What an absolute shower of total incompetents.
My card finally arrived today - 13 days after being approved.
After going through the tortuous process of activating it, I find that a statement was generated yesterday and that I've already been charged the £20 fee.
I called Barclaycard to complain that this was a bit off when I'd had no use of the card and the launch has been an absolute shambles. I then get passed around four different people, none of whom seemed to know anything about the product or what to do.
Eventually, I get told that they won't refund the fee (contrary to what other people seem to have been told) as "it's in the terms and conditions that we can charge it as soon as the account is opened".
I protested strongly and said that I'd like to complain.
They refused to open a complaint and said they could only log my displeasure as "feedback" because "it's in the terms and conditions".
I told them that was nonsense, insisted that I wanted to complain about being charged a fee for an account I've had no use of, as well as the general shambolic handling of the opening my account, and that I would go to FOS if necessary. They eventually (with much reluctance) agreed to log a complaint.
My whole experience with Barclaycard has been absolutely hideous so far. They make Creation look competent and customer-focused. If there were any other decent non-Amex rewards cards out there, I'd cut this card up and send it back immediately.