BARCLAYCARD customers could be in line for a refund of up to £300 from the bank after being wrongly charged for repayment plans.

Both existing and former credit card customers are understood to be receiving payments from the lender.

MoneySavingExpert said details about the "mysterious" payments were "scant".

But the refunds are understood to come after a review by Barclaycard, which found that customers who took out a repayment plan in the years leading up to 2018 had been overcharged.

Barclaycard said an operational issue was to blame for the error.

It said customers on the plans who had fallen behind on their repayments had been charged default fees and interest incorrectly.

It is not clear how many customers have been affected and Barclaycard told The Sun it was unable to share this information.

It said extensive analysis had been done to identify customers who are due redress and they will be written to with the necessary information and next steps.

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The firm said customers don't need to do anything unless they are contacted by Barclaycard.

It added that the majority of customers have now received their refunds, but the rest would be contacted early this year.

However, if you were on a repayment scheme in the years up to 2018 and believe you have been wrongly charged, it may be worth contacting the company to ask.

Some customers are reported to have received refunds of up to £300 – although the average payout is around £70, according to Barclaycard.

This includes a refund on incorrect interest and charges plus compensatory interest where applicable and a deduction for income tax as required by HMRC.

Customers have urged others to check any post they receive from Barclaycard as the payouts are arriving as cheques in the mail.

One customer told MSE: "Heads up. If anyone ever had a Barclaycard, even if it was years ago.

"Don't throw any post away, thinking it's junk. Open it. We nearly binned ours.

"It had a cheque for over £300, due to operation procedures, default fees and interest charged incorrectly."

MoneySavingExpert's Helen Knapman said: ““You should also make sure that the email and home address Barclaycard has on file for you are up to date in case it needs to contact you.

"You can ensure this by logging into your online banking via the app or the website then selecting 'your contact details', or by phoning customer service on 0800 151 0900."

A Barclaycard spokesperson said: "Following a recent review, Barclaycard is returning relevant interest and fees to some customers who had taken out a repayment plan after falling behind on repayments.

"We apologise unreservedly to those customers for not providing the level of service we should have, and we are contacting them to explain the refund they will receive.

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"We have taken, and continue to take, significant steps to review and improve our systems, processes and training to ensure we provide the excellent service our customers rightly expect.”

This is not the first time banking customers have received an unexpected windfall.

Last year, thousands of Barclays customers got compensation of up to £100 after it emerged the bank's loyalty scheme had underpaid monthly perks.

And in 2018, customers who took out loans and credit cards with Barclays were given refunds of hundreds of pounds after receiving poor service.

More recently, Nationwide is giving £60 compensation to customers whose direct debits were affected by a glitch earlier this month.

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