OK, I've read all the Cap1 stuff on here so just sharing what happened to me. I posted in Jan a Cap1 offer to put a debt from another bank on their card and give me credit. Everyone advised me not to do it. Well...I did it. I discussed with them and thought "my credit can't get any worse than it is." I know you all think I'm crazy but here's what happened. I took the offer, and got the card in the mail. I called and activitated it with my whole $1 credit. The offer stated after I sent my first $50 payment, my limit would go to $51. So, my first statement came and my husband never gave it to me. About 2 weeks after payment due got calls from Cap1 on missed payment. Said I hadn't received a statement yet. Found out my husband forgot to tell me it came, and so I paid it. By this time I had a $25 late fee so I discussed with them and they REMOVED IT. I started making little charges here and there and paying my minimum $45 a month to the old debt plus what I owed on the charges I was making. The offer they sent stated for every $100 I paid towards my old debt they would give me $50 credit. They have done that like clockwork. I started with a $460 debt and now owe about $50. The offer also stated that if I made payments for 6 months they would forgive 10% of my original debt. I make my payments the day before they are due online and check my new statement online 2 days later when the statements are out. The day after I made my 6th month payment there was a $46 credit to my original debt. I just checked my account to see how much available credit I have and they just bumped me to the $200 limit my card can have. And I have a positive reporting from them with credit bureaus. So far, I've been very pleased with my dealings with them. As far as the original debt, all credit bureaus have removed it. My only problem with it: some other collection agency had been reporting it to one of the bureaus along with the original debtor. I am still working on this stupid collection agency to remove it. But I'm not holding Cap1 to that because their agreement was not for that Collection Agency but the original debtor. Just thought I'd share.
I too haven't had any bad experiences with Capital one. I used them to reestablish credit with their secured card...after a year they approved me for an unsecured card and now I have their Carnival Mastercard (Carnival cruiselines) with a 5500 CL and 9% rate. Can't beat that! Plus they have been very nice when I call them about my account.... I've also heard bad things about Chase.... I have their perfectcard with great rebates w/4k CL I have their Platinum mastercard w/5k CL and I have a Chase Mortgage which I just refinanced without any troubles too. I love Chase's website as I can view all my accounts on one page, pay them too online, etc....I have never had one trouble with Chase either. I called to have my rates reduced on my platinum card... reduced from 12 to 7% instantly. Can't beat that. But you know everyone has bad things to say about one bank/lender or another during their lifetime. I have had terrible experiences with Providian and Household Bank but Chase and Cap 1 have been really good to me and I've had my cards for years.
