This is the second time I have acted on my parents behalf and been successful each time. Maybe it's because I emphasise how old they are, how long they've been customers etc? I have always been a believer that 'the Pen is Mightier Than the Sword' and in the past I have reclaimed all the unfair bank charges etc with complete success. Maybe I am in the wrong job lol!!!!!

Just wanted to share this with you guys In November my parents wrote to Barclays instructing them that as from February this year they wanted to cancel 2 direct debits, for TalkTalk and Sky, as they were coming to live with us. They also went into the local branch and explained what they were doing. They are both 82 years old and believe in doing things 'properly' which means writing 'proper' letters. long story short - the bank cancelled DD's with immediate effect which meant both companies contacting them repeatedly to demand payments. (They have never missed a payment or been late etc) This caused them great distress, just 3 days before Christmas. They were so upset and stressed, my father is asthmatic and took to his bed. I fired an email off to the CEO at Barclays explaining their situation and this morning I had a Skype call from them to say that they had received £150 deposited straight into their account by way of an apology!! Result!! It DOES pay to complain! Now if this is an indicator to how the New Year will be then it's looking good eh!!

Many thanks guys - you have certainly put things into perspective for me and I shall definitely be doing the following: 1. applying for ppi back to august 2013 2. if rejected I will reclaim the ppi paid 3. refuse the apr hike effectively turning the balance into a loan My aim is to be totally debt free by the end of next year

I did do the whole unfair bank charge thing some years ago - I haven't had much in the way of ppi at all. I ealise that the 0% cards don't improve the credit rating - it was more a case of making what available money I have go further and reduce my debt quicker. I am fairly resigned to having a low rating for 6 years but will keep an eye via sites like noddle etc. Thanks for the replies

Hi there, this is my first post here so please be patient I have a Barclaycard with limit of £4000 (I actively reduced this from 6K) of which I currently owe just over 3K. I am only able to pay £100 a month so the debt is only being reduced by about £60 a month. Now Barclaycard are increasing their APR my monthly payment will reduce even slower than now. I tried to apply for a 0% balance transfer card but was unsuccessful. My husband has only managed to open a Lloyds Platinum card with a 1K limit so we can transfer £950 onto that and make regular payments no problem. It is only recently that I realised that I am paying PPI on my Barclaycard, however, I finished work in August 2013 due to back trouble. I have been in receipt of ESA until very recently following a Health Assessment which deemed me fit to work (!!!) My benefit stopped. My husband works in forestry and is on a low income but we are not eligible for any other benefit. So I'm thinking that I should have claimed on the B/card PPI - but is it too late now. If any claim was rejected could I reclaim the PPI payments made on the account. Can I write and ask B/Card to freeze the account and interest as I am only interested in paying the debt off and will not be using it to make purchases etc. I find it SO frustrating to read about all these long term 0% cards and then find we are not eligible to receive them. How am I supposed to improve my Credit rating when I am finding it SO difficult to keep afloat? Sorry for the long post - just wanted to make sure that had given as much information as possible.