Consumer complaint received 2019-06-18
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
I opened a Barclays XXXX Reward Card a few years ago. I did the 14th month payment plan with 0 interest to buy an XXXX product and did autopay so my account balance was paid in full every month. No issues. This was in XX/XX/XXXX.

In XX/XX/XXXX Barclays offered me the same promotion. I was going to use it to buy a new Apple product. They said they sent me a new card in XX/XX/XXXX. I never received the card.

I contacted them 4-5 times in the month of XX/XX/XXXX and in XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX I contacted them to tell them I had not received the card. They then told me it may take another week. I still hadn't received it. I then received a notification that a balance was due for the shipping of the card. I attempted to pay over the phone but I was told that I would need my card to pay. I told them I hadn't received my card. They said they couldn't provide my account number over the phone so I would not be able to pay over the phone. I also could not pay online because paying online requires having the card information.

Customer Service said I would be contacted within 24-48 hours by a manager. I was not contacted. They refused to remove the charges. Then it was XX/XX/XXXX I called again saying I had no access to my account and a balance I wanted to resolve. Customer Service had me speak to the manager who said they could not remove the shipping fee for the card and the late fee. I also asked them to give me the tracking number for the card and they said they could not provide that to me.

Because of this, my credit score dropped 20+ points. I have NEVER been late on a payment on any card or loan. I am financially responsible. I am not in a position to be irresponsible.

I contacted them again and finally, Customer Service agreed to waive the fees once I told them I was going to report them.

They said they were going to mail me proof of my XXXX  balance. They did not. This was confirmed by the customer service representative I spoke to later. She said nothing was mailed. She said I could see my balance online and I told her I didn't have access to my account because I still hadn't received my card. I requested another card be sent to me so I could access my account and verify my XXXX  balance. She said she was going to send me a duplicate and I asked her to send me a new card with different numbers. She said she couldn't because there was an issue with my account. She then forwarded me to the Barclay 's Security Team who said it was a security issue. The Security Team went through a number of security questions to verify that I am me. They told me my account was closed yesterday due to inactivity even though they had charged my account less than a month ago. I had not received any notice prior to this phone call on XX/XX/XXXX of my account being closed. When asked to receive verification of this they said they would mail me a letter but could not confirm this through email. They said I could check my online account and I reminded them I could not because I never received my card.

I was then forwarded to the Credit Department. I was told by the Security Team that the credit department can send out a letter to the Credit Bureau to correct their mistake. The Credit Department told me I could dispute this with the Credit Bureau. I told them I already am and I am also going to report them because they did not resend me a card, allow me access to my account, send me information regarding the balance in the mail or by email and they gave me the run around when nobody would help me resolve this issue for months. They said this is because I have a paperless account. I don't have access to my online account so I don't understand how that is possible.

Today they had me speak to a supervisor who they said would certainly resolve my issue. After almost 2 hours on the phone with Barclays without interruption, they hung up on me, they said the call was dropped. I maintained professionalism throughout each phone call.

I called back and was able to speak to a manager for the XXXX  Rewards Card named XXXX. XXXX sent me an email statement finally confirming that my account had been credited. I had a XXXX balance. But she said she could not send me confirmation that my account had been closed. I also asked her if she was going to contact the Credit Bureau to inform them of their mistake. She said I had to write a letter to Barclays Dispute Team. I asked her to email me the address she said she could not email it to me. This was the address she gave me over the phone.

FCRA Credit Bureau Disputes XXXX XXXX XXXX   XXXX, Delaware XXXX In short, they charged me shipping fees for a card I never received, which turned into late fees. They did not allow me access to my account without this card so I could not pay fees even over the phone because they said I did not have my Barclay card information. The customer service department could not provide me with proof of my balance by email ( said they would mail me a letter twice, but Customer Service confirmed that was never done ). They did not notify me of my account closing until today. All of this caused my credit score to drop.

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