Consumer complaint received 2024-11-20
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE (IN)

My elderly mother was diagnosed with XXXX. As primary caregiver I wanted to get ahead of things financially as I would be cutting back some work hours to help provide care. So Ive been reaching out to my credit card companies to discuss financial assistance on a short term basis - strictly to stay ahead - because I was on-time with all payments and had never really fallen behind. I reached out to BarclayXXXX XXXX ( the company ) for financial hardship by means of a certified letter. No one called me. Instead, I received a letter back that simply stated my letter was received and advised me to call them. So I eventually called. When I called Barclay, I assumed someone would be walking me through the process of financial hardship ( the steps, the terms, the agreement ) on the phone. Instead I was told I would have to answer some questions on an online form and then the systems process would continue. I went online as directed and answered some questions. My understanding was that after my input, that someone would reach out and explain/walk me through the process. Again, I did not receive any call or conversation about this. I accepted the terms, again with the understanding that someone would call me and explain the terms. No such call. Ayer a few days, I logged into my account only to find it had been closed without my knowledge. I reached out via chat text and phone customer support. One agent said they could not help me because the account was closed Id have to reach out to customer support. When I spoke to customer support a very nice young lady advised that yes my account had been closed and could not be re-opened/re-instated. I asked why. She said that was the system process for any hardship agreements. I told her that if I knew my account would be closed I would not have applied for the hardship. I told her that no one explicitly told me that, also I had called specifically prior to any terms and asked about how the process worked. I expressed that I was very disappointed at the lack of communication because this is a loyalty rewards card and I have lost status as well as the value of a complimentary airline ticket due to the accounts closing. I asked if there was ANYTHING that could be done, that I was recalling the agreement, that I would agree to the previous terms and please re-open the account. She said she really wished she could help me but unfortunately it could not be undone. I find this to be unfair practice on behalf of this lender company - I wrote and called about the hardship and no one talked to me about it. I filled out a vague online questionnaire that was not clear. And Ive lost value in my rewards for a decision that I would have never made if the terms were clearer. I truly believe this company acted fraudulently by making me jump through these hoops and closing my account without my knowledge. Using whatever loopholes and legal ease to close my account is awful. And the repercussions of losing my airline rewards is equally unfair. Especially at a time when my widowed mother is going through a health crisis. Completely unacceptable.