Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

G applied for a business current account with Barclays, but the application was declined after electronic identity verification of one director (Mr B) failed and subsequent in-person verification at a UK branch. Mr B incurred travel costs to the UK to support the application. Barclays paid £75 compensation acknowledging service shortfalls in communication and updates. The ombudsman found that banks are entitled to decide who they do business with and that Barclays acted fairly in declining the application based on its own criteria. The ombudsman upheld the £75 compensation as appropriate for the service failures but rejected the request for reimbursement of travel costs, as Barclays had not specifically requested Mr B to travel.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Banks are entitled to decide for themselves whether to do business with customers based on their own criteria and risk assessment. The ombudsman found that Barclays acted fairly and reasonably in declining the application, though service shortfalls existed in communication and updates. The ombudsman was not persuaded that Barclays was responsible for Mr B's travel costs as Barclays did not specifically request him to travel to the UK. The £75 compensation was deemed fair and reasonable for the service failures identified.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website