Beachy v Barclaycard/Mercers take 2

[beachcomber60]

Hi Everyone, this is my first post.

 

I have been considering getting a claim in to Barclays but have been putting it off due to everything being on hold.

 

I understand that there is an exception if there is genuine hardship - do we now qualify? I have just been made redundant due to my employer going into receivership, although I was employed with them for over ten years I parted company without receiving a penny i.e. no redundancy pay, notice, holiday pay or wages for the previous three weeks. Barclays are hitting me hard in excessive charges, I asked for a small overdraft until i receive the Government funded redundancy package (approx. £5K) however they said no because I am now unemployed. My question is can I claim back excessive charges due to my circumstances

[Rooster-UK]

Hi, Beachcomber.

You can reclaim all unlawful penalty charges.

Start by spending a few days (you'll need it) reading the FAQs and the step by step guides. That will answer your initial questions and also give you an idea of how to go about it.

 

I don't think you'll qualify as a hardship case from what you have posted, but by all means, start your claim without delay.

Claims cases are being stayed at the moment, but when the OFT issue is resolved, your claim will already be in the pipeline.

 

Use this thread as your "battle-thread" and post any questions you may have here. Also try to keep it up to date with progress reports so that other users will be able to advise you better.

 

Oh, and welcome to CAG.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[beachcomber60]

Dont now if I am in the right place but here goes.

 

Have tried making a payment plan with Barclaycard (offered more then personal budget via National Debt Line) they wont entertain any offer and have instructed Mercers to obtain payment from me. I have phoned Mercers and explained the position to them i.e have been made redundant without any redundancy, holiday pay, notice pay or wages and have to go approx 6 weeks before I get the redundancy package (minimum) from the Government, all I get at the moment until this arrives is Jobseekers (£60 a week), Mercers said that the account is on hold for 14 days then someone will call, there is no way I'll have any money by then to get them off my back and in any event cant pay off what they demand in one go. what can I do, we are at our wits end. BC have been making phone calls everyday (the record is 11 on a Sunday). The line in our house is my husbands business line so cannot change the number easily, now Mercers have been given our number by BC we just dont know what to do. Help Please

[Heather58]

HI there, I am dealing with Barclaycard on behalf of my partner and had to deal with Mercers like yourself. They will continue calling until they get a payment that suit them.

 

Someone more experienced should be along to help you soon but in the meantime you ought to consider sending a CCA request to Mercers and possibly a S.A.R. request to Barclaycard and see if there is any unlawful charges you can claim back.

 

There are numerous threads on here relating to barclaycard so have a read of them.

 

I am sorry I can be of no further help, but as I said someone else with more experience should be along to you soon.

[slick132]

Hi BC60 and welcome to the BC forum.

 

Mercers and/or BC will hound you but most of it will be phone calls and hot air. Get used to refusing to answer their security Q's, tell them to communicate in writing only then hang up.

 

Do you have your statements to show how much you've paid in penalty charges over the last 6 years. If so, work out how much and enter them on a Site spreadsheet. Read the Reclaiming Charges Guide in Link No1 in my signature below.

 

If you don't have the state's, you'll request them using this letter - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/586-credit-store-card-letter.html It'll cost you £10.

 

 

Use Letter N from here to request your Credit Agreement - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-bailiffs-advice/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html It'll cost you £1.00.

 

Keep copies of all letters incase they are needed as evidence. Send letters by Rec'd Del'y or get a Cert of Posting from the PO which is free.

 

Don't SIGN your letters - just print or write your name.

[beachcomber60]

Thanks for the reply, I take it that by writing to BC i would be disputing the debt and therefore put Mercers on hold for the time being. With money due in approx. 6 weeks I could pay off the arrears and bring the account back into line. Should I consider asking for a ccj, they wont even entertain a DMP which I have proposed. Until the firm I worked for got into trading problems my financial affairs were spot on every month. We subscribe to the telephone preference service - should I throw this at them if they continue calling.

[slick132]

Hi BC,

 

The CCA request, if not responded to by BC within the time allowed will put the a/c "in dispute".

 

There are letters you can send them but it probably want stop them calling altogether. So it's really best if you can just ignore them. Keep a log of every call they make, especially if their time is up to respond to your CCA request.

Should I consider asking for a ccj

Not sure what you mean here. If BC/Mercers get bored waiting for you to pay, they could start action to get a CCJ against you but they're usually slow to do this.

 

By then, you'll know if they have the nec'y Credit Agreement showing all the "Prescribed Terms". If they don't, they cannot enforce the agreement so they can't take you to court. If they've placed defaults against your credit records they will have to remove them.

 

This is the reason for demanding sight of the Credit Agreement - without it, or if it doesn't comply, they don't have a leg to stand on and you can repay the debt at a rate which suits your circumstances.

[beachcomber60]

Morning CAG'ers,

 

Could anyone advise me of the address to send Barclayloan a ppi reclaim letter.

 

Has anyone been successful in reclaiming ppi from Barclayloan.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Dorabell]

Morning CAG'ers,

 

Could anyone advise me of the address to send Barclayloan a ppi reclaim letter.

 

Has anyone been successful in reclaiming ppi from Barclayloan.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi beachcomber i have started a claim with barclayloan

 

Address i am using is, PERSONAL LOANS FROM BARCLAYS 2ND FLOOR BARCLAYS HOUSE 15-33 MOORFIELDS LIVERPOOL L22RU i hope this helps good luck:)

[beachcomber60]

Hi beachcomber i have started a claim with barclayloan

 

Address i am using is, PERSONAL LOANS FROM BARCLAYS 2ND FLOOR BARCLAYS HOUSE 15-33 MOORFIELDS LIVERPOOL L22RU i hope this helps good luck:)

 

 

Many thanks Dorabell, letter going in the post today.

 

Good luck with yours.

[beachcomber60]

Starting the reclaim route with Barclaycard, popping out to the post office shortly, as I have both B/C & M/C with Barclaycard do I have to send two £1.00 orders for copies of the CCA and likewise with the 310 SAR requests.

 

Thanks

[PGH7447]

if these are still with barclays just send a sar for each account, in the sar say you require both the statments and credit agreements

[beachcomber60]

Thanks for that - saves me 2 quid then

[PGH7447]

dont forget you can claim the £10 back at the same time as the charges;)

[Paintball]

Hi Beachcomber60

 

Have you sent a SAR yet? Always a good starting point so that you have all the relevant info to hand when you hit them with your statement of mis-selling and request for payment ...

[beachcomber60]

Hi Paintball, Yes S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) on it's way to them so it's a waiting game now. Our previous barclayloan was in my wifes name but the woman in the bank said it would be easier if it went in my name and took ppi even though Iam self employed.

[Paintball]

Hmmm, that sounds interesting and I look forward to you telling us what's in the Terms & Conditions of the PPI element of the loan considering you were self-employed. Exclusion clauses that might have rendered the policy useless come to mind ... but hey, maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit

 

[cbd13]

dont forget you can claim the £10 back at the same time as the charges;)

Really?

I know SAR gives 40days, but how quick are BC at returning them? Sent mine on 15th.

[slick132]

Hi BeachComber,

 

We suggest sending separate CCA and SAR requests as the banks tend to ignore the Credit Agreement aspect of the SAR.

 

For the sake of getting what you need more quickly, spend the £2.

 

However, if you're reclaiming charges, do you need the CCA requests anyway. Just a thought.

[beachcomber60]

Have sent cca & sar, seperately, I have been waiting almost two months for a reply, I started to pay what NDL budget planner nothing heard but today phone calls started - 8 in 2 hours. A quick look at my account on line (only 4 months statements available) Ive been hit with £120 in penalty charges for this period alone & a know for sure that there are several £20-25 charges over the past six years, Ive had the cards in excess of ten years.

 

Question is do I have to wait until the cca sar arrive to put the account in dispute.

[slick132]

Hi BC,

 

So are you saying you sent CCA request & SAR 2 months back.

 

Keep a log of the phone calls for a few days. When you think it looks sufficiently embarrassing for them, send this - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html

 

As the a/c's have penalty chgs on them and you've sent off SAR for penalty data, the a/c's can be considered "In Dispute" for the purposes of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. Take a look at Link No3 in my signature below - Sections 2.6(a); 2.6(h); 2.8(i) and 2.8(k) would all apply.

 

You could therefore stop paying now, if you wish.

 

If you come to deal with reclaiming chgs on the a/c's, please start a new thread for Visa or MC, so the a/c's don't get confused.

[beachcomber60]

Thanks Slick, sorry I don't think I explained very well.

 

I wrote to them about two months ago to say that our finances had hit the buffers and to go on lower payments until things pick up, they did not respond.

 

CCA & SAR went in yesterdays post, will use this thread for barclaycard & start another for mastercard.

[beachcomber60]

Thread running alongside my other barclaycard thread.

 

CCA posted 31/10

SAR posted 31/10

 

Sent seperately.

[slick132]

Thanks BC - all is now clear (this forum stuff is a poor substitute for a proper conversation).

 

The advice in post #8 still applies, though. The a/c is, in your eyes at least, in dispute because the balance contains the penalties. This won't stop them chasing you on a regular basis.

 

Keep your log of contacts - you'll learn to ignore them and they'll often get bored after a while.

 

If they're late with the CCA response, then the a/c will be more formally In Dispute.

[beachcomber60]

Thanks for that slick, have started thread ffor the mc account tiz me v barclaycard mc, will post to each as & when.