Not upheld: scam liability and reimbursement complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs J lost over £78,000 to an investment scam after making ten payments from her Barclays account in September 2025. She had taken out personal loans to fund these payments to what she believed was a genuine investment opportunity found on social media. Barclays initially blocked the first payment of £7,490 and intervened, but Mrs J misled the bank about the payment purpose as instructed by the scammer. The ombudsman found that while Barclays could have probed further, this would not have prevented the loss given Mrs J's genuine belief in the scheme and her commitment to the scammer's cover story. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Barclays could have probed further during the intervention call, the ombudsman was not persuaded this would have led to a different outcome. Mrs J sincerely believed the investment opportunity was genuine and had been instructed by the scammer to maintain the cover story. The bank could not reasonably have known about the investment scam or the source of funds (personal loans) based on available information. Additionally, Barclays could not have recovered the money after notification as it had already been transferred from an account in Mrs J's name.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website