Upheld: scam reporting, delayed fund recovery, failure to contact beneficiary bank complaint against Barclays Bank UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms A complained about Barclays' handling of payments she reported as scam-related (totalling £2,001.58) and delays in returning £1,649.79 recovered from the beneficiary bank. The funds were received by Barclays on 18 July 2024 but not returned to Ms A until 12 March 2025. The ombudsman found Barclays made errors, including failing to contact the beneficiary bank for one payment despite holding the necessary details, but rejected Ms A's allegation of deliberate fraud. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered Barclays to pay 8% simple interest on the recovered amount plus £750 compensation, finding this fair redress for the bank's mistakes and the period Ms A was deprived of her funds.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Barclays made multiple errors and shortcomings, including failing to contact the beneficiary bank for the £202 payment, the evidence did not support Ms A's allegation of deliberate wrongdoing or fraud. The contemporaneous internal emails from March 2025 indicated the delay was due to mistakes rather than intentional misconduct. The ombudsman rejected Ms A's claim that the bank deliberately withheld funds or misled her, finding instead that a complaints handler's review of internal records led to the eventual return of funds. The ombudsman also clarified that chargebacks were not applicable as the payments were bank transfers, not card payments, and that recovery of funds depended on the beneficiary bank's cooperation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website