Fury at bank's bombshell
Shock letter angers Brits living in Spain
LOYAL credit card customers on the Costa Blanca went into meltdown when they received letters from UK- based Barclaycard Visa saying their accounts were being closed.
Jávea couple, Eddie and Trudy Cheeseman have enjoyed a Gold Barclaycard Visa for 40 years, together with an additional Premier Charge Card.
A letter sent on September 7 said the benefits of the latter were ready ‘ when you are’; two days letter Barclaycard sent the bombshell their account would close on November 16.
Livid at losing the benefits of a flexible friend with just six weeks’ notice, they contacted the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) and their MP Philip Hollobone, the Conservative representative for Kettering.
The politician has already raised their ‘ concerns’ with the Head of Corporate Affairs at Barclays Group but a reply has not yet been received.
The FCA ‘ listened’ and offered advice.
Chef Eddie and former accountant Trudy, who ran successful hospitality businesses in the UK and continue to travel the world as food industry journalists and consultants, complained that as Spanish residents they faced not having access to banking services despite renting out a property in England and paying taxes in the UK.
They fear they will not be able to open a new account and told Mr Hollobone: “As we rent out a property in the UK, we have to fill out a UK tax return and we have to pay bills
associated with the property and receive rents.
“We are in real danger of not having any access to banking services in the UK which is going to cause us, and many others, real problems.”
This week, Eddie and Trudy told Costa Blanca News that until last month, they had enjoyed a ‘ long and happy relationship’ with Barclays, for many years dealing in person with a local bank manager. Eddie said: “We are definitely very angry and so disappointed, having had such a personal relationship.
"Now it’s just pushing buttons… it’s like breaking up by text.”
Attempts to contact Barclaycard by phone were a costly failure, the Freephone number is charged for calls from outside the UK. When they were able to get through answerphone messages simply told them: ‘ we are experiencing difficulties at the moment’ and ‘ step away from your phone for a moment and try again later’.
Eddie said: “The Barclaycard letter says ‘ contact us’. Well, you can’t, even at your own expense - and a letter to customer services has gone unanswered.”
Trudy added: “Can you imagine having customer services like this in a restaurant, pub or hotel business? You wouldn’t have any customers – they are a law unto themselves and it isn’t fair.
“We used to go to the UK a lot and travel abroad and use the card, we still have a property rented out and at the moment still have a current account in the UK which we use.”