Barclays Current Account and Blue Rewards

Tildaplum

Ok I think I see what you are saying

first of all it doesn't matter what day of the month you switch the blue rewards on - you can switch them on on the 1st or the 28th but because it operates on a calendar month basis then all activity during that month will be counted

so for example if you have 2 direct debits going out on the 12th and you turn blue rewards on on the 20th then it will still be ok - you will pay your £4 but get £7 for that month's dd.

Where your problem occurs is that blue rewards do not apply to basic accounts i.e. basic accounts are invisible to the Blue reward system

so the fact that you had direct debits going out on your basic account will not be counted as far as blue rewards are concerned

so when you turned your blue rewards on on the 11th it would be waiting for  direct debits from the 11th onwards and would not look backwards to the previous direct debits because it they were taken from a basic account which as I said is ineligible for blue rewards

that is quite clear in the terms and conditions

masca

I recall having to manually 'switch on' Blue Rewards within online banking.  Therefore surely the account owner (not Barclays) is responsible for when the reward period commences?   Had you not switched yours on until the 1st of the month following the account switch, you would surely have averted the problem, I think?

xlnc99

The problem is - i got my current account on the 11th or something. I switched the blue rewards on manually online around the 25th (just double checked now). I had to deposit the 800 first to be eligible. So on the 25th March i was active for my Blue Rewards. On the 1st April i get charged 4 pound fee.

I ask they Barclays member why i been charged? He said because in March you had no DD but going forward you will be getting your rewards if you meet the conditions

Can someone explain how this is fair? 

kaMelo

Your mistake was switching on Blue Rewards after the DD(s) had gone for for March. You should have waited until April to switch them on, thereby not having to pay for March.  Barclays don't decide when you turn them on or off. 
I don't think 'Outrage' is the right word in this curcumstance but I'd agree that charging you a fee for March is a little cheeky.

xlnc99

As Tilda pointed out if it works on a calender month basis then it should not matter when i switch? Right or wrong? This is the underlying issue i have.

This is my point that all customers will be getting charged for the first month fee if they switch say 10th onwards or activate the rewards from then on. That is because most direct debits usually the first ten days of the month. So how barclays are taking 4 quid of every customer when they sign up unless they sign up on the first of each month!

EarthBoy

xlnc99 said:

The problem is - i got my current account on the 11th or something. I switched the blue rewards on manually online around the 25th (just double checked now). I had to deposit the 800 first to be eligible. So on the 25th March i was active for my Blue Rewards. On the 1st April i get charged 4 pound fee.

I ask they Barclays member why i been charged? He said because in March you had no DD but going forward you will be getting your rewards if you meet the conditions

Can someone explain how this is fair? 

I really don't know what you are complaining about, because the situation you've described here is exactly what is supposed to happen. The Blue Rewards are paid in arrears, based on your activity for the previous month. On the 1st April you were charged the fee and didn't get any Blue Rewards, -well you wouldn't do because the Blue Rewards for April aren't paid until the beginning of May. If you pay out two Direct Debits any time in April, from the current account which has the Blue Rewards on it, you'll get the £7 payment in May. 
This is all clearly explained in the terms and conditions for Blue Rewards on Barclays website.
https://www.barclays.co.uk/current-accounts/blue-rewards/

dcs34

xlnc99 said:

As Tilda pointed out if it works on a calender month basis then it should not matter when i switch? Right or wrong? This is the underlying issue i have.

This is my point that all customers will be getting charged for the first month fee if they switch say 10th onwards or activate the rewards from then on. That is because most direct debits usually the first ten days of the month. So how barclays are taking 4 quid of every customer when they sign up unless they sign up on the first of each month!

The only 'outrage' is if you pay more instances of fees than you receive in instances of reward payments. It is irrelevant whether you earn the reward or pay the fee first, that will purely be dependant on whether the DDs are taken before the 3rd/4th of the month or not.

You seem upset that you have paid a fee in March but the DDs are taken and reward paid in April. However, as it works on calendar months then this will carry through until the day you decide to switch off rewards - if you do this the day before paying the next fee you will still have earned the 'missing' set of DDs/rewards!

xlnc99

@earth boy - i understand all that. Point is i was charged for April for March. I fulfilled the requirment its not my fault i started the blue rewards after my DD went out. If they wont pay me for that then they should not charge me a fee

@ DCS34 -  Your point makes sense but in that case if i switch the rewards off the day before paying my next fee say in three months time - they will also mean they will stop my rewards immediately meaning i will not get my reward for the last month before i switch off so i will still be at a negative for month 1

EarthBoy

xlnc99 said:

@earth boy - i understand all that. Point is i was charged for April for March. I fulfilled the requirment its not my fault i started the blue rewards after my DD went out. If they wont pay me for that then they should not charge me a fee

No, you clearly don't understand it. The charge is always paid in advance for the current month: it's not for the previous month.  It's the rewards that are paid in arrears, not the charge.
You were charged in April for April, not for March.  The time between joining Blue Rewards in March, and the first payment, don't count, as the Blue Rewards don't kick in until the first of the month.  As it says in the terms and conditions "The first monthly fee will be taken in the month after you join Barclays Blue Rewards."
So you joined in March, and the first fee was taken in April.  You haven't received any Blue Rewards yet because they aren't due until the beginning of May.

rawhammered

Someone’s frothing at the mouth and raging against the world lol.