Not upheld: failure to offer support with mortgage; unfair treatment regarding marital dispute marker; alleged failure to refer to senior panel complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Ms P complained that Barclays failed to offer support with her joint mortgage following her separation, despite her financial difficulties, declining health, and vulnerability. She argued Barclays should have allowed her to obtain a lower interest rate and should have provided more effective support. The ombudsman found that Ms P's inability to maintain mortgage payments was due to her financial situation where outgoings exceeded income, and that even a lower rate would not have resolved this. The ombudsman concluded that Barclays reasonably refused to allow interest rate changes due to the marital dispute marker, and that it did offer support through its specialist team and senior panel, including halting legal proceedings and offering a £1 payment plan. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Ms P's inability to maintain mortgage payments was fundamentally due to her financial situation where outgoings exceeded income, not due to any failure by Barclays. The ombudsman reasoned that even if Barclays had allowed a lower interest rate product, Ms P would not have been able to afford the payments. The marital dispute marker reasonably prevented Barclays from allowing changes without both account holders' consent. Barclays did offer support through its specialist team, halted legal proceedings, and referred the case to a senior panel. The ombudsman concluded that Barclays' support was limited by the circumstances but fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website