Concern with Capital One Accounts

Even though you did not receive a paper copy of your bill, all credit
card companies let you look at your accounts online. This may be an
idea for you in order to keep track of your statements. This way you
can avoid situations like this.

If the credit card is still active, you will be charged the annual fee
whether or not you use the card or not.

Alicia,

Credit card companys want one thing: Your money!

I dont think the charges are fair either: but for the future, it would
be a good idea to make sure that you open, review, and keep EVERY
statement you get, not only from this credit card compnay, but aslo
from every payment you make. Its a Cover your be-hind thing. No need
to have a super-crazy system, just a folder or a binder (or your old
trapper-keeper from grade school, hehe) and just store them away each
month. That way when things hit the crapper, you have proof of
payments and you can cover your own butt.

When it comes to bills and statements, never brush it aside. And, not
to sound like im harping on you, but you SHOULD have been concerned
wheny you didnt get your statement.

I'm sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. I learned to do this the hard
way - my landlord (i guess slumlord would be more appropriate) tried
to scam me - and I used to throw away paperwork... needless to say I
didnt have a leg to stand on with that one. Now i keep everything and
i trust no one!

Bobosgirl had an excellent suggestion - Follow up with that and let us
know what happens!

They may or may not repeat the courtesy of waiving an annual fee, but
since it's a courtesy, we shouldn't expect it to be done every year,
especaially when all they stand to make on the credit card is the
annual fee.

I have no idea what the weather in California has to do with any of
it, but it would be nice if they address that issue once and for all.

If you play with the snakes, you are going to eventually get bit.

Alicia-

Call Capital One Advanced Customer Service at 1-800-707-0489. This is
several steps above the crappy customer service that you reach when
you call the 1-800 number listed on your bill or cards. Be very polite
and explain what happened, and they have the power to waive the fees
for you. If you decided to keep your card, use it at least twice a
year and make some small purchase- then pay it off within a day or so.
That way you have a great rating with them and your credit record is
good also. Good luck!

Alicia,

Your statement..." Well I have not used the card the entire yea " sums
it up for me.

Under what circumstances would it make sense for them to waive
membership fees if in your own words you'd not used it for a year?

BillR.

The key phrase here is "would review it" and not an actual promise to
waive it. Did you receive statements last year even when you didn't
use the card? I think yes because I did when I had a zero balance on
my Cap 1 card. If that's the case, you should have called in January.
You could have gotten an automated balance. This is a good practice
anyway if you don't get a statement so you can make sure there is no
fraud on your account.

My thoughts on this are that because you did not keep the account
active you changed the status of your account. When you keep it
active and use it and pay it monthly they are more likely to waive
fees.

"Last year capital one waived my membership fee based on my history an
told me that they would review the acct to waive the fee again next
year"

Key word here, they "would" review it, and that doesn't mean that they
will review it or waive your charge. They never gave you a guarantee.
What they did the previous year was a courtesy, and they said they
WOULD review it again, but not promise that they will do the same
thing. Also, there is ways of you checking your account. Most banks
and credit card companies have online banking, and even if you didn't
receive a bill, you can simply check the statement online.
Unfortunately, there are steps that you could have taken to prevent
this situation, and one of them is not assume that what you were told
is a guarantee.