Barclaycard ignore SAR

[Fyffesy]

Hi all.

I'd appreciate some advice on this if anybody would be so kind.

Basically, in February 2009 i sent Barclaycard a SAR via recorded delivery to which i received no reply.

I then sent a reminder (recorded delivery) 30 days later which was also ignored.

Finally, on the 40th day, i sent a letter before action which stated that i was prepared to give them a further 7 days to comply. Again, i received no response.

At this point i reported Barclaycard to the ICO wrote to me and stated that they would be in touch. This was in April and I have heard nothing since.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Steward]

You can use Google to search the web using these links below:-

[sunflower99]

That is a long time! |Have you got evidence they cashed postal order and signed for letter .Ive never been in contact with commisoner office so not expereinced with going down that road! Hopefully somebody else more experienced will be along .Maybe a good idea to contact or phone commisoner office to check whats happenning,They probably dealing with quite a large volume of compliants now consumers getting to know their rights!

[Fyffesy]

You're probably right. But I've given the ICO almost 3 months and I'd like to know what other options i have. . Should i now instruct a solicitor to take legal action against Barclaycard? (I'd rather not because of the cost to myself).
I'm led to believe the ICO have no actual powers to prosecute Barclaycard and would therefore appreciate some advice

I have evidence that they signed for the letters but haven't checked to see if they cashed the postal order. Will look into this tomorrow.

[BankFodder]

if you send an SAR or an lba or a preliminary letter or anything else, you must always have a plan in mind before you send it as to what you will really do if it is ignored.

Here we are four months down the line, they have done nothing -- and you have done nothing -- and the information Commissioner has done nothing.

Information Commissioner is pretty well as useful as the fos. You should have plan to take your own independent action and you should have started it by now.

The only thing you can really do to be effective is to issue a claim in the county court.

Have you got any evidence of any of your charges? If you have then put your claim in for whatever amount you know about.
In the same claim use a couple of paragraphs to make your SAR complaint and allege that you made an SAR under the DPA on such and such a date and that they have not complied. The final paragraph of the POC should ask for an order that they comply with your SAR.

With luck, the court will treat it as a money claim and simply charging a normal fee.

Frankly if you are not prepared to take this action then it would be best if you just give up. As we always say on this forum: -- stick to your deadlines and carry out all your threats. If you're not prepared to do that, then don't bother to start

[slick132]

What address did you use for your SAR.

Do you have ANY statements for the a/c so you can start working on your Schedule of Charges, as the basis of your reclaim.

Read items 18, 19 and 20 here - The Consumer Forums - Bank charges templates (consumer)

[sunflower99]

The information officer should be doing their job though and investigating your complaint!,I find that incredible they ignored you this long,You can contact them online i believe, as well as by phone or letter,lIf that were me id be nagging them to aks where they were with compliant! and keep sending them little e mail messages till i got a response,Its their job to tell Barclayshark to get their finger out!

[Fyffesy]

Thank you for your kind words Bankfodder.

Admittedly I have indeed let this go on longer than I should have but this was because at roughly the same time a DCA issued me with a Statutory Demand. Therefore I had no option but to prioritise this above the mentioned SAR. I am sure you will agree that attempting to set aside a statutory demand and fending off bankruptcy is more urgent than the Barclaycard issue.

Thank you for the county court advice though. I do have statements detailing many charges although i am missing a few. I'd say I have 90% of all statements within the last 6 years.

The address I sent the SAR to was 1 Churchill Place in London.

Thank you sunflower, I'll commence bombardment of the IOC tonight.

[sunflower99]

Hi Fyffesy!
so sorry to hear you having so many problems and on top of that Barclaycard behaving like that,I am in the Barclayshark fan club too! and see i am also going to have a lovely time when i get round to SAR them /At momnent all my energies with them is in trying to get something other that then a set of unsigned ts and cs from them and several letters flying between me and them Aparently they make it difficult to get anyt proper documents out of them.and a lot of people in the Barclayshark fan club finding out that like us !,plus dont you just love all their recorded text messages from them and their inhouse collection house Mercers and Calders! Announcing to anyone listening to our answer machine in home that i am being chased by them ! plus their lovely doorstep callers who bang on your door! plus i even had phonecalls at work from them until i sent a telephone harrasement letter! So they are not an easy bank to deal with!When it boils down to it the information commisoner officer should do what they are employed to do and get onto Barclaycard so you give those beggers a hard time If they dont help perhaps a compliant to OFT as well and there is a consumer help line number you can ring there! As you say you should not have to take them to court especially as when you initiate action you have to find money upfront before it is heard which is not easy for a lot of people in CAG !and best to get information commisoner to do their job rather than put you through more hassle of finding money to initiate a court case!i agree with you we need all our resources to fight Dcas who initiate court cases against us and for any appeals ,Without doing the commisoners job for him as well!

[citizenB]

If you telephone the Post Office on 01246 542091 , they will tell you if the postal order has been cashed and when. If it has, ask the Post office to send you a letter confirming this. It will be useful to have when you make the claim.

The above number is a direct line and you dont spend hours poking the telephone keys before you speak to someone

You will need the receipt you got from the post office when you purchased the PO.

[sunflower99]

If you telephone the Post Office on 01246 542091 , they will tell you if the postal order has been cashed and when. If it has, ask the Post office to send you a letter confirming this. It will be useful to have when you make the claim.

The above number is a direct line and you dont spend hours poking the telephone keys before you speak to someone

You will need the receipt you got from the post office when you purchased the PO.

Hi CitB
useful information!

[slick132]

Hi Fyffesy,

The ICO is bogged down and you shouldn't rely on them being able to assist you in this matter. They may help but it could take ages.

I'd send Barclays a lba regarding their non-compliance with your SAR. Enclose copies of any earlier letters. Stick with the London address for now.

You should get the statements, but it may be that using the London address is what has caused the delays.

[Fyffesy]

Hi Sunflower.
Clearly I'm no expert but i was under the impression that you can use the telephone harassment letter to stop them calling your home number too. Also I seem to recall seeing a letter which forbids them to enter your property even to knock on the door. Something to do with trespassing law I think.

Thank you CitizenB. I'm just about to call that number so I'll let you know what the outcome is.

Slick, I've already sent the lba so everything is poised to move to the next stage. Granted, I should've acted earlier but I'm now on the case completely.

I e-mailed the IOC three times so far and have had no reply. I'll keep trying and will telephone tomorrow if i still have no response.

[slick132]

Fyffesy,

Re threats to visit, se items 3 and 4 here - The Consumer Forums - debt collectors

The phone harassment letter may also be there. If they're calling you, tell them you are recording their calls (even if you're not). They will behave differently.

Looks like the ICO wil be no help to you just now.

[Fyffesy]

Well i've finally got a response from Royal Mail and they say the postal order hasn't been cashed. Does this make a difference? The fact remains that they have had the PO, therefore it isn't my fault they haven't cashed it. I don't think that they could claim they aren't obliged to comply with the SAR because they didn't cash the PO. Otherwise everyone would do the same thing.

[slick132]

If you have either proof of posting or receipt by them, that will suffice.

[Fyffesy]

Thanks slick.

Ok so could somebody talk me through the court action route? Which forms i need to fill in etc? I'm absolutely ready to act on this now and i'll pay the necessary court fees.

I really do appreciate yor help.

[citizenB]

Fyffesy, the following links should help. CAGers who have already been down this route or about to do so.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...yds-tsb-3.html

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...claim-sar.html

HTH

[slick132]

Also read through the links I gave above for the POC's to use and the Draft Orders, in items 19 and 20 respectively.