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Barclaycard have actually STOLEN my money!
Death_To_Barclaycard
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hello everybody,
My situation is slightly different to most of yours, as it involves refusing to pay Barclaycard's fines, as opposed to claiming. This post is a bit on the long side, but stick with it, because I think you'll find it most interesting.
Back in the summer of 2006, I spent £250 on my Barclaycard (owing nothing from the previous month), and I forgot to pay the bill on time. I didn't realise this until the next bill turned up, replete with a £4.54 interest charge and a £20 fine for not paying at least £5 off the first bill. (Incidentally, being fined £20 for not paying £5, essentially means being charged interest at 400%.) I duly paid both the £250 and the £4.54 interest, and phoned Barclaycard to request that they waive the fine. They were non-committal about it and I didn't know the outcome until my next bill arrived. Needless to say, they hadn't waived the fine, and I decided not to pay it.
According to the information on this website, any charges levied by a credit card company for this sort of thing must be proportional to the costs they incur. Bearing in mind that, whether or not I had paid anything, I would have received a computer-generated letter the following month, it's reasonable to presume that Barclaycard's costs were zero.
Over the following six months or so, I only used my Barclaycard in three different billing periods, and made sure to pay off in full what I spent, each time. In the meantime, for each billing period in which I didn't use my card and so didn't pay anything, Barclaycard added a new fine for non-payment (£12 each time). They also added interest every month, none of which would have existed were it not for their fines. To summarize, I paid off everything that I spent on the card, and the interest accrued on what I spent, but I did not pay the fines and the interest that accrued because of the imposition of the fines. I have not used my Barclaycard at all since then; indeed, I cut it into pieces many months ago.
Eventually, I received a letter from Mercers debt collection agency. (Barclaycard had assigned to them the task of recovering the alleged debt.) At this point, I decided that the time was right to contact Barclaycard again. I wrote to them, including full details of each of my Barclaycard bills since the situation began, and clearly distinguished between the different parts of each bill - either money I had spent and paid off in full, or Barclaycard's fines and interest thereon. I based the letter on one of the templates from this website, pointing out that I consider their fines to be unlawful. I also made it clear that I would not pay. I sent the letter by recorded delivery.
The next letter from Mercers acknowledged receipt of my letter (although I had sent it to a Barclaycard address), but made no comment on it. Mercers sent me a letter each month for the next several months, each one adding a new £12 fine and interest on the other unpaid fines, and with varying levels of threats. I didn't get in touch with them because I decided that I had already expended enough time and money on the situation.
About six months ago, Mercers made the seemingly arbitrary decision to cap the fine at its current level (£172.16) and nothing has been added to it since then. Shortly afterwards, the letters from Mercers were superseded by letters from Robinson Way & Co, at the rate of one a week. The content of these varied quite a bit, from the opportunity of reducing my debt to a more affordable level, to threatening me with court action.
Now, various posts on the forums of this website lead me to believe that the credit card companies will, in fact, do anything to keep out of court, lest the judgment go against them and open the floodgates for countless claims against them. Therefore, I never really expected it to come to that. And indeed it didn't, because Barclaycard found a much more innovative solution, as revealed in the letter that I received from them yesterday (23rd May 2008). Here's what they wrote:
"We are notifying you that we have exercised our legal right to set off the arrears owing on your Barclaycard account against the credit balance in your Barclays bank account. As Barclaycard is part of Barclays Bank we are able to apply funds from your bank account in order to pay debts owing on Barclaycard products. Your Credit Reference Agency data will be updated accordingly."
So, I checked the recent transactions on my bank account, and sure enough, £172.16 had indeed been taken out of my account on 20th May 2008, which was also the date on the letter. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming.
So there you have it - all because I once forgot to pay them a fiver on time, Barclaycard, in collusion with Barclays Bank, have actually stolen £172.16 of my money from me! It doesn't matter what kind of spin Barclaycard put on the matter ("... our legal right ..."), this is theft, pure and simple. I have no doubt that what Barclaycard and Barclays Bank have done, is illegal. Just because Barclaycard claim I owe them money, doesn't make it so.
This situation is truly outrageous. They have crossed the line. I now consider a state of war to exist between me and Barclaycard (and Barclays Bank).
I suppose my first action should be to try and persuade Barclays Bank to refund my money, but I have no doubt that they will claim that the removal of my money was in order. However, it will not be enough simply to have my money returned to me. I want to hit those money-grubbing Barclaycard bast**ds where it hurts and have them pay punitive damages, and I want it to happen in court. I want to make an example of them. I want the floodgates to be opened to make it easier for everybody to claim back every last penny that the credit card companies owe them. They have simply got to be forced to learn that they can't get away with treating their customers like sh*t. Eventually, somebody's got to do it, and as long as I can avoid going to the poorhouse in the process, it might as well be me.
Now, this is where you lot come in, including Martin Lewis, I hope. I can't do this on my own, so I need some good advice and some very heavy legal backup.
Thanks in advance,
Death_To_Barclaycard
My situation is slightly different to most of yours, as it involves refusing to pay Barclaycard's fines, as opposed to claiming. This post is a bit on the long side, but stick with it, because I think you'll find it most interesting.
Back in the summer of 2006, I spent £250 on my Barclaycard (owing nothing from the previous month), and I forgot to pay the bill on time. I didn't realise this until the next bill turned up, replete with a £4.54 interest charge and a £20 fine for not paying at least £5 off the first bill. (Incidentally, being fined £20 for not paying £5, essentially means being charged interest at 400%.) I duly paid both the £250 and the £4.54 interest, and phoned Barclaycard to request that they waive the fine. They were non-committal about it and I didn't know the outcome until my next bill arrived. Needless to say, they hadn't waived the fine, and I decided not to pay it.
According to the information on this website, any charges levied by a credit card company for this sort of thing must be proportional to the costs they incur. Bearing in mind that, whether or not I had paid anything, I would have received a computer-generated letter the following month, it's reasonable to presume that Barclaycard's costs were zero.
Over the following six months or so, I only used my Barclaycard in three different billing periods, and made sure to pay off in full what I spent, each time. In the meantime, for each billing period in which I didn't use my card and so didn't pay anything, Barclaycard added a new fine for non-payment (£12 each time). They also added interest every month, none of which would have existed were it not for their fines. To summarize, I paid off everything that I spent on the card, and the interest accrued on what I spent, but I did not pay the fines and the interest that accrued because of the imposition of the fines. I have not used my Barclaycard at all since then; indeed, I cut it into pieces many months ago.
Eventually, I received a letter from Mercers debt collection agency. (Barclaycard had assigned to them the task of recovering the alleged debt.) At this point, I decided that the time was right to contact Barclaycard again. I wrote to them, including full details of each of my Barclaycard bills since the situation began, and clearly distinguished between the different parts of each bill - either money I had spent and paid off in full, or Barclaycard's fines and interest thereon. I based the letter on one of the templates from this website, pointing out that I consider their fines to be unlawful. I also made it clear that I would not pay. I sent the letter by recorded delivery.
The next letter from Mercers acknowledged receipt of my letter (although I had sent it to a Barclaycard address), but made no comment on it. Mercers sent me a letter each month for the next several months, each one adding a new £12 fine and interest on the other unpaid fines, and with varying levels of threats. I didn't get in touch with them because I decided that I had already expended enough time and money on the situation.
About six months ago, Mercers made the seemingly arbitrary decision to cap the fine at its current level (£172.16) and nothing has been added to it since then. Shortly afterwards, the letters from Mercers were superseded by letters from Robinson Way & Co, at the rate of one a week. The content of these varied quite a bit, from the opportunity of reducing my debt to a more affordable level, to threatening me with court action.
Now, various posts on the forums of this website lead me to believe that the credit card companies will, in fact, do anything to keep out of court, lest the judgment go against them and open the floodgates for countless claims against them. Therefore, I never really expected it to come to that. And indeed it didn't, because Barclaycard found a much more innovative solution, as revealed in the letter that I received from them yesterday (23rd May 2008). Here's what they wrote:
"We are notifying you that we have exercised our legal right to set off the arrears owing on your Barclaycard account against the credit balance in your Barclays bank account. As Barclaycard is part of Barclays Bank we are able to apply funds from your bank account in order to pay debts owing on Barclaycard products. Your Credit Reference Agency data will be updated accordingly."
So, I checked the recent transactions on my bank account, and sure enough, £172.16 had indeed been taken out of my account on 20th May 2008, which was also the date on the letter. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming.
So there you have it - all because I once forgot to pay them a fiver on time, Barclaycard, in collusion with Barclays Bank, have actually stolen £172.16 of my money from me! It doesn't matter what kind of spin Barclaycard put on the matter ("... our legal right ..."), this is theft, pure and simple. I have no doubt that what Barclaycard and Barclays Bank have done, is illegal. Just because Barclaycard claim I owe them money, doesn't make it so.
This situation is truly outrageous. They have crossed the line. I now consider a state of war to exist between me and Barclaycard (and Barclays Bank).
I suppose my first action should be to try and persuade Barclays Bank to refund my money, but I have no doubt that they will claim that the removal of my money was in order. However, it will not be enough simply to have my money returned to me. I want to hit those money-grubbing Barclaycard bast**ds where it hurts and have them pay punitive damages, and I want it to happen in court. I want to make an example of them. I want the floodgates to be opened to make it easier for everybody to claim back every last penny that the credit card companies owe them. They have simply got to be forced to learn that they can't get away with treating their customers like sh*t. Eventually, somebody's got to do it, and as long as I can avoid going to the poorhouse in the process, it might as well be me.
Now, this is where you lot come in, including Martin Lewis, I hope. I can't do this on my own, so I need some good advice and some very heavy legal backup.
Thanks in advance,
Death_To_Barclaycard
0
Comments
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I don't see your problem.
It was your mistake, and you admit that. The idea is to pay the fines and then reclaim the money, not plain refuse to pay them when you've already signed a contract agreeing to pay them.
It'll have been (probably buried) in the contract that you agree to let them take money you owe them from one account from any account where you're in the black.
I agree that the charges are unreasonable, but you buried your head in the sand for most of this, under the belief that the charges are unlawful, which hasn't been proven one way or another yet.
And of course they're money grabbing !!!!!!!s, it's what they do.
you could've paid £24.54 and harassed them to get the £20 back, or at least some of it. Instead they've taken £172. They'll drag their heels over £172, and however much they refund you, if they ever do, it'll be less than £152 most likely.They say it's genetic, they say he can't help it, they say you can catch it - but sometimes you're born with it0 -
I dont see your problem either.
Its best to always pay the fine and then reclaim the money, not refuse to pay to the point where they get debt collectors in. This makes no sense as it could damage your credit history. Rightly or wrongly the bank have charged you for not making payments which is stated in your terms and conditions. You refused to pay the fine even when outside agencies were brought in so the bank took the money from your bank account. This is standard bank practice. I have a barclaycard and a barclays current account and it states in the t & C'c for both that money will be offset if i do not make payment. Makes sense to me really.0 -
Death_To_Barclaycard wrote: »Hello everybody,
My situation is slightly different to most of yours, as it involves refusing to pay Barclaycard's fines, as opposed to claiming. This post is a bit on the long side, but stick with it, because I think you'll find it most interesting.
Back in the summer of 2006, I spent £250 on my Barclaycard (owing nothing from the previous month), and I forgot to pay the bill on time. I didn't realise this until the next bill turned up, replete with a £4.54 interest charge and a £20 fine for not paying at least £5 off the first bill. (Incidentally, being fined £20 for not paying £5, essentially means being charged interest at 400%.) I duly paid both the £250 and the £4.54 interest, and phoned Barclaycard to request that they waive the fine. They were non-committal about it and I didn't know the outcome until my next bill arrived. Needless to say, they hadn't waived the fine, and I decided not to pay it.
According to the information on this website, any charges levied by a credit card company for this sort of thing must be proportional to the costs they incur. Bearing in mind that, whether or not I had paid anything, I would have received a computer-generated letter the following month, it's reasonable to presume that Barclaycard's costs were zero.
Over the following six months or so, I only used my Barclaycard in three different billing periods, and made sure to pay off in full what I spent, each time. In the meantime, for each billing period in which I didn't use my card and so didn't pay anything, Barclaycard added a new fine for non-payment (£12 each time). They also added interest every month, none of which would have existed were it not for their fines. To summarize, I paid off everything that I spent on the card, and the interest accrued on what I spent, but I did not pay the fines and the interest that accrued because of the imposition of the fines. I have not used my Barclaycard at all since then; indeed, I cut it into pieces many months ago.
Eventually, I received a letter from Mercers debt collection agency. (Barclaycard had assigned to them the task of recovering the alleged debt.) At this point, I decided that the time was right to contact Barclaycard again. I wrote to them, including full details of each of my Barclaycard bills since the situation began, and clearly distinguished between the different parts of each bill - either money I had spent and paid off in full, or Barclaycard's fines and interest thereon. I based the letter on one of the templates from this website, pointing out that I consider their fines to be unlawful. I also made it clear that I would not pay. I sent the letter by recorded delivery.
The next letter from Mercers acknowledged receipt of my letter (although I had sent it to a Barclaycard address), but made no comment on it. Mercers sent me a letter each month for the next several months, each one adding a new £12 fine and interest on the other unpaid fines, and with varying levels of threats. I didn't get in touch with them because I decided that I had already expended enough time and money on the situation.
About six months ago, Mercers made the seemingly arbitrary decision to cap the fine at its current level (£172.16) and nothing has been added to it since then. Shortly afterwards, the letters from Mercers were superseded by letters from Robinson Way & Co, at the rate of one a week. The content of these varied quite a bit, from the opportunity of reducing my debt to a more affordable level, to threatening me with court action.
Now, various posts on the forums of this website lead me to believe that the credit card companies will, in fact, do anything to keep out of court, lest the judgment go against them and open the floodgates for countless claims against them. Therefore, I never really expected it to come to that. And indeed it didn't, because Barclaycard found a much more innovative solution, as revealed in the letter that I received from them yesterday (23rd May 2008). Here's what they wrote:
"We are notifying you that we have exercised our legal right to set off the arrears owing on your Barclaycard account against the credit balance in your Barclays bank account. As Barclaycard is part of Barclays Bank we are able to apply funds from your bank account in order to pay debts owing on Barclaycard products. Your Credit Reference Agency data will be updated accordingly."
So, I checked the recent transactions on my bank account, and sure enough, £172.16 had indeed been taken out of my account on 20th May 2008, which was also the date on the letter. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming.
So there you have it - all because I once forgot to pay them a fiver on time, Barclaycard, in collusion with Barclays Bank, have actually stolen £172.16 of my money from me! It doesn't matter what kind of spin Barclaycard put on the matter ("... our legal right ..."), this is theft, pure and simple. I have no doubt that what Barclaycard and Barclays Bank have done, is illegal. Just because Barclaycard claim I owe them money, doesn't make it so.
This situation is truly outrageous. They have crossed the line. I now consider a state of war to exist between me and Barclaycard (and Barclays Bank).
I suppose my first action should be to try and persuade Barclays Bank to refund my money, but I have no doubt that they will claim that the removal of my money was in order. However, it will not be enough simply to have my money returned to me. I want to hit those money-grubbing Barclaycard bast**ds where it hurts and have them pay punitive damages, and I want it to happen in court. I want to make an example of them. I want the floodgates to be opened to make it easier for everybody to claim back every last penny that the credit card companies owe them. They have simply got to be forced to learn that they can't get away with treating their customers like sh*t. Eventually, somebody's got to do it, and as long as I can avoid going to the poorhouse in the process, it might as well be me.
Now, this is where you lot come in, including Martin Lewis, I hope. I can't do this on my own, so I need some good advice and some very heavy legal backup.
Thanks in advance,
Death_To_Barclaycard
Whilst I agree with you about charges being excessive, the OFT have already ruled that credit cards are allowed to charge upto £12 for non payment etc. The only thing you could really do is claim back the difference from Barclaycard.0 -
Just as your nick - you appear to be somewhat melodramatic.
"Calm down Dear, it's only a Credit Card!"0 -
have you checked your credit file to see if has been affected by your actions?0
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Sorry to say this, but you really only have yourself to blame as others have pointed out.
You obviously don't understand the whole saga over bank/credit card charges by your just refusing to pay - thus giving the moral high ground to the bank, and the opportunity for them to take the money from another account !
This is obvious by your statement; "I want to hit those money-grubbing Barclaycard bast**ds where it hurts and have them pay punitive damages, and I want it to happen in court."
In English Law there are no such things as punitive damages, so you won't get very far with that ! try suing them in California.
The banks are a bunch of greedy rip-off merchants, but ranting about them and making totally unenforceable claims on them - when it was your fault to start with - well !
PS: If it was theft - go to the police !0 -
We all know about those long haired people that live under bridges don't we? I fear we have one here in our midst!
Totally the wrong way of handling this situation!
As chilli_dog says about credit reference agencies, I bet the OP has well and truly screwed up their credit file. If a default has been issued, as I am it will have been, that will be good bye to mainstream credit.
Some people just can't be helped.Don't lie, thieve, cheat or steal. The Government do not like the competition.
The Lord Giveth and the Government Taketh Away.
I'm sorry, I don't apologise. That's just the way I am. Homer (Simpson)0 -
Sorry but the banks haven't stolen the money, they just offset your debts against your credits.
They won't agree a refund as its in the conditions of a credit card and/or current account
You won't be able to take them to court over this because its not even a fairness issue, they exercised a right that they legitimately have and that had earlier agreed to.Credit card debts = £750
Mortgage Remaining = £822270 -
Whilst I agree with you about charges being excessive, the OFT have already ruled that credit cards are allowed to charge upto £12 for non payment etc. The only thing you could really do is claim back the difference from Barclaycard.
This is not correct. The OFT said that £12 was an amount they would not take action against Credit Card companies.0
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