Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Barclays Bank UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms A complained that Barclays unfairly blocked and closed her account in January 2021 following two £100 payments marked 'Electronics' (which Ms A claims were cryptocurrency sales by her son), and then held her closing balance of over £5,000 for approximately four years despite her repeated attempts to access it. Ms A, who was vulnerable due to age and health issues, had to rely on her children for financial support and was unable to challenge Barclays' actions. While the ombudsman acknowledged Barclays' service failures in not proactively pursuing resolution and failing to log her 2021 complaint, it found that Barclays acted fairly in the account review and closure based on legitimate regulatory obligations and confidential information. The ombudsman declined to award additional compensation beyond Barclays' £350 offer, relying on confidential information that justified the review and closure but could not be disclosed to Ms A.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Barclays had legitimate legal and regulatory obligations to review the account following the suspicious payments. The account terms and conditions permitted the blocking and immediate closure. While Barclays failed in its service by not proactively chasing Ms A and not logging her 2021 complaint, the ombudsman determined that awarding compensation would not be fair or appropriate based on confidential information provided by Barclays that justified the review and closure. The ombudsman exercised discretion under DISP rules to accept and rely on confidential information without disclosing it to Ms A, finding this was necessary due to commercial sensitivity and other protected information.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website