Consumer complaint received 2023-08-04
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: TN
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill
Sub-issue: Problem lowering your monthly payments

Complaint:
I am currently experiencing financial hardship and unable to make my current monthly payments on my Barclays credit card. For weeks, I had been trying to enroll in Barclays longterm hardship program, for which I am qualified for, via their website. With this program, my XXXX would be reduced to 5.9 % and my monthly payments would decrease to {$180.00}. Unfortunately, I received error messages every time I tried to finalize the enrollment. 

I finally called their customer support to get assistance with enrolling on XX/XX/2023. During this phone call, the account manager informed me that I would need to go ahead and pay the {$180.00} at the time of enrollment in order for me to be successfully accepted into the program. Due to the financial hardship I am experiencing, I was unable to pay the {$180.00} on the phone at that moment. The customer service agent informed me that I would be able to go through their website ( as I had been trying to do before ) to enroll once I had the money. She emphasized that I would just need to go ahead and pay the first payment of {$180.00} upfront. 

Later that night, I was able to scrap together the {$180.00} that I was told I needed. I went through the steps on their website to enroll and submitted a payment for {$180.00} specifically for the hardship program ( I did NOT authorize money to be taken from my bank account for a regular payment ). The next day, XX/XX/2023, I saw that the money had been taken out of my account, but there was no proof of enrollment in the hardship program. Upon calling the Barclays customer service line, I was informed that I had not been enrolled in the program and I would need to now pay {$170.00} to enroll. I asked if the {$180.00} I had already paid could be refunded and they refused. The pressed me to pay the additional {$170.00} to enroll via phone. I gave in and scheduled a payment for the {$170.00} payment over the phone. When I asked for proof of enrollment, they were unwilling to give me anything that confirmed I had been enrolled. Instead, they advised that I would receive a letter at an unspecified time. 

Because I was unable to get any confirmation, nor had I gotten a refund for the {$180.00} I had already paid, I canceled all scheduled payments. I am now working with my bank to dispute the {$180.00} that I did not authorize for payment outside of the hardship program. 

I am unsure what to do next as I am now still not enrolled in the hardship program. The longer I am without the program, the closer my account gets to being considered delinquent. I am trying my best to avoid this but Barclays is refusing to work with me, despite me being qualified for the program. 

I am needing assistance getting enrolled in their hardship program and being refunded the {$180.00} I paid under false pretenses.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation