A mother-of-two was left shaking when she looked at her bank accounts and her balances showed she was more than $1 million in debt.
30-year-old Kamela Smith-Barrett described how she ‘almost had a heart attack’ when her savings and current account were both £500,000 ($662,000) in debt!
She said Barclays locked her account for ten long days without any explanation.
Smith-Barrett claims both her bank accounts were locked during the investigation so she was forced to borrow money from family and friends to pay bills and buy food.
“When I logged on I realised that a large amount of money had disappeared. All I could see was £500,000 ($662,000) overdrawn on both accounts,” she said.
“I almost had a heart attack. I thought ‘this is really bad’. It’s horrible, I was shaking.”
“I don’t even have an overdraft on my account. I’m not the Prime Minister or a footballer,” Smith-Barrett continued.
“I don’t get a huge amount of money now I’m on maternity leave.”
Barclays said ‘activity on the account’ had triggered a review and the red balances were only imposed to prevent more transactions.
The bank has apologized to the mother for the inconvenience.
“Having reviewed the case, I can confirm the activity on the account prompted a routine review,” a spokesperson for the Barclays said.
“While this review was undertaken the accounts stated a negative balance. This was done to safeguard the funds whilst the internal investigation took place. The negative balance on the account was not actual debt, just a precaution.
“The customer credit file and financial history have not been affected.
“All safeguards have since been removed and the funds have been returned. We’re sorry for any inconvenience that may have been caused.”
One person commented: “This is one of the reasons why I left Barclays.”
Another wrote: “What would have happened if she did not have anyone to turn to,I would have to seek compensation,they are the bank of money,after all.”
A third added: “Never put all of your eggs in one basket. That way if something goes wrong with one account you have the other to fall back on.”
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