Barclaycard

[frankiediamonds]

Hi,

 

I wrote a letter to Barclaycard about three weeks ago asking them if they could freeze the interest on my card temporarily as I'm over the credit limit (and have been for about three years) and just can't get anywhere paying it off. I still haven't heard back from them!!

 

Does anyone have any tried and tested addresses for Barclaycard whereby they had a response from them?

 

One more thing... I noticed on a recent statement that I am paying £10.00 a month payment protection insurance- I don't think this was 'mis-sold' to me as I remember agreeing to it when I took out the credit card however should I cancel this as it's just one more expense I could do without. One problem....I switched jobs last year and I'm on a six month probation period at my new job (ending in April).

 

Any advice much appreciated!

[rebel11]

Hi Frank

 

Welcome to the CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

[slick132]

Hi Frankie,

 

BC are notoriously useless at helping when customers fall on hard times. So don't expect a helpful reply to your letter, if they actually reply at all.

 

Re the PPI, you should check if it was appropriate for your circumstances, even though you agreed to it. If you were self employed or employed, if you had any medical condition that would stop them paying out if you claimed, etc. check out the PPI forum for more info on this.

 

In the meantime, write to BC cancelling the PPI with immediate effect.

 

If you've been struggling with the payments for some time, there will be penalty charges on the a/c which you can reclaim in full as they are unlawful penalties. In addition you should claim compound interest in restitution at the a/c's "cash withdrawal" rate. Read the Interest Tutorial linked in my signature below.

 

You need all your statements for any period when you may have been charged penalties. If you don't have these, use a SAR request - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?552-Data-Protection

 

Adapt the letter to suit your case as necessary and send by Rec'd Delivery. Keep copies of all letters and only communicate in writing, not by phone.

 

Read other threads here to see how others are dealing with their charges reclaims. 8-)

[the_shadow]

Slick, you know better than me not least where Barclays are concerned but is this worth a complaint to FOS as they clearly arent treating the OP fairly? obviously alongside any PPI/charges reclaim that could take place?

 

S.

[slick132]

Hi Shadow,

 

Yes, I think Frankie should write to BC and give them a final 7 days to respond to the request for an interest freeze.

 

If they fail to respond in that time, complain to the FOS that they are doing nothing to assist during hardship despite Frankie's reasonable request.

 

But continue to work on getting back charges and PPI anyway.

 

8-)

[frankiediamonds]

Thank you for your help!

 

I will send a chase letter today and also request that they cancel the PPI payments asap.

 

I am currently paying £40.00 a month (the minimum payment plus £10.00) and I am only £200.00 (approx.) over the credit limit but the £40.00 just gets swallowed up in 'over the limit charges' and the PPI that I am paying for!

 

If they temproarily freeze the interest, I might actually be able to get somewhere!!

 

Will keep you posted!

[feefofum]

My advice would be to concentrate your efforts on claiming back the charges. I got absolutely nowhere when I tried to get Barclaycard to freeze/reduce interest on my friends balance despite recorded delivery letters etc. However when my friend decided to reclaim the £8 difference between the charges of £20 and the OFT recommended charge of £12 from 2006 Barclaycard suddennly paid up in full - all of the charges from 2004 + 8% interest. This has cleared his balance completely and was much less effort than getting the interest frozen.

[sir_gilmour]

Hi

Welcome to The Consumer Action Group.

 

 

I am just letting you know that as you haven't had any replies to your post yet, it might be better if you post your message again in an appropriate sub-forum. You will get lots of help there.

 

Also take some time to read around the forum and get used to the layout. It is a big forum and takes a lot of getting used to.

 

 

Once you start to find your way, you will soon realise that it is fairly easy to get round and to get the help you need.

 

It can be bit confusing at first.