Martin Lewis serves warning as Briton gets £980 from Barclaycard letter | Personal Finance | Finance
On the Martin Lewis Money Show, Debbie got in touch to thank the money saving expert for all his help, who had warned people not to bin the letters. She said: “I received what seemed to be a ‘circular’ letter from Barclaycard – £980 later I want to thank you so much because I would have thrown it out.
“Great work you guys are doing. Thank you thank you thank you.”
Mr Lewis added: “Yeah remember Barclaycard are sending people recompense cheques, or they are putting money in their bank accounts.
“If you get a letter from Barclaycard at the moment, do not throw it away.
“Make sure you open it, could be a cheque for £980.”
On Money Saving Expert, the consumer website he founded, Mr Lewis explained why Barclaycard was sending out refunds.
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After a recent review, Barclaycard found that, because of an operational issue, customers who took out a repayment plan in the few years leading up to and including 2018 were overcharged.
The lender admitted that these customers on repayment plans, who had fallen behind with repayments, had been charged default fees and interest incorrectly. The company said it had not provided the service it should have and is therefore contacting those affected to explain and provide a refund.
Barclaycard “apologises unreservedly to those customers” who it affects and it “has taken, and continues to take, significant steps” to review and improve its “systems, processes and training”.
While it is unclear exactly how many customers have been impacted, Barclaycard said that those who are owed money will be written to in “due course” and refunded.
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Both current customers and past customers who took out a repayment plan in the aforementioned period will be eligible for compensation.
The redress due will depend on the impact the issues had on the customer, but according to Barclaycard the average payout is roughly £70.
However there have been reports on the Martin Lewis Money Show and the website of people getting much more.
Some Britons have contacted the Money Saving Expert site confirming refunds of more than £1,200.
How people receive their refund is dependent on their balance and whether they are still a Barclaycard customer:
If someone holds a Barclaycard with zero balance, or no longer have a Barclaycard, they are more likely to receive a cheque in the post or an electronic payment transfer, but the latter is the more common.
If they hold a Barclaycard with a balance, they are more likelyto receive a direct refund to the account to reduce the card balance.
The Martin Lewis Money Show continues next week on ITV at 8.30pm.
