HELP Barclays Bank changing rules!

ConfusedGlosLad

Wife got a graduate account back in 2006 and has used it basically like a bank account ever since, nothing ever said about it as always you have an over draft dip in and out but mostly in as opposed to out.

They sent a letter two days ago stating that as she is in overdraft they will now be charging her £1.50 A DAY that she is in the overdraft meaning she is now expected to pay it off.

Firstly all details they have seems to be made up:
"you graduated 3 years ago" which is wrong she has had this account 11 years.
"you have had notification in august" once again we have not.
"this was explained in branch" supposedly this was planned since 2006?
"It was in terms and conditions" I asked for a copy of T & C signed and agreed too or contract that would have been scanned of original agreement response "we do not need to have kept them".

Do we have any recourse here as finding £45 extra a month is a lot of money!

Shakin_Steve

Give them a ring and rebut all four points, esp. the last one as, if they haven't kept the T&C's, how can they prove what was in them?

boo_star

Searching for https://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?task=articleFWgroup&value=8997&target=_self&site=pfs on web.archive.org and looking at the results from 2007 shows that the interest free overdraft was for 3 years after graduation, which I believe is fairly standard for graduate accounts.

jonesMUFCforever

OP your wife has done very well out of this mess - I would not stir up too much trouble - is this not like a PPI claim in reverse - what if they go back and ask you to pay the interest that SHOULD have been charged to the account?
The fact that she is still in overdraft is not Barclays' fault - think of ways to help her to repay this and charges won't be a problem.

boo_star

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

OP your wife has done very well out of this mess - I would not stir up too much trouble - is this not like a PPI claim in reverse - what if they go back and ask you to pay the interest that SHOULD have been charged to the account?
The fact that she is still in overdraft is not Barclays' fault - think of ways to help her to repay this and charges won't be a problem.

Agreed.

She’s had 8 years of an interest free overdraft that she shouldn’t have (per the T&C’s) had and should have wondered, at least at one point in all those years, why she wasn’t being charged interest.

18cc

Absolutely have to agree with all of the above if you start complaining to the bank they may well suddenly wake up to the fact that you have had all this period of free overdraft when you should only have had three years I would keep quiet!

that doesn't mean to say that you have to pay their exorbitant rates of Interest though you can try converting the overdraft to a personal loan where typically the interest rate is lower or look around for another bank with a lower interest rate or even take out and interest free credit card and see how the rates compare