I quite agree with Foggy about the email thing, it's best to have an anonymous email address which does not identify your name for all forums you post to. Not just this one
You could then use it to email anyone off forum if needs be and remain completly anonymous.
We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation.
Bear in mind that no-one other than administrators or admin know your email address on the forum and it will never be published on here. If you wish to contact anyone anonymously then set up a hotmail address and your identity will be safe.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Not a bad weekend - could do with the weather getting warmer though!
I'm really glad that you are on board and can help out Barclaycard customers either on or off forum.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Yes but if Melanie Giles asks us to contact her directly rather than going through the forum, we know she is being impartial, in that she is acting in the best interests of both her client and the creditor, I'm sorry but if Barclaycard wanted me to contact them directly off forum I would be more inclined to think they are only acting in their best interests.
Example, when Mercers called me 4 times within half an hour last week, even though they knew I am hopefully going into an IVA, they were still continually proposing alternative payment methods to bring my account up to date, coming to an arrangement, agreement, 3 monthly payments to clear my arrears etc. They are NOT acting in MY best interests as they have no regard whatsoever to my other creditors and despite the fact I have taken independent financial advice which has deemed an IVA is the most suitable solution for me, they are still trying to find a way to get me to pay before the IVA is approved.
Obviously anyone who is already in an IVA on here really has nothing to be concerned with any creditor posting on here as they are legally protected, but other posters in my position at this time are not, we are vulnerable and I do wonder if creditors posting on here who are not being transparent in answering questions are actually trying to encourage defaulting customers to contact them in whatever means they will.
To be perfectly honest, I do not see the point in any creditor posting if they are not prepared to answer relevant questions from anonymous posters (which does not breach the Data Protection Act), how does Barclaycard posting actually serve any purpose whatsoever if their only response is 'email us directly'?
Quite frankly Lern what Mercers are proposing is preferential treatment for a single creditor, i.e. themselves.
When you sign up for a IVA, you should treat each creditor the same, so if you pay Barclaycard £X of £X amount, you should do the same for all of your other creditors.
If you could do that, then technically you're not insolvent.
The easy way would be to not pay anyone at all at that stage. That way no-one gets preferential treatment.
We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation.
Oh, you are right about the DPA. It is there to protect a living data subject.
If what they post identifies a specific person then they are in breach of the act. If they speak generally, without identifying a living data subject then they are not breaking data protection.
We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation.
Hi
If you have a specific problem regarding your Barclaycard account, and you post on the forum, then you have a choice to contact Barclaycard or not if requested. They can't help you if they do not have your details.
I am not here to defend the rights and wrongs of Barclaycard and how they operate, however I am very grateful that they are prepared to have a presence on the forum and that they are interested in helping with any queries.
Lem's quote "I do wonder if creditors posting on here, who are not being transparent in answering questions, are actually trying to encourage defaulting customers to contact them in whatever means they will" is simply not true
Do you think that I would have a creditor, or anyone else, posting on a forum that I have built up over the years, if I did not believe were posting for genuine reasons ?
Rest assured that Barclaycard are on here for transparency and to try and help with basic information. Any specific question has to be answered directly and this is the same for any company posting on her.
Regards
Hi Andy, with all due respect, I absolutely without doubt accept what you are saying, but my opinion is only based on what I have seen so far from Barclaycard's responses on this forum which do seem very prescriptive and have failed to answer generic questions that have been asked on here so far, for example, Foggy asked Barclaycard about Mercers seeming relentless pursuit for payment, the only response I can see from Barclaycard was 'Mercers are instructed by us to collect payment', thereby avoiding the question asked, this is what I mean by transparency. So far, it feels that Barclaycard are just giving standard responses to even generic questions which as debtors we have all heard before, I guess it's early days anyway and time will tell.
Barclaycard,
Thank you for responding to one of my two queries from my initial post on this thread.
Please could you respond to the second question:
Why do you up people`s interest rates when you realise they are struggling?
This is a general question and is not case specific, so I do not need or wish to contact you directly. I feel that big, regular interest rate hikes when it becomes apparent that individuals are only able to make the minimum monthly payment on their accounts(therfore obviously struggling), is something that a lot of posters on this forum will have experienced.
"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea".
Although not one of my creditors, must thank Barclaycard for having the foresight to come onto this forum and fully agree with Andy that any case specifics can only be answered through direct contact with an individual and Barclaycard themselves. I only hope that other well known creditors for those on this site decide to do the same in the not so distant future (MBNA and Santander to name but 2)
Nor are they alone in doubling credit limits when they lose business to 0% competitor credit cards and making it difficult to reduce limits and close zero balance accounts. Creditor thoughts on all three points would be nice!
I would like to ask why Barclaycard could not provide a low call rate phone number for debtors in difficulty to call them on rather than an 0844 number?
Also in response to barclaycards explanation above which is very welcome, I would like to add, the reasons why we have run into so much difficulty with our payments was due to most of our creditors increasing interest rates on our accounts, thereby making it more difficult to make a dent in the outstanding balance each month.
Perversely, yours and other creditors actions in increasing interest rates to the perceived increase in risk on our accounts have actually contributed to our downfall so to speak, and instead of providing help and assistance to debtors who start to feel the pinch, this conversely makes the situation worse.
