Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week I discuss why you should never use Barclaycard.
Weekly Update
I had my final breath test this week, and I’m glad they’re over. The test itself isn’t too bad, but the fact I have to stop some of my meds a few days before the appointment causes some discomfort. I’m seeing my consultant this coming week so I’m hoping that I’ll have some sort of answer as to the cause of my gastrointestinal problems.
I’ve continued with a lower dose of mirtazapine and felt no ill effects. I’ve been on this antidepressant for a couple of years now, I think. One of the common side effects is weight gain, and another is increased appetite. Since cutting my dose by 25%, and being more mindful of my diet, I’ve lost 3.2kg in a month. Assuming I continue to have no withdrawal symptoms I’m going to continue to reduce the dose and hopefully be off the drug completely by mid-July at the latest.
On Saturday we should have been going to Manchester to see Coldplay but the train strikes made the whole thing too difficult. We sold the tickets for the price we paid, so no major loss. Instead of going to Manchester, we went to Meadowhall for more clothes shopping for our upcoming holiday. I hate shopping. I hate Meadowhall. Today was, strangely, not as stressful as I expected but it was tiring.
More Customer Service Nightmares
On Monday a friend of mine sent me some info for a credit card offer with Barclaycard. The offer was that you would receive 50,000 Avios if you opened the card before the end of May, and spent £3k in three months. Also, the offer included a free trial for a load of Apple services I already subscribe to, but I’ll return to this later. All in all, simple enough, and easy enough to satisfy the spending requirement. I collect Avios and this seemed a nice, simple, way to boost the balance. But seriously, I mean, fuck me ragged, never in my worst nightmare did I expect the service from Barclaycard to be so unrelentingly dogshit.
Here follows a brief timeline…
29th May: I apply for the card and I’m accepted. I’m asked to upload proof of income (two most recent payslips) to activate the higher credit limit. I upload the payslips immediately.
29th May: No email acknowledgement received of the application, but a reminder is received asking me to upload proof of income.
30th May: Still no email acknowledgement of the application, but a further reminder asking me to upload proof of income. I upload the income information again.
31st May: A further reminder to upload my income information.
1st June: Still no email acknowledgement of my application.
2nd June: My card arrives. Inside the pack is a load of standard information, T&Cs etc, as well as confirmation of the welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios.
2nd June – 13:05: I call Barclaycard to ask about the discrepancy in the welcome bonus and to ask about my income information. On their call system, they have an option to discuss your Avios Plus card and they also have an option to discuss the 100,000 Avios welcome bonus. I navigate the menu and James answers my call. During my twenty minutes or so with James, we ascertain that he knows nothing about a 50,000 offer (despite me having a screenshot of said offer from the Barclays website) and he can’t give me any information about it. He explains he needs to ask another department, and puts me on hold. Ten minutes later the call is terminated.
2nd June – 13:40: I need to go to an appointment nearby at 14:00. I figure I’ll call on the way. I dial the same number I originally used to speak to James and my call is answered by Becky. I briefly explain the issue, but she can’t help and had to transfer me. My call is answered by Leighton, who after a brief explanation also can’t help me, and so I’m transferred to Jenny, who (altogether now) also can’t help me. Jenny suggests that another department may be able to help, but there’s a wait to get through to them, so she’s going to mute her headset for the next fifteen minutes (seriously, I’m not making this up) whilst they pick up. At this point, I’m outside the place of my appointment and explain that I’ll have to call back later to make a complaint. So far, with the exception of a minute or so between James hanging up on me and me calling back, I’ve been on with Barclays for just under an hour and got absolutely nothing cleared up.
2nd June – 14:20: I call back and get through to someone but I didn’t catch their name. I explained all that had happened and that I wanted to make a complaint. For the next twenty or thirty minutes I’m asked to repeat information again and again. I arrive home and start changing for the gym, thinking naively that the call can’t take much longer. I finish changing for the gym and head out still going over the details of my previous calls. I’m still on the phone as I walk to the gym and wait outside to finish up this call. After a ridiculous amount of time, I’m told that none of my requests can be actioned. What were my requests? I’m glad you asked. My requests were:
- Close my account.
- Confirm it has been closed in writing.
- No charges should be applied (the card had a £20pcm fee).
- Some sort of gesture for the awful service so far.
So, none of these could be actioned, and I asked to speak with the complaints team directly. The conversation took an absurd turn:
Me: I want to speak with the complaints team.
Them: So you don’t want to raise a complaint?
Me: Well, I want to speak with the complaints team….
Them: So, you don’t want to raise a complaint.
Anyway, eventually this person simply transferred me to the complaints team.
The lady who answered was not given any of my details. At this point, I’m still standing outside the gym. I don’t have my wallet with me or the card info, and because I’ve not email acknowledgement of the application, I can’t provide any information to this lady to find my account. Eventually, she tracks me down, reads through the notes, and asks me to explain my side, which I start to do just as she ends the call.
Now, this person had just confirmed my phone number with me as part of her security checks, and so I figure she’ll call me back.
So, I ended up having to call back and I ask to speak with the complaints team as I was just disconnected. I’m transferred and left on hold for a further ten to fifteen minutes. I’m still outside the gym. Someone then answers but I could barely understand him because of the noise in the background. It sounded like this person was working in a nightclub or bar, or something. For no other reason than this, I’m going to call him Disco Stu because I didn’t catch his name.
Disco Stu can’t find my details anywhere. We can’t hear each other because of the noise in the background, but I can hear the people in the background shouting, laughing, and whatnot. I’m ready to give up, so I end the call and figure I’ll do my workout and deal with this another time. Just as I’m setting myself up to work my back, my phone rings. It’s Barclays. It’s Disco Stu. He’s moved somewhere a little quieter but still can’t find my information, so I leave the gym, walk home, and get my card details all whilst speaking with him about what’s gone on so far. Eventually, the card is cancelled but the rest of the complaint had to be escalated to the complaints team.
Also, the friend who sent me the info is having almost exactly the same experience. However, he’s tried to access the free Apple services and, surprise, it doesn’t work.
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2023 Goals
Click here to see my 2023 progress (opens a new tab).
What Am I Doing?
TV: Masterchef (BBC).
Audiobook: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £10,000.00 (no change).
Stocks and Shares ISA: £82,381.15 (-£734.79).
Fuck It Fund: £500.00 (+£100.00).
Pensions: £57,770.26 (+£24.98).
Residential Property Value: £226,085.00 (no change).
BTL Property Value: £145,893.00 (no change).
Total Assets: £522,629.41 (-£609.81).
Debts
Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).
Loans: £9,500.00 (no change).
Residential Mortgage: £177,258.04 (-£470.77).
BTL Mortgage: £104,986.33 (-£5.93).
Total Debts: £291,744.37 (-£476.70).
Total Wealth: £230,885.04 (-£133.11).
Investment Income in 2023: £3,677.76 (target £8,500).
I was looking at one of the funds I’m invested in this week, as I suspected the income per unit had decreased. After spending a couple of hours going through historic statements and trades, it appears I’m right, sort of.
When I first invested in this fund, the IPU was £0.0026117. The last payment received had an IPU of £0.0026001. So, yes, a fractional decrease in the IPU, but there’s another variable not considered. This fund pays a monthly dividend, but the April dividend is always a bumper payment. The three April payments I’ve received had the following IPU;
April 2021: £0.0162349
April 2022: £0.0208834
April 2023: £0.0258401
Whilst the IPU for eleven months of the year has slightly dropped, it seems that the IPU in April has been steadily increasing. As a result, I’m happy to remain invested in this fund.
I’m afraid that’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and have a great week.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer, nor should they be considered advice.
If you want personalised financial advice, seek an appropriate professional. If you are in financial difficulty, seek advice via the resources below:
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First time commenting and wanted to say thank you for all your posts, which are so relatable – I often find myself nodding in agreement, Wishing you well on the health front, and do keep on posting with your interesting take on the weekly grind as you see it.
Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for reading! Hope you’re having a good weekend.