Barclay Bank (US Airway World Elite MasterCard) tops the world as the worst bank for customer service. I’m glad Barclays Bank can afford to outsource their bank / customer service needs to another other country. The question is can Barclay Bank afford to jeopardize the trust of loyal credit card customers? Every month our credit card account is paid in full, payments are never late and my credit score is excellent as stated thru a quarterly report from my financial planner. I feel like I’m dealing with the Pilipino cousins of the Russian guy on the TV commercial named “Peggy”! The only phrases the operators / people know are scripted at the customer service center is "Please Hold", (2) "I'm Sorry (when they really are not)", (3) "Let me transfer you", and every other word is also “Yes Sir, sorry sir”. I have attempted to get a credit on my US Airways World Elite MasterCard thru Barclays Bank, and trying to contact any other live person here in the USA thru the main office in Delaware to resolve the issue is just as frustrating as dealing with the people in the Philippians. WHAT A MESS!
DISPUTE: We stayed a hotel named “Hotel Szelcow” in Lesko, Poland in September of 2010 for two nights as we drove thru Europe. We had a planned trip and made reservations at various hotels along our route, so as we traveled we needed to keep on track. When we checked in to the Hotel Szelcow in Lesko the lady working the front desk charge my MST for the two nights we needed to stay in Lesko, Poland. After this stay in Lesko we had reservations at another hotel in Zakopane at the Grand Hotel Stamary. I sent copies of all the hotel receipts as back up of every hotel bill from our trip so Barclays could see the chronological dates we stayed throughout our trip. These receipts were faxed so Barclays could see the overlapping dates between Lesko and Zakopane a distance of over 132 miles (212KM). We stayed only two nights not four as the dates showed on our October MasterCard Statement and our receipts. On the morning we checked out of the Hotel Szelcow we ate breakfast and attempted to check out at the front desk of the Hotel Szelcow. This hotel only has 14 rooms and I guess their staffing needs prevented them from having a desk clerk and waiter on at the same time, so we went back into the restaurant and asked the waiter serving breakfast how do we check out? He told us he was the only one there and he would prepare our bill. After we looked over the bill we told him we had already been charged for the room and (VAT) tax and just needed to pay for the food and beverage. I showed him the credit card ticket processed two days earlier by the front desk. He did not see the credit in the computer and I again showed him the receipt. We only signed for the food and beverage and after we returned state side I got my credit card statement in the mail and noticed the double billing error. I called the Hotel Szelcow in Poland directly by phone as well as communicated numerous times thru e-mail to correct the double billing. The hotel themselves acknowledged the double billing thru an email to myself. I sent this email to Barclays Bank so they could see the hotels attempt to transfer the credit or funds in my personal checking or saving account here in the USA. I told the hotel “absolutely NOT”, I informed them I wanted the credit put back on my MasterCard as a credit and giving them my bank account number was too risky, especially internationally. The women who check us in was the same person who told me this was the best they could do as she remembered the situation a month later and apologized profusely. She told me they could not put the credit on my MasterCard since they did not know how to do that on their credit card machine, later she told me they needed the card in their procession to do the credit. The a few days later she tells me they can send the funds thru Western Union, or next time I visit Lesko we could stay for 2 free nights. So after a month dealing with these people in Poland I disputed the charges with Barclay Bank. Now Barclay Bank tells me even after the owner/manager at the Hotel Szelcow” in Lesko, Poland admits to the error thru an e-mail, Barclays states the two charges are valid.
US Airways should reevaluate this Bank that represents their company, who by the way forced us to change from Bank of America to Barclays bank after US Airways sold my credit card information between banks. I will be cancelling this credit card from Barclays Bank after this gets resolved.