Barclaycard closing our a/cs on November 16th!

Banking & Financial
#1

Well that’s a shock! They claim to have written to us in March 2019 and then nothing - absolute silence until now. So they are giving us 2 months notice.

Very frustrating as I’ve had a Barclaycard since they were first launched and even here in France have found it very helpful for paying for stuff on UK websites and occasionally here in France when the end of the month gets tight. OK, so I can use my UK bank debit card, but the month’s credit is always useful.
Assuming this is to do with Brexit, so wondering where that leaves us for getting new credit cards.

OH suggesting Amex, but I prefer not - expensive for retailers so not everyone accepts them.
Any suggestions please for alternative credit cards?

Thousands of Britons living in EU told their UK bank accounts will be closed
#2

Does you bank offer a card? CA Britline offer cards

#3

Sue, I take it your Barclaycard is registered with your French address?

#4

Yes. And whilst we have an address in the UK it is not our residence. This has never been a problem in the past.
I don’t want just a card Mat. We have French debit cards. I want a credit card.
Furthermore, we want sterling credit cards because we have sterling bank a/cs as well as French because our (sterling) pensions are in the UK.

Keeping UK bank accounts as a French resident
#5

Must be a Barclays thing as Lloyds don’t have a problem with a French address.

1 Like
#6

This has come out of nowhere Tim and there is nothing in the letter to explain why - really badly done! We too have UK bank a/cs I’m with HSBC OH has FD and NatWest. So hopefully we can get credit cards through them.

#7

I think some providers are having cold feet about clients in Europe post Brexit.

#9

Not a personal question but is there something you are not disclosing here?
What did the letter say in March as even though you say you didn’t receive it then surely they have now sent you a copy, if you have requested one?
Have had 2 Credit barclaycards for night in 30 years with the same cards having our French address for the last 11 years.
Still using them and paying off the dept within the required time so they cost nothing.
Of course the older accounts dont have a requirement to set up a direct debit so you have complete control.
I’m sure plenty on this forum have UK barclaycards that they brought with them but as yet no one has come out to say they have had a letter ???

#10

Just received an email covering the same. This is what they say.

We were in touch in March 2019 about the way the UK leaving the European Union (EU) could affect some of our customers with an address in the European Economic Area (EEA). Unfortunately, we now need to let you know your account will be closed on 16 November, if you don’t provide us with a UK residential address.

John what do you imagine I’m not disclosing? We live in France. Been here 12 years. We own property in the UK. It is NOT our residence. Our residence is here in France. In the 12 years Barclaycard has never had a problem with our French address - though some UK websites have struggled to reconcile a French address with a UK credit card. We too pay off in full so they cost nothing, direct debit to our respective banks.
So, you implication from the tone of your email is that it is something WE have done!!! Thanks for that.

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#11

Thanks Graham. I’ll explore. I had an MBNA card before we left the UK. I decided I only needed one in France and so my loyalty was to Barclaycard. I’ll report back.

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#12

If you still have it (ie not cancelled) you might be able to re-activate it…

#13

Interesting Graham. I’ve just called MBNA and they tell me I have to be a UK resident. I will be interested to see if post-brexit people who have UK credit cards but are NOT UK residents are able to continue with them.

#14

Sue, there is no intended tone to my post and I am sorry if you see it that way.
Your latest post describes our own circumstances almost exactly so I dont understand why you have been picked out to have your cards withdrawn.
Maybe it depends on usage? Or some other box your situation no longer ticks?
As I said my comments were not personal but simply suggesting that Barclaycard have a reason for thier action which you are obviously unaware of,

#15

Seems to be fairly straightforward - the ability for UK based companies to offer services in the EU after Dec 31 2020 is clearly in doubt, even if we do negotiate an FTA.

They have clearly made a decision that they cannot offer CC’s or other financial services to people who cannot provide a UK residential address.

Wasn’t someone else having difficulty with an ISA?

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#16

Wait and see John - your surname is lower down the alphabet than ours. We received these letters today. And certainly neither of us remember receiving any correspondence in February 2019. Anyway, what have they been doing in the meantime to spring it on us at this short notice FFS!

And see my comment to Graham re MBNA. Again, they now require UK residency, whatever Graham was able to arrange in the past. As we were with Barclaycard.

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#17

I will let you know if a letter arrives.
H comes before J when I was at school🤣

#18

Depends how the database query is written. :slight_smile:

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#19

:grin: :grin: Sorry! Muddling you with Graham.

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#20

I’m the handsome one :grin:

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#21

My understanding is that this kind of thing is very likely to be among the spin-offs of brexit. It’s not necessarily directly related to agreements or decisions at government or regulatory authority levels - could simply be the result of a term buried deep in the small print of individual contracts, for example if they happen to refer to the EU as if it is in a single market with the UK.

This might affect Barclays more than other big UK banks as it has historically been particularly focussed on the UK and Commonwealth - although it has reportedly moved its EU operations to Dublin…