@barclaycard Fleeced By Barclaycard.. Again!!!!!

[Gitmouse]

Hi All,

Discovered my Barclays Account was around £800 short

.and that Its down to Barclaycard helping themselves ,yet again!!!!

 

Its happened once before(£350 last summer) so it could have been avoided if I'd have started banking elsewhere

,but I was assured that it wouldn't happen again after B/C worked out a fair payment plan

,based on my priorty outgoings & living expenses etc...

 

At the time I was in the early stages of recovering from pretty bad back injury and in reciept of Incapacity Benefit,

when I told them this,within 2 days I got a full refund,the only stipulation being not to default on the payment plan they had set up or they'd do the same again..

 

Had to pay £12 p/w which I have without fail since

so I'm at a loss as to why they've burgled me again,

even though they're aware its my benefits account and that I'm actually,albeit slowly,paying it off.

 

 

I deposited a £1800 cheque recently,so that might start their bells ringing,

but this was my partners wages,

her Santander account has been compromised 3 times in as many years so she had her cheque re-written and used my account as a quick fix.

 

In total theres about £230 to cover about £1100 out goings!!!

 

I suspect we may actually drod dead sometime during the back end of the month!!!!!!

 

I know they can take whatever they want pretty much,

but I was making regular re-payments which I'd agreed to increase as soon as I could,

they set the payment amount/standing order and how often i pay.

..Ive not been contacted about any changes at all

 

They've just blatently done what they ,so clearly,told me I shouldn't do otherwise they'd nick my money again.

 

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Are there any "unchangable" rules that cover this anyone knows of?

 

Even though I got a refund last time,I don't think I'll be as lucky this time round for some reason.

 

Got to wait till Monday to contact B/C,if I get no joy there a few pointers on how best to approach the whole thing would be magic!!

We really cannot get by without this money to be honest

 

Thanks for any help

 

Jules

[slick132]

Hi Gitmouse and welcome to CAG

 

Because you kept to the repayment plan as agreed with BC, I can see why you thought depositing YP's money was safe. However, you will now see that banks tend to do what they want, when they want, regardless of the effect on you both for the month.

 

You need to get onto BC first thing Monday confirming you kept to the agreed repayment plan and that this money is not yours but YP's. Complain to BC's office in Leicester as per this post - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?3331-Barclaycard-Contact-Address&p=3932776&viewfull=1#post3932776

 

It may also be worth an urgent phone complaint to the FOS to see if they can assist promptly.

 

One important factor may be if you have BC's agreement in writing, accepting your offer to pay them £12 pw. If you do, you have a better case than relying upon your version of a phone call.

 

Speed is of the essence if you are to get Barclays to refund the money.

 

Also see here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/announcement.php?f=7&a=220

 

[Gitmouse]

Hi Slick132,

Thanks for your reply.

I called B/C first thing this morning and as soon as I'd given my ref no & got my account details on screen they must have realised something was not quite right.

I didn't even have to ask for a refund,they offered,without me having to explain what i thought was wrong or go into any of my financial details.

They're explanation was that my present repayment plan was 'about' to expire,apparently I was supposed to initiate contact to renew the plan 28 days before the plan was due to expire,which would be the 20th of this month.

So the plan was still active,its just that they hadnt heard from me..yet!

I didn't even know that the plan had an expiry date,I'm almost certain the arrangement was to keep up the payments until I cleared the balance but I may be wrong.They're going to write to me or call to remind me to renew in the future.

Anyway,she couldn't explain why B/C had raided my bank account while I was still under payment terms or why I hadn't been contacted to renew plan terms,assured me that it wouldn't happen again!(heard that one before!!!) and said my funds would be returned within 48 hours.

I wonder if they'd have noticed the mistake eventually if I hadn't,and been forthcoming with a refund?

I'm guessing not!!!

 

Many thanks again for your reply..This is a fantastic forum and i bet many people find a bit of comfort knowing its here.

 

Thanks:lol:

[slick132]

Hi GM,

 

This sounds good so far but, until you get the money back in your a/c, be wary.

 

Ideally, you should have insisted that BC acknowledge their error in writing, so you have it confirmed that the money will be repaid.

 

Check the money comes back as promised and then move it away from Barclays, FAST !! If it's not refunded as promised, make an urgent complaint to BC.

 

Also, make sure the arrangement to repay is reviewed, based on your current financial circumstances, so you can continue to pay them what you can afford each week/month.

 

You need to make sure they don't get another chance to get their hands on your, or YP's money. Never use the Barclays a/c again to receive money. We've seen many cases here when Barclays have raided an account to take BC arrears and they have NOT refunded. You are very lucky that they acknowledge the arrangement and have agreed to refund.

 

You should read this Article - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?557-Letter-for-an-application-for-consideration-for-hardship

 

Also, have you reclaimed all penalty charges (plus compound interest) that have been added to the account in the last 6 years or longer. The refund could help reduce the balance you owe to them.

 

[slick132]

If you and/or YP are at risk of this happening again, you should consider opening an account outside the Barclays Group (Santander for YP) so they can't get their mits on your money again.

 

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi Gitmouse,

 

Slick asked me to look at your thread at the weekend but I have had computer problems and couldn't get on before today.

 

I am pleased to see that Barclays have refunded your money on this occasion.

 

For future reference, Barclays have no right to "take whatever they want" from your account. They helped themselves to funds from my account on three occasions and refunded every time as soon as I spoke to the FOS and called Barclays with my FOS reference number. In fact they refunded within two hours.

 

Even if they use their right to offset, they can only take a reasonable amount from the balance left over when you have paid all of the following: mortgage or rent, council tax, utility bills, travel to work expenses, and of course you must be allowed to eat!

 

In fact on one occasion they took over £7,000 from a cagger's account when he received this from his insurance company as payment on a claim for damage to his flat. Without that money he wouldn't have been able to have the repairs done and yet again as soon as the FOS became involved Barclays gave it all back.

 

You are obviously doing your very best to clear the debt with Barclays, but honestly I would change your bank as Barclays will have put some software on your account which will alert them every time you have a large sum of money deposited, and they are likely to do the same thing again. I moved to the Co-operative Bank, and I won't even pay my Barclays mortgage from there because I don't trust them an inch, so I take out cash and pay at a Barclays branch. You may know that Barclays is nearly always top of the Banks' Complaints List.

 

DD