Questions about taking on Barclaycard

[srg909]

I have read the faqs and still have some remaining questions which i'll try to make brief:

I am a barclaycard customer (just the credit card, i don't have a bank account with them), and I reckon they have charged me £100 - £140 in late payment fees. This obviously is a lot less than a few other people, I don't know if that means they are more likely to pay up?

My big concern is that should I go ahead with this then they will punatively close my account (I currently have £400 on the card). Can anyone tell me if barclaycard has done this to anyone else. I am not in arrears with them as of the moment so does this make it less likely they'll do that, can they close an account on a whim? does it seriously affect your credit rating, and if so can you get this removed if you beat them?

Also, what happens if they close your account, how would they make me pay back the £400 left on the card?

thanks

[alanfromderby]

Obviously you have to accept that it is a possibility they might close the account. However, it does not seem to be a tactic they are using at the moment. It would also seem a very risky tactic in the light of the OFT announcement.

You are challenging them on the legality of fees, which the OFT has already told the CC companys are disproportionate. I would imagine the FSA would not look too kindly on a bank closing an account under these circumstances.

[Bookworm]

More to the point, this is a credit card account, and I haven't yet come across one of those gettign closed (happy to get corrected).

I think that closing a c/c account would be a mistake anyway, and they know it: If they close you down, they become a creditor, and you can argue for interest getting frozen and negotiating a repayment schedule that works for you... As long as your card is still running, on the other hand, interest will keep on rollin' rollin' rollin'...

[srg909]

thanks for the information, couple of other things i'm not clear on:

1. Is it worth sending a relatively non-threatening first letter (i'm only claiming a £100 or so), but including the facts and relevant legalities contained on this site, while refraining from threatening court action (has this worked for anyone?)

2. If I know my charges then do I still need to get copies of my statements with manual intervention information (are they actually providing this?), can i just ring up and ask for standard copies of statements without manual intervention information?

3. My charges are just late payments for credit card, so am I affected by interest, if so, do I need to work this out before i start my claim?

4. My hsbc claim includes credit card, direct debit and refused cheques (ie. two different accounts), can i roll this all together in one claim?

thanks

If you know exactly what the charges are then you do not need to request this again.

I would stick with the standard letter, that way they know you wont back down, even if its a small amount still be very firm and outline you will persue this until you get the dosh back!

God luck