I will try and keep this short!

Ive been banking with Barclays since 1995 and there have been good and some not so good times! I've always had an overdraft. Last year when they introduced the new fees my monthly interest went from approx £11 to about £48 per month! I wrote to them in Sept and explained I was already struggling and asked if they could freeze the interest and in return I would pay £50 per month which would reduce the balance of the overdraft- I asked for 6 months and then for it to be reviewed. They acknowledge my complaint but I did not hear from them for several months, apparently they wrote to me in November but I did get the letter and also my father passed away on December 12th and was gravely ill for weeks leading up to this so it wasn't really on my mind. I contacted them in February and asked what was happening and they then sent another copy of the letter and a cheque for £50 for the delay. In the meantime I had been making the payments of £50 per month without an arrangement in place but they had not frozen the interest.

The letter rejected my request and therefore I contact the FOS. After what seems like forever in May the FOS ruled in my favour and ordered Barclays to refund the charges from September and pay me £75 compensation. Now the other issue was that up until March Barclays had never in 20 years reported the running of my account to a credit reference agency but in March they decided to withdraw my overdraft and report this via the CRA's it it looked like I was £1300 OD against a limit of ZERO and also 5 payments behind! They were also ordered to make an arrangement with me, change my credit file from March to show an arrangement and show my overdraft limit.

I made a formal arrangement to pay the balance in 6 months at £150 per month, more than I can afford but they would not accept less! It is now nearly September and whilst Equifax shows and arrangement since March, the balance is incorrect - it shows £1268 when its now just £550. Experian hasn't been updated at all and I only found this out because I have good credit outside of this and I want to pay a house, I applied for a agreement in principle and was declined due to this information showing me 5 payments behind! I lost the house I wanted!

I recontacted the FOS who all along have been very lenient on Barclays and the advisor was actually trying to tell my that its the way Experian report and therefore not Barclays fault. She also said she was surprised I could get a mortgage with an arrangement showing but Ive been assured once this is sorted it is all fine. I insisted she go back to Barclays and she said she emailed them but they didnt come back to her and now shes gone on holiday for 3 weeks! Barclays will not discuss this matter with me directly.

I just dont know what to do? this has been going for a year! Barclays just seem intent on making this as difficult as possible. I mentioned the ICO to the FOS and they said I dont need the ICO, is this right??

Any advice would be appreciated. Can I claim compensation for them making me lose the house I so desperately wanted?

Please tell me you bank with someone else now?

If not then do so.

If the information on your CRF is inaccurate then you need to lodge a complaint with the CRA that is processing and reporting

inaccurate data on your file, and inform them that if it is not rectified immediately, then you will seek legal advice

with a view of taking legal action against them and Sharklays for defamation, and as you have been refused a house

due to this incorrect data, your claim for damages will be substantial.

You can also place a notice of correction against the entry to the effect that it is inaccurate and doesn't reflect the true running of the account.

Have you made a separate complaint to Sharklays regarding their childish behaviour in removing your OD and deliberately forcing you into debt?

Have you reclaimed ALL of their specious charges & interest?

Keep everything in writing, stay OFF the phone, keep a diary of events also, and copies of anything you send, you can get ''proof of posting'' which is free from the PO counter for any letters you send.

I believe that BCOBS will be your guardian angel in all of this, there must be something in there which states that the bank cannot deliberately act like a 2 year old just because they don't get their way, and removing an OD to deliberately put you into debt so they can mark your credit files adversely,

you should seriously think about dragging these crooks to court.

Hi Zoemk,

If the FOS adjudicator is on hols, that should not delay the complaint. If you think the adjudicator's action or conclusions are wrong, you can get the case reviewed by an Ombudsman.

I'm not sure the ICO will be of much use to you in this case.

You could sue the bank seeking a nominal amount for damages. But you would need to prove actual financial loss connected with the failed house purchase and this may not be at all simple.

Read up on the case of Richard Durkin v DSG Retail. There are summaries of the case on the web, eg here - https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCEQFjAAahUKEwjLjICy1dPHAhVsWdsKHaDzD5o&url=http%3A%2F%2Fukscblog.com%2Fcase-comment-durkin-v-dsg-retail-limited-anor-2014-uksc-21%2F&ei=1XbkVYvOEeyy7Qag57_QCQ&usg=AFQjCNEyPswComauWfqHzu83aM-kh7drAQ

Thank you for the replies.

Yes I had another account with Santander and moved everything to them including salary when this started.

I will contact Experian today and no I haven't issued another complaint to Barclays re the handling of the FOS decision, the information on my CRF, their dragging of heels re actually processing this matter or the fact that this is stopping me moving forward with my life, I can't buy a house, I can't buy a car and they don't care! Should I write to Barclays and raise a new complaint?

I receive all of the charges back but no interest however the FOS asked me to sign a settlement form so I think I will have to let that one go.

So do you think I should write to Barclays or issue a claim in the small claims court for damages? I did not incur financial loss re the house I'm just unable to get a mortgage right now and my credit file has been searched which isn't great for for a score either. I currently Have moved in with my mum because I don't have anywhere to live!!

I have asked for my case to be reviewed by the ombudsman but I have been advised this will not be a quick process. I get the feeling the adjudicator has had enough of this and just wants to move on from it!

I think a review by the Ombudsman will be worthwhile if you can identify specific issues that have been addressed inadequately, such as the interest charges, etc.

I'd wait until the FOS review is complete. Then you can decide if you have unresolved issues, and how they should be dealt with.

Taking court action is not the only, or the safest, course of action.

Have you looked into the Durkin case yet.

Hi

Yes looked over the case the there are similarities. I'm going to make an SAR for all of the complaint correspondence just in case I'm not happy with what the ombudsman says. I may seek further damages for defamation though, I may now not be able to get a mortgage for several months because of this!

I think a review by the Ombudsman will be worthwhile if you can identify specific issues that have been addressed inadequately, such as the interest charges, etc.

 

I'd wait until the FOS review is complete. Then you can decide if you have unresolved issues, and how they should be dealt with.

 

Taking court action is not the only, or the safest, course of action.

 

Have you looked into the Durkin case yet.

 

Also to be honest I would not try and claim damages for the house loss as I had not spent any money and there was no guarantee the house was mine! However Barclays have put in a position where I cannot get credit at all! I've spent years rebuilding my credit and they've effectively destroyed it and even if this gets sorted I will still have incurred months of humiliation as a consequence. How could I be 5 payment behind on something that no payments were in place for! And they cancelled my overdraft despite the matter being in the hands of the fos. When I mentioned this to the fos at the time they simply said that an overdraft could be withdraw at anytime, but I argued that it was a little poor to withdraw it whilst a complaint was ongoing and after 20years!

You're more likely to get a fairer decision from an Ombudsman's review.

But be careful to present good, brief arguments with the aim of presenting new relevant info for them to consider.

Sorry haven't done this before but should I prepare a concise letter for the ombudsman? My adjudicator said she would prepare my file but hasn't asked me for additional information.

You're more likely to get a fairer decision from an Ombudsman's review.

 

But be careful to present good, brief arguments with the aim of presenting new relevant info for them to consider.

 

If you have additional info that you think should help the Ombudsman reach a better decision for you, send it to the Adjudicator in a letter now asking for it to be added to your file before it's reviewed by the Ombudsman.

I've just been told by the FOS that the average wait for an ombudsman decision at the moment is 6 months!!!!

So do I leave it with the OM's or raise another complaint directly with Barclays and say I will take legal action if the matter is not resolved effectively and swiftly?!

Do you think Barclays are happy to be voted worst bank every year? They don't seem to be keen to lose the title!!

I think you may also have some help in the form of The Lending Code. Read here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387436-Letter-for-consideration-regarding-Hardship-or-Financial-Difficulty

Also, read the relevant sections of The Lending Code. The code places a responsibility on the bank to identify and assist customers in Financial Difficulty.

Despite what the letter says, we've not seen the banks willing to refund historical charges. But they should have considered their option to stop or lower interest and/or charges once they're of your FD's.

I think you should stick with the option to seek the Ombudsman's review. Research your options including The Lending Code, BCOBs, etc and use these to persuade the Ombudsman that the Adjudicator's decision was not good enough.

Have you told the CRA's about your dispute and the correct figures they should be reporting.

Just a bit of an update. After over a week Barclays have come back to the FOS and told them that they do not have access to the information on my credit file! They've said they need to contact the CRA and ask them what is going on??? Really, do they think I am stupid and why are the FOS letting them do this?

The FOS will lean in favour of the bank and give them lots of time at each stage of investigation.

Have you told the CRA's about the dispute and asked them to amend the entries until this is sorted.

Hi

Yes I've contacted the CRA and queried the entry but have not asked to them to temporarily remove - will do that now. I just do not understand why Barclays are acting so poorly.

UPDATE** So this is still going on! The FOS gave the case to another adjudicator to push Barclays to honor the original decision, they agreed to this in July and so the FOS flt it was just a matter of chatting through.

Barclays used all sorts of delay tactics, e.g. they couldn't see my credit file?? The person dealing with it was on leave, their contact at Experian was on leave! The adjudicator completely agrees with me and so finally they had a call on Friday and Barclays REJECTED the findings!! This is after agreeing in July. So the matter now has to go to an ombudsman.

This latest saga has delayed things by another 6 weeks but the FOS said that they would sort this as Barclays has already agreed to the decision and it was just matter of sorting that out! Furthermore In July I had to sign an acceptance form re the decision and assume the bank would need to do the same? How can they now go back on this? They say they refunded the charges as a gesture of goodwill! They've never said this before.

This is having a profound effect on my life, my credit rating is being dragged down due to this, (after years and years of paying debts and getting to an ok position). I need to get car finance but I can't get s decent deal as my score is too low, I don't want to go into something far more expensive just because of this but in 3 weeks my car needs to go back!

I cant get a mortgage and generally its just causing me to feel really down. I really dont know what to do.

I really don't know what else you can do?

The FOS is dealing with it and seems to be on your side, you can always ask for compo due to the unacceptable way Sharklays are treating you, and I'm pretty sure their will be something in BCOBS that will screw them too the floorboards?

Hi

Thanks for the reply. The FOS do seem to be on my side but also seem to be allowing Barclays to pay these games. Eg, our contact is on leave for 2 weeks - well deal with someone else then! Instead they waited 2 weeks! I've also logged a complaint with the FOS about the service I have received.

With regards to the BCOBS from what I've read the legislation does not extend to overdrafts? I couldn't find a website either?

x

Hi Zoemk,

Do you have all this info from The FOS in writing.

Have you made it clear to the FOS that you expect adequate compensation from the bank.

Are you able to quantify any specific losses.

If you're unable to get this resolved properly by The FOS, you can resort to court action. I suggest you use these delays to research the issue of court action against the bank.

Just wanted to let you know Barclays have now had a change of heart of and have agreed to alter my credit file to show me as up to date!! Plus an extra £275 in compensation:) I'm so happy this is over!

Its being processed right now and should update within 48 hours!

Thank you for help and advice. I'm going to make a donation right now!

Hi Zoemk and thanks for the update.

This is great news and let us know when the CRA files are amended and you get the compensation.

Thanks for the Site Donation which will help us be here to help in the future.

Thread title amended to reflect your win.

Well done Zoemk

Excellent work to all involved.

Regards

Andy

Pleased to hear this is now resolved. It is very frustrating when you have to put so much effort in to dealing with not only the banks, but the FOS as well.