Goodbye, Barclays

[Anonymous]

So, I was getting some Credit Solutions luv from Synchrony earlier today, and I decided to give Barclaycard a ring (no pun intended).

I got connected with a rep and I immediately knew she wasn't going to be helpful from her tone. I politely asked about APR reduction offers on my account, and after a few seconds of pulling up my account, she said I have the lowest currently available APR for my account (24.24% APR or something ridiculous like that). I said, OK, can you please transfer me to your retentions department? She said she had to check on that and put me on hold.

After a few minutes on hold, she came back on and said that would not be possible... her tone becoming ruder and more apethetic by the minute. Being fully paid off and not needing the card at all, I asked to close my account immediately. Now at the peak of her indifference, I confirmed the last four of the account I wanted to close and it was done.

I then asked to be connected to her supervisor where I filed a formal complaint against the rep for the poor customer service - the worst I've EVER received from any card company, actually - and stated how disappointed I am in this card that has not grown at all, has wasted two HP's trying to get CLI's up from $5K when my TU FICO has been stellar, and is stuck at an APR rate 50% higher than most of my other cards. Fortunately the supervisor was very cordial and apologized for the treatment and lack of explanation by the rep, and stated her regret in losing me as a customer.

Good riddance, Barclays Bank.

[ddemari]

I remember the last time i called barclays and asked the same question on a card with a 195 dollar annual fee and 25% interest rate, the rep. was like taken back by my question. What you have, is the best possible and is that all? 

I said yes, hung up as Im not going to stir their pot but if I wanted too I definitely see doing what you did. I know everyones profile is different and experiences too but I have no luck with them at all in regards to retention related activities. 

[Anonymous]

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@ddemari wrote:

I remember the last time i called barclays and asked the same question on a card with a 195 dollar annual fee and 25% interest rate, the rep. was like taken back by my question. What you have, is the best possible and is that all? 

I said yes, hung up as Im not going to stir their pot but if I wanted too I definitely see doing what you did. I know everyones profile is different and experiences too but I have no luck with them at all in regards to retention related activities. 

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Yeah, I'm just thoroughly unimpressed by both them and Amex... giving Amex another try for a BCP approval since we're heavily grocery shopping now at our house, and I'm done if I get denied.

@Closing the Barclaycard Arrival took me from 7.60% util to 7.76% so I'm not too hurt overall. Like I told the supervisor, they're going to have to do far better than $5K @ deep subprime rate and a full-out interrogation every time I call an analyst to have my business.

I was showing my DW their Luxury cards today and when she heard who was issuing them, she immediately went "ugh" and completely forgot about the Black Card. lol

[Anonymous]

You are better off. I am not a fan of their practices at all. Sorry they wouldn't budge though. With your scores you can be picky so their loss. Other lenders will be happy to have your business and treat you well.

[baller4life]

Good for you getting rid of those clowns. Good riddance!

[willwar14]

My mom has a 830 TU FICO and her Arrival+ still sits at the max APR of 20.24%, and I agree Barclay's CSRs can be pretty rude...

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You are better off. I am not a fan of their practices at all. Sorry they wouldn't budge though. With your scores you can be picky so their loss. Other lenders will be happy to have your business and treat you well.

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Thanks

Yeah, and I've discovered this now after fearing AA for a while. I think I'm saved with my aggressive credit seeking of 2015-2016 due to my overall clean file and 9+ year oldest account age.

@I agree, I can be a little picky at this point, and my primary bank Chase just issued me a Marriott Rewards Premier @ 22K yesterday, so it's time to start cutting back as soon as a few more CLI's come in.

[Anonymous]

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@willwar14 wrote:

My mom has a 830 TU FICO and her Arrival+ still sits at the max APR of 20.24%, and I agree Barclay's CSRs can be pretty rude...

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Wow that's strange how stubborn they are with people who clearly have other choices.

@Luckily I got my own mom on board with their Ring card @ 8% so that works well for her.

Barclay's CSR's have been a mixed bag. The analyst I spoke to to recon for my card initially was very nice and approved me after a light interrogation. The analysts I spoke to regarding my HP CLI's that were denied were obviously tied-down by policy and I was a bit annoyed that they couldn't even give me $500 so the HP wasn't wasted.

Now their regular reps have been pretty awful. I was assured by one that if I paid by phone that day (a day before my statement cut date, as I was on vacation) that the payment in full would post before my statement and it would cut at $0 balance. Nope. What a joke.

The first I asked about APR reduction said I had no offers and that the system wouldn't let them transfer me to a specialist who could manually evaluate my request. I call BS on that.

The second I asked about APR politely explained I didn't currently have an offer, and even given my recent TU FICO boost, it may take them a while to take notice of that. She said I could call back in just a few days to check again, and that would be no problem.

And then there was this one today... ruined it for me.

[Ghoshida]

That is a sad story.

Which is weird because I've found on 2/2 occasions that if I called Barclays to request an APR reduction, they'd transfer me to an account specialist who helped me with APR reduction as well as SP CLI; I did it twice last year, 7 months apart, and got a 4% reduction each time (started at 20.99%) and a total of $6k CLI. 

My last round was in October; it's always possible that they've become stricter since then. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/The-BarclayCard-CLI-Soft-Pull-thread/td-p/3... has some updates.

[Anonymous]

Yep I've been following that thread and that's why I've called in a few times.

I have a feeling Barclaycard just labels me an aggressive credit seeker despite my excellent history so far with them.

Their underwriting guidlines don't like me, I don't like them. We have a mutual agreement to stay away from each other now. lol