Not upheld: irresponsible lending and fraud liability complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that Barclays lent him a £10,000 loan irresponsibly after he fell victim to a scam, arguing that flagged payment transactions should have prevented approval and that Barclays's incorrect statement that he would not be liable should excuse him from the debt. The ombudsman found that Barclays completed reasonable affordability checks, that Mr D's misleading responses during intervention calls justified the approval despite flagged transactions, and that the £500 compensation for the incorrect information was fair. The complaint was not upheld and no further action was required.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Barclays completed reasonable and proportionate affordability checks and that the Loan was affordable and not lent irresponsibly. Although payment transactions had been flagged, Mr D's misleading responses during intervention calls and the scam warnings provided meant that Barclays's decision to approve the Loan was reasonable. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Barclays's error in stating Mr D would not be liable should excuse him from liability, finding that the £500 compensation fairly reflected the mistake.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website