Upheld: wrongful charging of interest and fees; adequacy of support during financial difficulty complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6337788 of 2026-05-07T00:00:00+00:00. wrongful charging of interest and fees; adequacy of support during financial difficulty complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6337788 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-07T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard |
| Product | credit card |
| Claim type | wrongful charging of interest and fees; adequacy of support during financial difficulty |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Reimburse Mr W £278.01 and suspend interest and fees being charged on the account for the next three months following acceptance of the decision. If compensation has already been given, the final amount should be reduced accordingly. |
Summary
Mr W complained that Barclaycard wrongfully charged him interest and fees while he was in persistent debt and financial difficulty. Barclaycard provided two breathing spaces but reinstated charges immediately after expiration, and Mr W did not complete requested income and expenditure forms. The ombudsman found Barclaycard had not acted wrongfully as Mr W maintained mostly timely payments and no formal arrangement was in place post-breathing space. The complaint was upheld based on Barclaycard's proactive settlement offer of £278.01 refund and three months interest suspension being appropriate remedy.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while Mr W was in financial difficulty, Barclaycard acted fairly and reasonably by providing breathing spaces and reinstating charges when no formal arrangement was agreed after expiration. The ombudsman determined that continuing to make payments does not negate financial difficulty, but Barclaycard's actions were not wrongful. The offer of £278.01 refund and three months interest suspension was deemed more than generous given no wrongdoing was found.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard, all decisions | 54 | 13% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website