Barclaycard Platinum Shocker

fidarling

Hi,
I applied for a Barclaycard Platinum online and was accepted. The card and PIN arrived last week but I didn't activate them. I got home of Friday night to find a nasty letter from them saying they've cancelled the credit agreement. Had an awful time with customer services but to cut along story short only managed to speak to someone this morning. They say they've changed their credit criteria and that customer applications have been reviewed because of this. My application has now been terminated because I no longer meet the criteria. Find this hard to believe as I have a good credit rating and very little debt. Am concerned that this will reflect in my credit record. They're also not willing to tell me exactly what criteria I no longer meet.
Has this happened to anyone else? Anyone got any advice?
Thanks,
Fidarling

daveboy

I've recently also received a Barclaycard Platinum and activated it straight away...I'm one of those many people who MBNA wanted to collar with a ridiculous interest rate rise....thanks to Barclaycard and their 14 months at 0%, MBNA get nothing from me.

As part of the terms of conditions Barclaycard will have a right to end the agreement at any time. The person applying for the card obviously also has this right. If a lender decides to effectively pull the plug, there isn't much you can do. It is their money and if they change their mind, whilst it's not nice, it's tough.

It would be worth if you haven't done recently, to get a paper copy of your credit report from Experian for £2. I do this once a year to ensure there is nothing on there that shouldn't be.

It would be interesting to hear if there are any others who Barclaycard have changed their minds on.....they had a reputation for low credit limits a little while ago. I sincerely hope this 'credit crunch' isn't going to see lenders stop agreements and expect people to pay up their balance.

smithja

When I got my Barclaycard in April it came with a £3500 limit and within a fortnight they lowered it to £260. After I spoke to Customer Relations they put it back up again, and I subsequently transfered my current account to Barlcays in the hope it does not happen again i.e. they can clearly see "I am good for it". Maybe if you write in with 3 months bank statements they will change their mind, we all have a right to opt-out of manual decision making and ask for a human being, in this case one for their underwriter to look at it. I would do it by mail as when I got the letter stating my limit had been reduced to £260 it stated "we will not be changing it", and everyone I spoke to on the phone were unhelpful (I know I stated I got it by speaking to them over the phone but I had already appealed after a decline and given them my bank statements). I am sure their application department will give you the address to appeal. Hope this helps. James

sicker

Be careful smithaj, how many people have had their current accounts 'raided' by Barclaycard to clear their credit card balance when their limit has been reduced. It might be wise to have your current account and credit cards with different banks.

KiKi

I applied for the BC Platinum and got a credit limit of £11,500 - and when I got a statement this week they've taken it down to £9,730 (random figure?!). I have an excellent credit history, and have had an excellent relationship with Barclays for the last 12 years - and they've still taken it down. I guess it's all part of the credit crunch.

amg2007

fidarling wrote: »

Hi,
I applied for a Barclaycard Platinum online and was accepted. The card and PIN arrived last week but I didn't activate them. I got home of Friday night to find a nasty letter from them saying they've cancelled the credit agreement. Had an awful time with customer services but to cut along story short only managed to speak to someone this morning. They say they've changed their credit criteria and that customer applications have been reviewed because of this.

Exactly the same thing has just happened to me - my credit rating is fine, and I pay off my cards each month.

Three weeks after getting my card, my statement arrived and read... "Your card has been cancelled, and should be destroyed" - signed Head of Customer Experience :rotfl: .

I received this statement on Saturday, and immediately phoned Barclaycard Customer Services. They could not help me as "the department dealing with your account only work Monday to Friday". So, I phoned them this morning, and got the same reply as you - I no longer meet the criteria.

I am more annoyed that they could not tell me why my account had been closed on Saturday when I first phoned. Surely, with a change such as this there will be fallout so why not arm the first-line Customer Support with the correct information... So much for Customer Experience.



Andy

ticmike

Ive just applied an been accepted for this card, so i could transfer my Virgin balance over (as their interest fees are pretty high), hope nothing like this happens to me ;-(
Im just starting to really get my credit sorted and these 0% deals are really helping me.

daniel_9

Hi, so is this something Barclaycard can do to existing customers? I'm really worried now, I recently got my Barclaycard for the 14 month 0% BT Deal and moved accross some of my high interest debt (MBNA - closing next week ) and this will play a huge role in reducing my debt in 2008.

Can Barclays just devide that I "no longer meet their criteria" and close my account?

Been with them for 2 months now and I got a suprisingly high limit of £5,000.

MABLE

daniel_9 wrote: »

Hi, so is this something Barclaycard can do to existing customers? I'm really worried now, I recently got my Barclaycard for the 14 month 0% BT Deal and moved accross some of my high interest debt (MBNA - closing next week ) and this will play a huge role in reducing my debt in 2008.

Can Barclays just devide that I "no longer meet their criteria" and close my account?

Been with them for 2 months now and I got a suprisingly high limit of £5,000.

With debts of over £18,000 you are a very likely candidate.

DGJsaver

MABLE wrote: »

With debts of over £18,000 you are a very likely candidate.

I think you should explain your thought proccesses better , because from where i`m sitting , that post just looks spitefull

Dan

relay

Well it's not the first time MABLE has made rather disparaging remarks about other people's financial affairs, only the other week she was accusing someone of lying about his income to obtain a credit card. LOL


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=636819