Barclays Credit Madness
Tuesday, June 29th, 2004 at 1522Yesterday my girlfriend went into Barclays Bank to try and get her almost-useless VISA Electron card switched over to a VISA Debit card. For people in the UK who know, the Visa Electron is about as useful as a 1923 issue Deutschmark note. In fact marginally less, as at least you could still use one of those to wipe your arse. (Though plastic cards are useful for spreading thermal compound around and, rumour has it, grouting.)
The upshot of the affair was this. My girlfriend could not have a VISA Debit card because her credit rating does not exist. She can, however, have a BarclayCard Credit Card with a £2500 limit. If she uses the credit card to build up some credit rating she can then apply for the debit card.
Hands up who sees the issue we had with this?
They won’t give a debit card to someone who has no credit record, but they’ll happily throw you a two and a half grand creditcard your way. Errr, hello? This I don’t understand. Surely your credit rating doesn’t matter if you’re using a debit card as you can only spend the money you already have anyway!
Barclays are idiots and I think this only goes to show how hopelessly lost in “Credit Card Culture” the UK has become. Gah.
I hate the idea of the credit rating because you have to go in debt in order to get people to lend you money.
actually, a debit card will let you go overdrawn sometimes aswell :S. but I see the problem and the answer is change banks I’m sure another bank would let you have one.
‘Bonus’ Bob Diamond seems to have survived his recent grilling by British MPs well enough… but along with a lot of top bankers I think he’s still going to be measured for an orange jumpsuit in the near future – and not before time!