Reclaiming overpaid money

Smoothwise

Bit of a funny one, and no idea where to post it, but here goes...

Long story short, I hate Barclays. In my 20s I had accounts, loans and a Barclaycard with them. I've paid them every kind of fee under the sun, hundreds, maybe thousands. They have time and time again proved inept and amoral. It is at least 7 years since I closed every account I had with them and never looked back.

Out of the blue, I received a letter today saying I overpaid a loan by £1.17. Barclays have kept this money for nearly a decade, and now they want to pay it back.

I could just fill in the form, and accept the £1.17.

But you cannot imagine the pain they put me through. I once had a debit of £10 and a credit of £20 on the same day, ending the day in credit. but because the account was negative for an hour, I was charged for being overdrawn.

I once changed my address in store, and they typed it in wrong. When I tried to correct it over the phone, I was told because it had been done in branch, I had to go in to the branch to fix it. The delay caused me a verification check to fail and further pain...

When I closed my account, they messed up and left it open, direct debits continued which they said I was responsible for...

On it goes... Rather than happiness at being refunded £1.17, I am enraged that years later I am reminded of their ineptitude.

My question, dear internet, is surely I should be able to claim compensation for them holding on to my money (albeit so little) for at least 7 years. I'm not talking hundreds, I'm talking a tiny token of something to admit their gross incompetence.

Am I right to think this, and how should I go about it?

[Deleted User]

No, you're not right to think that.

Just enjoy the refund.

jonesMUFCforever

Yes you are entitled to compensation --- but oh dear you have left it more than 6 years, so your claim is statute barred - how painful must that feel?
Enjoy your £1.17!

Robin9

Take the £1.17 and move on

Here_Comes_The_Judge

Let it go. Just let it go.

glennstar

Put the £1.17 towards some much needed counselling,.. You might as well replace Barclays with HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, Coop, other and some. All of these corporate entities suffer from the same issues as all the others... namely corporate good intent failed by poor processes, poorly motivated staff and a general lack of due diligence.

Realistically this is beyond resolution, so you are best off getting over it - life is far, far too short for this type of bellyaching...

I once changed my address in store, and they typed it in wrong. When I tried to correct it over the phone, I was told because it had been done in branch, I had to go in to the branch to fix it. The delay caused me a verification check to fail and further pain...

Dangermac

Smoothwise wrote: »

Bit of a funny one, and no idea where to post it, but here goes...

Long story short, I hate Barclays. In my 20s I had accounts, loans and a Barclaycard with them. I've paid them every kind of fee under the sun, hundreds, maybe thousands. They have time and time again proved inept and amoral. It is at least 7 years since I closed every account I had with them and never looked back.

Out of the blue, I received a letter today saying I overpaid a loan by £1.17. Barclays have kept this money for nearly a decade, and now they want to pay it back.

I could just fill in the form, and accept the £1.17.

But you cannot imagine the pain they put me through. I once had a debit of £10 and a credit of £20 on the same day, ending the day in credit. but because the account was negative for an hour, I was charged for being overdrawn.

I once changed my address in store, and they typed it in wrong. When I tried to correct it over the phone, I was told because it had been done in branch, I had to go in to the branch to fix it. The delay caused me a verification check to fail and further pain...

When I closed my account, they messed up and left it open, direct debits continued which they said I was responsible for...

On it goes... Rather than happiness at being refunded £1.17, I am enraged that years later I am reminded of their ineptitude.

My question, dear internet, is surely I should be able to claim compensation for them holding on to my money (albeit so little) for at least 7 years. I'm not talking hundreds, I'm talking a tiny token of something to admit their gross incompetence.

Am I right to think this, and how should I go about it?

For £1.17, just let it go man !!

Dm

boo_star

Les79 wrote: »

Interesting that you are so confident about the compensation element (I'm not desperately confident, but I think around 75% confident).

More so given this letter that OP has received may well give them "cause of action" here, meaning that the statute barred time limit has reset.

OP, I'm no expert when it comes to the rules around "statute barred" but have a read of this on the internet. There is a "cause of action" element which resets the clock, but you'd need to check if it applies here.

In my situation, I have gone down this route in the past with a bank. I complained about the excessive charges, despite it being "statute barred". My argument was that the developments in the market at the time gave me a "cause of action", as I would otherwise not have complained about them. I think it was linked to the Payday Loan fiasco when all of the complaints flooded in. The bank thought the cause was iffy (it was to an extent), but they were on the fence enough to actually accept and investigate the complaint. It actually ended up with them finding an overpayment of a similar value to yours here(!!), BUT they offered a reasonable compensation offer for the issue as well because they conceded fault on that point. I didn't get any of the fees/charges refunded, even after going to FOS.

So, yea, it might be a waste of time to pursue this but I wouldn't begrudge you in making a complaint here (it is your time to waste!). Send in a letter complaining about the issue, and maybe even the excessive charges, if you so wish (the next step would be to go to the FOS if you aren't satisfied with the response). Provide some sort of truthful justification as to why you feel you have cause to complain. I would recommend that you remain realistic, though, and don't expect anything more than a goodwill gesture.

Letters don't reset the clock if the debt is statute barred, Les. You of all people must know this.

boo_star

Les79 wrote: »

Finding out that a bank has had £1.17 of your money without your knowledge might reset the clock in terms of complaining about that issue....

No, it won't.

You're entitled to you £1.17 back. Nothing more, nothing less.

Willing2Learn

Les79 wrote: »

OP is also entitled to put in a complaint, if they so wish.

I would suggest that the OP leaves this alone. The OP has an 'emotional block' when it comes to Barclays.

@OP - Don't get enraged again! Forget about it! Deposit the cheque and be done with it!!!