Found Barclays Debit Card in the street

Moi_Un_Mouton

Hi I thought that posting this thread might help people who are considering banking with Barclays.

This morning, I found a Barclays debit card and quite a bit of money in notes dropped on the pavement near where I live. My desire was to get it back to the person it belonged to.

First call: Lost Cards number on the back of the card:
BB: "Thank you, please destroy the card. I have cancelled it."
Me: "Yes but can you inform the owner that I have her money?"
BB: "No, sorry, we're not able to do that. Thank you for calling."

Second call: Barclays 'Customer Services'
BB: "Sorry, we are not able to contact the customer. It's the rules." :rotfl:

Look up name on card in local phone book. Not there.

Next action, look up bank sort code on the card via Google. Discover it is the branch in our local town. Look up their phone number, only to discover it is the same as the 'Customer Services' number. :mad:

Third call: Barclays 'Customer Services' again:
Me: "Please can you put me through to the xxxxxxxxx branch?"
BB: "I'm sorry, I cant do that, please tell me what you want"
Me: "I want to speak to someone in the branch as I have found one of their customers' debit cards lost in the street"
BB: "Sorry, I don't have a number for the branch"
Me: "Please transfer me there then"
BB: "I am not able to do that"
.....anyway, to cut this bit short, eventually get transferred to the branch and get the answerphone. Leave message to ring me and why.

Get call from bank. Explain situation.
BB: "Oh, I had not realised you had found cash as well as the card. You'll have to take it into the police station and maybe they'll be able to trace the owner."
Me: "Excuse me? We already know who the owner is, it is your customer Mrs X. This is not what the police are there for, why waste their time?"
BB: "Yes, but I'm not allowed to contact her in order to protect her from fraud, you might just be someone trying to get her to leave her house so you can burgle it"
Me: "I don't quite follow your logic, I don't know who she is or where she lives - all I know is she has lost her card and money, which I have here........"
..... anyway, to cut a long story short again, the person calling me DID eventually agree to ask her manager for permission to call the customer to pass on my details to her, and thankfully they decided they would. Result - she came round to collect her money and her (cancelled) card a couple of hours later, and was very relieved by the outcome.

I just found the whole episode surreal. I was on the phone to Barclays for what seemed like hours today (OK it wasn't really hours but it felt like it). And absolutely the last thing anyone there thought about was the good of the customer.

I'm glad I don't bank with them, though I admit to my shame to being a small shareholder (I once had a Woolwich mortgage, okay????)

ShelfStacker_3

Take it into the branch, they might give you a reward...

moz86

Idiots. Your efforts were commendable though, many would have kept it. Well done (y)

CLAPTON

I think you are a very honest and caring person.

Probably the call centre people had never dealt with this particular situation before and were probably a little suspicious of you... lots of plausible fraudster about

going to the police station is probably appropriate advice.

EarthBoy

Well you could have just paid the money back into her account. Visa debit cards have the sort code and account number on them, so you could have gone into a Barclays branch and paid the money into that account over the counter. No, you shouldn't have to go to that trouble, but it would have been a way round the bank's unhelpful attitude and the woman would have got her money back.

prowla

TBH, you may as well cut up the card (to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands) and pocket the cash.
I once found a credit card and the bank didn't want to know, I once found a rail season ticket and got treated like an idiot. I've found mobile phones a couple of times, and once handed on over to a friend of the owner at a tube station, and once posted one out to the mum (was in the phone book) and I don't remember if I got thanked.

Fire_Fox

prowla wrote: »

TBH, you may as well cut up the card (to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands) and pocket the cash.
I once found a credit card and the bank didn't want to know, I once found a rail season ticket and got treated like an idiot. I've found mobile phones a couple of times, and once handed on over to a friend of the owner at a tube station, and once posted one out to the mum (was in the phone book) and I don't remember if I got thanked.

When I first moved to Bradford I carelessly left my purse on the bus. It was handed in, money untouched, which I have never forgotten. :T A few weeks later, my 70 year old aunt was pickpocketed and, again, the discarded purse was handed in to the police.

I think of myself as pretty honest anyway, but have since gone out of my way to hand in two wallets my partner found and two mobile phones I have found. It may be a hassle and you may not be thanked directly, but you may just give someone a little trust back in human nature.

Mark_Hewitt

I lost my Lloyds debit card once and I got a call from the branch about a week later saying that someone had found it and handed it in! Very nice of them. I didn't collect it as I'd already cancelled that one and ordered a new one.

As for Barclays I don't see why they can't contact the customer and tell them that their card has been found on the street, however in case it has been cloned etc, they will send out a new one in the post.

Everyone is happy!

Kavanne

We aren't allowed to do anything without the account holders permission for data protection. Seriously, I could lose my job if I did what you were asking that call centre operative to do, OP.

newfoundglory

Kavanne wrote: »

We aren't allowed to do anything without the account holders permission for data protection. Seriously, I could lose my job if I did what you were asking that call centre operative to do, OP.

Rubbish. She was asking Barclays to contact the customer on her behalf. That has nothing to do with data protection.

Kavanne

newfoundglory wrote: »

Rubbish. She was asking Barclays to contact the customer on her behalf. That has nothing to do with data protection.

I cannot acknowledge that that person has an account with the bank. How do I know the OP has the card? They may have skimmed the information. I cannot acknowledge anything about anyone's account to anyone other than the account holder who I would have to identify first.

Sorry!