Not upheld: account blocking and access restriction due to conflicting attorney instructions and disputed mental capacity complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs B complained that Barclays Bank UK PLC unfairly blocked her account and prevented her attorneys from accessing funds after registering a Lasting Power of Attorney naming her son Mr B and brother P as joint attorneys. The dispute arose when Mr B told the bank he would manage his mother's affairs alone, while P informed the bank that Mrs B had lost mental capacity, creating conflicting information about her capacity. Barclays blocked all payments except debit card access and prevented attorney access to online banking. An investigator initially upheld the complaint and awarded compensation, but the ombudsman reversed this decision, finding that Barclays acted fairly in requiring medical evidence of Mrs B's capacity to resolve the impasse created by the conflicting attorney statements and protect Mrs B's funds.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Barclays acted fairly in blocking the accounts because: (1) the bank received conflicting information from the two attorneys regarding Mrs B's mental capacity, creating a dispute; (2) the bank has a duty to protect customers from fraud or abuse and cannot determine which attorney is telling the truth; (3) the bank cannot accept instructions from Mrs B until her capacity is ascertained, as doubt has been cast on it; (4) requiring medical evidence of Mrs B's capacity is a reasonable safeguard to establish her true wishes; (5) the dispute between the attorneys, not the bank's actions, caused Mrs B's distress; and (6) the bank is entitled to set its own procedures and it is not the ombudsman's role to interfere with these.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website