When does the Cap 1 Cashback actually start?

booklover

Hello everyone

My husband was accepted by Capital 1 for their Cashback card , 4% for the first three months. This might seem a silly question, but does anyone know when the 3 months starts and ends please?.

Is it from the date he was accepted or the date he began using it??

Many thanks for your help :A

booklover

Purple_Peril

I checked this and it was 3 months from the issue date of the card. My card was issued on 29 January, received on 31 January but not effective until 1 February. I tried to argue that the three months should be until 30 April (rather than 28 April) as I couldn't have used the card before 1 February even if I'd wanted to - but no joy.

booklover

Thanks Purple Peril. I think if that the case it is a bit unfair. I really think the cashback should only come into effect from the date it actually begins to be used.

Take care.
booklover

Mutton_Geoff

They ran mine until the end of the third statement date. Be careful with Capital One as a card, it has a very short interest free period (my statement to payment period is only 15 days). Also my cashback payments are only in January, so I need to wait until next year to get the cashback for two of my three 4% rate periods.

booklover

Thanks for that tip Geoff.

I don't think Cap 1 is as good as it seemed initially. But I hopefully will make about £400 Cashback so that's good anyway!

booklover

moneypooh

I rang to confirm the dates of the 4% period and was told 3 statements. My card came on the 12th of Feb and I had my first spend on 15th Feb and this generated the date for my first statement. I confirmed that my 4% period is valid up until 15th May.
I had a problem when my card was cancelled due a 'fraud alert' (fortunately it wasn't anything - but my card was replaced), it took 2 weeks to replace and I agreed the period to be extended two weeks as it wasn't my fault that I didn't have a card and lost potential cashback.
The card has it's critics but I'll be £500 better off next Jan and it was worth the hassle just for that!

booklover

Thanks moneypooh.

Hope everything goes well for you.

booklover

MagicBurd29

moneypooh wrote: »

I rang to confirm the dates of the 4% period and was told 3 statements.

I suggest you don't rely on anything you are told on the phone by Capital One.

I rang on three occasions to check exactly when the 4% period would expire and was given four different answers. Two were around the end of the third statement - the other two were for longer.

Then my third statement arrived to show far less cashback than there should have been. I rang and was told offhandedly that this would be dealt with by another department in several weeks. So I wrote and protested. My call resulted in a "tough sh*t" letter; my letter resulted in an apology and reimbursement of the missing cashback.

The CapitalOne letter clearly stated that the three months starts from the date the account is opened.

Since then I've had further, more serious trouble with CapitalOne: they took a Direct Debit three days earlier than they said they would, again after their Customer Services assuring me several times exactly when the DD would be taken.

I rang to complain and was told the late payment charge would be refunded and that no interest would be charged. When my next statement arrived, neither of these things had happened. So I have written another complaint letter.

Two systemic problems: their written information is contradictory and ambiguous (on cashback period and DD payment dates for a start); and their Customer Services give seeming random responses and do not do what they say they will do.

I'll stop using this card and get another. What a shower.

(Not happy to find the cashback is only paid annually! Don't recall seeing that in Martin's recommendation.)

moneypooh

quote=earwig

"Since then I've had further, more serious trouble with CapitalOne: they took a Direct Debit three days earlier than they said they would, again after their Customer Services assuring me several times exactly when the DD would be taken"

I didn't like the idea of DD with them so I pay online with my debit card, so far payments clear in 2 days and I'm in complete control of when they get paid.

epsilondraconis

I too had difficulties with Capital One; however as with all these things, if your are happy to write / complain, you usually win in the end.
When Capital One migrated their online system, I, and many others, had erroneous transactions appear on my account. I e-mailed them using their on-line secure message system and got no reply within the 2 working days they indicate it would take. I e-mailed several more times indicating that I was concerned my account had been compromised (knowing that it hadn't because lots of folk on MSE had indicated they had experienced this). As a result of all of the 'stress' involved, they gave me £12 as a gesture of goodwill.
I thought that this made up for the fact I was messed around by Capital One over the cashback dates and time lost due to a real fraudulent attempt on my account for which I lost valuable cashback time. In the end they confirmed to me that the 3 months isn't from account opening, but the third monthly statement.
With my cashback after 3 months amounting to circa £250, I can say overall that I was happy with Capital One.

MagicBurd29

Well, credit where credit is due (ha ha).

CapitalOne have responded to my complaint, apologised, and refunded the late payment fees and the purchase interest ... and my bank charge for going overdrawn!

So as epsilondraconis says, it looks like they respond well to written complaints. Which is nice.

Pity that (a) everything their Customer Services say is complete rubbish and (b) too much of their documentation is ambiguous or contradictory.