Not upheld: complaint handling and service failure - unresponded emails complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6225272 of 2026-06-05T00:00:00+00:00. complaint handling and service failure - unresponded emails complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6225272 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-05T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Barclays Bank UK PLC |
| Product | Current account |
| Claim type | complaint handling and service failure - unresponded emails |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Barclays' existing offer of £200 compensation for poor complaint handling stands. The executor may accept this offer directly with Barclays. |
Summary
The estate of Mrs W complained that Barclays failed to move house sale proceeds into a savings account, resulting in lost interest. After this complaint was investigated by both Barclays and FOS, the executor sent additional emails that went unanswered. Barclays acknowledged the service failure and offered £200 compensation. The ombudsman declined to revisit the lost interest complaint and found the £200 offer for poor complaint handling to be generous, declining to require further action.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman determined that the original complaint about lost interest had already been investigated by both Barclays and FOS, so would not be reconsidered. The only remaining issue was poor complaint handling regarding unresponded emails. Since the son had not claimed Barclays made an error (only that funds were not optimally placed), and the £200 offer was for complaint handling rather than substantive error, the ombudsman found the offer generous and beyond what would normally be awarded for poor complaint handling alone.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays Bank UK PLC, all decisions | 11,141 | 21% |
| Current account, all decisions | 45,590 | 19% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website