Hard sell from activation people

matt83uk

Fortunately, they're trained not to sign anything without having a word with me first but they were really scared by what the person on the phone told them and nearly succombed to the pressure.

No signature required

methusala_2

Barclaycard are not alone. I have never successfuly activated a card via the auto system, it ALWAYS fails or pretends to fail and says please hold while we connect you with an agent, then comes the hard sell.
Asking the agent to activate the card has even resulted in him saying it alleady active sir ! so the system worked but is programmed to make sure you speak to someone

ShelfStacker_3

I can't be the only one who's never had this problem. surely? A&L shut up when I said no, Capital One and Vanquis stayed out of the way, HSBC's credit card activation is automated anyway and my Barclaycard was activated with very little fuss.

The only one I've ever had a problem with was Aqua, who insisted on trying to flog me PPI every single time I called them, even though they'd supposedly put notes on the account registering my objection (which they heard all about when I called up to cancel the card - I'm still surprised they didn't try and sell me PPI then...)

Breezy85

A&L are the worst for hard-sell, well not tech A&L but when you activate your debit card CPP give you a hard time. I lost count of the times I told them I have a Cap One card and get this for free. They even had the cheek to tell me they thought I had made the wrong decision lmao

I am dreading February because my A&L card expires so will have to go through it all again I guess :mad:

Had to laugh at Vanquis because I said no to their insurance when I activated the card and the cheeky sods sent me a "welcome to repayment protection insurance" letter.
No wonder so many policies are mis-sold lol

Breezy

barrooo

Seems like the banks are trying to make money any which way, I even had someone try to sell me card insurance etc when phoning up to query something on 3d secure application.

I suppose you just have to be firm with them, I just say no I don't want it, and don't offer any explanation

cos_2

I was accepted for Virgin's 0% card online a few days ago. Got a call last Friday welcoming me to the world of Virgin and then had a good old chinwag about the weather and jobs. Then it moved on to payment protection and fraud protection and passport replacement and who knows what. Politely, I declined them all and parted on good terms with the rep.

Card arrived yesterday.

I called to activate (in the old days this was all automatic) and was put through to a rep. She verified who I was and then launched into a chinwag about how much frost there was in the west coast of Irelend... I politely reminded her that I was simply calling to activate the card and she told me "it will take a few moments to go through".

I replied I was in no hurry and wouldn't use the card for the next "few moments", said cheerio and hung up.

So, yes, of course it's all designed to get you to buy additional products, and it can be quite irritating to be subjected to it every time they talk with you. But the moral of the story is to be polite and calm and insistent that you do not want to be persuaded to buy products you don't need.

P.S. According to my online account the card is NOT activated. Ho hum...

Paulgonnabedebtfree

billbennett wrote: »

My conversation with Barclaycard Activations went something like this:

Me: Hello, I'd like to activate my card.
Them: What's the number?
Me: 4921 8652 1234 5678

Could you tell us the start and expiry dates too please and that little number on the back?

hippey

My in-laws (with Natwest) received thier shiny replacement gold credit card (which they boast about!!!) last month, and endured a marathon 20 minutes hard sell for FRAUD PROTECTION insurance, it even started by the agent on the phone after checking all of thier personal details by saying "Right, thats enough information for me to rip off your card now....." I know they are all desperate to sell insurance, but frightening people into it is just plain wrong!

Card activation lines = a chance to sell some dodgy insurance.

All these insurances are cheaper elsewhere. Some you get free with 'bundled' current accounts, and some just ain't suitable to those who are sold them.

debtfreein4years

ajspipers wrote: »

My in-laws are either side of 80 and, when activating their NatWest credit card a few days ago, were subjected to a real scare-mongering hard sell for the CPP £80pa rip-off.

Fortunately, they're trained not to sign anything without having a word with me first but they were really scared by what the person on the phone told them and nearly succombed to the pressure.

Assaulting the vulnerable like this is outrageous!

Ive got this same problem wtih my partners gran. she keeps getting phonecalls from her bank despite me and her daughter having epoa and the bank having both our details to call us instead of her. how can a 90 year old woman who struggles to walk, rarely leaves the house unless to go to the hosptial, suffers from alzhimers need a credit card or a super duper upgrade to her bank account which she has to pay for the privilage???

it worries me that they are targeting people like this, as there are so many elderly out there that dont have someone looking out for them. banks should have a social conscience but they are to concerned with making money!!!!

Cloister

I usually get the hard sell when activating a credit card, but I recently got a virgin card with 16 months 0%, I called to activate and I was asked once if I wanted payment protection, after saying NO just once he activated my card which I thought was quite good under the circumstances.

In the past I have had Barclaycard ask and ask and ask... Capital one is the same and also so are the AA - (Which I think use Royal bank of Scotland).