Partially upheld: irresponsible lending - failure to intervene in persistent overdraft use complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6209454 of 2026-05-29T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending - failure to intervene in persistent overdraft use complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6209454 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-29T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Barclays Bank UK PLC |
| Product | overdraft |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending - failure to intervene in persistent overdraft use |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Barclays must re-work Mrs D's overdraft balance by removing all interest, fees and charges applied from July 2023 onwards. If a balance remains, Barclays should arrange a suitable repayment plan and may record negative credit information backdated to June 2023. If removing charges results in overpayments, these should be returned to Mrs D with 8% simple interest from the date made until settlement, and any adverse credit file information should be removed. |
Summary
Mrs D complained that Barclays continued to provide an overdraft facility she could not afford. The overdraft was granted in July 2019 with a £3,400 limit. From July 2022 onwards, Mrs D was constantly in her overdraft with only brief periods in credit after receiving monthly income of approximately £560, and she repeatedly breached her overdraft limit between August 2022 and April 2023. The ombudsman upheld the complaint in part, finding that by July 2023, Barclays should have recognised Mrs D was in a persistent cycle of overdraft dependency with no reasonable prospect of sustainable repayment and should have taken proactive steps to restrict or remove the facility. Barclays was ordered to remove all interest, fees and charges from July 2023 onwards and arrange appropriate remedies depending on the resulting balance.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that by July 2023, Barclays should have recognised that Mrs D was in a persistent cycle of overdraft dependency with no reasonable prospect of sustainable repayment given her modest income. The pattern of constant overdraft use, repeated limit breaches, and minimal periods in credit demonstrated heavy reliance that should have triggered proactive intervention by Barclays, rather than continuing to provide the facility on the same terms.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays Bank UK PLC, all decisions | 11,142 | 21% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website