What's In Your Wallet?

I'm having some trouble with a charge made to my credit card. Fortunately, the charge wasn't for a lot of money. Here's the letter that I faxed to Capital One yesterday to address the situation. I have changed the names to protect the innocent:

July 17, 2006

Capital One
Disputes Correspondence
P.O. Box 85520
Richmond, VA 23286-9175
(804) 747-7200
(888) 435-4217 FAX

To whom it may concern,

On 04/01/06, a charge in the amount of $42.80 was added to my VISA credit card from “[BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT #1]”. Upon discovering this charge while reviewing my account online, I called Capital One customer service and disputed the charge since I had never heard of [BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT #1]. On 04/20/06, $42.80 was credited to my account, pending an investigation by Capital One regarding the legitimacy of the charge. On 06/22/06, the disputed charge of $42.80 was re-applied to my account. Upon discovering this charge while reviewing my account online, I called Capital One customer service and asked why the charge had been re-applied. I was told that the merchant produced evidence that proved the charge was made by me. I was also told that a letter would be mailed to me with a copy of the evidence.

On 07/05/06, I received a letter dated 06/22/06 from Capital One stating the following:

a) A sales ticket has been obtained and, based on that ticket, the disputed charge was being re-applied to my account.
b) I have 30 days from the receipt of the letter to dispute the validity of the sales ticket.
c) Capital One will consider the dispute resolved if they have not received a response by 07/17/06.
d) If I respond and indicate that the signature on the sales draft is not mine and was not made by someone authorized by me, my account will be restricted and transferred to a new number.

Upon reading the letter and reviewing the photocopied sales receipt and invoice which were enclosed with the letter, I called Capital One customer service and spoke with Nicole (ID SV55) at approximately 8:45 PM (EST). I discussed with Nicole my confusion regarding the so-called “evidence” that was used by Capital One to determine that my VISA account was correctly charged $42.80 on 04/01/06. Nicole was very pleasant, and agreed with my arguments, but she informed me that I must submit my complaint in writing to Capital One.

Your “evidence” shows that [Joan Q. Public] ordered a seat cleaning service from [BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT #2] on 04/01/06. The total cost of the service was $42.80. Your “evidence” also shows that [Joan Q. Public] paid for the service with her American Express card. I do not know [Joan Q. Public]. I do not have an American Express card. I have never had an American Express card. I have a VISA.

Who was the Capital One investigator who looked at the American Express credit card receipt signed by the credit card’s owner, [Joan Q. Public], and determined that the charge of $42.80 was correctly applied to a VISA card owned by [Dr. F]?

I would appreciate an immediate credit of $42.80 to my VISA account.

Please, do not restrict my account as a result of this indication that the signature on the sales receipt was not mine and was not made by anyone authorized by me. Hopefully, you can understand that I am not authorized to sign for charges made on [Joan Q. Public]’s American Express card. Additionally, [Joan Q. Public] does not need authorization from me to sign for her own charges.

The letter I received from Capital One contradicts itself. The letter was dated 06/22/06, so I obviously would not receive the letter until after 06/22/06. The letter states that I would have 30 days to dispute the validity of the sales ticket, yet it also imposes a deadline of 07/17/06. Please update your form letter, so as not to further aggravate customers who are already aggravated because they have to write a letter to correct an obvious mistake. Additionally, when signing a business letter, it is customary to include the name of the author in print. This enables the recipient of the correspondence to know who the author is when the signature is not clear.

If you wish to argue that the charge of $42.80 should not be credited to my VISA account, I ask that you notify me within 30 days of receipt of this correspondence. If I have not received a response by 07/18/06, I will expect free stuff. Capital One Rewards points would suffice.

Regards,

[Dr. F]