How long for Barclaycard to acknowledge complaint? 30 May 2022 at 8:24AM in Reclaim bank & credit card charges 24 replies 699 views

simax

Hi guys,

As subject title. I wrote a complaint letter and posted it to Barclaycard at their complaints address (by recorded delivery - was signed for last Wednesday). Anyone have any idea how long they take to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and what their next steps are in resolving?

Thanks in advance.

[Deleted User]

Give it a week or so, but if you don't hear back, send it again, but not recorded delivery.  Recorded delivery takes it out of the normal delivery stream and it may end up sitting on a reception desk somewhere for weeks. 

Once they've received it, their next steps in resolving will depend on the nature of the complaint.

[Deleted User]

They have 8 weeks to provide an answer before you have the right to refer to the FOS but doing so may put their investigations on hold.

Without knowing the details of your complaint, no-one can advise what the resolving steps are

dunstonh

As subject title. I wrote a complaint letter and posted it to Barclaycard at their complaints address (by recorded delivery - was signed for last Wednesday). Anyone have any idea how long they take to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and what their next steps are in resolving?

As you used recorded delivery and the complaints address is a PO Box, it will actually take longer to get there.  It also won't be signed as received by someone from Barclays.   You really shouldn't use recorded delivery with PO Box addresses.

You should receive written acknowledgement in about a week.

simax

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

[Deleted User]

simax said:

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

You can send the letter normally with free proof of postage from the PO

Affordability is always a difficult one particularly with a credit card as you spending money is different to say a payday loan so no-one could tell. You can try searching the FOS site for cases on affordability which might give you some idea what they think but each case is unique

simax

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

You can send the letter normally with free proof of postage from the PO

Affordability is always a difficult one particularly with a credit card as you spending money is different to say a payday loan so no-one could tell. You can try searching the FOS site for cases on affordability which might give you some idea what they think but each case is unique

This is a little different though. They wrote to me a while back informing me that they believe they (their computers) increased my credit limit too high for my credit rating and that they believe my current limit and balance are unmanageable (it’s on the cusp of being unmanageable). They said they would review my account and come up with a plan to manage the balance. They never wrote back to me as promised. So I’m now putting in the complaint. The fact they’ve actually admitted fault with the affordability assessment at the time and they’re not moving things forward makes me believe I have a fighting chance of success. That’s the basic gist… I’ve probably not explained it properly but I’m gonna run with it.

[Deleted User]

simax said:

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

You can send the letter normally with free proof of postage from the PO

Affordability is always a difficult one particularly with a credit card as you spending money is different to say a payday loan so no-one could tell. You can try searching the FOS site for cases on affordability which might give you some idea what they think but each case is unique

This is a little different though. They wrote to me a while back informing me that they believe they (their computers) increased my credit limit too high for my credit rating and that they believe my current limit and balance are unmanageable (it’s on the cusp of being unmanageable). They said they would review my account and come up with a plan to manage the balance. They never wrote back to me as promised. So I’m now putting in the complaint. The fact they’ve actually admitted fault with the affordability assessment at the time and they’re not moving things forward makes me believe I have a fighting chance of success. That’s the basic gist… I’ve probably not explained it properly but I’m gonna run with it.

They've not admitted fault in that sense, the FCA made banks consider affordable lending criteria and reduced limits for loads of people which has happened here. You can complain certainly and they might give you "go away" money but you would struggle to get much more than that unless the bank decide something really dumb was done which affected you

Brie

I think there is an obligation to acknowledge the complaint within 14 days of receiving it and that can be by post or by phone.  Then there's a longer period for them to try to resolve it.

If you haven't posted the letter yet I suggest you mark it with COMPLAINT on the envelope so they action it appropriately.  Too many letter can waffle on and the point not being obvious.

simax

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

You can send the letter normally with free proof of postage from the PO

Affordability is always a difficult one particularly with a credit card as you spending money is different to say a payday loan so no-one could tell. You can try searching the FOS site for cases on affordability which might give you some idea what they think but each case is unique

This is a little different though. They wrote to me a while back informing me that they believe they (their computers) increased my credit limit too high for my credit rating and that they believe my current limit and balance are unmanageable (it’s on the cusp of being unmanageable). They said they would review my account and come up with a plan to manage the balance. They never wrote back to me as promised. So I’m now putting in the complaint. The fact they’ve actually admitted fault with the affordability assessment at the time and they’re not moving things forward makes me believe I have a fighting chance of success. That’s the basic gist… I’ve probably not explained it properly but I’m gonna run with it.

They've not admitted fault in that sense, the FCA made banks consider affordable lending criteria and reduced limits for loads of people which has happened here. You can complain certainly and they might give you "go away" money but you would struggle to get much more than that unless the bank decide something really dumb was done which affected you

To be fair, what they did was pretty dumb and they admitted as much in the letter. It stated they would never have raised my credit limit as high as they did if their means of assessment worked properly at the time…. And of course silly old me went up to the limit on the card. At the time my credit utilisation was high on several sub-prime cards and catalogues (utilisation was about 80% of my limits and I wasn’t eligible for increases or extra credit products elsewhere) and I also had the Barclaycard with a £1,500 limit (and I was about 50% into that limit) and their app one day offered me £10,000. On a salary of £18,000 at the time and other commitments I do feel it was irresponsible. Yes I know I could’ve refused the offer, but I didn’t and here we are. 

So I feel my complaint is justified in this respect. I’m not looking for miracles but just acknowledgment that they did wrong (and maybe a little restitution wouldn’t go amiss)…

[Deleted User]

simax said:

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

Deleted_User said:

simax said:

I’ll send another copy of the letter tonight with just a stamp on it just to be safe then, or would you advise to hold fire now?

For those who asked, it’s an affordability complaint. Thanks for your input.

You can send the letter normally with free proof of postage from the PO

Affordability is always a difficult one particularly with a credit card as you spending money is different to say a payday loan so no-one could tell. You can try searching the FOS site for cases on affordability which might give you some idea what they think but each case is unique

This is a little different though. They wrote to me a while back informing me that they believe they (their computers) increased my credit limit too high for my credit rating and that they believe my current limit and balance are unmanageable (it’s on the cusp of being unmanageable). They said they would review my account and come up with a plan to manage the balance. They never wrote back to me as promised. So I’m now putting in the complaint. The fact they’ve actually admitted fault with the affordability assessment at the time and they’re not moving things forward makes me believe I have a fighting chance of success. That’s the basic gist… I’ve probably not explained it properly but I’m gonna run with it.

They've not admitted fault in that sense, the FCA made banks consider affordable lending criteria and reduced limits for loads of people which has happened here. You can complain certainly and they might give you "go away" money but you would struggle to get much more than that unless the bank decide something really dumb was done which affected you

To be fair, what they did was pretty dumb and they admitted as much in the letter. It stated they would never have raised my credit limit as high as they did if their means of assessment worked properly at the time…. And of course silly old me went up to the limit on the card. At the time my credit utilisation was high on several sub-prime cards and catalogues (utilisation was about 80% of my limits and I wasn’t eligible for increases or extra credit products elsewhere) and I also had the Barclaycard with a £1,500 limit (and I was about 50% into that limit) and their app one day offered me £10,000. On a salary of £18,000 at the time and other commitments I do feel it was irresponsible. Yes I know I could’ve refused the offer, but I didn’t and here we are. 

So I feel my complaint is justified in this respect. I’m not looking for miracles but just acknowledgment that they did wrong (and maybe a little restitution wouldn’t go amiss)…

Yes that's what I'm setting expectations over - you may get an apology and some money but not any sort of restitution (such as refund of fees and interest) over the fact you ran up the debt, that is all. Them giving you a limit which they agree might have been irresponsible in hindsight (as they didn't assess whether you could afford it if you ran it up) is not the same as you choosing to run up that debt. Hence it's difficult to tell if they would give you an apology and go away compo (something in the region of £100-£250) or suddenly decide they should have done better and give you more.

As I said, have a look on the FOS site for case files and it might give you an idea of how they will go