Not upheld: failure to intervene in problem gambling complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that Barclays failed to intervene when he was experiencing problem gambling, particularly from August 2021 onwards, and sought refunds of gambling transactions. Barclays acknowledged it should have intervened from May 2024 and paid £350 compensation, but declined to refund transactions. The ombudsman found that account activity prior to May 2024 was sporadic and did not reasonably trigger concern, and that even from May 2024, the typical intervention (advising about gambling blocks and support services) would not have changed the outcome since Mr T already knew about blocks and had previously disabled one. The ombudsman upheld the £350 compensation as fair and rejected the request for transaction refunds.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman agreed that Barclays had no reasonable grounds to intervene before May 2024 because gambling activity was sporadic, accounts were kept in credit, and Barclays was not made aware of vulnerability. While Barclays should have intervened from May 2024 onwards, the £350 compensation was fair because the typical intervention (advising about gambling blocks and third-party support) would not have changed the outcome. Mr T already knew about gambling blocks and had chosen not to use one. The fact that gambling stopped after July 2025 contact was attributed to Mr T realizing there was a problem following his complaint, not to earlier intervention.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website