Capital One

What credit cards do Capital One offer?

Capital One believes that everyone should have the chance to have a credit card. We have both Platinum cards and Classic cards.

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Who can apply for a Capital One credit card?

You must be over 18 and resident in mainland UK. For a Platinum card you must be aged 21 or over and receiving an income of more than £10,000 per annum.

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How can I apply for a Capital One Credit Card?

You can apply now over the internet, it only takes between 5 and 10 minutes! You can choose a card from the 'Express Yourself' section to apply for, or we can help you choose a card if you fill in 3 simple questions in the 'Help me choose a card' section.

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I have been declined for a credit card before - does this mean Capital One will decline me?

Not necessarily. Capital One takes all the information you provide on your application form - and a decision is then made based on that information and also information of your previous credit history. If you are unsure why you have been declined now or in the past you can get a copy of your credit file from the credit reference agencies which Capital One uses: Experian and Equifax.

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What is the Complaints procedure?

Our Executive Office deal with complaints. You can write to them at:

Executive Office
Capital One
PO Box 5281
Nottingham
NG2 3HX

The Executive Office will aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days of them receiving it. This letter will confirm that they are currently investigating your concerns for you.

Within a maximum of four weeks of receiving your complaint, the Executive Office will write to you again. This letter will either be to tell you how their investigations are progressing, or advise you of the result of their investigations. If the investigation is complete they will either:

• Issue a final response that explains their investigation and the decision that they've come to. They'll refer you to Financial Ombudsman Service if they're unable to assist you further; Or
• Advise you to write to them again within four weeks if you feel that their response hasn't resolved your complaint.

If they don't receive a response from you within these four weeks they will consider your complaint closed. If you do write back to them, as you feel they haven't resolved the matter to your satisfaction, they will review your complaint again. They will then either write to you with an alternative resolution, or send you a final response, explaining that the decision can't be changed; in this response they will refer you to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

As some complaints are very complex the Executive Office may not be able to resolve your complaint within eight weeks. If this happens they'll write to you to explain their reasons for this and offer you the details of the Financial Ombudsman Service, which are:

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR

The Financial Ombudsman Service policy means that you have to have received a final response from us before they'll consider your complaint. If you haven't received a final response from us they'll contact the Executive Office on your behalf to request one.

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My application got declined. Can I apply again?

You can apply again, but please wait at least six months before you do. You will receive the same response if you apply again immediately.

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Are there any restrictions around transferring a balance?

You can only transfer the balance of a properly maintained UK card account. The minimum amount you can transfer is £50, and the amount must be rounded to the nearest pound.

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Do I need to sign a credit agreement?

Yes. After you've been accepted, we will send out two copies of the credit agreement to you. You need to read and sign the one with the yellow band at the bottom of the page, and send it back to us. The second is for you to keep.

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What does it mean if I want you to make a credit decision about me, without considering information about others financially associated to me?

We allow people applying for credit cards with us to have a decision made, without considering information about those who are financially associated to that person. You would be offered a specific product as an alternative to the range of products we make available to consumers who are happy for decisions to be made using data about their financial associates, which will be comparable in terms of the rates and credit limits.
However, by asking us not to use data about a financial associate, an applicant will not benefit from any good credit records of people with whom they have joint financial commitments, when we are making a credit decision and their application may therefore be adversely affected by the decision to 'opt out'.

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What is Third Party Data?

Third Party data is any data, which may not relate directly to the person that we are making a decision about. The decision to give credit to a person might be based on data relating to them and to other people with whom that person is financially associated. An example could be a joint bank account which is shared with another person, or data relating to a type of credit with whom the person has jointly applied e.g. a mortgage or loan.

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How do I opt out of Third Party Data?

Any person making an application by telephone on 0800 952 2271** can 'opt-out' of having a credit decision made using Third Party Data. It is the responsibility of the applicant to make the telephone associate aware that they wish to 'opt-out', at which stage they will be sent a specific 'opt-out' application pack in the post.

**8am-9pm Mon-Fri & 9am - 5.30pm Weekends. To help improve our service, we may record/monitor your calls to and from Capital One.

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How can I transfer balances from other cards to my Capital One card?

There are several ways you can transfer a balance to your Capital One card: - when you apply for a card - simply complete the balance transfer section of your application form or you can contact us on 08458 400 400* after your account has been set up. You just need to provide your card company name (e.g. Barclaycard), card number and the amount you wish to transfer.

*Please note, calls to 0845 numbers will be charged at a local rate. The cost will vary depending on your service provider. Calls may be recorded/monitored for training purposes.

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How do I contact Capital One?

You can call us: Account enquiries 08458 400 400*, Application enquiries 0800 952 5452, Calling from abroad +44 115 993 8002. You can write to us: Applications: Capital One Card Services, Freepost, PO Box 5281, Nottingham, NG2 3YG. Application Review: Application Review Department, Capital One Card Services, Freepost, PO Box 5281, Nottingham, NG2 3YG. General Correspondence: Capital One Card Services, PO Box 5283, Nottingham, NG2 3YJ

*Please note, calls to 0845 numbers will be charged at a local rate. The cost will vary depending on your service provider. Calls may be recorded/monitored for training purposes.

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How do I enter my address if my house doesn't have a number?

Enter your postcode and put your house name in the 'House name' field, leaving the 'House number' blank.

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How does Capital One decide which product is right for me?

You should always apply for the card that suits you best. Our 'Help me find a card' page can help you with this. A description of all our products can be found on the homepage. You'll be able to find a more detailed description on the 'credit cards' page.

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How long will it take to complete my application?

It should take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete your online application.

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I don't live on the UK mainland, can I apply for a card?

Under our consumer credit licence, we can only lend to mainland UK (including Northern Ireland) addresses. Unfortunately that means we cannot accept applications from addresses in the Channel Islands, Isle of Man or abroad.

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I have incurred interest on my other account due to the delay in Capital One processing my balance transfer - why is that?

You must allow 4 working days for the payment to reach the other account from the date it appears on your Capital One account. Please contact us if you think there is a problem.

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I want to get a copy of my credit file, how can I contact the credit reference agencies?

There are two credit agencies used by Capital One, Experian and Equifax. You need to write to them with your addresses over the last 6 years, enclosing a cheque for £2.00 made payable to Experian or Equifax depending on which you choose to contact. Send these to: Experian, Consumer Help Services, PO Box 8000, Nottingham, NG1 5GX, or, Equifax Europe, Department 1E, PO Box 3001, Glasgow, G81 2DT

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I've changed my mind - can I cancel my balance transfer request?

Unfortunately, once you've requested a balance transfer, we cannot cancel it. You can contact the other company once the payment has been received to request a transfer back.

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I've received a mailing from Capital One, can I apply for it over the phone or the internet?

If there is a web address on the mailing, you can enter that into the address bar on your browser window. However, if there isn't one then this is a personalised invitation for which you have been specially selected, so you need to complete the application form and return it to us by post.

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Is it safe to apply for a credit card online?

Yes - we use a 'secure session' using SSL encryption technology whenever sending confidential information over the Internet. In a secure SSL session, information passed back and forth between your computer and the computers at Capital One is encrypted. Capital One can support up to 128 bit encryption which at present is the most secure available.

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Is there an age limit to the additional cardholder on my account?

There is no age requirement. However you are responsible for any spending on you account by the additional cardholder.

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Tell me more about the credit reference agency search

To help us with your application, we get information from Experian and/or Equifax, who are the two major credit reference agencies in the UK. They supply us with information about your credit history. We need your permission to look at your credit file which you give to us by clicking the submit button on your application form.

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What does Payment Protection Insurance cover?

Payment Protection Insurance will pay 10% of your outstanding balance for 12 months in the event of you being unable to work through accident, sickness or unemployment, until you return to work, or until the outstanding balance has been repaid - whichever happens first.

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What happens if I become ill or unemployed? How can I repay my credit card bill then?

Payment Protection Insurance is a type of insurance that helps protect your credit card repayments in the event that you are unable to work through sickness, accident or unemployment. For a small monthly payment, PPI will pay 10% of your outstanding balance.

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What happens if my credit limit isn't big enough to cover my balance transfer?

We will transfer up to within £100 of the credit limit we allocate to your account so you need to give us the balance transfer information in priority order. If you do not have enough credit limit available on your card, we will transfer as much of your request as we can.

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What happens to my Payment Protection Insurance cover if I miss payments on my credit card account?

If you do not make a payment on your account for 3 months, your Payment Protection Insurance will automatically be cancelled.

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What happens when I have completed my application?

After you have completed your application form, we will review your information and make a decision. If you have been accepted, we'll try to tell you straight away. Sometimes we may need more time to consider your application, in which case we will contact you in the next 7-10 working days.

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What if I don't want the card you have offered me?

We have used the information you have provided to find what we think is the best card for you. If you do not want the card you have been offered then you do not have to take it. Simply do not sign and return the Terms and Conditions that we will send you.

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What information will you need from me for the application?

We will require personal details such as your address, employment status and time at bank. If you want to transfer balances from your other credit or store cards, you'll need to have the card numbers and balances handy.

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What interest will I pay on my balance transfer?

The interest you pay on your balance transfer depends on the product you have been offered. You can find out the interest rate in your Terms and Conditions under 'Other Financial Information'.

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What is 'Help me choose a card'?

This is an easy way for you to let Capital One help you decide which is the best card for you. Simply answer the 3 questions on the 'Help me choose a card' page and we will recommend the card which we believe will suit you best.

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What is the marketing opt-out?

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, any person has the right to request not to be marketed to by post or over the phone. To respect your wishes, we have included a marketing opt-out box on all our application forms. Once you are a customer, you can still opt out, simply contact our Customer Services department.

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What should I put in the 'Occupation' box?

If you are employed, please enter your job title for example 'Factory worker' or 'Sales Executive'. If you are self-employed please enter your trade in the occupation box, for example 'Builder' or 'Joiner'.

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What should I put in the income boxes?

You should enter the amount of money you get from your salary every year before tax. If you are a homemaker, unemployed or retired, please add up all the pension and benefits you would receive in one year and enter this as your income.

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Who are Capital One?

Capital One started in the US as part of one of the oldest credit card businesses in the world. We entered the UK market in 1996. As a Group, we now have over 49 million customers world wide. We are a provider of credit cards and also have different types of savings accounts.

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Why do I have to choose a card design - will it make any difference to the product?

If you are asked to choose a design for a card, the picture on the card will not make any difference to the benefits or other features of the card; it is there so that you can choose the design you like the best.

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Why do you need to know how long I've been at my address?

If you haven't been at your address very long, we may ask you for a previous address to aid us in establishing your financial background in order to help us find the best product for you.

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Why do you need to know my previous address?

We need your previous address to establish your financial background, in order to help us find the best product for you. If you want details of your credit history you need to contact one of the credit reference agencies Capital One uses: Experian or Equifax.

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Do I need to keep making payments on my other card?

It can take 7-10 working days to complete the balance transfer. We advise you to continue making your minimum monthly payments to your other card until you get a letter from us confirming that the balance transfer has been done, or you see the balance transfer on your monthly statement.

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What can I do to speed up or influence the decision?

We'll make the decision as quickly as we can. Please do not reapply or call us as this will not influence the decision we make. Occasionally we may need an extra piece of information, such as proof of your address, and obviously you should respond as soon as possible.

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What do I do if I don't have a postcode?

If you don't have a postcode, leave this box empty and type your full address in the free-form address entry boxes.

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Will transferring the balance close my other account?

No. If you wish to close your account with your other lender, you need to do that yourself.

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