Capital One tops for consumer credit card complaints
A credit card reader is used to charge a credit card from a customer at Lorenzo’s Italian Market in Miami, Fla.
Capital One is the least popular US credit card purveyor, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The company, which is the fifth-largest in the US, beat both American Express and JP Morgan Chase by receiving 2,713 complaints in the past 10 months, the paper said. Consumers complained about billion, collection practices, interest rate and identity theft risks.
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American Express had the fewest complaints at 872. JP Morgan and Bank of America logged more than 1,800 complaints each, while Citigroup landed in second place with more than 2,300 complaints.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working to put the complaints online in a searchable database.
The agency has so far received nearly 17,000 complaints from consumers, Reuters said. It plans to publish these and complaints about mortgages and other financial services.
Credit card issuers have 15 days to respond to complaints and any complaints that are ignored are tagged in the database.
Banks of course aren't happy about the change, but consumer groups are.
"Making credit card complaints public will put added pressure on banks to avoid unfair practices and help consumers make more informed financial decisions," Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel at the Consumers Union, said in a statement.
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