Barclaycard high pressure debt collection

Smiffy53

I didn't receive my last Barclaycard bill and therefore didn't settle in time (I always pay in full and have an excellent credit rating). I got a phone call from someone claiming to be from Barclaycard at 8.30 this evening. He said my payment was overdue by one day, but because I have such an excellent record I could settle in full there and then, using my debit card and he would waive the interest and late payment fine. He knew my last transactions, value and where I used the card. I was very suspicious that he wasn't from Barclaycard, and offered to pay immediately via internet banking. He said I would still pay interest if I did that. I asked him to give me his number and I would phone him back. He refused. I asked for ten minutes to find the bill (which I obviously couldn't, because I never received it) and he could phone me back. He refused that. He then told me my PASSWORD! By this time I was really in a panic and told him I felt harassed and pressurised by his methods. He reluctantly agreed to phone me back in five minutes. I phoned Barclaycard and tried to pay by debit card, but they told me the matter was "with the debt collectors" and I could only pay the minimum amount, then settle up the next day. I have written to Barclaycard about their methods. Can a so called reputable company really treat people like this? Is it any wonder I was suspicious of this phone call, with all the dire warnings in the media about scams and fraud? This won't be the last Barclaycard have heard of this!!! Anyone else had similar experience?

Sagaris

Seems strange to me that they would pass the matter on to debt collectors if the payment was only late by one day?

olly300

Barclaycard last year moved the payment day forward for people like the OP and myself, who pay their bill in full randomly to 20 days after the bill was generated. So don't be surprised by any tactics that company takes.

BTW I was left a message that I was late paying my bill but as I was out of the country I couldn't pick up my phone. I thought it was very odd of them to ring me as they make money out of the charges....

CannyJock

If this is genuine, you're the unluckiest person I've met this week. Receiving statement or not, you're responsible for the balance, etc etc etc.

Bottom line is you don't get passed to debt collectors for being 1 day late with a payment.

Sounds like a bridge-dweller to me. Happy to be proved wrong.

chunkymonkey2144

That is awful. Thank goodness you clicked on, some people would just have gone along with that. I have had alot of harrasing phone calls and letters from them but they have never once told me my password. You are quite right to be persuing a complaint. I would do the exact same. You never know if your complaint goes far enough they may just clear ur balance for u. that happened to me with one of my credit card companies, debt collectors are just there to scare you. I wouldnt worry about it, if you are being harrased then u can take them to court and probably get enough compensation to pay off all ur credit cards lol. because they have to follow certain guidelines and it sounds to me like they have broken more than one of them.

Windscreen_Viper

CannyJock wrote: »

If this is genuine, you're the unluckiest person I've met this week. Receiving statement or not, you're responsible for the balance, etc etc etc.

Bottom line is you don't get passed to debt collectors for being 1 day late with a payment.

Sounds like a bridge-dweller to me. Happy to be proved wrong.

Doesn't sound like a troll to me, it seems more a matter of terminolgy - the OP used the words debt collectors giving the impression that this was an external DCA - however, I rather think this would be an internal collections and recoveries department following up on late payments. Even sound a good deal to me - make the payment and the late fee and interest would be refunded. When he called back they refused to take payment because the account is now "in collections" and would be their responsibility.

I rather think the OP (this is his first posting) is new to the methods used by banks to get the money in from late payers and is very shocked to find it happening to him (her?) - not so much a troll, just a little naivete

CannyJock

Yup, had a few PM's with them and can confirm is genuine case.

More than happy to withdraw any troll accusations.

As a genuine post, it does sound like your card is with their internal, if zealous, collections department. The normal CS people should stil be able to give you their contact details.

A direct debit to repay the balance in full would prevent any future possibility of this occuring again.

If this is a first missed payment in an otherwise clean credit report then you won't have made any impact on your credit scoring so no long-term consequences to worry about.

To avoid the interest the person you spoke to referred to, just make an over-payment to the card. This will cut off any residual interest.

If this was a "first offence" then you can definitely phone and explain the circumstances around missing the payment and appeal to them to refund the fee as a customer service issue for a long-standing and valued customer.

PBA

Don't see why this can be seen as an issue, the fact that the caller knew the recent transaction details and password makes it clear they're genuine. I personally would love it if all my cards would phone me just after the deadline, allowing me to pay immediately and avoid the penalties.

Jemma-T

Smiffy53 wrote: »

I didn't receive my last Barclaycard bill and therefore didn't settle in time (I always pay in full and have an excellent credit rating). I got a phone call from someone claiming to be from Barclaycard at 8.30 this evening. He said my payment was overdue by one day, but because I have such an excellent record I could settle in full there and then, using my debit card and he would waive the interest and late payment fine. He knew my last transactions, value and where I used the card. I was very suspicious that he wasn't from Barclaycard, and offered to pay immediately via internet banking. He said I would still pay interest if I did that. I asked him to give me his number and I would phone him back. He refused. I asked for ten minutes to find the bill (which I obviously couldn't, because I never received it) and he could phone me back. He refused that. He then told me my PASSWORD! By this time I was really in a panic and told him I felt harassed and pressurised by his methods. He reluctantly agreed to phone me back in five minutes. I phoned Barclaycard and tried to pay by debit card, but they told me the matter was "with the debt collectors" and I could only pay the minimum amount, then settle up the next day. I have written to Barclaycard about their methods. Can a so called reputable company really treat people like this? Is it any wonder I was suspicious of this phone call, with all the dire warnings in the media about scams and fraud? This won't be the last Barclaycard have heard of this!!! Anyone else had similar experience?

Don't believe this.

Stinks.

Jemma-T

Had a PM from Smiffy53:

What stinks? Do you think I made it up?

You said "He then told me my PASSWORD!".

That stinks and yes I think you made it up.

olly300

Jemma-T wrote: »

Had a PM from Smiffy53:

You said "He then told me my PASSWORD!".

That stinks and yes I think you made it up.

Jemma-T I suggest you don't insult people with a very low post count. Martin is in the process of changing the rules for posting and you could well find yourself banned.

Secondly unless you have had a missed your payment date on your Barclaycard and have a very good credit rating, you would unaware of whether Barclaycard would phone you up. As I stated I have been phoned up but as I wasn't around so I got a message.

Finally, CannyJock has kindly dug deeper and found out it was a terminology problem. Some companies have staff who insist on using the words "debt collectors" instead of "Collections department" as they think intimating customers will help them achieve their aims.