capital One Classic Extra Application

chrismbt

I wanted a Credit Card that I could use abroad with zero loading, just like spending at home, so not having to carry lots of foreign currency. I don't carry a balance, I always pay off the whole amount by Direct Debit.

On MSE recommendation I applied for the Capital One Classic Extra card which has no foreign loading (you don't pay extra for using the card abroad). The 34.9% APR was high, but I wasn't going to pay that. I checked when I applied that there was zero loading on the card I was applying for.

My application was approved and the card arrived. It looked just like the image on the website I had clicked through to and applied from.

I went on holiday and used my new card for usual spending. When I got home I found I had been charged foreign loading. After several calls and a letter to Capital One they tell me that I was not eligible for the Capital One Classic Extra card, so they sent me a different one, which looked exactly the same. There was no indication that it was a different product or that they had sent a different card to the one I applied for.

I am annoyed that they sent a product I didn't want, I feel that I have been duped into paying fees I didn't want to pay, and I am disappointed that when I called them I couldn't get a coherent reply from the foreign call centre I spoke to, nor by letter when I wrote to them.

So if you do decide to apply for this card, make sure the card they send is the one you applied for.

YorkshireBoy

chrismbt wrote: »

...they sent me a different one, which looked exactly the same. There was no indication that it was a different product or that they had sent a different card to the one I applied for.

They will have sent you some T&Cs.


Also, the card is generally stuck to either a credit agreement or a mini version of it.


Have you checked these documents to see what they say?


I don't condone what Capital One have done, but maybe if you'd checked when the card arrived you'd have found out before using it abroad and incurring costs? But perhaps you've already done this?...and that's why you haven't registered a formal complaint?

GingerBob_3

chrismbt wrote: »

...they sent me a different one, which looked exactly the same. There was no indication that it was a different product or that they had sent a different card to the one I applied for.

Thanks. I'm not going to apply for a Capital ONE card, but this is a good alert for anyone who is about to, particularly if their cicumstances, re. foreign usage, are similar to yours. This American card company should have made it quite clear that they'd provided a different card to the one you applied for. You should not have to trawl through T&Cs to discover something like that. Regrettably, this type of behaviour is becoming more common. Avoid this company in the future.

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with capital one. I have the card you applied for and I must say it's the probably the best card you can get right now other than the halifax clarity card if you are going abroad and spending less than £300 a month on it. You should read the the documentation you receive before using the card. They would have sent you everything you needed to know in the post.

countingstars

I do empathise with you entirely. I applied for the same card and when it arrived, I scoured the T&C's to double check and make sure it was free to use abroad despite their website saying it was.

Like you said, all the Capital One cards all look the bloody same!