Barclays Partner Finance

MoneySeeker1

I bought two sofas (separately) a year or two back and it was the same price either way - whether I paid on interest-free credit or paid it all up front.

So I bought them both on the interest-free credit scheme.

I'm now down to owing less than £1,000 for the two together and had a bit spare money - so decided to pay it off and be done with it.

Accordingly, I rang their telephone number, with the intention of paying them off then and there over the phone by card. I tried and I tried and I tried numerous times and no-one would ever answer the phone.

So I know exactly how much I owe and sent them off a cheque for the amount.

Far from receiving a receipt/thank you letter I had a hassling "We notice you've stopped the direct debits" letter. I thought "Maybe they've not picked up my cheque from the PO Box no address - I'll cancel that cheque and send them another one - now I actually have a proper address etc for them". Sent them 2nd cheque to the "proper address".

That cheque will be due to have been received by them Saturday (ie yesterday presumably then).

I've just had a phonecall from a woman saying she's from them and I pointed out they have now been paid off/will have received the 2nd cheque. She just seemed to get more and more awkward - and clearly wasnt listening to me telling her clearly I'd paid them off and they will have the cheque by now and kept repeating that it will now go higher up their ladder and I'm going to get some more hassle from them. I pointed out numerous times it was their fault they'd never answered their phone and hence why the cheque was sent. Also pointed out that I obviously couldnt check she really was from Barclays and therefore couldnt do anything further in that phonecall.

Feeling a bit at wits end - I've got the phone playing and playing again the "waiting to put you through" music and I don't suppose for a second I'll be answered this time either.

At a loss as to what to do now. They HAVE got the money from me - that 2nd cheque - and I owe them nothing.

NB; For anyone thinking they'd do it all online - I don't do online banking or online anything much at all - to protect my security. So either:
- they HAVE to accept that cheque and allocate it to both those accounts (I did give them the numbers of them)
or

- they HAVE to answer their darn phone.

Any suggestions?

MoneySeeker1

Update - put the phone down again - had been waiting on it for 20 minutes for someone to answer and no-one ever did.

Understandably getting more and more frustrated with them - as that phonecall from hassling woman that said she was them was too busy asking me for my "security details" that I was left totally up in the air as to how I was to get hers and not given any idea at all of what she would have said if she really was from them. She could have given a generic response of "This is what we do when the customer says they have sent us a cheque and very sorry you've had this inconvenience" - but that wasn't happening.

DCFC79

So you cancelled a direct debit, a bad idea.

And you don't do internet banking, what do you think will happen, the russians or chinese will infiltrate your pc and clean the account out, definitely wont happen. You will be safe if your careful.

MoneySeeker1

DD cancelled because I'd paid them off.

Hoping someone will have some helpful ideas how to proceed.

Spank

Has either cheque been cashed?

MoneySeeker1

No.

I checked whether the first cheque had been cashed when it should have been (ie enough time had elapsed for them to at least put it through) and my bank said it hadnt.

So, since I had a "proper" address and even name of person (head of debt collection team) I sent it in the first class sae they'd provided for that "proper" address. They would have received it Saturday if working and Monday if they only work Mon-Fri.

Trying - yet again - for the 8th?/9th?/10th? time to have a phonecall from me answered. Took 3-4 minutes to get through the menu again and have had that endless music playing for 13 minutes so far and counting...and not answered yet....holding out very little hope they ever will answer....

I've got visions of finding myself put through a "recover the debt" situation that is not my doing - and when I'm not the sort of person that gets into that sort of situation - as I always pay off any debt bang on time (and usually earlier).

I really don't need this hassle right now - as I'm loathing and detesting Lockdown (and I've got the harsher Welsh version of it) and I've had one elderly parent die in England since Lockdown started and the other one is now refusing to eat and so she is too (ditto back in England)....

outofworksch

Are the company actually working  or  have the staff been furloughed?
Surely until either of the  cheques  have been banked, you still owe them the money.
Assuming you brought the furniture from a shop, are you able to go there and talk to the staff face to face?

MoneySeeker1

I wasn't able to buy the furniture from a physical shop - because I've moved away a few years ago from (one of) the locations where it was (ie Sofa Workshop). Hence had to buy both with phonecalls to head office type set-up doing what I once would have done in person.

Finally....finally....finally...to my very great relief - I actually managed to get someone answering the darn phone at long long last. I've been trying and trying and trying again today once more and have probably wasted another hour or so in total trying to find someone that would just do that.

Finally had a person pick up the darn phone at around dinnertime today at long last - about phonecall number 10?/12?/15? and I explained what I'd been trying to do for the last couple of weeks and she registered an official complaint from me that I'd been put through so much hassle/worry. Then I managed to do what I'd been trying to do in the first place - and read out card numbers and pay it off and have that fact acknowledged on the spot and a letter will be coming confirming that.

I've got to ring up the bank and cancel the 2nd cheque too now.


Whew! It must have taken me over 10 hours down the drain trying to make that 10 minute or so phonecall and I'd got to the stage where I was literally praying that someone would darn well pick up the phone at last. 

Not surprisingly - the woman that finally answered my darn phonecall had me collapse in tears to start with that it had been SUCH a problem getting through to them for such a quick/simple issue.