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The balance on my card is largely (probably more than!) comprised of charges, which I am in the process of claiming back. I should really be moving a bit quicker, but I'll be honest and say I haven't made this enough of a priority.
They're now getting very arsey, because I've not made a payment for several months. It's currently with Mercers (I understand this is effectively still Barclaycard) but they're threatening to sell it off to a local debt collection agency. I was told that this would mean I would be unable to pursue the claim with Barclaycard. I'm certain that this is all a load of rubbish, with the intention of scaring me into making a payment.
I've got my CCA and SAR sorted and will send them recorded delivery this afternoon. I understand that the CCA will probably buy me some time. However, with BCard's reputation for dragging their heels, I imagine this is going to take a while... Is there anything else I can do to stop them in their tracks, or should I just let them get on with it and any mess will be sorted once my legal process is concluded?
The CCA will giev you at least 12 days le-way, and will force their hand. anything over the 12 days and you can stop paying anyway, until they provide the CCA.
For some reason BCard seem to have sped the SAR process up a bit - why, not sure, sneaky reason, almost definately!
Once you send the Prelim off, you could argue your card is then in dispute again, and you could stop making payments on anything under what the charges amount to.
Best check back again then!
Peter
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Thanks
Peter
Ogre, your situation with Barclaycard is similar to my own with my HBOS visa card in that the balance is entirely made up of charges - in fact, it is by my calaculation in credit to the tune of a tenner.
My approach has been to say that I will simply regard the account as closed and let them off the tenner. I have no intention of going to court on this one.
Their response so far indicates that they haven't understood what I am doing. I am interested to see if they threaten legal action when they do; "make my day, Punk"!
I have promised not to apply for a stay!
It's an interesting strategy and it doesn't seem like they would legally be able to force you to repay the money. However, I'd be worried about the effect it might have on your credit history. Obviously, you would be able to remove any entries later.
I'm actually hoping that Barclaycard will end up paying me some cash! I plan to chase them for compound interest and there are charges going back several years, so I think the bill will be more than the balance.
I'll subscribe to your thread and keep an eye.
Good Luck!
I've just had a (standard looking) letter from Barclaycard which refuses my SAR request until they receive a cheque for £10... I'm absolutely certain that I included said cheque and it was correctly made out (I triple checked everything).
Has this happened to anyone before?
I'm pretty ****ed off, as it seems as if its simply an attempt to slow me down...
I guess my only option is to send this again, but is there anyway I can ensure they won't do this again?
I've finally got the statements from Barclaycard and, after charges, it looks as if my account will be in credit by £540.
I've spoken Mercers this evening and explained the situation. As before, they told porky's and threatened me - they're trying to transfer the debt to a third party. I told them that I would be quite happy to go to court and informed them that I would be sending them a letter before action tomorrow.
Before I send this, I have a couple of questions:
1. A substantial amount of the charges are for exceeding my credit limit (~£450). Will this mean that it is possible/likely that my claim may be stayed?
2. I've charged CI at 14.9%, as this is Barclaycards's nominal rate. Is this right?
3. I'm pretty certain that there is very little they can do to enforce this debt, but what would happen if they took me to court in the meantime?
4. They have only sent me statements for the last 6 years (I think there are another 4-5 years previous). What is the status with claims in excess of 6 years? I will be asking for the other records anyway, but I'm not going to hold up the rest of my claim in the meantime.
First off, get your claim started to reclaim charges formally with Prelim letter claiming chgs and CI. Follow up with lba after 14 days
Second, write to Mercers and tell them a/c is in dispute and there will be a pay't due TO YOU when your claim is settled.
Tell them, if they continue to bombard you with calls and harass you, they will be reported to the OFT with regard to the OFT debt collection Guidelines section 2.6 (a) and 2.6 (h).
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Also, spoke to them about missing records and was given the response:
"the DPA means we don't keep records longer than 6 years"
The manager seemed to be a bit of her depth on this one, so I asked if she would be prepared to put that in writing and send me a certificate to verifiy it's distruction. Cue, some backtracking and an attempt to pass me to their Data Protection Team. I'm expecting them to call me back tomorrow.
Frankly, I don't buy this 6 years rubbish. I can't imagine any bank/credit card company rushing to destroy records (at least, not until now...!).
You will often be wasting your time and breath talking to the banks and they have shown, Barclays in particular, that they will ignore or lie to you unless they have a legal duty to respond.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the call back and I would put everything formally in writing.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Yes, they're pretty **** for returning calls - although I did get a call back today!!??
I made sure that I got a direct address to write to, in case I do not hear back. However, they're not hiding behind the old microfiche argument, I'm being told that they do not keep records older than 6 years. If that's their story, I intend to get them to state that in writing (whilst reminding them that the DPA means they have to give me EVERYTHING they have on file).
If they have destroyed them, I'm going to demand some sort of certificate to prove when this was done. They had better have been systematically destroying them since my account started, rather than shredding the whole lot in the last few months...!
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Orge vs Barclaycard
agency. I was told that this would mean I would be unable to pursue the claim with Barclaycard. I'm certain that this is all a load of rubbish, with the intention of scaring me into making a payment.
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No sign of the statements yet though.
