Barclays Current Account Charges

kivsy

I have come back to thank the few people who did post some helpful comments here. What a shame that some people have decided to take a sarcastic or judgemental stance. I have used money saving expert for many years and often see posts like this and wonder why people do this? I posted my comment in good faith and to be honest I am not a banking expert, - I wish I had the time to research banking and charges etc!

In terms of the interest rate I was previously paying I didn't mean that to be an exact figure, I was simply trying to make a point that I was paying a matter of pence rather than £25ish a month plus I have stated that keeping the account slightly OD was not moneysaving but I have my personal reasons which I do not care to post on here and wonder what business it is of anybody else to judge me for that?

Since posting I have spoken with the financial ombusman who says I have a strong case and is dealing with it for me.

From here on in I will not be asking anything on this forum as on the whole I don't like the tone of the replies, I will of course try and help other people if I am able as this is I'm sure the way this is intended to be used.

macaronicheese

Kivsy the same thing happened to my husband. He didnt recieve a letter and he was suddenly charged £85 a month for his overdraft. He too phoned to complain and he recieved £25 as an apology! I hope you can get it sorted I dont think they sent out letters

getmore4less

My letters came in March with a booklet.

macaronicheese

Lucky you! we got no letter and no booklet just charges!

eskbanker

kivsy wrote: »

I have stated that keeping the account slightly OD was not moneysaving but I have my personal reasons which I do not care to post on here and wonder what business it is of anybody else to judge me for that?

I can't see anyone judging you for that, just asking why you chose to do it? Obviously you're quite entitled not to share that if you feel it's so personal for whatever reason, but it's not an unreasonable question to ask.

kivsy wrote: »

Since posting I have spoken with the financial ombusman who says I have a strong case and is dealing with it for me.

Out of interest, what is the case that you're making to them, that the charges are unreasonable or that you weren't informed, or something else? Generally the ombudsman service doesn't take anything on until you've exhausted the bank's formal complaints procedure, what are the FOS actually doing if you haven't done this (or have you?)?

kivsy wrote: »

From here on in I will not be asking anything on this forum as on the whole I don't like the tone of the replies

Do you think the customer service adviser you ranted at appreciated your tone?

kivsy

First and foremost as you don't know me or know anything about me I would like to point out that I am not an aggressive or angry type of person. I did rant on the telephone although whilst feeling very irrate I repeatedly told the customer service agent that my anger was in no way directed at her personally and that I appreciated she was only doing her job. Having worked in customer services myself I do know that part of the job is fielding calls from unhappy customers, I was not verbally abusive to her, I just told her how very angry and frustrated I was with the bank as an organisation.
I have explained the situation with the FOS and the case is two parts. Firstly that I was not informed of the charges, I see that I am not the only person in that predicament as macoronicheese states and secondly the charges are completely disproportionate to the money I owed the bank. As far as the bank were concerned when I spoke with them they had done nothing wrong and that was the end of it. I did not receive a letter and booklet as others have mentioned and therefore was not aware of the changes. I can assure you that if I had received that info I would have paid the debt and shut the account immediately which is that action I have now taken.

PeacefulWaters

kivsy wrote: »

Since posting I have spoken with the financial ombusman who says I have a strong case and is dealing with it for me.

The FOS will simply pass it on to Barclays. The telephone monkey won't have the faintest idea around the likelihood of the success of the complaint if Barclays decline it and it does actually end up back at the FOS.

As I see it, you have two complaints.

1. Barclays never informed you of the change to terms and conditions.
2. The charges are in some way unfair.

You need to complain to Barclays first. State your complaint and state what resolution would make you happy. I'd suggest asking them to waive all charges would be a sensible approach.

See what response you get. If you're not happy you can then involve the FOS.

On point (1) Barclays will need to provide the FOS with proof that your details were on both mailing lists for this change to T&Cs. They will almost certainly be able to do so and the FOS will rule in their favour. On point (2) you won't get any joy whatsoever.

From here on in I will not be asking anything on this forum as on the whole I don't like the tone of the replies, I will of course try and help other people if I am able as this is I'm sure the way this is intended to be used.

Some years ago I made my living sitting in front of bank customers who had complaints. A common one was "you never told me ..." even when they had a letter advising them of the change unopened in their hand.

It's possible for a bank to fail to send a letter. But very rare. Perhaps a mailing house failing to dispatch. It's possible for Royal Mail to lose it. But by far the biggest reason for a bank customer not being aware of the contents of a letter is that they simply didn't read it.

Perhaps I should have provided this context before posting. Hopefully the information above will help you a little. Do post back on the outcome of the complaint.

CLAPTON

you may wish to note that many (maybe most) banks are changing the way they charge for ODs.
Basically the new way is a daily charge.
ok if you are overdrawn for a day or so and possibly if you have a large OD but bad news if you have a smallish OD but all month.

Thrugelmir

kivsy wrote: »

I was not verbally abusive to her, I just told her how very angry and frustrated I was with the bank as an organisation.

In my many years in finance. I've found those that bluster and bully in the main to have no complaint of substance. Failure to read letters properly is all too often a common occurrence. Particularly after the event.

dumpyboy

Thrugelmir wrote: »

In my many years in finance. I've found those that bluster and bully in the main to have no complaint of substance. Failure to read letters properly is all too often a common occurrence. Particularly after the event.

Is this just what banks and credit providers do at the first sign of trouble