Consumer complaint received 2021-02-15
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: CA
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/XXXX, I made a purchase with my BARCLAYS credit card from a merchant, named XXXX XXXX  for an amount of {$1800.00}. The purchase was for international air travel, with a travel date of XX/XX/XXXX. I was unable to board my flight on XX/XX/XXXX, due to the negligence and/or breach of contract of XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX, but they were non-responsive to my requests for a refund. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sought reimbursement for my missed flight through travel insurance protection that I purchased in addition to the purchase of the airline tickets. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, the travel insurance company, XXXX, denied my claim and stated that the insurance policy I purchased did not cover negligence and/or breach of contract by the merchant XXXX XXXX. Some time in XX/XX/XXXX, I contact BARCLAYS via telephone I disputed the transaction with BARCLAYS, and a provisional credit was issued for the full amount of {$1800.00}. I was given a Case Number XXXX. I confirmed on that telephone call I had documentation to support my dispute, and the representative on the phone stated that if XXXX XXXX did not agree with my dispute BARCLAYS would contact me to provide documentation for review before the investigation by BARCLAYS was completed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received written confirmation from BARCLAYS that XXXX XXXX was notified of my dispute. On XX/XX/XXXX, I happened to log-in to my BARCLAYS online account and saw that the provisional credit for the disputed {$1800.00} charge was reversed. However, I never received any written notification of the reversal, or a request for additional documentation from BARCLAYS prior to that date. I immediately called BARCLAYS on XX/XX/XXXX, and was told by a representative named " XXXX, '' that the investigation under Case Number XXXX was closed because XXXX XXXX provided fraudulent information that claimed I voluntarily missed my flight and provided a copy of its cancellation and refund terms for voluntary missed flights in response to the BARCLAYS investigation. I advised " XXXX '' that BARCLAYS never contacted me during the investigation so I could provide documentation proving I did not voluntarily miss my flight, and I requested that BARCLAYS re-open the investigation immediately. " XXXX '' explained that in order for BARCLAYS to re-open the investigation I must draft and send the request in writing. " XXXX '' explained that in the meantime BARCLAYS could not re-issue the provisional credit, but that any interest on the charge would not accrue while it was still disputed after the investigation was re-opened. Finally, " XXXX '' stated that if I pursued legal action against XXXX XXXX  and was successful, BARCLAYS would reverse the disputed charge at that time. On XX/XX/XXXX, I drafted a letter wherein I requested that BARCLAYS re-open the investigation for the disputed {$1800.00} charge, and outlined how I made multiple attempts to correct the charge with XXXX XXXX, but that XXXX XXXXXXXX was non-responsive. Additionally, I outlined that under my written credit card agreement with BARCLAYS, I was well within my rights to have the disputed charge removed as I fulfilled all three necessary criteria listed in the BARCLAYS agreement : ( 1 ) The purchase was made in my home state of California via an internet transaction ; ( 2 ) I used my BARCLAYS credit card for the purchase ; and ( 3 ) I have not yet fully paid for the purchase. Finally, I included with my letter several documents, which disputed XXXX XXXX ' claim that I voluntarily missed the international flight on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a lawsuit against XXXX XXXX for the full amount of the disputed charge of {$1800.00}, plus additional damages. I waited to hear back from BARCLAYS, but I never did. On XX/XX/XXXX, a trial was held in XXXX XXXX County Superior Court, and the Court ruled in my favor for the full amount requested, including court costs, for a total judgment of {$2600.00} entered against XXXX XXXX, which included the disputed charge amount. On XX/XX/XXXX, I still had not heard back from BARCLAYS, but I noticed that the disputed charge was not reversed, and I was still being charged interest on the disputed charge on my billing statement, so I called BARCLAYS on the telephone. The representative stated there was nothing she could do over the phone regarding the interest still being charged, that the investigation was closed, and that I would need to draft a request in writing to have the investigation re-opened. I explained I already had done that, and was waiting to hear back from BARCLAYS regarding the status of the re-opening of the original investigation. The representative simply repeated that I must submit my request to re-open the investigation in writing. I advised the representative that I had successfully sued XXXX XXXX  for the disputed charge. The representative told me that so long as I could provide a copy of the Court 's judgment included with my written request to re-open the investigation, then BARCLAYS would finally reverse the disputed charge and credit my account for any previously paid interest associated with the disputed charge. The representative gave me a new Reference Number XXXX regarding my request. That same day on XX/XX/XXXX, I drafted a letter requesting that BARCLAYS re-open the investigation, reverse the disputed charge and any interest charges, and I included a Conformed ( " Official '' ) copy of the Court 's Minute Order from the Trial, as well as additional supporting documentation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, BARCLAYS reported that they could not reverse the XXXX XXXX charge because they received terms and conditions of purchase from XXXX XXXX that stated " Once purchased, tickets are completely nonrefundable & nontransferable. Any changes and amendments to the reservation are subjected to respective Airline rules and restrictions. '' What BARCLAYS failed to address is that term only applied to VOLUNTARY missed flights, not INVOLUNTARY missed flights. On two separate occasions I was told by BARCLAYS representatives that if I took legal action against XXXX XXXX and was successful BARCLAYS would then reverse the charge and/or issue me a credit to my BARCLAYS account. Again, any length of time that passed regarding reopening my dispute was due to BARCLAYS prematurely closing the dispute and/or not conducting a thorough investigation, and MR. XXXX has provided conflicting information regarding the Court 's findings in my favor against XXXX XXXX, now claiming this legal result has no bearing on BARCLAYS issuing a credit to my account. 

XXXX XXXX  is a company that committed fraud by providing false information to BARCLAYS during the initial investigation. I am a loyal customer of BARCLAYS and expected BARCLAYS to protect me against the fraudulent actions of a company like XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX lied to me personally, was negligent and broke the " terms and conditions of purchase '' themselves, and then lost in court when I sued them. Because XXXX XXXX  is not a registered business in the two states it claims to operate ( TEXAS & NEW YORK ), I can not locate any of their company accounts to attach and/or garnish the judgment amount from my legal judgment. The only avenue I have to be reimbursed for the original purchase price of {$1800.00} is through disputing the illegal charge through BARCLAYS. This does not account for the additional damages I was awarded by the Court, I am only seeking to have BARCLAYS reverse and/or credit the illegal charge. BARCLAYS refusal to protect a loyal customer against a corrupt company like XXXX XXXX  is something I do not understand. Furthermore, in all its communications with me, BARCLAYS has never cited to any state or federal law to support its conclusions, nor to any term contained within the customer agreement I have with BARCLAYS. Given that BARCLAYS has not provided ANY legal support to the conclusions it has reached, I can not understand its response to my complaint. 

BARCLAYS representatives have told me on two separate occasions that if I took legal action against XXXX XXXX  and was successful, then BARCLAYS would reverse the charge and/or issue a credit to my account. Now, after filing a complaint with CFPB, BARCLAYS is claiming the Court judgment against XXXX XXXX has no bearing on whether BARCLAYS will reverse the illegal charge and/or issue a credit to my account. I suppose that now after successfully taking legal action against XXXX XXXX I will be forced to take legal action against BARCLAYS. This is unfortunate, as it is a waste of my time, and not the way to treat a customer.

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