Consumer complaint received 2022-05-24
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022 my wife and I attended a timeshare presentation hosted by XXXX XXXX in XXXX, CA. What we had been told was a tour of the facility was in fact a high pressure sales meeting. Our sales representative was XXXX XXXX. XXXX initially walked us through some benefits of the program and when I asked about pricing for their product, she indicated that they would need to run a credit check to see what discounts we might qualify for. XXXX had trouble handling this so called over another woman whose name I did not catch to help get this information entered on a tablet. After finishing this, we started to leave for the actual facility tour. Just as we were standing up, the other woman returned and said she needed one more signature for the credit check. I noted that this screen mentioned a credit card and asked about that. I was told that it was all related to the credit check for the loan application. After another hour or so of sales presentation, we decided not to purchase a timeshare and left.

Several hours later I received an email ( screen shot included ) that said I had been approved for a credit card and would receive it in 7-10 days. I was never shown terms for this card and gave informed consent to apply for a credit card. It was too late in the day to reach out to XXXX at this point and decided to do so the next day. 

On the morning of XX/XX/2022 I started by calling the XXXX XXXX desk and reaching out to the frontline sales manager XXXX XXXX. I had met XXXX briefly the day before and given the fraudulent nature of the ultimate interaction, I thought best to start by reaching out to him. I was told he was currently unavailable and that he would give me a call back. I instead was contacted by XXXX XXXX, the finance representative XXXX we had met the day before. I explained the problem to XXXX, he indicated that the issuing of a fraudulent card sounded serious and " above his paygrade, '' and that he would have XXXX XXXX or even someone higher up give me a call back. Though that phone call occurred around XXXX, I would not hear from anyone else the rest of the day. I made several more attempts to reach out and was put off each time. 

In the meantime, I reached out to the actual card issuer, XXXX. I canceled the card and filed a complaint against XXXX for fraudulently opening it for me without my informed consent. After being transferred to a manager on their phone line, I was told the card would be marked as fraudulently opened, that a formal complaint would be filed, and that the credit reporting agencies would be informed of the fraudulent activity. I expected to receive written confirmation of this in 7-10 business days. No written confirmation was provided however. 

On XX/XX/2022 I again reached out to XXXX. This time I finally did receive a call back from XXXX after about 20 minutes. He claimed that he had tried to reach out to me multiple times the previous day but had gotten a busy signal each time and was unable to reach me or leave a message. This sounds unlikely as I received several calls that day on my cell phone, but it is the excuse he gave for not contacting me previously. XXXX was apologetic and confirmed that he would take corrective actions with the other sales teams members. At my request he also looked into what they could do to apologize to us. After discussing it with his manager he offered us a free weeks stay at a XXXX property and said he would be mailing us a voucher for that. He requested I send him my address so that he could take care of the voucher. I promptly replied. 

On XX/XX/2022 I contacted XXXX again as I had not heard anything from him or his company. He said he had not recevied my email, despite it being part of the same thread, and asked for my phone number. I recevied a voucher for a 7-night stay at a resort on XX/XX/2022. The voucher must be registered within 6 months and used within one year after registration. I will still be responsible for taxes and fees, but this seems to be a good solution to me provided I am not required to attend another timeshare presentation. 

Given the trouble with resolving this issue and the extended effort I needed to expend in contacting and holding XXXX to its word, I wanted to make sure this incident was reported.

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