Not upheld: provision of incorrect information to third party resulting in fraud marker complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A complained that Barclays provided incorrect information to Bank B, which resulted in her mortgage offer not being renewed and a fraud marker being recorded against her. Bank B had queried a transaction with Barclays twice, and Barclays confirmed both times it didn't match its records. The ombudsman found on the balance of probabilities that Barclays was asked about the correct account and provided accurate information, particularly given the consistency of its responses to two separate queries. The complaint was not upheld, and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test given incomplete and inconclusive evidence. The fact that Barclays provided the same answer when queried twice about the transaction made it highly unlikely Barclays made an error. The ombudsman concluded it was more likely that Barclays was asked about the correct account and provided accurate information. Each case must be reviewed on its individual merits, and the previous decision against Bank B could not be used to determine this complaint's outcome.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website