Barclaycard payment options

Helleborus1

I have been a customer of Barclaycard for over 30 years. During that time, I have chosen to pay by post rather than Direct Debit. (I had a major problem with them a few years back, when I took out Cardholder Protection Insurance which I paid for by D.D. Two years after cancelling this as I had a bank a/c which provided the same cover, Barclaycard re-instated the Direct Debit & took money out of my a/c without my knowledge - I only discovered this by chance, & it took months to get my money back)
In all my years with Barclaycard, I have never made a late payment. However, out of my last 5 payments, 4 have 'arrived' late & I have been charged a late payment fee + interest. To date, I have refused to pay. My payment is always sent by or before the 'send by' date. The statement always comes with a pre-paid 1st class envelope - which appears to be taking in excess of 8 days to reach Barclaycard. I am told that, although this is not my fault, it is up to me to make sure the payment arrives on time & the late payment fee will not be waived.
My last payment was sent on the 14th May (due date 22nd) - & according to my bank statement yesterday, this had still not reached Barclaycard after 2 weeks! So, I rang Royal Mail this morning, they were most helpful. They checked with the delivery office to see if there had been any enquiries logged re: late delivery of mail & of course there hadn't. The person I spoke to thought it highly unlikely that the mail was delivered late on 4 almost consecutive occasions, especially as there has never been a problem in the past, even when I was living in Australia for a year!
What is going on here? Is this a ploy to get me to pay by Direct Debit? I think customers need to be made aware that this payment option on their statement is no longer viable. I am seriously thinking about contacting the Ombudsman as I have had enough. I will no longer be a customer of Barclaycard.

Wywth

Helleborus1 wrote: »

I have been a customer of Barclaycard for over 30 years. During that time, I have chosen to pay by post rather than Direct Debit. (I had a major problem with them a few years back, when I took out Cardholder Protection Insurance which I paid for by D.D. Two years after cancelling this as I had a bank a/c which provided the same cover, Barclaycard re-instated the Direct Debit & took money out of my a/c without my knowledge - I only discovered this by chance, & it took months to get my money back)
In all my years with Barclaycard, I have never made a late payment. However, out of my last 5 payments, 4 have 'arrived' late & I have been charged a late payment fee + interest. To date, I have refused to pay. My payment is always sent by or before the 'send by' date. The statement always comes with a pre-paid 1st class envelope - which appears to be taking in excess of 8 days to reach Barclaycard. I am told that, although this is not my fault, it is up to me to make sure the payment arrives on time & the late payment fee will not be waived.
My last payment was sent on the 14th May (due date 22nd) - & according to my bank statement yesterday, this had still not reached Barclaycard after 2 weeks! So, I rang Royal Mail this morning, they were most helpful. They checked with the delivery office to see if there had been any enquiries logged re: late delivery of mail & of course there hadn't. The person I spoke to thought it highly unlikely that the mail was delivered late on 4 almost consecutive occasions, especially as there has never been a problem in the past, even when I was living in Australia for a year!
What is going on here? Is this a ploy to get me to pay by Direct Debit? I think customers need to be made aware that this payment option on their statement is no longer viable. I am seriously thinking about contacting the Ombudsman as I have had enough. I will no longer be a customer of Barclaycard.

Get with today! Dump the cheques and save the cost of postage. Pay online using Faster Payments

Tell us more about why it took so long for you to recover unauthorised payments deducted by DD. Under the terms of the DD Guarantee you are entitled to a full and immedidiate refund from your bank

Helleborus1

Barclaycard kept making excuses about refunding my money, one minute they were going to send me a cheque, the next minute, they said they were not able to do that. I eventually got my refund (it must have taken 4 - 5 months) plus £5 compensation from BC &, I think, £25 from Barclays Bank.

Wywth

Helleborus1 wrote: »

Barclaycard kept making excuses about refunding my money, one minute they were going to send me a cheque, the next minute, they said they were not able to do that. I eventually got my refund (it must have taken 4 - 5 months) plus £5 compensation from BC &, I think, £25 from Barclays Bank.

So you went about it entirely the wrong way?

Seems to be a habit of yours ... :cool:

Helleborus1

I guess like many people - hence the reason for not discontinuing cheques - I feel less secure paying on-line. Friends have had problems.

As to this being 'a habit of mine' - clearly I am less au fait with money matters than you & that is the reason this web site exists.

Thankyou for your comments anyway.