Meecha -v- Barclays

[meecha]

hi everyone sorry for hijacking!!

 

i recently moved to Ulster bank as i now live in Northern Ireland and no Barclays near me, i left my Barclays account open but but was overdrawn by £14, i hadnt realised and now i owe them £594 in charges. i had not told them of my new address but they have sent letters to it and nor did they know my workplace but are know phoning on daily basis, i have been off on annual leave and returned to work to find dozens of messages from them.

 

my question is, how did they find out my new address and workplace number? the ulster bank knew i had a barclays account but not the details and only other official company who know my address are northern ireland electrcity.

 

what about the Data Protection Act? have they found out my information legally? i am not currently on electoral register.

 

many thanks for reading and once again sorry for hijacking!

 

regards

Meecha

[slick132]

Hi Meecha,

 

I've moved your post into your own thread to avoid hijacking.

 

Sorry but I think the real isue here is that they HAVE found you, not HOW they found you. If you had given them your new address, this matter may never have arisen as you would've realised you still owed them the £14.

 

They may have info from any number of sources, some legitimate and some more dubious (eg, vehicle licensing, etc).

 

Ulster Bank may have put your data on a credit search.

 

But you now have to deal with Barclays and I'd start with a letter warning them against contacting you any further at your place of work. Write to them confirming that such contact is a clear breach of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines.

 

Confirm that any further calls will be recorded and reported to the FOS as breaches under Sections 2.6(a) and 2.6(j) of the OFT.

 

You then need to contact the Bank about the o/d a/c and try to resolve the issue re their charges. Certainly charges of nearly £600, for a £14 o/d left in error, are disproportionate. Maybe tell the bank you are willing to settle the £14 plus any related interest but they must withdraw the subsequent default charges.

 

Tell them that, if they refuse, you will complain to the FOS about their disproportionate and unreasonable charges.

 

See how they respond.