Barclays stealth 'upgrade' to 'Premier' still happening

thornbird

Warning! Barclays W*nkers are writing to customers and moving them to their new 'Premier Service' which is a fee-paying account as reported by Simon Lewis of BBC MoneyBox. To get out you have to write in to opt out or you are stung with fees. I received a sales letter and brochures which I threw away without reading. A few days ago I was called by an incredibly pushy young lady who said she was at my local branch. She was very creepy and said 'she wanted to get to know me to help me with my finances'. I kept telling her I wasn't interested, and she kept saying: 'how do you know you are not interested?' So I told her 'I've told Barclays time and time again I don't want them to call me to sell to me'.:mad::mad: She insisted it was a 'service' call to 'welcome me' and as she would not give up I hung up.

Here is the update from the BBCs Simon Lewis (any relation to Martin?)
Has Barclays swapped you to a fee paying premier account because you didn’t specifically opt out of the move? email [EMAIL="moneybox@bbc.co.uk"]moneybox@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL].

I thought this was now outlawed by the Ombudsman? I am even more perplexed they tried this with me because I've already got them back for unfair bank charges, miss-selling me high risk investments have 2 claims outstanding with them for PPI I'd never asked for! Do they never learn?!?

Please watch out for it. And tell me - honestly - are all banks the same, where is a safe haven for my humble pension where I will not be harassed, conned and mis-sold to? Where should I switch to?:A

jonesMUFCforever

They are all the same.

JuicyJesus

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

They are all the same.

Actually they're not, it appears to be something peculiar to Barclays and NatWest, who seem to have a habit of upgrading people to paid for accounts on an opt out basis and without prior consultation.

I've already posted about how this is a stunningly terrible breach of both Treating Customers Fairly and rules on the sale of packaged accounts, but far be it from me to tell Barclays and NatWest to stop doing insanely stupid things.

thornbird

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Actually they're not, it appears to be something peculiar to Barclays and NatWest, who seem to have a habit of upgrading people to paid for accounts on an opt out basis and without prior consultation.

Barclays say on their own website that it has a fee. They treat us customers with contempt.

If you meet our Premier Banking criteria, you could join us and benefit from our exclusive rewards and services for just £10 per month.

Uxb

I think all current accounts should be chargeable
After all the rest of the world pretty well charges customers for banking facilities.

System

Always good to know your thoughts Uxb

Uxb wrote: »

I think all current accounts should be chargeable
After all the rest of the world pretty well charges customers for banking facilities.

thornbird

I don't disagree with UXB but wish they'd stop making charges to customer by stealth.

joncombe

I got one of these letter which arrived a couple of weeks after I switched my account from Barclays to Halifax so I no longer have a current account with Barclays, the only account I have with them is a monthly saver. I'm not sure if I kept the letter - is it safe to ignore it?

Atidi

Uxb wrote: »

I think all current accounts should be chargeable
After all the rest of the world pretty well charges customers for banking facilities.

Presumably you would like to pay for your healthcare at the point of use too??? :cool:

I like that we are different. If you don't like it in this country, you know what you can do.

thornbird

joncombe wrote: »

I got one of these letter which arrived a couple of weeks after I switched my account from Barclays to Halifax so I no longer have a current account with Barclays, the only account I have with them is a monthly saver. I'm not sure if I kept the letter - is it safe to ignore it?

I ignored the letter but after the saleswoman called I emailed and wrote to say I definitely did not want it. Not now or ever.

camperdown9

Uxb wrote: »

I think all current accounts should be chargeable
After all the rest of the world pretty well charges customers for banking facilities.

Hmm not sure I agree.

I have a savings account with Credit Agricole. Its just a simple account with a debit card. Not only do I get charged each month for the luxury of having the account, but last month the debit card expired and I was charged €30 for a new one.

Alex