Just block it!!!
Tuesday 23rd September, 2008 - £7,926.83 in debt…
Barclaycard has got to be my least favourite financial corporation now.
I’ve had my card for over five years and, during that time, I’ve exceeded my limit and missed the odd payment. The Barclaycard people know that I’m not great with money, and they’ve had to write me a couple of nasty letters. But, as with any long-term relationship, they’ve learned to love me for my faults.
Over the last four months, I’ve phoned them twice to tell them I’m paying off my debts and to ask for various favours. The first time, I asked for a decrease in my APR and a block on my card. They said they’d do both of these things, but in practice they did neither. The second time I spoke to them, they again said they’d block my card, but then they sent out a shiny new one.
Obviously they weren’t going to be any help in my quest to repay my debts, but I wasn’t expecting an increase to my credit limit. An INCREASE! To £4,000! I hadn’t asked for it - the letter just arrived out of the blue.
Now, I’m not unreasonable. I know that Barclaycard has to make money, and I understand how the system works. I’m not one of those people who’s going to start blaming the banks for my uncontrollable spending urges. However, I’ve been led to believe that the credit card issuers in the UK have some kind of obligation to be responsible lenders.
And increasing the credit limit of a customer they know is a high risk, and who they know is strugglng to repay her debts, just before Christmas…? That doesn’t seem very responsible to me.
British Gas vs. npower – Round two…
Hi Olivia. In the last 12 months I have come to the categoric conclusion that credit card companies are the devils own spawn.
We’ve had to make repeated calls, on premium numbers of course, apply for a card and the call is free, go figure, to have our now paid off accounts closed and to get taken off their mailing lists. Why do these people not listen, we don’t want your credit!!! My catalogue that I also recently paid off, well I say recent, at least 8 months ago, have sent me out at least 3 new account numbers and an offer to spend up to xxxx! I called them today and told them ‘no more accounts, ever’. Hopefully now they’ll leave me alone.
How’s it going with the debt reducing? And talking of xmas do you have any cool ideas? My sis and me during leaner times swapped vouchers for time and babysitting etc.
Ooh and today I wrote out a cheque for our last debt payment at the local garage, whoo hoo we did it! Keep going Olivia, you too can feel the joy of telling the cc companies where to slot their cards
I had a Barclaycard for a few months before I cancelled it. Their website/internet banking doesn’t work. Useless call centres. They have lost my business forever.
Ah, so it’s not just Barclaycard then! Thanks, Mc - for some reason, knowing that they’re all as bad as each other makes me feel a bit less stupid for having the stupid card in the first place.
Although, I have heard quite a few horror stories about Barclaycard like James’s. He’s right about the call centres, but I don’t like to complain about them because it makes me sound racist.
Re Christmas, I’ve been having a think about the things I can do at this early stage to save money. Will get some ideas together for next week or thereabouts - watch this space!
[…] this is my second post of the day - that’s how angry I am. You know I said Barclaycard was my least-favourite financial institution? It’s been bumped into second place […]
Barclaycard just seem to be one of the worst run cc companies out there. Telephone systems always go wrong, doesn’t put you through to the IVR system when it says it will, overseas call centre’s probably dont help.
Now i just use them for the 0% offer that comes through the door now and again so I cost them money not the other way round. I genuinely feel for anyone thats stuck with a debt with them. My current card charges 22.9% APR thats scandalous and should be illegal. I am unsure how any CC company can justify any APR above 16%. Anyway rant over feel better now!
Thanks for your support, Mike. Luckily, I’ve “only” got about £1,800 left on my Barclaycard now and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The day I pay it off, I’ll probably treat myself to a chocolate bar or something. Can’t wait.
Barclaycard, held for 30 years,
suddenly Barclacard gone off the rails, for reasons known only to themselves they accepted a telephoned advice of a change of address …..result I get no statements, for a few months, as I pay off balances on receipt I didn’t think too much about it.
It was only when they phoned me to ask if I got my new card that the alarms started ringing!
When informed that no new card was requested they then asked if the transactions of £9000+ in one day were mine!
Seems Barclaycard
1) changed my address without telephone confiming
2) they then issued a new card to the new address (telephoned request)
3) they then issued a new PIN for the new card at the new address
4) Seems this is all my fault??
Many Conversations later with Fraud Department and most of the balance is cleared away as not being mine. Result £9,000 approx was written off - wonder if a crime report was filed?
I asked for clarification on balance remaining - about £220, and requested statements that were missing as a result of changed address, after many weeks of waiting for statements and further requests for same, I start to get calls from collections Department (Sunday morning text messages) and phone calls at work - home mobile - amazing how they can suddenly find so many phone numbers for me.
All calls include a veiled threat of what they are going to do to my credit record, and the procedings they may be forced to take.
Further discussion of the circumstances surrounding the events elicits a sympathetic response from Collections and a cessation of calls. - Still no statements.
Spend 1 hour on telephone to Customer Services
- not their problem - they cannot give me the information requested - transfer to anoher department - Call cut off!
Desperate -
write lexplanatory etter to Managing Director Barclaycard UK c/o Northampton address asking for assistance - letter returned - Persons Unknown!
Spend 1/2 hour on phone to Fraud department, eventually uncover the account number of the card that Barclaycard asked me to destroy and the account number of the fraudulent account.
Spend 1 hour on Telephone to Customer services
-Armed with all the account details I can eventually get a verbal account of what makes up the charges they are chasing.
Seems that they are charging me for late Payment and for overdue interest on amounts outstanding during the time they were sending my statements to the fraudsters.
Paid outstanding balance and write letter to Customer services requesting they waive the late payment charges and the overdue interest charges as all of this occurred while I was not receiving statements and I was unaware of the balances.
Result ZERO - no answer!!!!
Seems with Barclaycard its only one way traffic - they talk to you about their demands and ignore anything you might request of them.
Barclaycard best advice shred it!!!