Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC (trading as Barclaycard)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that Barclaycard blocked his card without explanation and failed to unblock it promptly, causing inconvenience and distress. Barclaycard blocked the account due to suspected fraud and required additional verification before lifting the block, which took approximately 38 hours rather than the initially suggested 24 hours. The ombudsman found that Barclaycard acted fairly and reasonably in applying and maintaining the block, as the account terms and conditions permit such action and regulatory requirements mandate fraud prevention measures. The ombudsman rejected Mr D's claims that the specialist team requirement was a delaying tactic and found no evidence of inappropriate account detail discussions. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the wait exceeded 24 hours, the timeframe was not unreasonable given the account required additional verification for fraud prevention. The account terms and conditions allow Barclaycard to block accounts if it reasonably suspects fraud, with no set timeframe for resolution. Regulatory requirements mandate that banks prevent foreseeable financial harm, which may require blocking accounts and conducting further checks. The ombudsman found no evidence that referral to a specialist team was a delaying tactic, as the block was lifted once the specialist team completed its checks. The ombudsman also noted that no account details were discussed on calls in a manner that would be inappropriate if account takeover was suspected.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website