Consumer complaint received 2018-11-12
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE (KS)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I opened a XXXX XXXX XXXX account with XXXX  XXXX XXXX that offered a fixed rate of about 4.5-5 %. I used and held this card until the present day. I still have the card but it is no longer with XXXX XXXX XXXX, no longer a fixed rate, and currently a variable rate at 8.24 %. The credit card account is now held by Barclaycard, is an XXXX XXXX MasterCard, and is a variable rate based on the Prime. I am uncertain when the fixed rate became a variable rate and have not been provided any details as to who made this change, when it happened, or why. Although I still hold the card, I have not used this card in years. The balance is based on purchases made when it was set at a fixed rate, however, I am charged higher fees on money that was originally borrowed on a fixed rate. I have never defaulted on any payments, have always paid my balance on time, and have always paid the minimum rate or more. 

At some point, Barclay Bank took over my account. I called Barclay Bank in XX/XX/XXXX to ask when my terms and conditions changed with regards to my fixed rate and became a variable APR card as I noticed a significant increase in my percentage rate, and it was continuing to rise. The rate was 6.24 % on XX/XX/XXXX, then in XX/XX/XXXX became 7.24 %. The XXXX phone call notes state that a request was sent for the information of my terms and conditions that would help explain this change, but I do not recall receiving the information. I called again on XX/XX/XXXX to see about lowering my APR as it was continuing to slowly increase and to try to question again why and when the original fixed rate had changed. I also question how the bank could charge me a higher APR on money that was previously borrowed on a fixed rate. I was not given an acceptable answer. I called on XX/XX/XXXX and finally on XX/XX/XXXX. The following information includes details of this most recent phone call with both Barclaycard and XXXX  XXXX XXXX banks. 

My first phone call was to Barclay Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. I called XXXX. Barclay claims that my card had a change in terms and conditions in XXXX. Barclay claims this took place while XXXX  XXXX XXXX was still holding my account. I requested a copy of the letter that explains why my terms and conditions changed, and I was unsuccessful with this request. Barclay claims they are unable to find any information regarding terms and conditions prior to XXXX and they do not have any information regarding the previous account from XXXX XXXX XXXX. According to Barclay, it is due to this change from XXXX XXXX XXXX in my terms and conditions that my fixed rate changed to a variable rate in XX/XX/XXXX. When I asked Barclay to provide me the information as to why this change took place, who made this change, and when was I notified about it, they were not able to provide me an answer. Instead, they stated that since the terms and conditions most likely changed with XXXX XXXX XXXX, I should contact them and ask them for this information. 

Next, I called XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX and spoke with someone in the Security and Fraud department. It was communicated to me that all of my past credit card information was sent onto Barclay Bank when they took over the account and that the information I am requesting should be in the archives. She also stated that XXXX XXXX XXXX would not have changed the terms of a fixed rate card. My husband still has a credit card account from XXXX  XXXX XXXX and it still holds a fixed rate of 4.5 % so I have no reason believe her statement is not true. Since XXXX XXXX XXXX does not have any information on my account any longer, the woman I was speaking with offered to contact Barclay on my behalf to explain where they should go to look for this information. I accepted this offer, she made contact, and explained to Barclay what to do. After she got off the phone, the gentleman I was speaking to from Barclay explained there was no information in archives or anything with previous account information and then made a comment that there were no terms and conditions on file what-so-ever for this card. I questioned this comment stating I currently have a card with this bank and I am looking at my most recent terms and conditions paperwork as we speak. Then he explained he has no information on my account previous to XXXX. I spent 49 minutes on this phone call alone. 

Based on this information, I feel like I'm getting the run around, I question if Barclay is providing false information, and I still don't understand why I am getting charged more money on money borrowed when it was purchased on a fixed rate. 
My husband contacted CFPB on my behalf to begin this process.