Thread: Chorlton vs Barclaycard ** WON **

I should probably post this under a new thread - how to make an easy tenner from Barclaycard.............. .!!!

Subject access request


I am writing to again request a fully comprehensive list of all the default charges for overdue payments, over-limits or unpaid debits/standing orders/charges I have paid since my account with you was opened in June 2003

Please find enclosed another cheque for the maximum statutory charge of £10. If you are unable to provide this data, I will accept a copy of my statements going back to June 2003; I understand that statements on their own are not covered by the Data Protection Act 1998, yet I’m not requesting the statements per se, but the charges, which I’m entitled to by law.

I look forward to your response within 40 days of 14th December, as Barclaycard is obliged to reply under the Data Protection Act. If not I shall seek remedy from the Information Commissioner.





You will note from the telephone records on my account both today and on previous days that I have already made a Subject access request (my letter dated 12th December, and received by Barclaycard on 14th December, is attached for your reference)
This initial letter was sent to the department that a representative of Your Company advised was the correct one within the Barclaycard group (again, please check your telephone records for 12th December when I was explicitly given this address which I have now been informed is incorrect).
Fortunately, my letter was clearly received by Barclaycard as my cheque for £10 was cashed…..and then nothing happened.
Having been cashed, the cheque was paid into my closed account (which has a zero balance).
I called Barclaycard shortly before Christmas and was advised by one of your operators (his advice was not immediately forthcoming, he had to put me on hold on several occasions to “clarify certain informations (sic)” ) that my letter had been received and that the statements had been requested and would be with me “within the deadline I had set”.
I am fascinated that, when I called again today, I was told that my letter had now not been received (which clearly it was otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to cash my cheque!) and that I was given “incorrect” information during my previous call.
It is disappointing that your call centre is unable to understand the nature of requests made under English Law and appear to be ignorant of the provisions of the Data Protection Act, as I was then told I would have to pay £3 each for “older statements” which is clearly a breach of the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) provision of the Act and as such I shall ignore it.
The cheque rested in my closed account until I called again today. The cheque did not have my account number written on it so there is absolutely no way it could have been processed by an “automated” system (as claimed by another of your telephone operators today) which means ipso facto somebody at Barclaycard Northampton MUST have read my letter and should have acted accordingly. However, there is absolutely no record of any action being taken (other than my cheque being cashed).
One of the supervisors in your overseas call centre kindly refunded the £10 cheque to me this evening together with a goodwill payment of a further £10 for my distress and inconvenience – whilst this appears to me to be an easy way for me to make money from Barclaycard I trust that this follow up S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) request will be dealt with in a more professional manner.
As such it should be clearly understood by you that my S.A.R. was made on 14th December and as such Barclaycard is obliged to reply by 25th January ( I will allow you 2 extra days to allow for the New Year Bank holiday) under the Data Protection Act. If not I shall seek remedy from the Information Commissioner.


I am seriously tempted to go for a tenner a month profit and just keep sending the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to the "wrong" address, as I dont have many charges with BCard so could get it all back this way instead!!!!!

Still no statements......looks like complaint to information commissioner with prelim the BCard (I will base my estimate of charges on £100 a month for 6 years, as in the absence of any data from them I only have 1 statement which had £100 of charges on it.......) I reckon that, coupled with contractual interest, will top out around 10k and will probably get their attention enough for them to print off the statements!

Had conversation with Adrian Whalley, Head of Barclaycard Data Protection :
1) In November he had 1 member of staff working for him.
2) Since various TV and newspaper progs/articles the team has been increased to 4 people with more to come.
3) they have had over 1000 requests in last month or so for S.A.R - (Subject access request)'s (Go CAG members!!!).
4) He assumed that my request was to claim back charges - clearly they are under no illusions any more about why people are writing to them.
5) He said when I got my S.A.R - (Subject access request) response back I would be able to claim for the amount of charges OVER £12........
6) I thanked him for his opinion but suggested the OFT had not said charges of £12 or below were lawful, and that they still had to justify them, and that I would be claiming for all teh unlawful charges levied - he did not defend the £12.

He is actually a nice bloke and clearly under the cosh and I do have some sympathy as he clearly neither sets the charging policy, nor enforces it, nor has any responsibility for refunds - I didnt get a number for him but I was put through from the usual customer service number.

He confirmed the address to send S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) requests to is:

Data Protection Team
(you could make them c/o Adrian Whalley)
Barclaycard PLC
1234 Pavilion Drive
Northampton
NN4 7SG

He did confirm that I would get my list of charges within the 40 day deadline - I can only assume he is dropping them off himself over the weekend!

In the templates area there is a non-compliance letter or something along those lines. You can also complain to the ICO (use their website). Plenty of other people doing the same - have a read around. If you have the info, you could get in touch with the person who they were supposed to write to and persuade them to play holy hell about disclosing information to you. Sweet Revenge!!

I am certainly going to make a non-compliance complaint to the info commissioner - I think I will ask Adrian Whalley to choose who I tell firts - the IC, the FSA, the guy who's SAR I have (it's securely locked away, and I have not desire or intention to look at his data - the covering sheet has all his contact info) or a newspaper...

Have enough statements (and made a few phone calls to check on some missing months!!) so have submitted 2 prelims which have morphed a little into lba's but to be honest I am bored with Barclaycard now.

Sent a 3 part letter to 1) complain about getting somebody elses data 2) to request charges back on my BCard and 3) to get charges back on my charge card - also spoke to the data protection department and they were deeply unhappy that I had somebody elses data, and especially that I had some of their internal sheets too - they asked for teh data back and I ssaid it was secure and would remain secure until they confirmed my data was safe - if they couldnt do that I told them I will deliver it to the information commissioner for his safe keeping and they can ask him for its return

BC rang me yesterday - my new mate Adrian Whalley - and asked if I could confirm that I really couldnt find any of the statements in teh letter they sent - I did have another look in the envelope just to make sure, but the cupboard was bare!

I emailed my Prelim/lba's and charges to him as, 3 days after receiving it, he has decided he now cannot read the fax I sent.

They have until next Monday or I will be going to the IC with the other blokes statements and the county court with my N1 - not bothering to slow this one down as they have had more than enough time to offer me something....

I am going to try and claim both the charge card and credit card at same time - I am still unsure if my entire charge card claim is valid but it will push the total claim way over 5k and then hopefully I can force disclosure if I am fast tracked - they won't want to do that for the barclaycard bit so may be forced to settl. If they do decide to go to court then I don't mind taking a hit on the costs if I lose the charge card bit of the case as they will have been forced to disclose their charges ad I will get something back on the credit card bit....I think that makes sense, at least it does in my head! :o

Just a quick update...

Barclaycard settled in full on Friday after a flurry of phone calls and emails

Barclays Premier Card - got a "sod-off" email which I have replied to as they really have not addressed why I am claiming - suspect I will get another negative resonse so will be taking N1 down to local county court this week some time.

If anybody has read anywhere of somebody else going against Barclays for a charge card please can you let me know - I have done this against Amex on a charge card and was sucessful but would like to think I was not the first chasing after B.Prem.

Could a passing Mod please change this to ****WON****

Good luck nemo! Don't hold your breath on the SAR - you will get something at around 40 days but probably no more than a letter saying they can't comply as they are really busy so you must wait a little longer.

Its worth chasing them by letter and email a week or so before their 40 days is up, so they know you are on the ball....

In hindsight it was a bit of a giggle!

The one thing it has taught me above all others is to never have dealings with Barclaycard again, and to never trust them again.

I returned the statements and their info to them over the weekend - I did telephone the IC and he said I was not the first and will not be the last and that they are annoyed with the banks but not much they can do other than write the banks a letter saying they are useless - on that basis I couldnt be bothered to drag it out as I would not be able to penalise the bank which is what I would have loved to have done.
I am sure that, because somebody else didnt get their statements on time, I received my settlement early.
I am also sure that Barclaycard don't care two hoots about our data, they are just shovelling it from A to B and back to A again, and if it gets sent to C by mistake well, ho hum, lets go back to A and start again.

I am also sure that they will treat my charge card claim with disdain until I get to 24 hours away from court and then, suprise suprise, I will get a cheque......

Oh, one thing I forgot to add...they still have not paid the £20 sitting in my closed account!

I have done - 9 times now!