Capital One Credit Card Review

Here is my Capital One Credit Card Review, covering the application, being approved and what happened when I stopped making payments. A review with a twist if you like.

If you are not in debt, or have just got out of debt and are looking to start rebuilding your credit rating, then Capital One have a range of credit cards to help you back on track.

This is my review of Capital One and their classic credit card product. At the time I applied I had a bad credit history so my choice of credit cards was quite limited.

I had seen several advertisements for Capital One on the Internet and a friend of mine also had one too so I thought I would give them a try.

Having a credit card would be useful for online purchases and also emergencies so it was worth a shot.

The Application and speed of decision

At the time I applied I did not expect to be accepted. This didn’t stop me though, I applied online and did not get an instant decision. I thought to myself, well I suppose that means I was declined. Instead I was told that I would receive a decision in the post as they needed to check a few more details.

Around ten days later I received my Capital One credit card with a £300 limit, shortly after this time I also received my pin number. This was not bad considering my poor credit rating and my expectation that I wouldn’t be accepted. During the application, I was asked for standard information such as where I live, my employment details and my date of birth etc.

Capital One Acceptance

As I was approved for a Capital One Credit card, I can tell you what my status was when I applied. It wasn’t very good that’s for sure. I applied for the Capital One Classic Credit Card and at the time I had the following: –

1. A County Court Judgment which was outstanding and was for £4300. It was nearly five years old when I applied for the Capital One Credit Card.

2. 9 Defaults, in which the most recent was 4 years old. Four of these were satisfied but 5 were not and I was still making payments to the accounts.

3. I had been at my address for 18 months.

4. I had a mobile phone contract that was up to date with payments and had no missed payments.

5. I had a few payday loans which I had paid off and were shown as satisfied on my Credit File.

6. I was registered on the Electoral Roll.

7. I had been in my job for two years.

8. I had an Aqua Credit Card and had been making regular payments to it.

I was approved with an initial Credit Limit of £300. As you can see from the above, my credit rating was complete toast when I applied but I was approved. What will have helped me is being on the electoral roll and the accounts I was paying on time.

Capital One Customer Services

I did miss a payment on my credit card and as a result, I was hit with a £12 late payment fee and I also went over my credit limit as well. So that was another £12 for my misbehaviour.

I paid off the full balance and I then called up customer services to complain about the £24 total fees levied against my account. Capital One agreed to refund the fees and I was quite happy with this.

I am not sure if they would be so willing the second time round though. The knock on effect of my bad behaviour was that I did not get a Credit Limit increase on my fourth statement.

Defaulting on my Payments to Capital One

I should mention that I was not very well-behaved with this credit card and ended up in default with my payments.

A lot of charges were added onto my account.

I don’t recall being pressured by Capital One and they were willing to accept my repayment plan, only I didn’t stick to my side of the bargain.

So if you are thinking of applying, and you are still in debt, I would seriously think about it before doing so and ask yourself, do you really need a credit card?

Concluding my Capital One Credit Card Review

Not much to say here really, a credit card is just not that exciting. I suppose if you are looking to improve your credit rating and currently have bad credit, this credit card could be for you, so long as you manage it responsibly.

The interest rate on my card at the time was 34.9% APR so you might want to be careful when using it. By careful I mean be in a position at the end of the month to repay the whole balance. That way you will not pay interest and avoid the same fate I ended up experiencing.

If not you could find that the interest starts mounting up and the whole thing becomes rather expensive.

If you are well-behaved then the Capital One credit card could lead you onto better and cheaper credit which should be your ultimate goal.

If you are like me though and in debt, wait until you are not in debt before applying. And then do so only if you know you can be sensible, you certainly don’t want to end up back at square one trapped with expensive credit.