Consumer complaint received 2020-04-10
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Advertising
Sub-issue: Changes in terms from what was offered or advertised

Complaint:
I am writing to seek assistance in my dispute with XXXX XXXX  and associates ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) who has defrauded me through misrepresentation of their product which was purchased on XX/XX/XXXX utilizing both XXXX XXXX XXXX by XXXX XXXX XXXX  and RCI Elite Rewards Mastercard by Barclays Bank. 

I would like to mention that I am no stranger to owning timeshare properties. I have owned a separate property in XXXX for over 10 years so I am familiar with the pros and cons of having one. In this instance, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) by way of both XXXX XXXX XXXX and RCI Elite Rewards Mastercard, companies within the vacation exchange industry, absolutely defrauded me. I was offered both credit cards during a meeting with XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX and was charged {$15000.00} on the XXXX XXXX and {$2900.00} on the RCI Elite MC. I am very much a victim of their intentional fraud and misrepresentation of the product and our agreement. 

During my initial meeting with XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX after negotiating my desired terms, I was verbally informed by XXXX  that my contract would include NO Black-out dates and among other features, accomodations at the XXXX XXXX XXXX section of the resort would be accessible to me for 1 week each year for the next 10 years. XXXX  also stated that each time I visited the resort, the money that I would spend to book the dates would go into my personal travel account called XXXX XXXX. These specified features were discussed in detail, and I made it unequivocally clear that these were part of my bottom line if I were to purchase a XXXX  property. To be clear, the fraud and misrepresentation is in XXXX 's failure to speak to any of the very restrictive limitations of each of the aforementioned features. 

The No Black-Out date feature I was unaware, is only available to me thru XXXX XXXX company with XXXX  level status and not directly through XXXX XXXX. This severely affects my chances to book dates during the holidays because clients who are able to book directly thru XXXX XXXX   have the option to make reservations 5 months in advance while XXXX XXXX members can only make reservations 1 month in advance. In addition to that, my XXXX status is only available for 2 years before its downgraded to XXXX status which does not contain the No Black-out date feature. This was not at all explained to me and was not part of our agreement. They roped me in with the No Black-out date feature but failed to mention anything about being downgraded to XXXX  status or having to pay to maintain XXXX  status. 

As I mentioned, I was granted an option to stay at the XXXX XXXX XXXX campus, that's currently under construction, for 1 week annually for a 10-year period. However, after reviewing and discussing my contract with two separate representatives at XXXX XXXX, I have gotten two different explanations, neither one I agreed to. One representative stated that I was only granted 1 week ( and not 1 week each year for 10 years ) that I could use those accommodations. Another representative stated that I only had access to the resort for 10 years from the date of the contract so if for example, they do not complete the park until XXXX, I would only have access for 7 years. Both very misleading. 

Lastly, based on our agreement, I was told that each time I visit the resort I would pay a certain amount depending on room size. The money I pay to book would transfer into a travel account thru XXXX XXXX which would be converted into credit that I could use to purchase a wide variety of items. This feature sounded great because even though I would be paying to book the room, I would not be losing the funds. After reviewing my contract, I called XXXX XXXX  and I was told that I only had that feature for 1 year and afterwards I would have to pay for different package options to keep it. This was not part of our agreement. 

At the close of my meeting, which lasted several hours, with XXXX, and expressly after being assured of my requested terms, I signed the contract and then asked for a copy for my review. I was not informed that I had 5 days from the date I signed to review and cancel. Instead of giving me a copy on sight, XXXX insisted on mailing it to my home address in Maryland. I only agreed to not walking out with a paper copy because XXXX stated that they would email me a version of the contract so that I could review it immediately. I believe these interactions may have been audio recorded. 

To date, I have never received a copy of the signed contract via email from XXXX. Further, I did not receive the contract in the mail until close to 4 weeks after I returned from XXXX, and well after the 5-day review period. It was not until I received the contract in the mail that I was able to review the contract and read the many discrepancies between what XXXX stated to me at the time of signing. I immediately contacted XXXX  and explained to them my issues. They were however unwilling to right their wrongs or adjust their breech of agreement. They stated that I had 5 days from the signing date to cancel. I now see why they were so insistent not handing me the physical contract and failed to email me a version so that I could review it. The contract took weeks to arrive. I also believe that XXXX XXXX XXXX and RCI Elite Rewards Mastercard facilitated this defraudment. 

The agreement with XXXX  also included me selling my old Timeshare through XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. They contacted me to complete the second part of the agreement charging {$4100.00} to the RCI Elite MC before I received the contract from XXXX XXXX. 

I have been persistent in my fight against this injustice towards me by making the necessary phone calls, emails to the companies and even sending certified mail to both XXXX XXXX XXXX by XXXX XXXX XXXX  and RCI Elite Rewards Mastercard by Barclays Bank. XXXX XXXX XXXX  is in the process of investigating the matter, Barclays Bank however has closed their investigation in favor of XXXX. I and am willing to take it as far as I can to achieve justice. I am however currently working in the XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX Hospital in XXXX XXXX and am absolutely overwhelmed in this war against this pandemic. I do not want to my lack of attention to this matter to allow me to lose ground. I sincerely hope that this bureau will further review this incident and will be able to help me and to be a protector against consumer fraud. 




Barclays Bank XXXX. XXXX  XXXX XXXX DE XXXX Billing Dispute Case # XXXX Case # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX OH XXXX Dispute XXXX {$15000.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Ext. XXXX

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