Not upheld: refund withholding and account closure complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Barclaycard refused to refund a credit balance on his closed account following a merchant dispute, despite being told on phone calls that the refund could be processed. Barclaycard requested specific evidence to confirm Mr R's entitlement and that he hadn't been reimbursed elsewhere, and declined to release the funds. The Ombudsman found that Barclaycard's evidentiary requests were fair and compliant with regulations, and that FOS cannot direct businesses to change their policies. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman assessed whether Barclaycard were following industry rules, regulations and guidelines. The Ombudsman concluded that Barclaycard's requests for evidence before processing the refund were fair and met regulatory requirements. The Ombudsman clarified that FOS's role is to assess whether financial businesses are following regulations and treating customers fairly, not to direct businesses to change their policies or procedures. The Ombudsman found that the evidence Mr R provided did not satisfy Barclaycard's reasonable requests for proof of eligibility.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website