Consumer complaint received 2019-07-19
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2019, I purchased two ( 2 ) XXXX XXXX XXXX sofas from an online website named XXXX. On the website, the sofas were listed at {$1300.00}, and I received an initial 10 % off discount code for a first time buyer. The website stated Free shipping for all orders over {$50.00}. I added the aforementioned sofas to my cart, and proceeded to checkout with my Barclays XXXX XXXX XXXX MasterCard. Checkout was denied because the merchant had an established maximum purchase limit it would process. So I had to split my purchases and buy the sofas separately. 

After I thought I finalized the purchase, the merchant contacted me and informed me I would have to pay a separate fee of {$670.00} for import duties/fees/taxes. I thought the items were coming from XXXX. At the time of purchase, XXXX stated the delivery date would be within 2 weeks ( see attached screenshot ). 

I did not hear from the merchant, so I contacted them and asked if the items were being shipped, and if so, how long would it take for me to receive them? The merchant responded 55 to 70 days. I then asked if they were coming from XXXX, which he replied Yes. At this point, the merchant had made the following misrepresentations on its website : ( 1 ) Free shipping on all orders over {$50.00}, ( 2 ) Expected delivery date within 2 weeks of the order, ( 3 ) The items were in stock, and lastly ( 4 ), the merchant did not list that there would be any additional charges for import fees. At that point, I tried to negotiate in good faith with the merchant a compromise, but we could not agree on any terms. The merchant stated I would be charged a cancellation fee, which was not listed on their website at the time of this purchase. It has since been changed to reflect so. 

On 3 or more separate occasions, I instructed the merchant to cancel my order, which he failed to do so. I waited two ( 2 ) days for his response to allow for cancellation. The merchant subsequently canceled my order and provided a partial refund minus an undetermined amount for a restocking fee. 

After two ( 2 ) days elapsed, I contacted Barclays MasterCard and disputed the charges based upon false misrepresentations of price, delivery date, availability, and additional import charges. To date, I have not received any items from this merchant. I do not have anything that belongs to them, and I did not sign any binding contract. 

On or about XX/XX/2019, I received 4 letters from Barclays. In general, Barclays closed my dispute as resolved in my favor. However, they assessed me an unspecified amount awarded to the merchant as a restocking fee. According to the merchant, it was 25 %, but nobody at Barclays can confirm the specific amount. I've been told a range of {$340.00} to {$640.00}. This merchant was removed from XXXX for fraudulent/scam like activities ( see link https : //XXXX ). If link doesn't work, search " scamsellers XXXX ''. Anyhow, I have tried everything with Barclays, but they see this merchant provided false information, but somehow they sided with them. I have since closed my account at Barclays out of frustration and anger. This is complete consumer fraud at its best and I am left holding the bag.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation