Mis-sold Barclays loans

Draegon · 11 May 2018 at 3:22PM

Hello everyone.
I'm just wondering if I could make a claim against Barclays bank.

I'm about 2001 I took out a £2000 loan in order to buy a car. About a year and a half later I'd moved in with my boyfriend and had more outgoings. I found myself sinking so I thought I'd ask the local Barclays if they could help me figure out where I was overspending and what I should cut out etc. After about 10 minutes I left the room with a £4000 loan to consolidate the original and give me extra money (of course the repayments were higher).
Over the next year or two I'd go in asking for help as I was sinking under debt and each time they confused me and I left with a bigger loan. In the end I had an unsecured loan of about £16,000 which eventually made me default on multiple accounts and overall I owed over £30,000.

I'm now disabled and unable to work so repay them £1 per month (although when I was working I managed to reduce it to £8,000).

I'm still upset at them that they didn't do what they asked, they just tapped on the computer, told me they needed a signature in order to help me then passed me an envelope and bid me farewell. Once I was outside I opened the letter and discovered the loan was bigger.

I would like to know if this constitutes as miss sold loans and of so would it be possible/ worth trying to get a case against them?

Thank you.

[Deleted User] · 11 May 2018 at 3:27PM

It's unlikely it happened quite like that. You would need to sign an agreement for the further borrowing.

You could also have repaid any surplus amount you felt they had lent you.

You could make a complaint if you want - you may get a goodwill gesture. However, given the rate of repayment, it doesn't seem that you will repay it in any case.

elsien · 11 May 2018 at 3:41PM

Draegon wrote: »

I'm still upset at them that they didn't do what they asked, they just tapped on the computer, told me they needed a signature in order to help me then passed me an envelope and bid me farewell. Once I was outside I opened the letter and discovered the loan was bigger.

.

That sounds quite unlikely to me. You said the first time you knew they'd consolidated and given you extra money. You did not have to agree to the extra. And even back then banks went through terms and conditions with you to check you understood the deal you were agreeing to.
It is not the banks role to help you work out where you are overspending and how you can cut back. You go to them when you want money.
And on the remote possibility that you didn't understand what you were signing up to, when you got outside and openend up said envelope and "discovered" the loan was bigger - why did you not turn round, go back in and decline it?
There is always an element of personal responsibility with these things to check what you are signing up for and asking more questions if you don't.

sourcrates · 11 May 2018 at 5:01PM

Around that time Banks were chucking money at people with little or no affordability checks, maybe not every bank, but lots did.

Barclays profits in the early 2000`s were massive, and around 40% of those profits were made up of default charges, so that tells you something about Barclays business methods.

I must admit i had a similar experience when i was young and very naive, i was just sat down in an office, this was the Halifax, salesman kept coming and going, kept on quoting me a monthly figure for the loan he was trying to sell me, and of course PPI was a basic requirement in order to get the loan............done up like a kipper, i left with what i later found out was a 12k loan.

It wasn't just PPI that was mis-sold on a massive scale, lots of financial products were, some banks were more ethical than others, but certainly things went on that were not strictly in line with the lending code.

I would put in a complaint to Barclays, include as much detail as you can, and tell them what you've told us, see how you get on.

Shakin_Steve · 11 May 2018 at 8:43PM

17 years ago when you took out the first loan. Sorry, but I can't see this going anywhere. But give it a try, you've got nothing to lose.

foxy-stoat · 14 May 2018 at 3:58PM

You cannot borrow your way out of debt - your bank just said you can save money by consolidating high interest rate debt into lower interest longer loans, although you may pay more in the end.

I would look into an IVA next as you need to remove the debt and possibility of obtaining further borrowing.

Sir_Robin · 18 May 2018 at 6:33PM

Banks aren't giving you loans and credit to help you. They make their money from exploiting the desperate and careless.

Don't go to the bank they will just dig you in deeper try step change.

Thrugelmir · 18 May 2018 at 6:38PM

Draegon wrote: »

I found myself sinking so I thought I'd ask the local Barclays if they could help me figure out where I was overspending and what I should cut out etc.

Doesn't seem if you were actually listening to the advice given. While banks were fast and loose with their lending. People themselves have to accept personal responsibility at a point. As ultimately it was you that spent the money not the bank.

meer53 · 18 May 2018 at 7:55PM

"they just tapped on the computer, told me they needed a signature in order to help me then passed me an envelope and bid me farewell. Once I was outside I opened the letter and discovered the loan was bigger."

This isn't how it would have happened really, you would have had a discussion with them about the loan before being asked to sign the agreement. If it really did happen the way you say, you have a cast iron case for misselling, although you still had the option to walk back in and say you didn't want the loan. Which you didn't do.

robatwork · 19 May 2018 at 11:21AM

You need to start an official complaint. While I agree with others that there is an element of personal responsibility, I think you may have been fairly vulnerable and Barclays are one of the worst for mis-selling. Follow the steps here

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/financial-mis-selling-what-to-do-if-you-think-its-affected-you#if-youve-been-mis-sold-a-financial-product

Dangermac · 19 May 2018 at 2:21PM

Draegon wrote: »

Hello everyone.
I'm just wondering if I could make a claim against Barclays bank.

I'm about 2001 I took out a £2000 loan in order to buy a car. About a year and a half later I'd moved in with my boyfriend and had more outgoings. I found myself sinking so I thought I'd ask the local Barclays if they could help me figure out where I was overspending and what I should cut out etc. After about 10 minutes I left the room with a £4000 loan to consolidate the original and give me extra money (of course the repayments were higher).
Over the next year or two I'd go in asking for help as I was sinking under debt and each time they confused me and I left with a bigger loan. In the end I had an unsecured loan of about £16,000 which eventually made me default on multiple accounts and overall I owed over £30,000.

I'm now disabled and unable to work so repay them £1 per month (although when I was working I managed to reduce it to £8,000).

I'm still upset at them that they didn't do what they asked, they just tapped on the computer, told me they needed a signature in order to help me then passed me an envelope and bid me farewell. Once I was outside I opened the letter and discovered the loan was bigger.

I would like to know if this constitutes as miss sold loans and of so would it be possible/ worth trying to get a case against them?

Thank you.

You should definitely make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. And possibly also contact the police.

From your various emails, it appears that you are saying that Barclays took out increasing loans for you, which you were unaware of until you opened up the envelope outside the bank.

Sounds very implausible to me, but if it happened as you say, you should contact make an immediate complaint to Barclays, then take it to the FOS. And think about contacting the police. Not sure if there is a criminal case here or not but if they have taken loans against your name, without your knowledge, that is terrible.

Mis-sold Barclays loans

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