Reclaim interest and charges from a Capital One credit card
Capital One has a long-running pattern of giving subprime customers a modest starting limit and then bumping it up over time. Under the FCA's CONC rules, each of those decisions had to be backed by a reasonable affordability assessment. If Capital One opened the account or significantly raised your limit when you were already stretched, only making minimum payments, missing payments, or juggling other debts like payday loans, that can be irresponsible lending. The Financial Ombudsman has upheld plenty of these. You complain directly, keep 100% of any refund, and pay no claims company.
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FCA rule CONC 5.2A requires a reasonable creditworthiness and affordability assessment before entering into the agreement and before each significant credit limit increase. CONC 6.7 covers persistent debt: where over an 18-month period interest, fees and charges paid exceed what you've cleared off the balance, Capital One must intervene and, at the 36-month stage, consider forbearance which may include reducing, waiving or cancelling interest, fees or charges. Where lending was unaffordable, the Financial Ombudsman's typical remedy is a refund of all interest, fees and charges from the point it became unaffordable, plus 8% simple interest per year on those amounts, plus removal of related negative credit file markers. Capital One has 8 weeks to issue a final response. If it rejects your complaint or doesn't reply, you can refer it free to the Financial Ombudsman Service, normally within 6 months of the final response.
Step by step
- 1Request your account history. Send Capital One a Subject Access Request or ask for a full statement showing your opening limit, the date and size of every credit limit increase, and all interest and charges applied.
- 2Write a formal complaint saying the card or the limit increases were unaffordable. Highlight any missed payments, persistent minimum payments, or other debts at the time, and ask for a refund of interest and charges and removal of adverse markers.
- 3Hold them to the 8-week deadline. Capital One must respond within that window. If they admit one limit increase was wrong but ignore earlier ones, push back and ask them to reassess the whole account.
- 4If they reject it or go silent, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the final response. It's free and the ombudsman can order the full refund plus credit file correction.
What they'll say, and your comeback
“Your account stayed within its limit and payments were made, so the lending was affordable.”
Comeback, Staying within a limit isn't evidence of affordability under CONC 5.2A. If I was only sustaining payments through minimum amounts or other credit, the repayments weren't sustainable. Please show the affordability checks you carried out before each increase.
“We've reviewed it and one credit limit increase was unaffordable, so here's a partial refund.”
Comeback, Thank you for accepting one increase, but you need to assess every lending decision, including the account opening and any earlier increases. If the difficulty was visible before that increase, those interest and charges should be refunded too, with 8% interest.
“The information we had at the time didn't suggest you'd struggle.”
Comeback, A reasonable assessment should have reflected my actual circumstances, including other borrowing visible on my credit file. Where there were signs of difficulty such as multiple debts or payday loans, lending or increasing my limit wasn't fair. Please reconsider on that basis.
FAQ
Capital One offered me a refund on just the last limit increase. Should I accept?
Only if it genuinely reflects the harm. If your difficulty started earlier, a refund limited to the final increase may shortchange you. You can accept the principle that lending was unaffordable while asking them to extend the refund to earlier decisions, or take it to the ombudsman.
Does it cost anything to use the Financial Ombudsman?
No. The Financial Ombudsman Service is free for consumers. You don't need a claims company, and using the ombudsman directly means you keep the entire refund.
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A self-serve tool, not a law firm. General information, not legal advice.