Seahorse v Barclaycard

[Seahorse]

Well, I'd better get a thread started in preparation for getting my info back from Barclaycard. S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)'d, so I'll sit back and wait.

Don't think I'd have ever questioned that I could badger BC about unlawful charges if it hadn't been for Cabot buying the account and chasing me for the alleged outstanding amount.

You never know, though. I might actually owe Cabot something, but as I'd been paying BC for years without the oustanding amount ever reducing, I have a suspicion it might be BC who owes ME money. Depends on how much was unlawful charges I suppose. We'll see.

And if BC cn't produce the info, and Cabot can't show me an agreement ever existed? Well, we shall see.

Seahorse

[Seahorse]

HOORAY!!! I'm home at last, and I have my Subject Access Request bundle from Barclaycard at last.

Awww, Bless. They have only sent me statements from 2001. And they tell me that this is ALL they hold on me.

OK, opening balance was £3126.06. Quite how they have managed to arrive at that figure, I have no idea. Apparently they don't have any statements prior to this, nor do they have any application form (which I KNOW is nonsense cos they supplied one to Cabot), agreement, or any other supporting documantation. So that'll be a complaint off to the Information Commissioners Office then.

Right, I've paid them £2,350 since the opening balance date. Now, since they can't prove I ever owed them over £3k in 2001, I'll just ignore that. And I'll ignore the interest they ever added, as they can't show me ever having agreed to paying them any interest. Oh, and I'd like the £2,350 back too, please. I have no idea why you ever thought you were entitled to it.

Unless, of course, you manage to find some more documentation after all, BC? But how could you... apparently this is all you hold. Either way you lose, don't you?

Well, well. This doesn't bode well for Cabot. It looks like Cabot have bought an account where the original creditor actually owes the supposed debtor a considerable amount of money.

I think I have quite a good bargaining chip here.

[Seahorse]

Right, it looks like Barclaycard have breached the Data Protection Act on two counts. Firstly, I specifically denied them permission to share my data when I signed my original application form. By selling my account on to Cabot, it would appear that they may have illegally shared that data. VERY serious.

I also managed to get a Subject Access Request sent again, and signed for this time. To be fair, they did respond withing 40 days. However, they quite categorically state that the only data they hold on me, are statements from 2001. Quite clearly this is incorrect, as they managed to send Cabot a copy of my application form, and copies of default notices. So are they lying, or just mistaken. I suppose I should really give them a chance to rectify any possible mistake, as I'm just filing in a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office just now.

So the story so far is, they don't have any sort of agreement, they can't show why the opening balance on the first statement they have is over £3k, I've paid them money they have no lawful right to, and they appear to have illegally sold my data on, as well as selling the account with an incorrect figure in any case. Oh, and defaulted me on several occasions, but can't show that they ever sent any default notices.

How deep is that poo? Way past their ears, methinks.

[Seahorse]

OK, here's the letter that I sent to BC on 3rd August.

Data Protection Team
Dept LRC
Barclaycard
Northampton
NN4 7SG

Data Protection Act 1998 Full Subject Access Request

Dear Sir/Madam,

ACCOUNT NUMBER:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1. I formally request that you forward me a true record of any Data held by your organisation relating to myself for the complete term of the above account. I require also any information that relates to any activity with your agents, Mercers.
2. I am also aware this request should include any Data held for more than 6 years, as under the Data Protection Act 1998, there is no time limit for information requested.
3. If you do not hold Data for a period longer than 6 years I also request confirmation of this in writing along with your methods used for disposal of such information to comply with the Data Protection Act stating the name and contact information of your registered Data Controller and Code Compliance Officer.
4. Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff, or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my business with you. If you are unable to supply this data because there has been no such manual intervention, then please be so kind as to confirm this in your writing.
5. Specifically, I require true and accurate statements of account; it is not simply sufficient to send me details of a breakdown of charges applied to my account.
6. I also require you to supply me with a copy of the “Goodbye” letter that you purportedly sent to me upon assignment of this account to Cabot Financial (UK) Limited (formerly known as Kings Hill No. 1 Limited). I will NOT accept a copy supplied to you by any company within the Cabot Group of Companies. I require the true copy as produced by Barclaycard. If the “Goodbye” letter did NOT originate from Barclaycard, I require that you tell me so, and confirm whether or not any agreement exists between Barclaycard and Cabot that gives Cabot the right to produce and send such a letter on behalf of Barclaycard.
7. I also require that you furnish me with details of whether or not Barclaycard retain the duties of the Original Agreement allegedly signed by myself, or whether the rights AND duties were transferred to Cabot Financial (UK) Limited upon assignment of this account. To assist in this request, a copy of the Deed of Assignment of the account from Barclaycard to Cabot Financial (UK) Limited will be more than adequate.
8. If there exists an agreement which fulfils all conditions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, I anticipate that this will be included as part of the data that you hold about me.

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10. You have 40 days from receipt of this request in which to return to me the information requested, securely and in legible condition.

If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know promptly. However, please note that the above address is the one registered with Barclaycard, and which you have previously found to be acceptable.

I was advised by one of your team recently, a Mr Brian Atkinson, that I have no right in law to request this information. I trust that Mr Atkinson was merely confused as to Barclaycard’s duties under the Data Protection Act 1998, and that you will have no trouble whatsoever in complying with this request.

[Seahorse]

And here's their reply...

Data Protection Act 1998 - Subject Access Request

Further to your recent request for personal information held by Barclaycard, please find enclosed a copy of the card statements you have requested.

Statements held prior to May 2004 are stored on microfilm which is a means of storage that does not fall within the definition of "relevant filing system" under the Data Protection Act 1998. ("the Act") nor within the bounds of what we are obliged to provide in response to your data subject access request as set out on the Information Commisioner's website at Information Commissioner's Office - Information Commissioners Office

The Information Commissioner has indicated his intetion to amend this guidance. It is therefore as a gesture of goodwill to you, our customer, and in light of this proposed change that we enclose copies of our pre May 2004 statements as you requested although we take a different view to the Information Commisioner's Office on whether these fall within the definition of "relevant filing system" as set out in the Act.

This information we have enclosed relating to this account is all that we hold.

Yours sincerely

Sameira Arshad

Barclaycard Customer Services

[Seahorse]

And I'm just about to post this off to them...

Barclaycard House
PO Box 5592
Northampton
NN4 1ZY

Dear Sir/Madam,

ACCOUNT NUMBER:XXXX XXX XXX XXX

I wish to formally complain about the manner in which Barclaycard has dealt with my account in light of your response to my Subject Access Request (“S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)”) of 3rd August 2007.

You state that the copy statements of account are all the information that you hold relating to this account, and therefore by definition, relating to me as an individual. I have several grave concerns if this is so, and I am giving you this opportunity to rectify any mistake that might have been made when your response of 15th August 2007 was composed. Failing that, I shall have no option but to escalate my complaint to the relevant regulatory bodies, which may include the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Financial Services Authority and the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The basis of my complaint is as set out below.

You have failed to supply any documentation, other than copy statements commencing with a first payment on 3rd August 2001. In particular, you have failed to provide any copy of my original application form, credit agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and copy of any default notice that might have been sent to me. As I have recently been supplied with further documentation by Cabot Financial (Europe) Limited (“Cabot”) other than that which you sent to me in response to my request, I believe your statement that “This information we have enclosed relating to this account is al that we hold” to be patently erroneous.
I am also aware that correspondence between Cabot and Barclaycard would have positively identified me as an individual, and therefore would have fallen under the scope of what should have been supplied in response to my Subject Access Request. Quite why this information should have been omitted, I can only speculate.

As you have failed to supply supporting documentation to show why the statements you have provided show an opening balance of £3,126.06, I am unable to accept that this balance was ever owed to Barclaycard. I am also confused as to why, in the absence of any sort of agreement, Barclaycard ever felt obliged to charge interest on this balance. Indeed, I am of the opinion that I was in error by paying Barclaycard a total of £2,350 between 3rd August 2001, and the date that Barclaycard saw fit to sell my account to Cabot.

I am aware that my original application form included an “opt out” box, which should have been ticked to indicate that I would consent to any sharing of my data. I am also aware that this box was not ticked, indicating that I expressly denied Barclaycard permission to share my data at all. At no point does the application form show that the intent of that section of the form meant anything other than any personal data, for whatever reason.
I am also aware that Terms and Conditions relating to the date that the application form was signed, clearly state that Barclaycard will not share my data without seeking my permission first.

As no such consent was ever given, and could not possibly have been implied in light of my indication to refuse such consent when I signed my application form, I would like Barclaycard to justify to me why Barclaycard considered they had any right to pass my data on to Cabot in any way. It is my belief that such by selling my data in this way, Barclaycard have committed a serious breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. Further, if Barclaycard have omitted to provide me with all data that they hold about me in response to my Subject Access Request, then that to constitutes another breach of the Act, as Barclaycard were allowed 40 days to respond by sending me all the data that I requested.

I am also concerned that without any supporting evidence, Barclaycard have been receiving payments for a debt which would have been entirely unenforceable. I am of the opinion that any payments made to Barclaycard are therefore recoverable.

I would be grateful for a satisfactory response to this complaint within 7 days. If no such reply is forthcoming, or is unsatisfactory in nature, I shall have no option other than to escalate my complaint as indicated earlier. You should note that I have not yet at this stage ruled out legal action in relation to this matter.

However, I would like to offer a concession at this point. I am prepared to accept, as a goodwill gesture, the sum of £2,350, being the amount paid to Barclaycard from the date of the first statement as supplied by Barclaycard. If Barclaycard feel that this is fair under the circumstances, I would be willing to consider this complaint to be satisfactorily concluded.

Yours faithfully,

[djdave]

Bless 'em, they're so used to just sending out statements for people reclaiming charges that they forget some of us want to know the full story.

The poor chap from DHL had to make two trips to me!

[elizabeth1]

Mmm!! but it's amazing if there is a debt involved that they'd like to sell or collect - the records appear to go further back?

[Seahorse]

I can't understand their thinking. They KNOW I asked for more than just statements. But the deny having any more than what they sent. Yet they MUST know that I know they sent more than this to Cabot.

What I expect is one of two things. They'll say as the account has been sold to Cabot, they now have all the information (and so blows Cabot's No Duties bollix out the water), or they'll say the default notices came from Mercers. Perhaps I need to Subject Access Request them too.

A lot of people will need to start getting ther stories right here.

[Seahorse]

Time's up for them. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt because of the postal strike. But if I've heard nothing by Monday, I'll be making a few complaints. Why do they have to make life so difficult for themselves? In fact, why do they have to lie like a counterfeit Rolex? Do they think nobody will question them?

[Seahorse]

Well, a rather nice letter saying they are investigating. Investigate away, Barclaycard. Either get your sh1t together, or you'll be well in the smelly stuff.