When I complained to Barclays I expected a swift and professional response as promised in Barclays “Code of Business Banking’ My “Official Letter of Complaint” to the Business Centre in Derby at the end of October 1995 was simply brushed aside. Complaints to the Bank’s Regional Office at Nottingham were dismissed out of hand. Without notice, in January 1996, my complaint was passed to Barclays’ Debt Recovery Unit (DRU) – who demanded immediate repayment of the loans out- standing – £245,000! A meeting with Ralph Nicholson of Barclays Debt Recovery Unit (DRU) took place at our home in the Spring of 1996. He was late and obviously a person under considerable pressure. After revealing that some of the Bank’s records “had been destroyed” he led me to believe that a negotiated settlement was possible.
Throughout this period I continued to maintain two other bank accounts with Barclays Business Centre, a business ‘Finance Account’ and a personal account, both always kept in credit. Two errors by Barclays put both accounts overdrawn, one by £800 the other by £300. Ralph Nicholson of Barclays Debt Recovery agreed to a second meeting to discuss my complaints if I would as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ repay the overdrafts. I repaid the overdrafts – I shouldn’t have bothered – within days Solicitors for Barclays announced that they were to institute recovery proceedings in the High Court!
Around this time, following Barclays “Code of Business Banking” I sent my complaints to Head Office. I included a cartoon (similar to the one shown below), my first in an attempt to draw attention to my case. Head Office just didn’t want to know – so much for ‘Customer Care’ at Head Office.
Following the problems with the other bank accounts I telephoned Ralph Nicholson at the DRU to ask about the promised meeting – I couldn’t get him off the phone!.. he went on and on about how I had lampooned him in a cartoon to the Chairman. The conversation went on for 40 minutes! The cartoon wasn’t aimed at him at all but the Bank’s reaction told me that the cartoon had had much more effect than my written complaints.
DIFFICULTY IN GETTING A SOLICITOR
The banks have a veritable army of professional legal personnel on their staff, firms of lawyers, barristers and a huge budget. Trying to find yourself a solicitor to take on a bank is a different matter!
My case is probably typical:
I was recommended to a solicitor who had experience in this field, he would have liked to help but couldn’t – his firm litigated for Barclays.
They did recommend another firm – this time they couldn’t help because they did conveyancing work for Barclays. They recommended another firm – this time the firm banked at my branch of Barclays!
All this in a small city like Derby. I was beginning to feel that Barclays had tied all the legal firms up, one way or another – finally I used the yellow pages!
It was now the Summer of ’96 and I left my solicitor to continue negotiating with the Bank and took my family on holiday. I was so concerned at the situation that I had my mail redirected, my phone redirected and took a fax machine!
My solicitor faxed to tell me that Barclays had appointed Receivers, Fisher Hargreaves Proctor and that they had entered the rented Uttoxeter Rd property without giving any notice.
I immediately faxed the Receivers asking for an explanation and challenged their right to act and questioned the validity of the Bank’s charge over the property. After sending the fax I was surprised to see my fax machine ‘pulling’ faxes from the Receivers’ machine! I was even more surprised to read one fax inviting Barclays Regional Office to a Golf Tournament being organised by the Receivers!
We then received summonses for possession of the Darley Abbey property! All this when the Bank knew that we would be away and whilst we were in ‘negotiations’!
As mentioned earlier both of these properties were already on the market with Messrs Bagshaws of Derby.
I then discovered that the Receivers had instructed Bagshaws (my Agents!) to act for them and for no apparent reason reduced the asking price of Uttoxeter Rd from £130,000 to £109,000.