Irresponsible lending from Barclays? Advice please

lavieenrose77

I'm about to sign off on a new mortgage with the Woolwich through Barclays - but I've not actually closed off yet. Despite this not having gone through yet, I have received a PIN number for my new Connect Card(!!!)which I have never applied for nor have I been advised that I would receive such a card. I was alarmed first of all and called the Barclays Fraud team as I naturally suspected someone had applied for the card in my name.
I was then told that my "new Connect Card" was linked in to my mortgage and that I would have automatically received this in conjunction with my mortgage going through. I then called Barclays customer service who told me the following: "This card can be used like a debit card. When you pay off your mortgage each month, the money you pay us actually goes into this current account and you can then take the money back out at our standard variable rate" - so basically, offering me the chance to get myself into HUGE amounts of debt, with the most likely outcome being that my house would be reposessed, right?
Has anyone had the same experience? I am so angry at Barclays over this - SUCH irresponsible behaviour especially given the current climate with more and more people getting into incredible amounts of debt. I for one have enough debt on my plate to contend with and am trying to figure out ways to get rid of it - the last thing I need is someone sending me a card that offers me the chance to take more debt on! I am pretty weak willed when it comes to shopping I have to admit... but thankfully I have half a brain and will be calling Barclays this morning to ensure there is a freeze put on this new account so that this route is in no way an option for me!
I fully intend to take this matter further and would love to hear from anyone else who has had a similar experience.

homer_j_3

What sort of mortgage have you applied for with Woolwhich?

toonfish

everyone who takes the same mortgage gets this - just cut the card up if you don't want it.

Wutang_2

more like irresponsible borrowing - sorry, but if you don't know what you are committing to then you are as much to blame

lavieenrose77

Thanks for your reply. Thankfully I DO indeed have the will power to take action, cut any card that comes through up and put a freeze on the account... thousands more out there do not have SUCH will power and could effectively see this as a very easy option and a quick fix to get them out of a small spot of debt... they are effectively offering the option to pay your monthly mortgage amount into this account on the Monday .... and by the Wednesday, you can simply pop in your PIN, and take the whole lot out again... my complaint is not about me and my own case... my thoughts are more in line with the current credit climate and the amount of people out there who are in shed loads of debt already.
As mortgage advisors, do you advise your customers of this card option at the time of application? I was not advised and perhaps this is the point at which the issue should be raised... not once the paperwork is about to be signed off and the only way to find out is by receiving a nice little PIN number in a letter from Barclays

(apologies if I am ranting however this has just happened this morning and I am particulasrly angry to say the least)

lavieenrose77

Not sure I made myself clear in my posting so apologies all... how am I to know what I am committing to if I had not been made aware of such a product or option? I only received the mortgage paperwork on Friday and have not read it fully or sent it all bacjk... this is my point... they have ALREADY sent this out to me despite me having not sent anything back to them... they are taking assumptive measures i.e.nothing is signed off yet!

homer_j_3

You have hit the nail on the head to be fair.

Using a professional would have provided you with the benefit of knowing exactly what you would be getting and this would not have been a shock to you this morning.

You have not received advice and as such, you are on your own so the only person you can blame for choosing the wrong mortgage is yourself if you think that this is now unsuitable. I do not get the impression you think it is unsuitable for you as you say you have will power but you highlight another fact on going direct in that you could have easily been a less disciplined person and as you say and potentially ended up in a right mess with it.

lavieenrose77

I did not go direct... don't think I said in my posting I went direct... I went through an online fee-free mortgage broker

lavieenrose77

Apologies - I see that the part I wrote about my mortgage being with the Woolwich THROUGH Barclays may have beenmisleading... I had written that to highlight the fact that the correspondence and the PIN number had come through Barclays

HelpWhereIcan

lavieenrose77 wrote: »

Not sure I made myself clear in my posting so apologies all... how am I to know what I am committing to if I had not been made aware of such a product or option?

The Key Features Illustration should have it in section 12.

If you did not received a Key Features until Friday, the Fee Free phone based 'adviser' should have told you about it. If you used an execution only adviser online or on the phone, they have no responsibility for your choice of product so would just have to provide information about the deal.

The responsibility for checking that info and looking deeper into the deal is yours. which you have obviously done.

To be fair, you did find out about it before you signed up and completed so no real harm has been done and I suspect that the Key Features has done its job in that you found out before completing.

I take your point about those with less willpower, but that does not mean offering the facility is irresponsible.

sdooley

Aren't most of the Woolwich mortgages linked to an offset? In which case the card could actually encourage you to be a responsible over-payer of your mortgage, safe in the knowledge that if you need to access the over-payment you can, in the meantime it is reducing your mortgage interest.