AARP Online Community and Discussion Forums - REPLACING OUR AARP CREDIT CARDS WITH BARCLAY BANK ... - Page 2

notsoyoung · ‎09-08-2021

Has anyone else been concerned about the closing of our current AARP credit cards and its effect on our credit scores? We've had our VISA for many years and have built a lot of history with them. Now AARP is going to CLOSE those accounts and replace them with a new one that won't have any history. Just closing the account will lower our scores significantly. We, for one, don't want to use the Barclay cards, which offer significantly less rewards, so the total amount of our credit will be reduced, another factor in the building of our credit scores.

What do you think?

POST- Postscript 09-21-21: To head off what I was sure would be a catastrophe, and after looking up references on Barclay, we created a new Chase CC account (on August 12th, received it on the 15th), set up our auto-pay bills, and set up the new account for auto-pay from our bank. We paid off the balance on the old AARP account by 09-08-21, and cashed in all our rewards. Then today, we activated the Barclay account (online) and immediately canceled it (by automated phone call). We're in the process of setting up a second Chase card to compensate for the first CC account lower credit limit. Guess we're lucky to have managed to get through to our Barclay account. Keep trying, folks, and don't hold back on your comments to both companies. They certainly could have done a better job of planning all this. Giving their customers a voice in the choice should have been STEP NUMBER ONE.

AND yet another POSTSCRIPT on 09-24: Today Barlcays was daring enough to send us a 'welcome' email with a reminder to activate our card, to which we replied,

"Thanks, but no thanks!

We didn't, and don't, want your card. We have already activated and immediately cancelled our Barclay cards.

For those poor folks who are, to this day, still trying to activate their card or just talk to a live person at your company, we extend our sympathy. Your company has made what should have been a direct and automated process so overly labor-intensive for so many seniors that you won't soon be forgotten or forgiven.

Shame on AARP for choosing you and shame on you for being so ill-prepared to handle the conversion.

Signed, 'notsoyoung'

NormaS567291 · ‎10-29-2021

I share your anger and frustration. It is a royal fiasco. I have been waiting for a refund from a merchant since September 19th. It amounts to 1800 US DOLLARS. All the clowns at AARP and BARCLAYS keep telling me it is due to the transition! I now have a CAPITOL ONE card and will not renew my membership at AARP. I certainly will not pay my bill until all is refunded.

It is a disgusting situation and I am furious. I was thinking of getting a lawyer.

AARPLakeisha · ‎11-02-2021

@NormaS567291

AARP Member Benefits Team here to help. We certainly understand your concern regarding the service provided by Barclays. We’d be happy to forward your concern to the Escalation team we work with at Barclays for their thorough review and investigation if you’d like. To do this, we will need more information. Please send me a private message in the AARP Online Community by clicking this link and entering my username, “AARPLakeisha” into the “Send to” box https://community.aarp.org/t5/notes/composepage. Please provide the following details in your message:

Your first & last name
AARP membership number (or home address)
Best contact phone number

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

NormaS567291 · ‎11-25-2021

This is nonsense! Once again, no one got back to me!

BobtheScott · ‎10-14-2021

I took a stroll thru facebook today, checking Barclays for their customer feedback... folks who had problems or still have ongoing problems reaching back to last year.. many complaints about very long waits on hold, absolutely no help forthcoming when phones were answered, customer service people who spoke little or no English, repeated promises to fix problems, fixes that did not happen, problems that were strung out for so long that customer could no longer file a claim for resolution... etc..... some folks even filed complaints with the FDIC. One person got a response only after he reported them to his state's BBB... even then they did not solve the problem, he just got a response.. nearly all of these were before the AARP conversion, so AARP should have known about them. anyway, it sure was an eye opener.

NormaS567291 · ‎10-29-2021

I am so disgusted and upset by this. I am still waiting for 1800 US DOLLARS in a refund. The merchant paid on September 19th and I do not have a cent!

BobtheScott · ‎10-14-2021

Hey all... did you see?? We got a $10.00 credit posted on 10/12, for AARP conversion... isn't that wonderful!

yes that was sarcastic..

NormaS567291 · ‎10-30-2021

What a joke! AARP gave 10 dollars and Barclay's, too. For 6 weeks of hardship, frustration and anger, this is mockery of AARP members. I have just done research on a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.

suzy0916 · ‎10-14-2021

Yes, I saw the $10 credit. That's supposed to make up for the hours and hours of frustration and anxiety this fiasco has caused? No way! Class action suit anyone?

NormaS567291 · ‎10-29-2021

I am interesting in a Class Action Suit, too. How could we go about this?

DianeG710541 · ‎10-26-2021

I agree with you! Plus just found out today that anyone transferring over from Chase is NOT considered a "new account" and won't be given the $100 Cash Back Bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first 90 days despite the fact that it is managed by a NEW bank, with a NEW account number!! And I have not received

the $10 credit bonus.

suzy0916 · ‎10-26-2021

They consider it an old card because it was Chase and your credit won't get dinged. The effective date for Barclay's shows as 2007 that's when my Chase Card started. So there is how they get you as not a new customer/card. One thing after another.

TinaM351874 · ‎10-13-2021

Absolutely agree with you. My husbands credit score just dropped from an excellent 820 to a fair credit rating of 674. That's a drop of 146 points putting him at a level that will affect his credit and insurance rates. WTH was AARP thinking. I've spent over an hour twice trying to get through to speak to someone. Our payment was also due the 19th of September. Tried unsuccessfully to pay Chase on the 17th but was directed to Barkleys. They weren't accepting payments till the 20th. Of course they removed the late fee and assured me it would not go against his credit but here we are!! They should be required to at least keep our many years of credit history with Chase on our record. We are getting ready to do some home construction. How do they think this will help with that kind of dip in our score? This is ridiculous!

Tina McGinnis

ErrolDickey · ‎10-13-2021

Yup. It has been weeks. Many hours on hold. Many reps saying they would square it away. Still can't get online because in the conversion from Chase they picked up the wrong email address and the wrong cell number, yet I can't get anyone in Website Assistance even to take a call let alone just change the cell number to the correct one. Total fiasco. One of the worst conversions and support experiences I have ever encountered professionally. A written complaint on this was sent to some P.O. Box for Barclay and, of course, they never responded and there is no other way to get help or complain except to sit on hold for more hours. Today they even started declining all the regular autocharges to that card I always used due to "non-payment" when I can't get online to set back up the autopayments I have always had! Total Fiasco.

LakeishaT901230 · ‎10-13-2021

@ErrolDickey

AARP Member Benefits Team here to help. We certainly understand your concern regarding the service provided by Barclays. We’d be happy to forward your concern to the Escalation team we work with at Barclays for their thorough review and investigation if you’d like. To do this, we will need more information. Please send me a private message in the AARP Online Community by clicking this link and entering my username, “AARPLakeisha” into the “Send to” box https://community.aarp.org/t5/notes/composepage. Please provide the following details in your message:

Your first & last name
AARP membership number (or home address)
Best contact phone number

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

DavidW740388 · ‎01-21-2022

Barclays has ABSOLUTELY RUINED my credit score. Closed the account quickly in 2021 after a $24.00 fraudulent charge on my new credit card! AND they continue to bill me monthly with interest charges and late fees! What a sham! And shame on AARP for continued endorsement! How do I start a lawsuit?

AARPAngelaC · ‎01-26-2022

Hi there, you can always reach out to AARP for help if you run into issues with our providers. We would be glad to help by reaching out to Barclays' President's Office on your behalf to thoroughly investigate and resolve your concern. Please use this link (https://help.aarp.org/s/contactsupport) to submit a web help form and include the following information:

Description of your issue
Please mention that you are requesting an escalation

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

jdmcnamara47 · ‎01-26-2022

Received this today:

AARPAngelaC (Community Concierge) posted a new reply in Benefits & Discounts on 01-26-2022 08:06 AM:

Re: REPLACING OUR AARP CREDIT CARDS WITH BARCLAY BANK CARDS - SEE POSTSCRIPT WRITTEN 09/21/21 and 0

Hi there, you can always reach out to AARP for help if you run into issues with our providers. We would be glad to help by reaching out to Barclays' President's Office on your behalf to thoroughly investigate and resolve your concern. Please use this link (https://help.aarp.org/s/contactsupport) to submit a web help form and include the following information:

Description of your issue Please mention that you are requesting an escalation

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Thank you,
AARP.org

It is mind boggling to me that AARP is saying they will help members deal with Barclays when they have done nothing to help those who have responded through this blog. They are putting out the same message now as they did in September of 2021 - "please send us your info and a description of what happened." I did that in September and received nothing from AARP. I complained to the BBB in Wisconsin and the states consumer complaint line and received a computer generated letter from Barclays stating that the problems were only temporary and were fixed. Thanks a lot! They were not fixed for me. AARP screwed the pooch with this change and will not admit it. No one has accepted blame for the botched turnover or its consequences. I have lost my faith in AARP as an activist organization concerned with the welfare of it's membership. I will not renew my membership and will actively let my friends know what my concerns are about this issue.

On another issue - when I search for comments on this stream I find messages from October mingled with messages from January. There are thirteen stream tabs showing for this topic, none of which are organized by date. Why?

AARPAngelaC · ‎01-27-2022

Good Morning. To clarify, we are required to obtain member information to pull up your account and reach out to Barclays. To date, AARP has assisted hundreds of our members who have reached out to us; we have a department whom specifically handles issues like this and works with the executive-level resolution teams at each of our providers to resolve member concerns that may arise. If you have already reached out to AARP by sending a help request or a private message, please send me a private message with the information below and I'll be glad to look into what happened. I'd like to help, but won't be able to without the necessary info.

Full name
AARP Membership number (or home address)
Phone # where you can be reached
Description of your concern
If you sent a private message to an AARP concierge and did not receive a reply, please advise whom you sent the message to

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

NormaS567291 · ‎01-21-2022

I suggest filing suit at SMALL CLAIMS COURT ASAPin your state, provided the sum you are requesting is under 5000 US DOLLARS (I believe). You need to provide all written documents justifying your request. You have the option to take a lawyer or not, but it is not necessary. I wish you luck in this mess. We have all been through a lot.

ErrolDickey · ‎10-13-2021

Furthermore, whoever was responsible for the conversion from Chase to Barclay should be held supremely accountable for such a shoddy, poorly executed mess! This includes senior management at Barclay as well as at AARP, plus the project manager(s) and technical and website management teams. After a career in IT project management I can say that if I had ever been involved in such a mess I would expect to be fired and never work in the field again. The fact is that they must not have had a test conversion or conversions with a small number of users in advance, to allow identification of any issues with the porting of all the data correctly from the Chase data system to the Barclay one. And then, not planning for hundreds (or thousands?) of users not able to get/use their cards because of such a shoddy conversion? Poor planning all around. Bush league to say the best for it.

baddhombre · ‎10-13-2021

@ErrolDickey wrote:

Furthermore, whoever was responsible for the conversion from Chase to Barclay should be held supremely accountable for such a shoddy, poorly executed mess! This includes senior management at Barclay as well as at AARP, plus the project manager(s) and technical and website management teams. After a career in IT project management I can say that if I had ever been involved in such a mess I would expect to be fired and never work in the field again. The fact is that they must not have had a test conversion or conversions with a small number of users in advance, to allow identification of any issues with the porting of all the data correctly from the Chase data system to the Barclay one. And then, not planning for hundreds (or thousands?) of users not able to get/use their cards because of such a shoddy conversion? Poor planning all around. Bush league to say the best for it.

VERY well presented! This really is elder abuse and ironically from a supposed senior advocate! Shameful!

john258 · ‎10-13-2021

@baddhombre wrote:

@ErrolDickey wrote:

Furthermore, whoever was responsible for the conversion from Chase to Barclay should be held supremely accountable for such a shoddy, poorly executed mess! This includes senior management at Barclay as well as at AARP, plus the project manager(s) and technical and website management teams. After a career in IT project management I can say that if I had ever been involved in such a mess I would expect to be fired and never work in the field again. The fact is that they must not have had a test conversion or conversions with a small number of users in advance, to allow identification of any issues with the porting of all the data correctly from the Chase data system to the Barclay one. And then, not planning for hundreds (or thousands?) of users not able to get/use their cards because of such a shoddy conversion? Poor planning all around. Bush league to say the best for it.

VERY well presented! This really is elder abuse and ironically from a supposed senior advocate! Shameful!

mlafayet · ‎10-13-2021

I had a career in IT also and I couldn't agree more.

john258 · ‎10-04-2021

I have had problems and posted on them in here. They have been worked out but new ones arrive every time I sign in to check my account. This evening they asked me challenge questions. Some of the questions I never gave them so they had no answer. One time they rejected my sign in, and gave me another set with a question I never gave them. This time they took my answer and I got in. Makes no sense.

It should be evident to all this program is a total mess and the mess is not going to end any time soon since the Bank just creates additional problems.

AARP should end the program now and find a new bank, then go back to putting members first not money for AARP. We still have heard nothing from AARP leadership on this mess. Why?

suzy0916 · ‎10-08-2021

You are so right about the sign in. I don't get any challenge questions, but I do have to jump through hoops to sign in every time since 9/20. Like 5 pages worth. First you log in with user name and password (this should be the end of it, you would think!) then next page you have to fill in the last 4 digits of your SS, your birthdate, your 16 digit card number, your security code, hit enter, then check the box for a method (text, phone, or email) to receive your secure pass code, then enter that. Then you are asked if you want to change your password, select NO. Then you have to enter your d**n password AGAIN. 5 separate pages! I have signed in over 20 times and it does this every time. I sent a message (because you can't get through on the phone). Here is an excerpt from Barclays: "We are terribly sorry for any frustration the website security features may be causing and we would be glad to provide further direction in regard to this matter. We can confirm that our system will randomly challenge you with security questions or a Securpass code. In addition, this will also occur if we don't recognize the device from which you are attempting to log in to your account. Our security measures are in place to protect our cardmembers but please know that we are continually striving to improve upon our security protocols and to make your online servicing experience easier. We do understand your concerns and once again apologize if we did not exceed your expectations in delivering quality services. We will certainly forward your remarks to the accurate department for review."

ToddH320656 · ‎10-14-2021

If only this would work. Answered all of the challenge questions. Entered social security number, birth date, etc. and guess what??? None of it matches their records! And now they have locked me out from trying to log in.

So cannot log in. Back to square one tomorrow. Card is activated as my 85 year old mother has been able to use it for groceries and at the doctor for her copays. But I cannot see the statement or make sure that the auto pay worked as I cannot log in. Ugh.

baddhombre · ‎10-14-2021

This is neglect and elder abuse! They have had LOTS of time to straighten this out and ANSWER THE G.D. PHONE!!! It is RUDE to say the least to make myself and other's wait for HOURS that's HOURS to fix THEIR problem!!!!!

john258 · ‎10-14-2021

@ToddH320656 wrote:
If only this would work. Answered all of the challenge questions. Entered social security number, birth date, etc. and guess what??? None of it matches their records! And now they have locked me out from trying to log in.
So cannot log in. Back to square one tomorrow. Card is activated as my 85 year old mother has been able to use it for groceries and at the doctor for her copays. But I cannot see the statement or make sure that the auto pay worked as I cannot log in. Ugh.

It is about time AARP reps. in here get involved in what is happening and get the problem solved for this member. What the Bank and AARP are doing is elder abuse. No E mails from the member. A phone call to the member then a phone call with the member, bank, and AARP people on the line and solve the problem. This has been going on for to long and it not being solved shows how bad the bank and the AARP people who put this program in are.

By the way we have still not heard from AARP Senior Leadership about what they are going to do about this total failure forced on members.

LakeishaT901230 · ‎10-18-2021

@john258

AARP Member Benefits Team here to help. We certainly understand your concern regarding the service provided by Barclays. We’d be happy to forward your concern to the Escalation team we work with at Barclays for their thorough review and investigation if you’d like. To do this, we will need more information. Please send me a private message in the AARP Online Community by clicking this link and entering my username, “AARPLakeisha” into the “Send to” box https://community.aarp.org/t5/notes/composepage. Please provide the following details in your message:

Your first & last name
AARP membership number (or home address)
Best contact phone number

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

john258 · ‎10-18-2021

@LakeishaT901230 wrote:
@john258
AARP Member Benefits Team here to help. We certainly understand your concern regarding the service provided by Barclays. We’d be happy to forward your concern to the Escalation team we work with at Barclays for their thorough review and investigation if you’d like. To do this, we will need more information. Please send me a private message in the AARP Online Community by clicking this link and entering my username, “AARPLakeisha” into the “Send to” box https://community.aarp.org/t5/notes/composepage. Please provide the following details in your message:
Your first & last name
AARP membership number (or home address)
Best contact phone number
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you informing us of your concern. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Suggest you read my post and look at the date. The member I was talking about needed help with his 85 year old mother so please do not answer me with the canned reply. Take my suggestion and call him then get the bank to solve the problem.

I realize you did not cause the problem but are stuck with the mess created by another arm of AARP. I sure hope you are letting the upper end of the Chain of Command know what a mess they created, and telling them to come clean with all the members they have hurt, and how many members say they are leaving both AARP and the Bank. What they did on this project is show all how to destroy what is a fine Organization.