Consumer complaint received 2022-07-10
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: KY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Can't close your account

Complaint:
I have a balance on a Barclay XXXX XXXX with a high interest rate. I opened a new credit card with a different bank so I could transfer the balance from my Barclay card on to the new card and take advantage of 0 % interest on balance transfers. 

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Barclay expressing my wish to close the account and have my balance transferred to the new card. The representative from XXXX immediately began reading from a script about how they ( Barclay ) has 0 % interested on balance transfers and how I'd be charged a 5 % balance transfer fee. I was confused, since I wasn't transferring money TO Barclay, I was transferring AWAY from Barclay. It was the new credit card that would be giving me the 0 % interest and charging the fee. In hindsight of course, I realize I probably should've initiated the transfer through the new credit cardbut this was the first time I'd done this and not ONCE did the representative offer this suggestion to me. 

I explained again, very clearly, that I was looking to close my account and have the transfer moved over to the new card. Again, he began reading from a script. I interrupted and explained it to him a third time. He put me on hold for awhile, then came back and said he understood and was going to start the transfer process. I confirmed that he understood what I wanted to do. He said yes. He asked for the new credit card number and gave me a balance transfer confirmation number. He said to expect the transfer to happen in 7 days. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, someone from Barclay 's fraud division called saying they due to the balance transfer request, they'd flagged my account. She said she was calling to confirm I initiated the transfer. I thought this was strange, seeing as I was essentially paying off my balance on the Barclay card, but assured the caller I had initiated the transfer. She told me they were lifting the fraud alert. 

On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered the balance transfer process had been done incorrectly, despite me explaining at least four times to the Barclay representative. They sent a check to the new credit card company, not for my existing balance, but on top of. This caused my balance with Barclay to double, and a large credit on the new credit card ( because there was no balance to pay off ). On top of that, they charged a 5 % balance transfer fee on an incorrect transfer. 

I contacted the other bank to let them know of the error, because I can not deal with this company any longer. They told me they aren't sure there is much they can do. So now I am in the middle. It is on me to spend hours away from family and my job to try to fix an error I did not create. 

This credit card company has been a nightmare to deal with from the beginning, but this is the last straw. They have put fraud alerts on my account or suspended it for no reason, been hard to communicate with, and continually make it as difficult as possible to be a customer. I finally reporting them.

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 monetary relief