Barclays £175 Switch Offer - 15th July 2025 to 28th August 2025

harz99

dealyboy said:

@clairec666 said:

dealyboy said:

@Tawny_Owl_2 said:

Well guess what ?
The call centre lied, and I've received my Debit Card, PIN number and Internet banking set up (without needing to go into a branch and prove my ID).
So,after 2 more calls I managed to speak to an English person and he advised me that my application had progressed on further rather than being left in "limbo" ??!! During this call I managed to cancel the account and will probably start again from scratch when Barclays bring back the switching bonus - probably in 2026.
Lessons to be learnt : Don't leave it to the last minute to apply; and Don't rely on everything the call centre says to be Gospel !

... another possible lesson? when things go wrong with Barclays raise a complaint. I received the £175 as compensation this year when failing to open a current account.

... and presumably that £175 doesn't count as a switching bonus so you'll still be eligible next time the offer comes round

Yes true Claire, definitely worth a try in 2026, but I may hit the same problems again, just as I did last year when I received 3 x £50 compensation. Problems with the app, ID verification, telephone customer service, branch appointments, profile merging, being out of time and the number of hours I'd spent ... 

I don't think the time spent trying, and the painful process, is worth a third try, we certainly won't.

clairec666

dealyboy said:

@clairec666 said:

dealyboy said:

@Tawny_Owl_2 said:

Well guess what ?
The call centre lied, and I've received my Debit Card, PIN number and Internet banking set up (without needing to go into a branch and prove my ID).
So,after 2 more calls I managed to speak to an English person and he advised me that my application had progressed on further rather than being left in "limbo" ??!! During this call I managed to cancel the account and will probably start again from scratch when Barclays bring back the switching bonus - probably in 2026.
Lessons to be learnt : Don't leave it to the last minute to apply; and Don't rely on everything the call centre says to be Gospel !

... another possible lesson? when things go wrong with Barclays raise a complaint. I received the £175 as compensation this year when failing to open a current account.

... and presumably that £175 doesn't count as a switching bonus so you'll still be eligible next time the offer comes round

Yes true Claire, definitely worth a try in 2026, but I may hit the same problems again, just as I did last year when I received 3 x £50 compensation. Problems with the app, ID verification, telephone customer service, branch appointments, profile merging, being out of time and the number of hours I'd spent ... 

Usually I'd say try anything to get a bonus, but having to drag yourself to a branch to verify ID might be a step too far

dealyboy

@harz99 said:

dealyboy said:

@clairec666 said:

dealyboy said:

@Tawny_Owl_2 said:

Well guess what ?
The call centre lied, and I've received my Debit Card, PIN number and Internet banking set up (without needing to go into a branch and prove my ID).
So,after 2 more calls I managed to speak to an English person and he advised me that my application had progressed on further rather than being left in "limbo" ??!! During this call I managed to cancel the account and will probably start again from scratch when Barclays bring back the switching bonus - probably in 2026.
Lessons to be learnt : Don't leave it to the last minute to apply; and Don't rely on everything the call centre says to be Gospel !

... another possible lesson? when things go wrong with Barclays raise a complaint. I received the £175 as compensation this year when failing to open a current account.

... and presumably that £175 doesn't count as a switching bonus so you'll still be eligible next time the offer comes round

Yes true Claire, definitely worth a try in 2026, but I may hit the same problems again, just as I did last year when I received 3 x £50 compensation. Problems with the app, ID verification, telephone customer service, branch appointments, profile merging, being out of time and the number of hours I'd spent ... 

I don't think the time spent trying, and the painful process, is worth a third try, we certainly won't.

I understand and I appreciate you and yours have been through the mill as well  ... not worth it 

sammy_zammy

sammy_zammy said:

Was starting to wonder where the £175 had got to so thought I’d check my account. Noticed I still had the £5 left in there for Blue Rewards. Had a look, and it looks like I never signed up? However I know I did, because I remember doing it and seeing the screen afterwards saying I hadn’t used my benefits yet. I also remember there being an issue where I couldn’t initially access the rewards page, but I assumed that was just a temporary issue while I initially signed up. Has anyone else had this problem?

Update on this: just phoned them, and they said that I opened the Blue Rewards on the 27th and closed it on the 29th. Apparently they have no way of doing this on their end, so they said it must have been me. However I just signed up again, and going through the process to cancel, I 100% did not do that. So absolutely no clue what’s going on there. Shambles!