Standard Life to Barclays - breaking contract?

paulo12

No surprises there really. I did get to "speak" to someone via email, but the bottom line is whatever they are offering is actually worthless given the fact that they can remove it again any time they like in the terms of the new contract you have to sign to get it. They "assured" me that they had no plans to remove anything and that was just a standard contract clause.
Frankly their "assurances" mean nothing at this stage. Were we not "assured" by them in the first place that the takeover would not affect us as customers ? It's just a try on because following the last Times article they realise that they may have a problem here IMHO and there is no way I will be accepting it.
I also asked the question how their IT systems can now cope with this when we were told the reason for it's removal in the first place was because they couldn't ? The person I spoke to said there was no reason why they couldn't do it in IT terms and they were not aware that there ever was a problem!





PS. This forum software is cack !!

dazzammm

Has anyone else received stuff for a "mortgage current account" from Barclays.

Ive received a cheque book and debit card but got no idea why I would would us it or what i would use it for?

Can i rack up loads of debt and claim Barclays didnt follow T+Cs like that woman with the Harrods card because I didnt ask for this account ?:)

937carrera

Yep, me too. No mention that it's related to a Standard Life mortgage though

Bryan_Rendall

I too got all this guff about a current account and a debit card. Last week, when more stuff came through the door about my Standard Life mortgage switching to Barclays, I deemed Barclays to be unfit to be in control of anything variable rate (well, their track record on interest rate management this month has hardly been glowing.....) and paid off the balance (well, it was nearly up anyway).

Since then, my doormat has been smothered in Junk mail regarding this current account, debit card and PIN numbers. So begins a saga....

On Friday evening, I called Barclays to say I did not authorise a current account or debit card in my name, and please close them, deleting all security information with it (the security question answers). The lassie I spoke to then said she could not do it then and there, as she had to involve Standard Life in the discussion and they were now closed. But if I called back on Saturday, they would be able to do it then.

On Saturday, the call was taken by an international call centre. Language difficulties aside, the clerk was very unhelpful stating that the account could only be closed in a branch. I asked him where he thought the nearest branch to me was, but he did not know - In fact, he seemed to have difficulty understanding where Scotland was! He did suggest a branch in Halifax, which, from the North of Scotland, was rather out of the question. After some protracted complaining, he went off and came back stating that the account would be closed in the next 10 minutes. I was unconvinced, but took his words as they stood.

Last night, more jumk mail about the current account, so I called them again. The call centre operator, also abroad, advised the account was still open and had not been closed, and that again, it would have to be closed in a branch.

By now, we had a serious issue - Barclays staff being deceitful about account status. This then took on a whole new dimension. I asked last nights clerk to tell me the name of the dishonest staff member I spoke to on Saturday so I could advise the Ombudsmen and the FSA. He would not give it to me. I did suggest that they replay the recording from Saturday to get further details, but this was declined, and I was advised today that I should call again and ask for the complaints department.

That I did today, and got someone in the UK! Hurrah! I mentioned that my complaint was in relation to being told lies by Barclays staff about my account status, but that kept getting swept under the carpet. Instead, they only wanted to discuss the account and what I would need to do if I wished to close it (Yes, thats right, visit a branch, which we had now determined was a 14 hour round trip involving 2 ferry crossings away).

After much perseverence, the agreed to raise a complaint case regarding the untruths told me by the clerk, so I can forward that to the Ombudsmen. They would still not give me the details of the clerk I spoke to on Saturday - My guess is that recording has mysteriously vanished off the system by now....

As an aside, and presumably to take some of the flak off them regarding the behaviour of their clerk, they did say they would make an exception and close the account on a phone instruction.

I now await their letter regarding the untruths they have told me to get me off the line. Whether or not that comes, we'll see.

I am glad that I have closed the mortgage account and was near enough the end of the term to be able to do so. That Barclays staff will tell you outright lies just to get you off the phone is gravely concerning, and only added to my grave concerns on their ability to run my mortgage account.

For those of you that are not so close to the end of your terms that you can "sack" Barclays, be careful!

937carrera

A quick update for all of you who are with Standard Life and are unimpressed by the proposals from Barclays /Woolwich.

I (well actually my IFA) have found a mortgage provider who is willing to offer an offset mortgage with up to 75% loan to value. They will consider interest only arrangements too so if you already have other savings vehicles to repay the mortgage you don't have to move to a repayment mortgage. There are a number of interest rate options available.

The terms & conditions are sensible (IMHO), and do not include the obnoxious "we can change these terms & conditions at anytime" clause.

The product is not available on a direct to consumer basis but is an intermediary only offering.

As I'm going for it, I thought I should post their contact details so that other forum members can also potentially benefit from the same offer. Here they are:

WR Financial
Telephone: 01642 661600
Contact: Jonathon Roy
Website: http://www.wrfinancial.co.uk
Good Luck

....and just to be clear, I'm not offering financial advice in this post.... hope that keeps the regulators happy

stephencg

The terms and conditions on my Standard lIFE MORTGAGE do not (in my opinion) allow the lender to vary or withdraw fundamental features of the contract.
The sale to another lender is irrelevant in contract law, I think.
Everyone should ignore posts by Thrugelmir, who appears to be trying to mislead people on this issue, for some reason - or perhaps just likes to pretend to knowledge he doesn't have.
I am proceeding with my complaint to the FO, and probably also going to court. I expect to achieve substantial sums in compensation, because the offset/drawdown facility saves me a lot of money.

stephencg

"I also asked the question how their IT systems can now cope with this when we were told the reason for it's removal in the first place was because they couldn't ? The person I spoke to said there was no reason why they couldn't do it in IT terms and they were not aware that there ever was a problem! "

Barclays;
1. Couldn't use the administrative inconvenience of having to adapt software to justify breaking what is a contractual obligation to offer an overpayment/drawdown facility
2. In fact, their software currently copes with an offset residential mortgage, so their refusal to offer it for buy-to-let is isn't driven by software problems but by a reluctance to honour the terms of a contract Standard Life made with us.
3. And even if they had to develop new software to cope with the Standard Life mortgages, they've had over two years to do it!

stephencg

Thrugelmir, the problem is not that you make comments. Explain that these are opinions of yours, to stimulate others to check out, and nobody will have a complaint.

The issue is the one that renovationman sums up succinctly: you write "with such 'authority' and with such a confident and emphatic style" that many people (myself included originally) assume that you're communicating information and hard facts, not opinion.

Where you don't know something for certain, all you have to do is say so.

RenovationMan wrote: »

I've just read through this thread because I used to have a Standard Life offset mortgage prior to moving house and moving to Santander. I am very sympathetic with those people who have been misled by Thrugelmir as I have seen him do the same thing to other people.

He insists that he works in the "financial Industry" but will not be drawn into any details and much of what he advises is incorrect. Even simple mathematics is often beyond him, yet as other posters have seen, he speaks with such 'authority' and with such a confident and emphatic style that many people are fooled into thinking he is correct when is is normally very far away from being correct.

This would not matter too much if he stayed on the Discussion board, but when he gives out 'advice' like this on the Pure money boards, he can negatively impact other people's finances and cost them money.

MSE should look closely at people like Thrugelmir because I think he is playing a game and it is costing people money. If you are as annoyed with his poor advice as I am, all we can do is complain about his posts to MSE and hope they do the right thing.

We need to get rid of people who deliberately (or so it seems) try to mislead people with bad advice. I've lodged a complaint about Thrugelmirs post and I sugest you all do the same.

Thrugelmir

stephencg wrote: »

Thrugelmir, the problem is not that you make comments. Explain that these are opinions of yours, to stimulate others to check out, and nobody will have a complaint.

This is an open forum. So I would expect people to seek or take their own counsel not rely on any comment or observation that anyone makes. I merely make comment to highlight awareness of certain facts. Too often people seek assurance to support their own narrow predetermined view rather than look at the far wider macro picture.

I should add that I try to make comments with a Corporate rather personal hat on. Of course I have empathy with posters on the forum. That however is of little consolation when it comes to the reality of the real world.

stephencg

I think that we could reach a modus vivendi on the basis that you are free obviously to make whatever comments you like, as long as you make it clear that they are comments.

The problem is that in the past you have presented some assertions as if they were proven facts when they were not. An alternative would be for you to slow down and to check your assertions for accuracy before you post them!

we are here on this forum to help each other, and to avoid misleading each other must be part of that. Your contributions will become valuable again if you can be persuaded to make a distinction between opinion, facts, and facts whose accuracy has been double checked. As it is, and on the basis of personal experience, I have to advise people to distrust anything that you post and that's a waste of your time and experience.

Your mission to "highlight awareness of certain facts" is undermined when the facts turn out not to be facts at all. But if in the future you check them first before posting, you might acquire a real authority which would be very helpful to readers of the forum.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

This is an open forum. So I would expect people to seek or take their own counsel not rely on any comment or observation that anyone makes. I merely make comment to highlight awareness of certain facts. Too often people seek assurance to support their own narrow predetermined view rather than look at the far wider macro picture.

I should add that I try to make comments with a Corporate rather personal hat on. Of course I have empathy with posters on the forum. That however is of little consolation when it comes to the reality of the real world.