CAPITAL ONE TRUST WEAKNESS NEEDS EXERCISE

How’s your Capital One trust?

If it’s weak, you can fix it.

But start small.

You don’t tell new people all of your secrets at once and you don’t throw your important data at whoever asks for it.

I agree with old Ernie here, you make people trust-worthy by trusting them.

I’ll start with something common, like renting a car.

Let’s agree on one thing: Renting a car costs money, it’s not free. Okay?

That’s for the kids out there planning on renting a car.

I’m a recent convert to Turo, but I went with EuropCar for the England trip.

It may have been a mistake.

 

Why choose booking dot com as a sponsor?

It’s not because I rented a car from EuropCar with booking as the middleman and they charged me when I made the reservation and again when I turned the car in.

Luckily it showed up on my Capitol One card when I asked “What’s in my wallet?”

What’s not in my wallet is $1300 on the second charge.

I called the number, the customer service number on the back of my card, not the number that showed up when I googled their customer service.

Maya in Virginia was an ace. We went over the case piece by piece in a normal voice, then she switched to her business voice when she read the company disclaimer.

After that she switched back, that’s how I know she’s an ace.

That, and the fifteen digit case number for my dispute over a booking.com double charge.

Keep in mind, if you get double charged on a credit card, let them be the attack dogs. Apparently it happens a lot.

 

Does Capital One Exist For Me?

The update in my payment dispute case is not promising.

First my pals at Capitol One refunded the second rental car charge.

I was happy. My Capital One trust soared.

As of yesterday they reinstated the charge and consider my case closed.

Now I’m not happy.

Capitol One trust is still good, but not as good when they write, “please contact the merchant and work directly with them.”

They closed the case of the double charge on a Europcar rental that leaves me $1300 short.

Before you get scoldy, old baby boomer scoldy like, ‘Let it go, boomer, you had a nice time. Don’t ruin it.’

If $1300 is enough to clip me, it’s worth enough to clip back.

 

Capital One has been a valued partner to me over the years, checking on odd purchases, shutting down when it looks to suspicious.

I called them to explain a charge after a shutdown.

“It’s not credit card fraud, it was me hiring safe-crackers for a job.”

We all had a good laugh.

I made an appointment with a safe-cracker and he showed up, all 350 lbs. of him, along with a slim partner for tight places.

If you’ve never heard a play by play between a huge guy outside a closet giving instructions to a skinny guy with a drill, you’ve missed a treat.

“Measure in from the edge. If this is what I think it is, there’s a safety bulb inside the door that if broken seals the door and makes everything more difficult.”

Huh?

 

The Bigger World

Why do I let the little things irk me?

Because I’ve got a memory for money.

I still remember 1974 and the $11 that fell out of my pocket at Fort Ord, Calif.

That’s nearly $70 in today’s money.

How much will $1300 be fifty years from now?

How much personal embarrassment is worth $1300?

Feelings are like the roads heading up to Porcupine Ridge; they only go so far.

My Capital One trust feelings go further.

My case is small to them, and a nice letter or dismissal ought to settle things.

For them, not me.

“We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have questions, please give us a call at 1-800-887-8643.”

I’m feeling like this could work out better.