Consumer complaint received 2020-09-30
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: PA
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:
This issue pertains to a transaction I made using my Barclays Uber Visa Credit Card. In late XXXX and the early months of XXXX ( pre-COVID19 ), I had planned a group vacation to XXXX, XXXX. Our group had planned to rent a catamaran as an excursion on our trip. I was speaking with a concierge for the island who had put me in contact with an Ibiza-based company called XXXX XXXX  ( https : XXXX  ). The transaction to rent a catamaran rental for 25 people plus food and drinks was made on XX/XX/XXXX. The slated day for this excursion was supposed to be XX/XX/XXXX. The price was {$8300.00} USD in total. I opted to pay in full rather than a smaller deposit. This was booked prior to the news of the COVID-19 global  pandemic. There was no contract provided by the company, they offered nothing to sign, and there were no terms & conditions provided. They simply asked me to pay via an online portal and then sent me an invoice receipt after payment ( which I have attached to this submission ). 

News broke a month later that international travel bans would be put into effect preventing us from traveling to XXXX. Flights and hotel accommodations were canceled by our airlines and by XXXX. Due to the reasoning of XXXX XXXX, it would be physically impossible for us to travel to XXXX in order to make the date of our booking with XXXX XXXX. As I am sure you are aware, XXXX XXXX is a common clause that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, epidemic/pandemic or an event described by the legal term act of XXXX, prevents one or both parties from fulfilling obligations. ( https : XXXX ). 

My hope was that the COVID-19 situation would get better over time and that travel restrictions would be lifted in time for us to make our trip so I waited it out 1-2 months. Instead, the global COVID-19 situation only got worse and, due to circumstances out of my control, I knew it was time to get in touch with XXXX XXXX in order to get the booking refunded. I contacted XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX to request a refund. In other words, XXXX XXXX was made aware that we would be unable to make the reservation 41 days prior to the reservation date. I have fully documented the exchange of  this correspondence via screenshots and a transcript ( these are all attached with this submission ). 

You will see in the text message screenshots and accompanying transcript between myself and XXXX XXXX  that they acknowledged the COVID-19 implications on my reservation. They also acknowledge that the flights and accommodation to XXXX were canceled and it would not be possible for us to travel there. They were uncooperative and had offered impractical solutions to remedy the situation. I had explained to them that their proposed solutions would not work due to the circumstances of the global pandemic and they responded by saying they would provide me with a credit note that would eventually turn into a full cash refund. They stated that they would provide me with documentation confirming the receipt of this credit note but they never did. I informed XXXX XXXX that I would be filing a dispute with my credit card company ( Barclays ) on XX/XX/XXXX and then proceeded to do so. Since then, XXXX Holidays has not responded to a single message. I have sent them 7 text messages to their XXXX number ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) all which went unanswered. I have called them 10 or more times at their phone number ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and they never picked up or called me back. I have emailed them multiple times at their email addresses XXXX and XXXX and never received a response. I have reached out to the companys owner, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, via XXXX and never received a response. I reached out to XXXX XXXX  via their XXXX page ( https XXXX XXXX  ) and never received a response. I attempted to contact them via XXXX at their page @ XXXX  and they subsequently blocked me from viewing their page ( screenshot of this attached ). 

Another item of importance is in regards to the concierge who put me in touch with XXXX XXXX. This concierge is also located in XXXX. He was also in communications with XXXX XXXX  in early XX/XX/XXXX around the time I had initially informed XXXX XXXX of the refund request due to the COVID-19 implications. The concierge has been made fully aware of the details of this issue and has provided me with screenshots and a transcript of his entire correspondence with XXXX XXXX and authorized me to use them in this case ( all of these items are attached in this submission ). In that correspondence, the concierge explains the travel restriction issues to XXXX XXXX  and requests a refund for our group. XXXX XXXX  acknowledges the issue and confirms with XXXX that they will be providing me a refund as well as documentation/confirmation ( which I never received ). Since XX/XX/XXXX, they have not responded to XXXX regarding this issue despite numerous calls and texts since then. All of the screenshots of their conversation are in their native language ( XXXX ), however, I have provided a translated transcript ( as well as the original ) for your convenience ( all attached ). 

Barclays has been abhorrent in handling this case since the original claim was made. Their customer service has been the absolute worst I have ever experienced. Since my initial dispute claim on XX/XX/XXXX, I have called back about 2-3 times per week every week asking for updates or information. Many times, the customer service representatives are very rude and just hang up on me. Other times, they put me on hold for 30-45 minutes before the line disconnects and  I'm forced to call back. On the times where I did manage to speak to a customer service representative, they repeatedly fed me the same three excuses : 1 ) I tried to connect you with someone in the Disputes Department but theyre not picking up 2 ) Due to COVID-19, we no longer have the staff to handle disputes by phone 3 ) We can schedule a Dispute Department Manager callback and someone will get back to you within 15 days. For the record, I have requested at least 5 manager callbacks and have not once been contacted by anyone.  The most recent time I requested a callback was XX/XX/XXXX, which means it has been almost 21 days ( well over the 15-day timeline ). I last called back this past Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, where they said they were aware that the timeline had been exceeded and that there was nothing that they could do. They then told me to wait another 3-5 days for a manager callback. I'm not holding my breath. In other words, it is impossible to get someone on the phone and that is seemingly by design. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Barclays issued me a provisional credit for the full amount of the disputed transaction ( I have attached the letter they sent me stating this ). I requested that money be sent to me via check and put it into a separate savings account for safe-keeping where it still sits today. This credit, however, was only provisional. Then, on  XX/XX/XXXX, Barclays proceeded to rebill me the full amount of the disputed transaction. In the letter they sent me, they state that " the merchant has since supplied documentation that details what the transaction represents. Unfortunately, we are unable to further pursue  credit on your behalf for this particular transaction '' ( I have attached this letter to this submission ). Barclays did not tell me what that documentation was or what that documentation stated. I called to ask them but they never gave me an explanation. I appealed their decision immediately and wrote a 39-page document that included all the screenshots and transcripts that I will be including in this submission. This document clearly outlines XXXX XXXX explicitly saying I would be receiving a credit or refund ( neither of which I received ). I  asked Barclays for a thorough investigation of all the facts presented and to provide me with any details that XXXX XXXX provided so that I can review their legitimacy. On XX/XX/XXXX, Barclays sent me a letter that stated, " After further review, we're not able to assist you with obtaining a credit to your account due to the following : Merchant has not violated the terms and conditions of the contract '' ( I have attached a copy of this letter ). I was absolutely dumbfounded when I read this because I was never presented with a contract in the first place! I never signed a contract. There were never terms and conditions provided for me to agree or disagree to. Barclays did not supply me with a copy of this supposed " contract '' for verification or any supporting documentation. It is quite clear that XXXX XXXX is attempting to keep money for a service I never received and was physically prevented from receiving due to an act of nature out of my power. International travel restrictions caused flights to be canceled and any future planning to be impossible. The XXXX government would not even allow Americans into the country so I am really having a hard time wrapping my head around how Barclays is justifying their decision. I have not even had the chance to speak with anyone for an explanation. The whole purpose of using a credit card is to be offered buyer protection and benefits that normal banks can't offer yet Barclays is not providing any of that. It seems as if Barclays does not even care and they don't seem to have the customer 's best interest in mind.

Another consideration is the fact that they will now try to charge me interest on the {$8300.00} balance now that they have made their decision on this dispute. The interest rate for this card is quite high ( 20.74 % APR ) which would unfairly cost me even more money. I did  some digging online and read that if I were to make payments towards this balance, whether it was just the minimum or if I paid it off using the check I had requested from them in XXXX, that that would be admitting that I am responsible for that transaction. To reiterate, I never received the service I paid for and was physically prevented due to international travel restrictions caused by a global pandemic so I am not responsible for this transaction, however, I dont want my credit to be damaged and I dont want to accrue large amounts of interest because of this so I am unsure what to do here. 

I'm attaching the entire 39-page PDF document that I sent to Barclays when appealing their decision. This document contains all of the relevant screenshots, transcripts, and invoices I mentioned in this submission. 

I really hope the CFPB can assist me with a favorable resolution to my dispute. I appreciate your consideration.

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