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Barclaycard Stinks!!
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nicoliyah
Posts: 27 Forumite
I have a debt of £2000 on my Barclaycard. I have been paying £250 a month for the past 4 months, even though my minimum payment is around the £50 mark.
You can imagine my suprise when I got a letter from them stating the following:
In recent months wev'e noticed that payments to your Barclaycard have been close to the minimum ammount.
So to give you a liitle more breathing space at this time, we're reducing your minimum payment
If youd prefer not to take advantage of this, please call us on...."
I have shortened the letter to keep this post brief, but I had to share this, as I am shocked and appalled by this sky practice. My payments are way over the minimum ammount and it seems to me that Barclaycard can see that I am on the way to finally clearing my (never ending) debt to them and they wish to encourage me to remain indebted and paying interest for as long as possible. Yet another example of banks trying to keep us enslaved by debt.
It has just made me more determined to clear my credit card and never incur any debt again!
You can imagine my suprise when I got a letter from them stating the following:
In recent months wev'e noticed that payments to your Barclaycard have been close to the minimum ammount.
So to give you a liitle more breathing space at this time, we're reducing your minimum payment
If youd prefer not to take advantage of this, please call us on...."
I have shortened the letter to keep this post brief, but I had to share this, as I am shocked and appalled by this sky practice. My payments are way over the minimum ammount and it seems to me that Barclaycard can see that I am on the way to finally clearing my (never ending) debt to them and they wish to encourage me to remain indebted and paying interest for as long as possible. Yet another example of banks trying to keep us enslaved by debt.

Total Debt £2178
Barclaycard - £1978
Amex Card - £200
Debt free date: April 2010:j
Barclaycard - £1978
Amex Card - £200
Debt free date: April 2010:j
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Comments
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I have a debt of £2000 on my Barclaycard. I have been paying £250 a month for the past 4 months, even though my minimum payment is around the £50 mark.
You can imagine my suprise when I got a letter from them stating the following:
In recent months wev'e noticed that payments to your Barclaycard have been close to the minimum ammount.
So to give you a liitle more breathing space at this time, we're reducing your minimum payment
If youd prefer not to take advantage of this, please call us on...."
I have shortened the letter to keep this post brief, but I had to share this, as I am shocked and appalled by this sky practice. My payments are way over the minimum ammount and it seems to me that Barclaycard can see that I am on the way to finally clearing my (never ending) debt to them and they wish to encourage me to remain indebted and paying interest for as long as possible. Yet another example of banks trying to keep us enslaved by debt.It has just made me more determined to clear my credit card and never incur any debt again!
Just because they reduce the min payment doesn't mean that you can't pay any more. I think its quite nice of them to reduce the min payment. If people choose to only pay off the min payment and kept themselves in debt for longer and pay more in interest its their choice not Barclaycard.0 -
What a bizarre Rant!
I thought I was going to read about a credit limit reduction or something.0 -
My husband owes 5p on his barclaycard (which they don't want even after us asking!) and when he tried to use it to purchase a wii in pc world it was declined (with over £4,000 of credit limit on it!). He was very embarassed and phoned Barclaycard who said that they had rejected the transaction as they noticed he hadn't used his card in a while and therefore thought it may be fraudulent. Fair enough we said but we would occasionally like to us it! They said no problem and it wouldn't happen again. Needless to say after trying to buy a book online and pay for a music download over the net it has been declined again! Barclaycard have no reason to give for this and we have now cut it up and cancelled our agreement with them!0
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annie, they do it because their systems are setup to try and reduce fraud.
Thus spending outside your normal patten, IE nothing for months then a large buy at PC World* will trigger a "stop", as will sudden online purchases from new places, or for very small amounts.
It's something that has happened to me about 4 times in the last year, and it's actually quite reassuring to be honest, as each time it's been when I've used it in a manner that is unusual for me.
I buy a lot of stuff online (including paypal) with the card, from memory it's "anti fraud" measures have been triggered in my case when i've:
Bought 3 small items on ebay in the space of a day - 3 small. low value (£1-2) transactions = unusual.
Play charged me separately for 4 smallish items (sub £5)
A large mail order from a modelling store = Unusual for me.
I can't remember the last.
I'd much rather they trigger the anti fraud measures like this, than as has happened in the past let a very dodgy transaction through, requiring me to spend not just a couple of minutes on the phone to BC (and a couple more to the stores in question), but me losing use of the card completely for a week+, having to go through and amend pre-orders/orders with multiple retailers.
I beleive that the actual people you deal with over the phone cannot change the system to stop it happening ever again, I think that once it's been cleared once with them the system remembers it so it won't happen again (at least until a certain period of time has passed) in those particular circumstances, but it can still be triggered by other circumstance (either odd small transaction from new stores, or for example if a particular retailer has a lot of fraudulent transactions it'll flag up more often with them).
There is nothing to ever be embarrassed about in such a case, if the retailer says/does something that makes you feel embarrassed don't be afraid to complain to their CS, it's a normal part of dealing in high value, easy resale items and they should know that much of the time it's going to be because of anti-fraud measures if they have any sort of training (IIRC the "declined" code for anti-fraud reasons is different to the one for "no credit" or "invalid card", and the till operator should be aware of the differences).
Back in the day (I don't know if PC World do this) the standard procedure in such a case involved the till operator ringing the number for the card, and the card company would then ask you a couple of questions to check you were the card holder.
*A potential high risk purchase - they sell a lot of stuff that is very easy to sell on.0 -
annie, they do it because their systems are setup to try and reduce fraud.
Thus spending outside your normal patten, IE nothing for months then a large buy at PC World* will trigger a "stop", as will sudden online purchases from new places, or for very small amounts.
It's something that has happened to me about 4 times in the last year, and it's actually quite reassuring to be honest, as each time it's been when I've used it in a manner that is unusual for me.
I buy a lot of stuff online (including paypal) with the card, from memory it's "anti fraud" measures have been triggered in my case when i've:
Bought 3 small items on ebay in the space of a day - 3 small. low value (£1-2) transactions = unusual.
Play charged me separately for 4 smallish items (sub £5)
A large mail order from a modelling store = Unusual for me.
I can't remember the last.
I'd much rather they trigger the anti fraud measures like this, than as has happened in the past let a very dodgy transaction through, requiring me to spend not just a couple of minutes on the phone to BC (and a couple more to the stores in question), but me losing use of the card completely for a week+, having to go through and amend pre-orders/orders with multiple retailers.
I beleive that the actual people you deal with over the phone cannot change the system to stop it happening ever again, I think that once it's been cleared once with them the system remembers it so it won't happen again (at least until a certain period of time has passed) in those particular circumstances, but it can still be triggered by other circumstance (either odd small transaction from new stores, or for example if a particular retailer has a lot of fraudulent transactions it'll flag up more often with them).
There is nothing to ever be embarrassed about in such a case, if the retailer says/does something that makes you feel embarrassed don't be afraid to complain to their CS, it's a normal part of dealing in high value, easy resale items and they should know that much of the time it's going to be because of anti-fraud measures if they have any sort of training (IIRC the "declined" code for anti-fraud reasons is different to the one for "no credit" or "invalid card", and the till operator should be aware of the differences).
Back in the day (I don't know if PC World do this) the standard procedure in such a case involved the till operator ringing the number for the card, and the card company would then ask you a couple of questions to check you were the card holder.
*A potential high risk purchase - they sell a lot of stuff that is very easy to sell on.
The last point very true and hadn't thought of that! My husband has had his barclaycard for about 12 years and only had these measures now! Think he feels like he is being penalised for not owing anything!!! Mind you, given that we don't use it don't think we will miss it either!!0 -
I don't owe a penny on my barclaycard (I pay it off each month) and received the same letter.
My husband does have a small balance,pays more than the minimum and also got the same letter.
It looked pretty standard and I found after checking with two other people they had got the same letter the same time as me so I do think it was sent out to most people.
I'm getting a bit fed up of the tight anti-fraud procedures they seem to have when shopping on line though.
Everytime I buy on line I receive a phone-call telling me there was activity on my account and the purchased refused and my card blocked until I ring them.
Just last week I made a purchase for a new tv,got the phone call and then had to ring the retailer to put my transaction through verbally.
I found out my order had been cancelled so had to go through it all again.
I know they're only trying to protect me but it's getting ridiculous and this does'nt happen to my husband with his card and he has a balance on his0 -
I don't think the problem is the fact that Barclaycard are lowering minimum payments. ...
The letter's written in such a way in that it looks personal to you, as though they're doing you a favour after looking into your account. In reality, most frequently paying customers are probably getting these mails; whether they pay back the minimum amount, or most of the outstanding balance.Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
My husband is seriously getting stressed out by barclay card at the moment. They keep calling and leaving automatated messages on teh home phone and his mobile. He has made 3 payments during August after they advised he still owed them. He couldn't get to speak with anyone with fluent English so had to go inside his branch for them to prove via a fax coomunication he paid. They advised he would stop receiving phone calls as his account was up to date, to then recieve a further daily call each day of the week (including weekends). Not sure what is going on with barclays at the mo, he is desperatly looking for an interest free c/card to switch the debt due to their customer service! His compliants have gone unanswered!
Please let me know if anyone esle has experienced this service! UOTE=nicoliyah;discussion/1940739]I have a debt of £2000 on my Barclaycard. I have been paying £250 a month for the past 4 months, even though my minimum payment is around the £50 mark.
You can imagine my suprise when I got a letter from them stating the following:
In recent months wev'e noticed that payments to your Barclaycard have been close to the minimum ammount.
So to give you a liitle more breathing space at this time, we're reducing your minimum payment
If youd prefer not to take advantage of this, please call us on...."
I have shortened the letter to keep this post brief, but I had to share this, as I am shocked and appalled by this sky practice. My payments are way over the minimum ammount and it seems to me that Barclaycard can see that I am on the way to finally clearing my (never ending) debt to them and they wish to encourage me to remain indebted and paying interest for as long as possible. Yet another example of banks trying to keep us enslaved by debt.It has just made me more determined to clear my credit card and never incur any debt again![/QUOTE]
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I have a different problem to the OP - they keep putting up my credit linit without asking. I also struggle to understand the people in the Indian call centres at times - anything other than a straightforward quesry becomes difficult. On the other hand, they picked up very quickly on an attempted fraudulent use of my card.0
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