I call back, and because it is nearly impossible to reach the same Customer Service Rep, spend the next 20 minutes being transfered between cities, probably continents, until “Angela” gets on the phone.

For Part 1, click here.

For Part 2, click here.

Me: “Alrite Angela, I appreciate you waiving the late fee and membership fee.  Do you agree that none of this would have happened if I had actually received the card, on-time, as promised? And that I did everything I could on my part to remedy the situation?”
Angela: “Absolutely, Mr. Oliva.  I am really sorry.”

Me: “Okay, it’s fine, mistakes happen, generally to me.  Now, because of your error, my APR has gone from 0% to 16.5%.  What can you do about that“.

Angela: “Nothing sir. I am really sorry.”

Me: “What?”

Angela: “Sir, it is Capital One’s policy not to lower the APR for any reason.”

Me: “But Angela, you just admitted it was Capital One’s fault.  Seriously?”

Angela: “I am really sorry. But when you think about it, I don’t think Capital One would put these policies in place if they didn’t benefit the cardholder in some way.“  (When she said this, I almost asked for her e-mail to send her all of the headlines the last few months about, oh, I don’t know, credit card companies imposing increasingly high fees on all cardholders for starters).

Me: “Thanks.” (Click).

To sum up this story: Do everything the credit card companies tell you to do, and tuck your pride/reasoning between your legs or you will pay for it.  If they ask you to drive to San Antonio to rough up some guy named Paco, do it, or it may hurt your credit score.

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