Barclays Reserve "Fees"

[Allen]

Does anyone know if there's any way of recovering these "fees" that Barclays charge if the amount is ridiculously high? I ask because I spoke to someone at Barclays today who advised that they have never, and will never, refund these fees because technically these ones aren't against the law or the court case against bank charges was lost or something... not sure of the exact details.

Abyway, I ask because I was with Woolwich many years ago, never had any problems with them. Then all of a sudden, without any input from myself, I was a Barclays customer. I didn't want this, but at the time didn't need the hassle of switching banks. Fast forward to May 2009, and they introduce a feature to my account that I didn't ask for giving me the opportunity to go £150 overdrawn for up to 5 days before incuring a £22 "fee" every 5 days whilst in the reserve. At this time, I was made redundant, reluctantly went into the reserve and for a long time after that I was in the dire situation of being £150 short every month and needing to use it to be able to live. Add on top of that, each month I was getting charges so losing money as well as always being overdrawn, it was not good, and Barclays at the time didn't want to know about my problems.

Anyway, as I said above, I spoke to someone at the Branch today because I stopped using my Barclays account when I was again made redundant and started my new job a couple of months ago and I've been trying to settle the Barclays account which is now well over the £150 reserve due to £100+ charges per month. She said she has removed the reserve feature and that should stop the £22 per 5 days, but I want to know if anything can be done about the "fees" they have charged me over the past year which add up to almost £1000. Technically, that's a £1000 charge for borrowing £150 for a year. It totally shocked me that it was this much.

And I know what this forum can be like, people will be inclined to flame me for not having good money management, well that may be true to an extent but please consider that during this year I was made redundant twice, I was on the lowest salary (whilst I was working) that I've been on in almost my entire working life (needs must), I was constantly losing money every month to these "fees" and I spent almost a month in hospital.

One other thing, as I said I was a Woolwich customer, I have never signed any sort of contract with Barclays for either the account with them that I didn't want, nor the reserve feature they put on the account which has cost me almost a grand. Can this be used in any way to help me?

I appreciate that this probably isn't the best place to ask, but other than Barclays complaints department (who don't seem to be able to understand English) I'm not sure who I can ask about this, so hoping someone here might have some knowledge about this reserve feature.

[petercook7]

i had a mate in the same situation, but he didnt get charged any fees, what he done was very smart, at the time he lost his job had 400 overdraft and they started to charge him. He borrowed the money from the job center can't remember how but he recieved the full amount and paid his over draft off, the money borrowed was interest free.

[Rave]

Right- not meaning to sound unhelpful here. I often ask questions on here because I can't be bothered registering on a more suitable forum, but there really is an obvious place to ask this- the MSE forums- they were after all the champions of the reclaiming movement.*

So I would really ask there. And if you can get an appointment, Citizens Advice are there to deal with exactly this sort of problem.

But that said, I'll have a go, subject to the usual IANAL, just an opinionated geezer disclaimer. I'd say you have a good case. The original basis of the bank charges reclaiming movement was not that the charges were technically illegal, but that they were grossly disproportionate, and frankly usurious. If what you say is true, that you have been charged £1000 in fees for being no more than £150 overdrawn (excluding fees) for the year, then clearly the charges are massively disproportionate, and totally usurious, and on that basis I'd say you have a good case.

There's also the question of whether you ever agreed to the change in terms and conditions having had your Woolwich account subsumed by Barclays. I don't know whether the terms of your original account relating to unauthorised overdraft fees would have been better or worse- it's quite possible they were worse. But worth looking into.

I've had a Barclays account in various forms since I was 17; they turned it into a student account when I went to uni, and then into a normal account when I left. They wrote to me a while ago (couple of years maybe?) saying that they'd added a 'Reserve' onto my account- but that was an extra £1000 on top of my existing £3500 overdraft facility. And I don't remember anything about a weekly charge, just a more punitive interest rate. I've never used it, anyway- if I really come up short, I've got a £4000 limit on my credit card now. I should really investigate whether it's still worth paying it off every month, given that the rate on the card is 15.9%, and the rate on my overdraft has now gone up to 19.9%. Suppose I should really just sell a load of my junk and clear it.

Anyway, good luck.

* edit: but as with all things, MSE ain't perfect. I asked a few years ago about a penalty charge notice TfL had sent me, wanting £120 for stopping on a red route. The PCN was issued over a month from the date of the offence, and there was no opportunity to get a 50% discount by paying within 14 or 28 days. The advice received from MSE was, in essence, "your fault, pay up and stop whingeing". The correct advice would be "PCNs issued more than 28 days after the offence are invalid, so tell them to stick it". So that was £120 down the toilet.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wow! You got a £4500 overdraft limit and a £4000 credit card limit!

With credit cards it is best you clear it as quickly as possible otherwise you are actually loosing quite a bit of money due to the exorbitant interest rates.

To the OP I agree that getting advice from the CAB would be a good start. £1000 of fees on being £150 overdrawn is OTT.

[Rave]

Wow! You got a £4500 overdraft limit and a £4000 credit card limit!

Given out in the days of easy credit; not reduced recently because I've got £2k a month going in (bank) and I always pay on time (credit card).

With credit cards it is best you clear it as quickly as possible otherwise you are actually loosing quite a bit of money due to the exorbitant interest rates.

Well as I said in my post, my credit card interest rate is now lower than my overdraft rate. So not so clear cut any more. Probably on balance cheaper to be £800 overdrawn, because the credit card's interest free for up to 56 days if I pay in full on time.