Consumer complaint received 2019-08-08
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
To Consumer Financial Protection Bureau We timely paid our credit card company, Barclay Card, Yet they showed a balance unpaid of {$8300.00} and subjected us to charges for late fee and interest.

We phoned. After 20 minutes with a " supervisor '' he told us it would take several weeks to resolve. I told him I had proof from our bank that it was paid to the credit of Barclay Card timely, and asked him where could I email that evidence. He refused to give me any email or regular mail address to send that.

I wrote the below letter to people at Barclay Card whose addresses we found on the internet. No one replied.

We eventually got an email statement informing us that the past due balance was paid, but not as of the date our bank showed it paid and Barclay wants to charge us interest and a late fee. It's not that we can't afford the fee, it's that it's wrong and there is no way to get redress. I am a semi-retired lawyer and I wrote to 4 executives at Barclay Card whose email addresses we found on line. No one answered. I have re-written them. If I can't get relief I can only imagine what someone with less resources in handling controversies will have. No success. So, maybe this type of problem with the " too big to care '' credit card companies is something you can help with. Helping me will help others who experience the same treatment from another " too big to fail '' financial institution.

Below is the letter I sent to Barclay Card after the fruitless telephone call described above. 

XXXX Direct Dial : XXXX Mail Address XXXX XXXX XXXX. # XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/2019 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
Associate General Counsel Barclay Card XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, DE XXXX Re : Unacceptable Delay In Problem Resolution Account ending in XXXX Dear XXXX and colleagues, I am so terribly sorry to trouble you but Barclay Cards problem resolution procedure leaves one quite unable to get reasonably prompt relief and thus with a terrible taste in ones mouth. 
I received a statement showing a previous balance of {$8300.00} and that it was past due, despite having paid that amount on time and having a copy of the cancelled check from my online bank account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, showing that the funds were deposited to Barclays credit, via XXXX XXXX XXXX. The endorsement reads, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX Absence of Endorsement Guaranteed Barclays XXXX The exact same form of payment and deposit method the prior month, using the exact same on-line payment from my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was however credited to my Barclay Card account. Why it worked month after month and now it failed is not my problem, but the person I spoke with at Barclay Card made it MY problem. 

When I called Barclay Card I asked for supervisor. I asked him if I could simply email a copy of the cancelled checks. He told me no. He then took all the information over the phone ( I had to repeat it several times ) and he told me it might be three weeks before I might hear back. In the meantime my credit limit would be capped because of this error at Barclay and his inability to find a solution.

It is not that I am impatient. However, I work and travel and use my credit card for both. By the time this letter reaches anyone I will likely be in Colorado on business and it is likely that I will be inconvenienced by the fact that Barclay Card offshores your customer service to people overseas who have no sense of urgency and or who are not empowered to solve the problems that your customers experience.

So, if there is someone who will accept an email with a copy of my credit card statement, a copy of the cancelled check that shows Barclay timely had the {$8300.00} and the prior payment of {$5000.00} and can get this resolved quickly, I would be quite grateful. 

Very Truly Yours, XXXX XXXX XXXX Cc : Assistant Vice President / Sr. Manager, Customer Experience XXXX XXXX XXXX Cards & Payments Global Business Manager XXXX XXXX XXXX Chief Operating Officer XXXX XXXX XXXX Chief Executive Officer, cards and payments XXXX 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