Barclays Reserve Fees

[nuclearshark]

Hi All,

 

I recently had trouble with Reserve Charges and Bounced DD's as a result of their own charges. Wrote a snotty letter to Barsharks and asked to reclaim charges of approx £1200 with interest. At the time I was on benefits due to long term illness which is still the case, however I have chosen by my own choice to work limited hours because I cannot sit at home all day.

 

Barsharks wrote back offering £150 gesture of good will and said their charges were deemed acceptable on the account. They said the Good Will Gesture was on the condition they removed the OD.

 

Referred straight to FoS who found in Barsharks favour... :mad2:

 

Faced with little other option (so I thought) I accepted the £150 knowing it had cost them £500 for the complaint to FoS. Yet they have failed to remove my personal reserve.

 

I also went into a branch in London earlier this week and waited to see a banker about doing an internation transfer and waited for about an hour and had yet to be seen. When asked about a further wait time I was told "Not Long". By this time I needed to go to the Bathroom (Part of my disability are depressingly regular visits) and asked if I could go to the public loo across the road. Was told again it was not long to wait and if I did I would lose place in the queue. Faced with a jobs-worth response I had little choice but to "forfeit" my place in the queue and go to the toilet. When I came back I the jobs-worth I think had a change of heart and made sure I was seen straight way.

 

I've been following this with interest. But I'm tempted to be honest to file litigation against them... Beings as most of the credits were some form of Disability related benefit or Housing Benefit. It seems immoral that a Fat Cat somewhere has had their mittens on it for a bonus. Their house is probably paid for, yet I have no such luxury and have to pay rent every month, not chance of a mortgage. I cannot drive due to disability which is permanent. It makes me feel so angry that if some of these Fat Cats were brought down to "the real world" I doubt they would be able to cope...

 

Fingers crossed for you. Barsharks are very spiteful and vindictive... They don't get their nickname barsharks and barclaysharks for nothing

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi nuclearshark,

 

The Barclays Reserve is one of the nastiest charges out there and if you ever do decide to take them on then you will have loads of support.

 

In a week they take £22 even if you are overdrawn for just a matter of hours. That is more than I get in my child allowance and month after month they took the lot.

 

There is a reason I can't challenge it just now, but I may do in the future.

 

DDx

[nuclearshark]

Thanks DD

 

I agree. It is a particularly nasty charge that one! I got particularly cross with them on the phone recently as I had made a payment in a retail store for £10.00 but the cashier made a complete hash of it and accidentally charged £100.00. I spotted the error unfortunately after the transacation had been authorised. This took me about £3.00 over my £10.00 Overdraft which of course was into personal reserve.

 

Anyhow the cashier refunded the £100.00 and debited the £10.00 correctly. Any common sense applying human being when looking at a statement could see what had happened. Could I make the chicken in the call centre understand this?? Could I 'ell! Went into the branch in the end and demanded to speak to the Branch Manager. They refunded the personal reserve fee as a "Gesture of Goodwill" A charge that should NEVER have been applied in the first place!

 

I am more than happy to put these fat cats to shame. Considering my complaint process, FoS referral and still no budging. Where would be a good place to start? Apologies if I'm covering old ground here and hijacking Deb's thread. If a Site Team member want's to split my comments into a seperate thread Named: The Shark vs. Barsharks then I would be most happy with that!

 

Cheers. Shark

[slick132]

Hi Nuclear,

 

I've put the above posts here into your own thread so the matter can be discussed further if you wish, without further hijack of Deb's thread which was here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?393290-Barclays-Reserve-Charges(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

It's no surprise that Barclays and the FOS turned down your request for a refund of fees. The FOS tend to find in favour of the banks in such matters.

 

If you really want to take the bank to task about the matter of Barclays fees, the way forward may be to use :-

 

1. The Lending Code - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?557-Letter-for-an-application-for-consideration-for-hardship

 

2. The BCOBs Regulations, which require the banks to treat you fairly.

 

[nuclearshark]

Thanks slick

 

I'll have a read through later on.

 

Sorry for hijacking the other thread.

 

Cheers,

 

Nuke

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi Nuke,

 

I'm sure Debs didn't mind you posting on her thread. We are united in our loathing of Barclays.

 

A "gesture of goodwill"! (I can't find the smiley for throwing up!) (courtesy of slick !)

 

I hope the links above may help you to claim.

 

DD

Edited June 12, 2013 by slick132

[Debvfm]

Hijack all you want, I don't mind. These banks are shocking. They are so unfair with their charges how their staff justify their bonuses is beyond me. Paid for with other people's misery.

[misslaika]

Hi, this has happened to me too. Barclays have offered me less than half of what I want to reclaim plus they said they will remove the reserve facility if I agree to their refund. Have you had the reserve facility removed from your account? I want to agree to having the reserve facility removed but am thinking that Barclays won't remove it.

[nuclearshark]

Hi, this has happened to me too. Barclays have offered me less than half of what I want to reclaim plus they said they will remove the reserve facility if I agree to their refund. Have you had the reserve facility removed from your account? I want to agree to having the reserve facility removed but am thinking that Barclays won't remove it.

 

Hi misslaika,

 

That all went on in June and I have had a lot of personal issues in that time, so haven't got round to tackling this head on.

 

They credited the £150 to my account on the condition that I forfeit my personal reserve. I agreed to this in writing with a signature. The FoS also had a copy as I accepted the offer via them.

 

6 months on (give or take) and that personal reserve is still active on my account!

 

Whilst I should have phoned or written to them pointing out what is clearly their error and incompetence. I simply don't have the energy to deal with that right now. I wonder though if that is grounds for complaint on its own... They renegaded on their part of the deal.......

[nuclearshark]

So I decided to take this back on and the following letter went to the Chief Executive:

 

01/06/2015

 

Dear Antony,

 

Letter Before Action – Final Demand – {Redacted}

 

As per my previous correspondence to Barclays some time ago, I now demand that you repay the amount of £1301.37 to my account {Redacted} no later than 01/07/2015. The amount includes Bank Charges and Reserve Fees which are both unfair, disproportionate and it is my personal belief that they are in breach of The Social Security Administration Act 1992.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the Social Security Administration Act 1992 section 187 states clearly the following:

 

187.—(1) Subject to the provision of this Act, every assignment of or charge on–

(a)benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

(aa) a jobseeker’s allowance; or

(b)any income-related benefit; or

©child benefit,

and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void;

 

For further clear clarification, "Charges" are interpreted as Charging Orders and Attachment of Earnings and NOT the charges sort in this claim. As Barclays Bank plc and it's subsidiaries have no Attachment of Earnings or Charging Orders against me, this clause is not relevant to my case.

 

I am in receipt of multiple benefits as defined by the above Act and these are for the purpose for which they are described and NOT to fund disproportionate bank charges and Personal Reserve Fees.E.g. Housing Benefit is to pay RENT and not Bank Charges.

 

Also I find these charges to be a breach of the Banking Code of Business (BCOBs) as you are levying charges on charges, imposing charges which are disproportionate to the reason for those charges and by continuing to charge me for a product which I should have been provided for free as my paying account offered "Subject to Status"

 

As the financial ombudsman service stated in my complaint, you offered to credit my account by £150 providing that I agreed to Barclays Bank plc removing the personal reserve. Whilst at the time I accepted this, you did not remove the personal reserve and I had to phone you myself to request this be removed. I was also advised by the Financial Ombudsman Service that I could escalate this to a civil claim in the future should I wish to do so.

 

I therefore deem Barclays Bank plc completely at fault for failing to honour their side of the agreement. I have however been refunded charges applied since you failed to honour the Financial Ombudsman's Decision and I notified you of this. It is nevertheless inexcusable that I had to remind you of your obligations and decisions.

 

In relation to this. My account, the Barclays Premier Life Account with a £25.00 Per Month Fee includes the possibility of an overdraft, interest free, up to £1,000, subject to status and terms and conditions. I therefore wish to know how you can justify applying hundreds of pounds of Personal Reserve Fees to my account for a Personal Reserve of £150 yet were not willing to provide me this £150 in Overdraft instead?

 

With a £150 overdraft I would have been responsible for significantly less charges than those arisen in the complaint. My account offered me the product "Subject to eligibility" So I must bring this to your attention. Why was I not eligible for a product that in theory was interest free and would have cost me nothing. Yet I was perfectly eligible for a Personal Reserve Product that cost me exorbitant amounts and put me in extreme financial hardship. I cannot answer that, only you and your bank can...

 

With this in mind, it is a perfectly valid conclusion that Barclays Bank plc did exploit my position and vulnerability which led to an ultimate financial crisis. Nevertheless I am still willing to show reasonableness. I will accept a reduced offer of full and final settlement of the amount of: £1,070

 

This will be as full and final settlement of the matter and I will deem it closed. This is the amount of Charges, Personal Reserve Fees etc that I have incurred minus the 8% Interest a Court would award.

 

If you decide not to accept this offer then I will file an N1 Form against Barclays Bank plc and seek the full amount of charges and 8% interest without any further notice to you.

 

I trust that I have made my points completely clear and that Barclays Bank plc will be both responsible and reasonable in this dispute and resolve the matter amicably without the need for legal action. Please note however as much as I would prefer to settle out of court, I will not hesitate to resort to any further action (such as legal action) that I see as necessary.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, I have left this some time before deciding to pursue due to medical reasons and a rapid deterioration of my health which ultimately led to me requiring significant surgery in 2013. I can supply evidence of vulnerability in the form of a doctors letter should you require it.

 

I hope to hear from you soon and look forward to receiving payment.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Nuclear

 

---

 

Appendix A: Charges Breakdown:

 

{Redacted}

 

Total Amount Including Interest: £150.95

Total Amount of Charges Including Interest: £1301.37

 

I had a Barclays Premier Life Account (Still do) which comes with an Interest Free Overdraft up to £1,000 - So I am planning to use and focus on this and ask why the bank felt I was eligible for £150 under a "paid product" but was not eligible for the interest free variant despite ticking all other boxes!

 

Lets see what they come up with

[slick132]

Hi Nuclear,

 

Keep us updated please.

 

[nuclearshark]

Oh dear...

 

Barclays responded to my letter to the Chief Executive saying the case was taken to the FOS and that I should contact them if I disagreed with their decision... The FOS stated at the time the charges were applied correctly. Missing the point that I had an account where I was elidgeable for a "Personal Reserve" but not the Interest Free overdraft of the same amount...

 

Time to get the Claim Form in then do you think?

[slick132]

Hi NS,

 

Filing a claim without proper research may be a costly mistake.

 

On what basis do you intend to file a claim now.

 

[nuclearshark]

Hi NS,

On what basis do you intend to file a claim now.

 

I think section 5.1.1 BCOB would be a good start.

 

• Unfair treatment by levying charges on charges. For example, forcing the account beyond it's limits by taking their own fees and thus charging me further fees by doing so.
  
• The fees were disproportional to the costs incurred by Barclays
  
• My account had the ability to have an interest free overdraft up to £1,000 subject to status. Barclays decided I WAS NOT elidgeable for this part of the package, but decided I was elidgeable for a paid for and very costly Personal Reserve of £150
  
• Had Barclays applied £150 interest free overdraft on my account, I would not be pressing for unfairness and likely accepted the odd bounced DD fee as experience
  
• Barclays did not act on their requirements of the FOS at the time and the personal reserve was removed some months after closure of the case with the FOS
  

 

So focusing on claiming back the charges based on unfairness of being elidgeable for a "paid for product" when the same amount of credit should have been granted on the interest fee option, thus not causing a massive cycle of astronomical charges.

 

What do you think?

[slick132]

I'll seek further input about this ............

 

[slick132]

Hi NS and sorry about the delay in coming back.

 

Did you appeal the FOS Adjudicator's decision and get it reviewed by an Ombudsman ?

 

My concern is that you failed (or were unable) to act promptly in appealing the FOS decision, or taking the case to court, back in 2013.

 

I'm sure you have grounds to complain to the bank about their failure to act as agreed with the FOS ruling. But I'm not at all sure that this necessarily gives you decent grounds for a court claim so long after the events.

 

[nuclearshark]

Hi Slick, sorry for my delay in response also.

 

I will answer your questions below:

 

Did you appeal the FOS Adjudicator's decision and get it reviewed by an Ombudsman ?

 

No. I was unaware this was possible at the time. I didn't realise that I could have appealed the decision or it was poorly explained to me if they did say it was possible.

 

My concern is that you failed (or were unable) to act promptly in appealing the FOS decision, or taking the case to court, back in 2013.

 

This is due to medical conditions as mentioned earlier in the thread. Whilst I hate to use this as an 'excuse' it is nevertheless true. Multiple hospital visits and inpatient stays occurred throughout 2013 - 2015...

 

I'm sure you have grounds to complain to the bank about their failure to act as agreed with the FOS ruling. But I'm not at all sure that this necessarily gives you decent grounds for a court claim so long after the events.

 

Well I am entitled to fee remission so in essence I was going with the method of nothing to lose and potentially alot to gain. But of course I don't want to be seen exploiting the process in any way.

 

With regards to the court claim, would it fair to say that in truth if I did not claim interest that the statue of limitations could be a fair assessment? (Apologies if that sounds too American)

 

What do you suggest please?

[slick132]

Hi NS,

 

When the FOS Adjudicator ruled against your complaint, you would have been told you had the right to have the decision reviewed by an Ombudsman.

 

If you wanted to take court action in the matter, this should have been done as soon as possible after the cause of action.

 

For these reasons, I would advise against court action now.

 

Even if you qualify for fee remission, that in itself is not a good reason to take court action when you might otherwise not do so.

 

Others may disagree, and will hopefully comment accordingly.