Not upheld: poor customer service / inappropriate staff conduct complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr I complained that during a visit to a Barclays branch on 27 November 2025, he overheard inappropriate staff conversations, experienced rude treatment, and received poor service, which he claims caused significant distress requiring paramedic assistance. Barclays investigated and found no evidence supporting Mr I's allegations, with the branch manager confirming no such concerns were observed or reported. The ombudsman found no independent or contemporaneous evidence such as CCTV or incident logs to support either account, and on the balance of probabilities, concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish that Barclays acted improperly. The complaint was not upheld due to lack of evidence.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test, noting that there were two conflicting accounts with no independent or contemporaneous evidence to support either version. Without supporting evidence such as CCTV or incident logs, the ombudsman could not reasonably prefer Mr I's account over Barclays' account. To award compensation, the ombudsman would need to be satisfied that Barclays acted wrongly or provided poor service that caused the distress, which could not be established on the available evidence.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website