Barclaycard cashing in on penalty fees?
September 29th, 2008
A recent article in the Times exposed a flood of complaints from angry Barclaycard customers, who claim the monster bank may have been using dodgy tactics to extract fees from them.
They say they have been hit by late payment charges after their normal repayment date was shifted without warning…
Not since British Gas introduced its woefully inadequate boiler breakdown cover or TalkTalk underestimated demand for its “free” broadband have we received so many letters on a single subject. The sheer scale of the correspondence suggests an orchestrated attempt by Barclaycard to confuse borrowers into missing their payment dates so that it can levy extra interest and charges. Worse still, to judge by the letters we have received, the lender appears to be targeting borrowers who usually clear their balances in full each month.
Barclaycard’s inadequate explanation is that it gives all customers a minimum of 20 days to pay from the date that a bill is generated, but that this payment window can be as many as 32 days. It says that the date can change because of weekends, Bank Holidays and, crucially, “operational expediency” – a vague notion that can only mean “whenever we wish to boost profits”. This is simply not good enough.
It sounds like another example of the banks being about as clear as mud when it comes to the cost of their services. Wonga will never change your repayment date, but you are always welcome to bring it forward! We won’t charge you a fee if you decide you want to repay a cash advance early and save interest.
