Neptuno

Following the statement that Barclays are withdrawing barclaycard from expats who haven't used them for more than 6 months, and cannot give them a UK address, can anyone tell me if it affects debit cards, and whether the account itself may be closed

andyrich666

Curious to know why not just get a UK forwarding address ?

Neptuno

Not everyone has an address in UK, and apparently you cannot just use anyone's - it is considered fraudulent.
Why are Barclays doing this now when many of their customers have been ex pats for years and Barclays have been happy enough to send them statements, cards etc in the knowledge they live abroad permanently.
Many ex pats keep accounts in Uk, use their cards when visiting UK, use their cards in Spain to pay online for flight tickets.
I would expect a lot of angry expats after learning this news.

snikpoh

They wrote to me a few weeks ago and I've lost my barclaycard. I'm furious as I'd cancelled all my others in favour of just keeping one.

Now I have none for those UK purchases (from UK bank).

marcbernard

I agree with the angry tenor of comments. I sent them a very severe email telling them that, having had four cards between my wife and myself ever since they introduced the card, and being a shareholder also, I got no serious reply from some prat who attempted to excuse the decision. I will be disposing of the shares very shortly. I have to admit that I have not used the cards for more than a year, however.
They did not seem to recognise the failure of the concept of good public relations.

Fredbargate

Barclays are closing down many of the overseas operations.

They are pulling out of Gib except for the super rich and I belive the are pulling out of Spain

They need to consolidate their operation in order for them to maintain the staff bonuses

Neptuno

Does this affect debit cards as well?
Why are they doing this now? Many expats have had accounts with them for years.
I think they are shooting themselves in the foot. Ex pats returning to the UK are going to put their money elsewhere. What difference does it make if they only use their cards once or twice a year, they have expats money in their bank.
What ever happened to loyalty?

stuboy

I think a lot of customers especially middle-aged and older are loyal to their banks and other institutions. Unfortunately they are no longer loyal to us.

spainrico

I read somewhere a few weeks ago that they are pulling out of Spain because of the huge losses they have incurred.

Lloyds Bank International was recently sold to Sabadell so it looks like that is the end of UK banks in Spain?

chopera

Yes Barclays have been trying to sell their Spanish operations for a few years now, but haven't found a buyer yet. Banco Popular was the last bank I heard that were interested, but they seem to be after Citi right now. Barclays are still interested in you if you are rich and qualify for their Barclays Wealth scheme, otherwise probably not.

Fredbargate

The whole of the Gibraltar operation was dubbed Barclays Wealth including my account, but the are still closing it down with the exception of the super rich.
They are the major business bank in Gib also and that part is closing as well.

chopera

To clarify, they were really only ever Spanish banks owned by UK banks and using their names, logos, image, etc. An account held with Barclays Spain never went very far in the UK. But yes, Barclays are due to follow LLoyds, Halifax, etc. out of Spain. I know a manger at a Barclays branch in Spain and apparently there were the usual corrupt practices going on (managers giving away free loans to their mates, etc) so it doesn't surprise me that they've got a load of cr@p on their books.

Domino

so you will be alright then Fred

Fredbargate

Not complaining, somewhere to put my WFA

Neptuno

The discussion has gone a bit off course; it's not about Barclays pulling out of Spain, it's about Barclays attitude and treatment of ex pats who have UK bank accounts.
No one seems to know if it's only credit cards being cancelled, or whether it affects debit cards. Are they cancelling the actual accounts? If so what would happen. International banks have more charges, and do not guarantee the deposits , as they do in UK.
How can Barclays be stopped from riding roughshod over thousands of loyal customers?