Barclays Stage 2 Complaint

I've had to respond quickly to Malone's rejection of my complaint because I feel an urgency to get a written record that others can see. Pursuing Paul’s pension monies might be futile as far as my future is concerned but the issues raised, the unnecessary delays and lack of humanity and sense of urgency by Barclays could offer some crumbs of support to others who are struggling with pensions administration in widowhood, or even just others struggling to wrestle their funds away from Barclays.

My experience of the Barclays service level for pension transfers had been appalling. 

The Barclays complaints process is worse. 

To date the response has been tardy and inadequate.

Four months for the stage 1 complaint, and Ian Malone squeezed every day possible from the Barclays standard operating target. Producing nothing significant or worthy of the description investigation after such a delay.

If Malone had cast an eye over the paperwork at all then he would surely have noticed the glaring error in the 2016 statement of entitlement? Where the guaranteed sums had diminished without comment? Malone made no comment. Maybe he just thought that a reduction in pension value from over 4,444.20 to just 1,745.07 in one year was typical Barclays performance, but I doubt that. More likely neither Malone nor George(Redhill) bothered to look at the old lady's documents.

So my response was emailed to the stage 2 complaint handler, Colin White.

The old widow accompanied her full and frank appraisal of Malone's investigation with a polite request that some acknowledgement of safe receipt would be appreciated, she also ensured that the email was sent with a read receipt request. Such acknowledgement isn't unreasonable in the circumstances as Malone has described how an email was lost, not within the Barclays system but before it was ever received by Barclays. I just wanted to get things moving as soon as possible, but true to form there was no response to my email.

Colin White has another four months to investigate and reply.

Nothing was received from White. My email has either just disappeared into cyberspace never to be seen again, or Colin White wants to delay commencement of his four month investigation. Who can say? Might an automated email receipt be a credible enhancement Barclays might consider for the complaints system? When does the four month clock start ticking?

Interestingly in the material Malone sent me informing me how I could make a stage 2 complaint he does not make any mention of a signature being necessary, but the document downloaded from Barclays says this signature is an essential requirement for a stage 2 complaint. The document downloaded does not offer any email address at all. Barclays just won't tolerate aggrieved widows trying to complain using the new fangled email technology and only providing reference numbers and names, they need a good old fashioned signature.  Are they still having people write cheques I wonder? But Malone did include Colin White's email address so it was worth a punt. But only a small amount of effort, a "don't hold your breath sort of punt".

On the Clapham Omnibus they think Malone was inviting emails to be sent, but he knew they would fail to be recognised as complaints because the lack of signature made them invalid. The bus is full of cynical people thinking this is just another of Barclays' delaying tactics. A communication without any acknowledgement is doomed to fall prey to the mysterious system error that previously claimed Paul's email. Could be an ace card for Barclays.

Everything has a timescale in the Barclays complaint system.

White's failure to respond required me to drive to town and pay for a registered packet to the UK that will need a signature. Dennis in the Augusta post office was his usual helpful self and managed to physically stamp on the bulging envelope with his foot, generating enough force to get my complaint compacted into the smallest possible envelope. He saved me $20. Well done Dennis! The picture is just included to brighten the page a little.

On the way back home, after negotiating the fallen tree across the drive using my own totally unsafe method for driving up and down slopes I was thinking about Paul, again. He always maintained a calm manner when faced with a crisis, and he insisted on staying on the moral high ground whatever the personal cost.

I can hear that little phrase from Bridge of Spies;

"Would it help?"

That was Paul's phrase whenever anyone asked him if he was angry or annoyed by some person or situation. Paul's attitude to life was always calm, always full of grace. He maintained this grace even facing death, even dealing with Barclays.

Being outraged is fine, just so long as it generates some useful action and nobody is hurt, but being angry with other people isn't. We know we can't control the behaviours of others, but we can and must control our own reactions to those behaviours.

Am I in crisis mode?

Have I got a real problem.

No, not really.

Barclays behaviour, and bad banking behaviours generally are an issue society needs to deal with, but truly this isn't about money. It's about the corporation cheating my husband.

We always believed that if money was the solution then you didn't have a real problem. I still hold true to that view. When you get a brain tumour, that's a real problem. Money can't solve that. When you lose the man you love, your life partner that's a real problem that money can't solve.

But I am outraged enough about this that I want to be sure Colin White cannot sit before a tribunal and retain full deniability. Anyone who has watched the film Inside Job and then seen the Australian bankers defending the indefensible will recognise the these issues are not isolated incidents, they are corporate tactics of the banks.

The Malone response included the classic, "... the level of service he received from the Barclays team fell below that which the UKRF aims to provide...", blah, blah, "... I can confirm that this matter has been raised with the Barclays team..." and  the usual banker's message "... we're keeping your money even though we're all really, really sorry for our multiple failures over an extended period, and our total lack of humanity in dealing with a dying man's request for a swift transfer - but unfortunately all we care about is the money". (I made that last bit up, but it reflects the response Malone sent)

So, if Barclays want to extend delays to the maximum in all communications, and did I mention that Malone didn't email his rejection letter to me? Quaint old fashioned boy, he sent it by post to this remote rural spot in Western Australia? 

Is there anything I can do about this? 

Do I just have to remain passive? 

I pondered.

I want to know that Colin White has received my response, but he won't email me. I have no way of forcing Colin White to confirm that my stage 2 complaint has been received. The postal service is all Barclays are prepared to use and even when snail mail turns up in London White himself is not going to sign for the letter. So, I've sent the response by post and it will take a couple of weeks to get there, and when it does I'll still have no confirmation that Colin White ever received it. 

Is there any other way?

Then my next move became clear.

How about if I send Colin White a Touchnote postcard offering him a URL?

Will he read my document online?

It might work, it's certainly worth a dollar to try and I can monitor visits to the URL. He might even be polite enough to post a comment letting me know he has received it. He might do what the Barclays team were not prepared to do - he might respond to a dying person's request - or he might not. 

Another of Paul's phrases comes to mind - "We'll see."