Thread: Barclaycard have taken money from my Bank

Originally Posted by gavin2121

Hi All,

Back in May (when i lost my job) i contacted all our creditors advising them that we would be unable to make our regular payments and enclosed a budget sheet (drawn up with advise from CCCS) and an offer of repayment (good will payment)

Barclaycard were offered £1 as our budget sheet gave us a negative ballance of -£25.00

We recieved a response to this letter advising us that the £1 offer was insufficiant and that before they would be able to accept any token payment less than the amount required, they would need to recieve a copy of our budget sheet.

We re-sent a budget sheet and again highlighted our -£25 ballance and the £1 offer we were making....

ok... all gone very quiet.... until

Today my wife recieved a letter advising that Barclaycard have exercised their (legal) right to offset funds from our Barlcays current account in order to clear the outstanding amount payable (£55 ish)

Are they allowed to do this if they are aware of our circumstances and have recieved a budget sheet. Can i stop any future payments being taken this way?

Yes, I'm afraid the banks are allowed to use the "right to set off" rules which date back hundreds of years apparently. If you are still in debt to Barclays you need to set up a parachute account with another bank asap and transfer all incomings to that bank.. MAKE SURE its not a bank connected to any form of debt you owe.

S.

Barclayshark have just done this to me, too, and plundered the entire contents of my current account, even though the Barclaycard is in dispute!

This would seem to be their latest tactic. The revised T&C's they sent out with the July current acount statements emphasise this, but even though the new T&Cs don't come into effect until October it would seem Barclays are jumping the gun and applying this now.

When I got into financial difficulties last year I sought advice from my local CAB who assured me that Barclays credit and banking arms are separate and never work together. That may have been true once, but no more. I'm seeing the manager of another bank (one I have no connection with) later today to open up a basic account to stop Barclays from helping themselves again. I should have done it sooner.

A complaint to the fos might help if (for example) the money was taken from a joint account and the BC is just in your name. I found this site with more details. banking: firms' right of 'set off'

I'm afraid you're in for a hard time with BC. Even though you bank with them and they know your financial position better than anyone, you'll find them very unreasonable.

the new T&Cs don't come into effect until October it would seem Barclays are jumping the gun and applying this now.

They've had, and used, the "Right of Set Off" for ages and that fos atricle is from 2004.