Barclays Euro account that you can't use for Euros!

kmmr

Hi,

I am just venting a bit of frustration. I moved some cash over for my Mum into a Barclays Euro account that I set up. She was a bit worried about the bank it was in, and couldn't set up a UK account, so I just opened a Euro account linked to my existing Current Accounts.

The currency account has no internet or card access. The ONLY way is over the phone between 9 and 5. Ok, pretty annoying, but I accepted it.

The Euro account I opened happily accepted the Euros (and we are talking a lot of money here) but now I have found another account to transfer it to in Mum's name, but it turns out I can't keep the money in Euros.

The only options for the ridiculous account is to transfer the money to an account in Barclays in my name. And therefore I have to transfer it to £, as Barclays don't offer a € account which you can make payments too. Barclays did nicely suggest that I could open another € account, so I could transfer money from one account to another - but not out of Barclays, or to any other useful account to do crazy things like - pay bills in €.

So now I am stuck with having to transfer the money to £, and accept the fact that Barclays will take a big cut by offering me sub-market exchange rates (as they do). I feel like I have been completely scammed, as they make a nice profit on the exchange, and give me NO CHOICE but to accept this. Even if I transfer straight into £ and back to € I will wear a significant exchange difference. I wasn't told when I opened the account that I would be forced to exchange, or that the account has no use other that to store money before exchanging it to £. I couldn't even transfer it back to where it came from. And that is before the £25 CHAPS fees to transfer money (or to spend two weeks transferring the maximum every day and running open currency risk for all that time.)

Seriously - what is the point of this account other than to rip off customers? Barclays also seems to have no idea how the account works, and I have been given a range of different information, including forcing me to go to the bank to do the transfer (which I was told I could do in €) where I spent an hour getting a range of conflicting information.

Anyway, I feel this account has been completely missold. I can't actually work out how it could be correctly sold. Who has a use for this account?? It's just a fee generator.

Can I do anything? The money is now stuck there while I try to work out how to deal with it. I simply can't get it out in € - which is so crazy. I feel like I am being held to ransom. The exchange difference I will lose on the transfer will be around a few hundred quid, just from the pay/receive spread so it's not small change. Any advice?

Olipro

step 1. formal complaint
step 2. financial ombudsman service

additionally, how long have you had the account? there is a statutory "cooling off" period.

kmmr

Actually - it even says 'make and recieve Euro payments with ease'.

Hmm - sounds like the staff really truly have no idea how this account works. Surely they can't make this claim if the only way to make the euro payments is in Euro but to your own sterling account!

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Currentaccounts/Otheraccounts/euroAccount/P1242557963870

kmmr

Olipro wrote: »

step 1. formal complaint
step 2. financial ombudsman service

additionally, how long have you had the account? there is a statutory "cooling off" period.

Maybe 6 weeks, so probably too long. Anyway, if I cancel the account, what do I do with the money in there? I have to transfer it somewhere, and they will probably force me to switch in to £ again!

Sunflower1227

Cant you just write a euro cheque out so mum could pay this into an account in her name?

noh

Looking at the Barclays web site following the link you gave it appears that there are several ways to draw money out of the account or make payments.
I gathered this information by reading the charges and fees document
http://www.barclays.co.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobheadervalue2=attachment%3B+filename%3Deuro-currency-charges-9955376.pdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1259857504700&ssbinary=true

You can write a cheque for free.
You can withdraw cash in Euros for free.
You can transfer money to your Sterling account for free.
You can make electronic payments to other Euro accounts for a fee.
You can get an international draft for a fee.

missile

You might have been better setting up an account in whichever euro country your mum lives in. I get very good service from Barclays.es. I can transfer £ in and € out. I regularly pay bills by BACS, DD or SO online just like I do in UK.

kmmr

noh wrote: »

Looking at the Barclays web site following the link you gave it appears that there are several ways to draw money out of the account or make payments.
I gathered this information by reading the charges and fees document
http://www.barclays.co.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobheadervalue2=attachment%3B+filename%3Deuro-currency-charges-9955376.pdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1259857504700&ssbinary=true

You can write a cheque for free.
You can withdraw cash in Euros for free.
You can transfer money to your Sterling account for free.
You can make electronic payments to other Euro accounts for a fee.
You can get an international draft for a fee.

Yeah - agreed, that is what it says. I didn't have the link when I was at the bank, but they were 100% clear to me that
- There was no access to the account other than by phone (no cheque)
- There was no way to make payments without going through my sterling current account
- I couldn't transfer to another Euro account.
- I couldn't get the money out of the account without converting it to £.

I asked and asked, and made them say to me that 'yes, you must exchange the money into £ to get it out of this account', as I really couldn't believe it.

The guy I spoke to basically just called up the international area a number of times, and spoke to someone different each time. Sounds like lack of knowledge rather than a real product problem. I can't decide it if that makes me more or less annoyed!

They called the account a CFC account. So I am not 100% sure it's the same account in the link. When I opened it I just walked into the branch and asked for a Euro Savings and current account, so I would expect it is the linked account, but I am not sure.

I have already spent over an hour at the branch and the same on the phone about this issue. Very annoying that everyone I speak to seems to give differing information.

I'll ask for a chequebook tomorrow, and see if I can speak to them again. Although I do have a job, which makes spending an hour on the phone somewhat difficult...

kmmr

missile wrote: »

You might have been better setting up an account in whichever euro country your mum lives in. I get very good service from Barclays.es. I can transfer £ in and € out. I regularly pay bills by BACS, DD or SO online just like I do in UK.

It's sort of complex. Mum is in a far distant land, but has some inheritance money in the EU. In a country that neither of us live in! So she couldn't set up the account, as they really don't like setting up accounts when you are not there in person.

This was only supposed to be a temporary solution until she could set up something better.

It's not the end of the world, it's just me being irritated with Barclays. Either the product has problems, or the customer service does!

missile

kmmr wrote: »

It's sort of complex. Mum is in a far distant land, but has some inheritance money in the EU. In a country that neither of us live in! So she couldn't set up the account, as they really don't like setting up accounts when you are not there in person.

I understand your problem. I think you problems are caused by the muppets working at your branch. I would suggest you contact another branch or maybe a.n.other bank. A € current account should function in exactly the same way as a £ current account. I have no issues transferring funds between my £ and € accounts.

Are you sure it is a proper € current account and not some form of quasi savings account?

Fiddlestick

Open a Citibank euro current account and transfer the money into there?