Personal Accident Plan

I'm cross as it seems a bit sneaky to set something like this up as a card payment.

These things do not get set up by themselves. You have to apply for them. Either being encouraged to via a sales process or requesting it.

Secondly, do I have grounds to complain? I cannot remember asking for this, or filling anything in.

What are your reasons for complaint?

Whilst you cannot remember applying, that itself is not grounds for complaint. They have no control over your memory. So, unless a staff member fraudulently set it up (possible but unlikely as the audit trail would indicate a fraud and getting sacked by a bank for fraud destroys your job prospects nearly everywhere), they should be able to say exactly how it was sold or bought. That does not mean it was sold within the rules. However, it is not PPI, so you cant use most PPI complaint reasons. These plans are typically naff but people buy naff stuff every day. That is not grounds for complaint.

A complaint has to give reasons why you think they have done wrong.

Maybe in this case you should spend £10 and do a data subject access request to see if that results in a copy of the application. Or maybe just ask Barclays for a copy of the application (that wont cost £10 and they should be able to comply).

Once you have a copy of the application, it may jog your memory. It may help a complaint or it may hinder it. However, it will give you more to go on when making your complaint.

Personal Accident Plans tend to be for loss of use of a limb, eye, finger, toe etc. They are not income protection or hospital cash plans.

I cannot see how anyone can say these type of plans were not miss sold; they seem to have grown for exactly the same reasons that gave rise to Plevin. I have just written to Barclaycard, Hospital Plan Insurance Services and Barclays as my Uncle was "sold" 6 similar policies in 2002/2003. Despite the fact that he was not in the best of financial heath even then, each company sold him an accident plan and a death plan and subsequently he spiraled into financial difficulties. I don't know who originally provided the Barclaycard and Hospital plans, but they are both now administered by AIG Direct and I am half expecting Barclays to tell me theirs is from someone else too (but not AIG). It is the amount of interest that Barclaycard have charged on the premiums over the years that is really eye-watering, not to mention their treatment of my Uncle. Based on the response from Barclaycard, I already know that the next step is to approach the Ombudsman. The more of us that persist the better results we should see. Good luck.