Skycard/Barclaycard suddenly & dramatically reducing credit limits?

IcklePickle_2

I have a SkyCard which has had a £0.00 balance for ages. On 9th December I called and did a balance transfer of a £3000 onto it at a promotional rate of 0% for 6mths.

On THE SAME DATE, SkyCard reduced my credit limit to £500 and sent me a letter advising I need to bring it back within the limit.

I called to complain, my enquiry was passed to Customer Relations. I spoke to them today and they advised that basically there is nothing they can do. Barclaycard have decided to reduce credit limits in this way on 'dormant cards'. My point is, this card wasn't 'dormant' when they reduced the credit limit!! They shouldn't have accepted the balance transfer transaction.

According to the T&Cs, they can reduce the limit at any time, which I can understand. But this doesn't seem fair when they're taking my balance transfer fee (£90) which I paid for a service (6mths interest free), which they are now refusing to provide.

If I don't pay back the £2500, two months from now they will start to apply overlimit fees, remove my 0% interest promo rate and start adding monthly interest charges to my account...!!

Customer Relations said they have asked Barclaycard if they can help customers by honouring the 6mths 0% and removing overlimit fees during that period, but they have said no.

I am absolutely livid that they can get away with this - I feel like they trapped me into it - if they'd told me on the day they were reducing the limit, of course I wouldn't have went ahead with the transfer.

Should I complain to Ombudsman? Has anyone else had this?

latecomer

That is completely out of order. I would complain again, in writing, to SkyCard, and also to the Ombudsman. Sorry I cant offer any real advice but good luck.

Penny-Pincher!!

TBH, although I personally think it is terrible that they have accepte a BT then dropped your limit, they are well within their T&C's to do so. They could even shut your cards down completely.

As they have given you 2 months, could you BT to another card

Skycard reduced my limit from 7k to £1500 last November without an explanation. I use this monthly for everything so that I get money off the skybill but it does get paid in full each month.

PP
xx

IcklePickle_2

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

TBH, although I personally think it is terrible that they have accepte a BT then dropped your limit, they are well within their T&C's to do so. They could even shut your cards down completely.

As they have given you 2 months, could you BT to another card

Skycard reduced my limit from 7k to £1500 last November without an explanation. I use this monthly for everything so that I get money off the skybill but it does get paid in full each month.

PP
xx

I know they're within T&Cs, and I do have the option of BT to another card, but I don't really want to pay a BT fee to two companies in the same month, on the same balance..!!

Some people won't be so lucky to have financial options available to them.

wyebird

Can they do this? I know overdrafts are repayable on demand but I thought credit cards only became so when they went into default and until then you had a contract with them.

Most balance transfer agreements say that it is whatever % for however many months unless you breach the terms and conditions of the account.

I would definitely take this to the press if they don't budge as it seems totally out of order to me!

IcklePickle_2

wyebird wrote: »

Can they do this? I know overdrafts are repayable on demand but I thought credit cards only became so when they went into default and until then you had a contract with them.

Most balance transfer agreements say that it is whatever % for however many months unless you breach the terms and conditions of the account.

I would definitely take this to the press if they don't budge as it seems totally out of order to me!

Exactly what I thought, til this happened to me! Apparently it's in the T&Cs, therefore they can do it. My account was not in any kind of breach - it had a zero balance til the day I did the transfer. The same day they reduced the limit from £3500 to £500. It was a conincidence that this happened on the same day (according to SkyCard). Some luck I must have..

wyebird

I know it is in the terms that they can refuse to offer more credit, reduce the limit to the balance outstanding and up the standard non promotional interest rate to any stupid amount they choose, but this seems quite ridiculous! You must be furious
Have you made a formal complaint in writing?

IcklePickle_2

wyebird wrote: »

I know it is in the terms that they can refuse to offer more credit, reduce the limit to the balance outstanding and up the standard non promotional interest rate to any stupid amount they choose, but this seems quite ridiculous! You must be furious
Have you made a formal complaint in writing?

I am sickened by it.

I asked them today if I should complain to Barclaycard since they're the ones who made the decision but the guy at Customer Relations said anything I send would end up going through him anyway (my complaint was originally escalated to CR via a manager at Customer Services) and he has been expressly told that they're not allowed to do anything with these decreases.
He said it's happening to loads of customers and understandably they're all upset (he's having to deal with them all!).

I asked about writing to the Financial Ombudsman and he said that would be worth doing as the more people who report it to them, the more likely something might be done. He said he doesn't agree personally with what's being done.

I am going to complain in writing anyway and ask for my balance transfer fee to be refunded. I am also going to write to the Ombudsman because I think it's a really unfair way to treat people.

MoneyMuppet_2

the way these things tend to work is the more people that complain about the same thing the better off we will all be.

Barclaycard took 3250 off my limit, leaving me with £250 limit? what use is that?? its barely a months shopping in my house!!! overnight, no warning, after 2 days of trying to do a transaction to get my car MOT'd and serviced no one in the call centre said anything to me then a letter arrived!!!

The nerve! Grrrrr!

IcklePickle_2

MoneyMuppet wrote: »

the way these things tend to work is the more people that complain about the same thing the better off we will all be.

Barclaycard took 3250 off my limit, leaving me with £250 limit? what use is that?? its barely a months shopping in my house!!! overnight, no warning, after 2 days of trying to do a transaction to get my car MOT'd and serviced no one in the call centre said anything to me then a letter arrived!!!

The nerve! Grrrrr!

Was this recently? Are you planning to write to the Ombudsman? I am going to I think.

IcklePickle_2

I've arranged to transfer the balance to another card so at least I don't have to worry about paying the whole lot off in the next 8 weeks.

I'm annoyed about them being able to charge me £94 BT fee for absolutely nothing (!!) so I spoke to Customer Relations to see if they'd refund the BT fee as a goodwill gesture. They checked with a manager and said no. Because technically I can still get the benefit of the 0% rate, just as long as I bring my balance from £3000 down to £500. Arghh!! How is that fair?

So I'll write to Ombudsman and hope that they'll agree it's an unfair charge. Honestly, £94 for holding a balance at 0% for 10 days... now I can see how the banks make their fortune :rolleyes: