Failed switch to Barclays

Caval1er

I tried to switch to barclays today to get the £200 switch bonus. Disaster! I will spare all the details, hours on phone! But result was they said I'm not eligible. I had checked and thought I was, also ChatGPT gpt said I was, the reason I may not of been is because I had a previous barclays account that I closed in 2024. Barclays confirmed that is why I wasn't eligible. I went back to chat gpt and told it its information was wrong.But... It quoted the following paragraph from terms and conditions and stated that I was eligible, see below.:

I really don't know of ChatGPT is right, I am confused by Barclays wording. I'm sorry this is so long, but if anyone can help, I would be really grateful! Thank you!
From ChatGPT:

Based on the Barclays Current Account Switch Offer 2025 terms, if you previously held a Barclays current account but closed it before 7 October 2025, you are eligible for the current switching bonus.

The key eligibility criteria specify that you must not have an open Barclays personal current account on or before 7 October 2025. Since your account was closed in 2024, you meet this condition. Additionally, you must not have previously received a Barclays switching cashback 

Yes, if your Barclays current account was closed in 2024, you are still eligible for the £200 or £400 switching offer, provided you meet all other criteria 

What the official terms say

Barclays’ switch page says you’re not eligible if:

“You already have any open Barclays Current Account on or before this offer started on 7 October 2025.” Barclays

That language focuses on whether you had an open Barclays current account on that date (7 Oct 2025), not on whether you had ever had an account at any prior point. Independent coverage and switch-offer explainers (and Barclays’ press guidance reported to journalists) interpret the same clause to mean if your previous account was closed before 7 Oct 2025 you can be eligible — provided you haven’t previously claimed a Barclays switching cashback. Money People Online+1

Why there’s a disagreement

Barclays staff are (unfortunately) sometimes inconsistent when reading the wording. The key difference is between:

• “open on or before 7 Oct 2025” — which excludes people who still had a Barclays current account on that date; and

• “ever opened a Barclays account” — which would exclude anyone who had held one in the past (even if closed).

The bank’s public wording supports the first reading (closed before 7 Oct 2025 should be OK). Independent coverage agrees. So from what I can see, your closed-in-2024 account should not automatically make you ineligible.

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think.

Chief_of_Staffy

Caval1er said:

Barclays’ switch page says you’re not eligible if:

“You already have any open Barclays Current Account on or before this offer started on 7 October 2025.”

This doesn't actually make grammatical sense. It was written by an idiot.

However, on the same page it also says:

You won’t qualify for the £200 bonus payment if:

• You’ve already opened any Barclays Current Account on or before this offer started on 7 October 2025. 

This means that any account opened before 7 October 2025 disqualifies you.

So I'd go with the latter, since the former has no meaning.

Caval1er

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Caval1er said:

Barclays’ switch page says you’re not eligible if:

“You already have any open Barclays Current Account on or before this offer started on 7 October 2025.”

This doesn't actually make grammatical sense. It was written by an idiot.

However, on the same page it also says:

You won’t qualify for the £200 bonus payment if:

• You’ve already opened any Barclays Current Account on or before this offer started on 7 October 2025. 

This means that any account opened before 7 October 2025 disqualifies you.

So I'd go with the latter, since the former has no meaning.

Thanks for your thoughts and helping me to realise I'm not going mad, given it made no sense to me either. I am actually not switching after today's fiasco of going through switch online, opening account, no problem, but no confirmation of switch or account opening, so follow up 5 hours on phone to Barclays, 2 complaints logged. Was just hoping to get them to compensate me for all the above hassles, regardless of whether I'm eligible, their process failed and their support staff(the ones I spoke to, need some training, starting with listening,aahhh!

retiredbanker1

LOL You believe AI over a human?
They have explained who you are not eligible so move on to a new bank, new transfer.

Zanderman

It's not quite clear whether you started a switch or not? Not being eligible for the bonus doesn't make a switch fail. It just means you don't get the bonus. 

But I'm intrigued - and somewhat shocked - that anyone would use an AI to work out eligibility for a switching incentive. My experience of AI is that it often gets confused with the plethora of old information out there on the web (about anything), often mixing up old and new info and sometimes just making it up entirely, and so I wouldn't even try to get AI to check on switching criteria. Best way to check switching criteria is to surely to just read the actual criteria. 

flaneurs_lobster

Zanderman said:

But I'm intrigued - and somewhat shocked - that anyone would use an AI to work out eligibility for a switching incentive. My experience of AI is that it often gets confused with the plethora of old information out there on the web (about anything), often mixing up old and new info and sometimes just making it up entirely, and so I wouldn't even try to get AI to check on switching criteria. Best way to check switching criteria is to surely to just read the actual criteria. 

Get with the program, daddio. 

No one reads anything longer than two sentences anymore, that's what cut'n'pasting into ChatGPT and asking for a summary is for.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/18/are-we-living-in-a-golden-age-of-stupidity-technology