Capital One credit card hardship programs.
In an effort to help struggling customers, Capital One offers credit card hardship programs to those that qualify for assistance. There are payment plans or extensions, deferments, payments arrangement programs as well as other forms of support listed below. Capital One has decided it is better to work with customers to try to assist them with paying some bills rather than needing to write off the entire account. This approach of offering an emergency or even long term hardship type plan benefits both the bank and their customer as at the end of the day they both save money.
The hardship programs offered by Capital One provide a variety of assistance, including waiving interest for up to a year, debt settlements, deferrals, and a wide variety of payment plans. They have offered cardholders zero percent interest rates for up to 6 months to help them catch up, and also offer settlements of their entire account. Some of the other common solutions include payment plans, forbearance and the lender is also involved in waving some fees. Below are examples of how people are getting help from the Capital One hardship programs.
Examples of savings from Capital One hardship programs
A customer settled their outstanding credit card debt with Capital One for 60% of the balance. Capital One also agreed not to report it to the major credit reporting agencies. This ensured there was a long term impact to their credit scores. The customer dialed 1 800 955 6600 to speak to a representative.
Another cardholder was able to enter the hardship program that both deferred future payments and the lender had their interest rate lowered to .9% while a debt settlement plan was negotiated. However the end result was that Capital One did not offer to settle the debt, and it may be because the customer missed a couple payments while on the hardship plan. So it is key to not miss a payment.
Some customers say that Cap One will not offer assistance unless you stop paying on your account. Once you do that, they may send it to a debt collector, but you should be able to settle or enter a program at that point. After going thru the process, this customer also had 60% of their debt waived. However be aware that this can increase the risk to credit ratings.
Information from one customer indicated that Capital One threatened to sue them after they missed a few payments. The account was also sent to collections. The customer called, told them their situation, and then they were transferred around. After multiple phone calls to the bank, they were finally offered the hardship program. It combined forbearance as well as a repayment plan on their outstanding credit card debt. But it was not easy to get or to find the correct person to speak to. The deal was 3% interest for a year, and they also ending up settling at 75% after a few months.
Someone that recently lost their job reported that as soon as this occurred, they called the bank to explore their options. After being transferred around a few times, a supervisor type person agreed to cut their interest rate in half. The customer did need to show proof of unemployment and provide other documentation, but Capital One agreed to work with them.
A hardship plan was offered to a family that faced a medical crisis. The individual, who did have fairly strong credit scores, was provided with a both a settlement on a portion of their outstanding debt and they were also offered a lower interest rate on their account for a twelve month period of time. However the credit card could only be used for emergency expenses. Prior to the medical condition, they had a balance of over $6,200, and that was cut in half.
Another customer had a short term layoff at their job do to a factory retooling as well as outsourcing of their job to an overseas company. This short term reduction in income of the customer would have lead to them missing some payments on their Capital One credit card. They immediately called and asked what options were available, and the lender offered them a hardship program that abated/deferred the payments for the next 3 months.
Capital One has been known, on rare occasions, to pro-actively call a historically strong customer if their was a noticeable change in their current payment practices. They will offer them one or more hardship type plans. Most of them are offered some form of payment plan on their Capital One account in order to help them catch up on their credit card bills. However never relay on the company to call; be pro-active and contact them in order to get help with any outstanding credit card debts.
Applying for hardship or credit card payment plans from Capital One
The main number to dial for Capital One is 1-800-955-7070, or consumers can call the phone number that is on the back of their card as well. There are also other ways to get help as well, and find additional credit card assistance programs. Always ask the customer service representative for payment plans or deferrals or other forms of financial support, and ask for a referral to a Capital One emergency hardship program if needed.
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