David Lock

My daughter has a Graduate Account with Barclays with o/d facility and debit card.

She has never had any dealings with Easyjet (this will make sense in a minute).

Her card wouldn't let her take any money out yesterday as she was apparently over the o/d limit.

After much investigation it turns out that there were 3 or 4 "Card Purchases" to Easyjet for a few hundred quid. But the odd thing being that there are also Refunds credited to the account, within a day or so, for the same sums, also marked "Card Purchase".

She couldn't take money out as one of the Refunds hadn't yet cleared and so she was over the o/d limit (which she was charged for as well).

So it seems someone, somewhere, cocked up a data entry and then corrected it rather than try to fraudulently obtain money.

OK, so they mistakenly credit the account but what right have they got to withdraw funds without the account holder's permission? My daughter is not trying to keep money that is not hers but doesn't like being treated like this.

Can anyone put a finger on what might have happened and how would you react? david

Gordo

Sounds like a Barclays system / keying error to me - get them to refund and pay compensation - i.e. it's a breakdown in their security.

Gordo

Ms Gooner 1

Speak to Barclays HO, and make it an official complaint - they should be able to tell you where/when the card was used (or mistakenly debited) and credit back any fee's that may've been incurred due to being overdrawn - you may also get some kind of compensation IF it was a barclays error - but chances are it wasn't!!

However, that being said, I've banked with Barclays for 17 years - never banked anywhere else. Up until the last two months I was able to use telephone banking as well as online etc etc. But as I said, my telephone banking hadn't been working and when I called up for something else - I happened to mention this - i was advised that my pin number for phone banking had been incorrectly entered and was therefore blocked - i was then advised that this had happened in................. 2006!

I was quite gobsmacked and asked why on earth if this happened in 2006, was my account not stopped then for telephone banking - my advisor was not sure of this!!! Amazing

Leslie

I had a similar problem recently when I took a large sum out at my bank using my debit card. They stopped withdrawals for a couple of days because it was an unusual withdrawal even though it was done through my own bank! Could have been embarrassing but all in all I would rather that they were on the ball in case of a fraudulent attempt on my account.

Les

David Lock

Well I was completely wrong! After a lot of calls and many brick walls I found out that they were fraudulent transactions, a Portugese source using the card to buy Easyjet tickets. Back in June the card was used for a £240 purchase which the Barclays card monitoring team flagged up as slightly out of my daughter's typical spending pattern (£6.50 at Tescos and rail tickets ) and put her account on monitoring mode but let the payment go through.

When this happened again in August they didn't clear the transaction although her account was debited for a few days for the amounts before being credited back, refunded, by the bank.

All this had the effect of putting my daughter into overdraft when she was "fined" and sometimes unable to use her card to get any dosh from the hole in the wall.

None of what was happening was communicated to my daughter. I am mystified as to why Barclays didn't tell us that it was likely that someone was using the card fraudulently and why, for the later transactions, her account was debited at all if they knew they were fraudulent?

And would Barclays have owned up to the June fraud (which my daughter didn't spot) and repaid £240?? I somehow doubt it

So a lot of forms to complete and a claim to Barclays for a refund of charges made for being overdrawn.

To be fair to Barclays - how I hate saying that - they were on the ball in monitoring behind the scenes but a bit more communication would have helped. dl

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

My dad noticed a couple of weeks ago that a number of small transactions to iTunes had gone through on his Barclays debit card despite him not having bought anything from iTunes for a few months. He rang Barclays to tell them and request a new card but they basically told him not to worry and to keep on using the card!

Obviously he wasn't too happy about this especially as he was about to go on holiday and didn't want to suddenly find himself without any funds in his account, especially as he had 2K stolen from it last year too.

A week later and another few payments to iTunes had gone out so he rang Barclays again and demanded that they change his card. They reluctantly agreed. It's all very well them saying that it's only for a few payments of £7.99 but my dad's fear was that they were testing it ready for the big one. I certainly won't be banking with Barclays any time soon

David Lock

I had similar with iTunes but found out it was my son using my card! Now and again I beat him up and demand 79p

As for your money Scoobythingy I would just keep all the gold bars under the mattress

dl

Shark Man

I tell you an interesting one:

I have a tracker subscirption on one of my cars: its a yeary one paid by debit card. No direct debit or anything like that.Just gave teh debit card number and that was that. Fine.

But every year they draw money out my account to renew the subscription, then send me a letter saying they have done so. OK. would be nice if they gave the option cancel up front rather than automatically renewing, but hey ho.

The best bit is, the debit card I used to pay expired two years ago. And thats the only payment data they have from me. I figured, if they have a problem, they'll call me soon enough (seeing its tracker, they do have three contact numbers ). Yet sure enough the funds still automatically go out of my account

How can a expired debit card number still work?

Weird.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Sssh, don't tell everyone

Simon C

Quite easily. The card will still settle but they won't get an auth code plus will be getting chargebacks for every transaction like that.

1 of our customers is doing this at the moment, I sent their account manager down to see them as they need to buy updated software and on a quick calculation we can save them £330,000.00 pa when they do things properly!!

Shark Man

So tracker has to pay extra? Nothing extra comes up on my bank statement - just the usual subscription amount.

Suits me - I only have it to feed the demands of my insurer.

Simon C

Yes, they will not be getting the whole ammount they take from you.

Say they take 100 off you, they will be paying their merchant bank 10 - 30 of that, so they are not getting the full 100.

A nice little bargining chip for you to renegotiate