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March 21st, 2007

Barclays TV programme

BBC NEWS | Business | Barclays accused over ‘failings’
BBC NEWS | Business | Mis-selling is ‘rife’ at Barclays

There was a programme tonight about Barclays and their many shifty dealings. This is the company who made 7 billion pounds profit last year and yet charge people £30 to go overdrawn when the cost to them is about £1.50. The programme showed telephone operatives engaging in all sorts of dubious behaviour, such as pretending they are calling as an ‘advisor’ when in fact it is purely a sales call. Then an advisor in a local branch attempting to sell home insurance to a man who can’t afford a bed in an attempt to meet a target. And many other such horrors.

Of course at the end of the programme there is a management-type person saying that what the programme reveals is not typical and that actually Barclays are respectable and lovely. But the fact is that we know (from experience) that Barclays hassle their customers with sales calls, so I know which side of the story I’m believing.

At the end of the day I am never going to be happy with a company which cold calls people. Everyone hates it. It is just not a valid thing to do any more. So there.

These links say more about the programme. Other ‘Whistleblower’ programmes are here – I talked about the estate agents one almost exactly a year ago if you remember.

Update: If you need help reclaiming bank charges (up to six years worth) or other information to do with banks and money then I personally find Martin Lewis and his MoneySavingExpert site the place to go. This is the site the banks don’t want you to know about.

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4 Responses to “Barclays TV programme”


  1. susmita says:

    Of course at the end of the programme there is a management-type person

    March 22nd, 2007 at 5:07 am
  2. Philip of Samaria says:

    hmm.. but thos whistleblower programs only put one side – yes bank charges are a sting but its a way of passing on cost of things we get for free – cheques books, online banking. Real point is they have your money, invest it and make a return, not charges. Culture looked vile tho

    My bank is First Direct – they are superb (except insurance through them is Norwich Union who are crap) so I dont mind when they occiasionally ask me if I want an ISA. They are polite, helpful and on the three occaisions they got something wrong they couldn’t have been nicer about putting it right!

    March 22nd, 2007 at 6:50 am
  3. John says:

    Barclays. Yes, well…

    My wife banks with them for her personal account (old account from decades back), and she got a call from them last week. The caller said that she had a block on her account that stopped Barclays calling her with news about new products. Yes, my wife said. That’s because I don’t want calls from you like this one.

    That’s right – they called her to let her know that they weren’t allowed to call her! You’ve got to love banks, doncha?

    pax et bonum

    March 22nd, 2007 at 9:39 am
  4. Nefertiki says:

    You get free cheques books? That is a perk I’d cross the Atlantic for. But I got a real shock about a currupt company, Chiquita Bananas, which confessed that it paid an awful lot of money to terrorists in Columbia to leave their plantations alone. You can imagine how I felt as I rushed to examine the fruit basket which I knew contained a couple of bananas. And how relieved to read the little sticker with Ecuador on it. But maybe they do the same.

    March 25th, 2007 at 8:34 pm