Hi all, I sent the following letter to Cap One via Planetfeedback.com. A "snail-mail" copy is following shortly as well. It would be great if others affected by the limit reporting policy could write similar letters. Maybe things will change for the better . Dear Mr. Fairbank, I'm writing to alert you to a serious problem I've had with a policy about a credit card issued by you. I have spoken with Ms. Tara Conner of Capital One Executive Offices about this and told her that I would be contacting you, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, to further explain my dissatisfaction. My problem concerns Capital One's refusal to report my true credit limit to credit reporting agencies and it's damaging effects on my credit profile in light of Fair Issac's current credit scoring model. I hope by bringing this to your attention, Capital One will immediately change its credit reporting policy for my benefit, for the benefit of other responsible Capital One cardholders, and ultimately for the benefit of Capital One as it seeks to establish long term relationships with increasingly "credit-knowledgable" customers. Credit reports from the three Credit Reporting Agencies (Experian, Transunion and Equifax) include credit scores based, in part, on a "revolving credit balance: credit limit" ratio, otherwise known as "percent utilization" of revolving credit. Under the current Fair Isaac scoring model (www.fairissaac.com), the "percent utilization" figure accounts for 30% - THIRTY PERCENT - of my final credit score, which is an indicator of my ultimate credit worthiness. In the model, the higher the "percent utilization", the lower the final credit score. I will first explain in simple math why Capital One's policy is damaging in general and will then explain why it hurts me in particular. A customer may have a Capital One "credit limit" of $1000 and a "high credit" (i.e highest amount ever charged to the card) of $100. If the customer has a current balance of $80, according to the FICO scoring model, the customer should have a percent utilization of 8% (80/1000), reflecting an accurate balance:limit ratio. However, with Capital One, the percent utilization would be 80% (80/100), since the Fair Issaac scoring model must substitute the "high credit" amount reported by Captital One as the "credit limit". Obviously, a difference of 80% v. 8% utilization is significant, especially since, as I metioned above, it accounts for thirty percent of the credit score. As for me, the primary adverse reason code as to why my credit score is low is ALWAYS the percent utilization figure, or specifically Fair Isaac's code #10 "Proportion of balances to credit limits is too high on bank revolving accounts." My percent utilization should be 64%. However, because of Capital One's policy, it is 93%. The inaccurate percent utilization gives me a lower credit score, damages my overall credit worthiness, and subjects me to either denial of credit or "tiered-financing" of credit with higher interest rates, costing me more money. With increasingly automated or "FICO-driven" underwriting, in which computer derived credit decisions are solely based on credit scores, I cannot - as _____ suggested in our conversation on the phone - present a bank statement from Capital One to potential lenders showing my true credit limit. And according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), I shouldn't have to. The FCRA is very clear that any creditor must report only "complete and accurate" information to the three credit reporting agencies. Complete reporting would necessitate inclusion of a credit limit - especially since this limit is used to derive credit scores. I have repeatedly asked Capital One to begin reporting my true credit limit with no success. I finally received a letter from Capital One stating that it refused to report my credit limit to the three report agencies, but would only continue to report my high credit. Because I think that your policy not only hurts me but also violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I will forward my letter to you and the letter I received from you to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and any other business or regulatory agency as I feel necessary. I want this policy changed and I want Capital One to immediately begin reporting credit limits to the agencies. I am pleased with Capital One for three reasons: your company has excellent customer service, your company extends credit to customers with various credit histories, and your company grants credit line increases in a responsible way (as to prevent over-extended indebtedness). However, all of the efforts of Capital One to establish and maintain good business relationships with its customers is undermined by the decision to withold credit limits from credit reports. As Americans become more aware of credit scores (Fair Issaac is already making scores available to consumers nationwide), more and more people will better understand what affects a credit score and more Capital One customers will realize that Capital One's current policy seriously harms them. Therefore, in the interest of making your company "customer-friendly", and in keeping long term relationships with responsible customers, please change your policy. As long as the policy remain unchanged, I will use my card minimally to keep my credit utilization low. And I will not recommend Capital One to others, since I think the policy is so damaging to people's overall credit worthiness. I appreciate your taking the time to listen to my complaint and suggestion for improvement.
Re: letter to Cap One CEO re l Nice going. I just sent this email to webinfo@capitalone.com --- The FCRA requires that if you report credit information to the CRA's that it must be accurate and complete. Within the next 5 days will you start reporting credit limits to the CRA's for all your customers? http://www.bayhouse.com/discus/messages/4/1032.html?983402749 http://consumers.creditnet.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=39172&t=39172 Thank you, Erik
Re: letter to Cap One CEO re l So Cap1 only reports the high credit and not the limit, but isn't the overall credit score based on the payment histories of all the cards you have in your wallet? If you have 5 other cards which do report the limits, wouldn't this negate the credit problems caused by Cap1? I agree that is totally unfair for any bank not to report limits, but would the impact on your record be so much as to get denied for future loans?
Re: letter to Cap One CEO re l If you have 5 other cards the damage by Capital One is probably minimal yes.
EXCELLENT Great letter, Marci. I sure hope your efforts yield results. Since I have two CapOne cards, I need to get on the stick and submit a complaint as well. Donna
Re: EXCELLENT Forgot to ask this: Is the high credit the highest total amount charged to the card during a billing period?
Re: EXCELLENT I'm pretty sure the high balance supposed to be the highest balance ever and not just during that particular month.
send a copy to Congress It would hurt to CC your representative and senators on this will a note about how the FCRA should be strengthened. We don't have the dollars to make the banking lobby, but letters do sometimes make a difference.
Re: send a copy to Congress This is a GREAT letter marci! I have two Capital One accounts and I also do not like the fact that the limit is not reported. My only saving grace is my Providian account which has a high limit to offset the damage. I think I will also write a letter. Power is in numbers!
Re: send a copy to Congress Thanks to all for your support and encouragement! I encourage you all to write your own letters, if you're affected by this problem. Mike and Erik: yes, the high credit is the highest amount ever charged to the card, not just the high credit for a particular month. Shyguy: yes, I did cc this to all of my state representatives. I will also cc a snail-mail letter to my state AG, Virginia's state AG, the OCC, and whoever else could apply. I think that this is not only a FCRA violation, but also a form of libel since it makes people look riskier than they truly are.
Re: send a copy to Congress Great, I think CRA's need to take this matter into consideration and Banks should ensure the accuracy of the credit scoring system. I know I have been a victim of denial based on high balances on my revolving accounts to which I know I have paid back significantly.