Not upheld: scam/fraud - refund claim and account monitoring complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Barclays Bank UK PLC refused to refund approximately £90,000 he sent to his long-term partner's Barclays account between 2021 and 2025, alleging the partner spent the money contrary to their agreement. Barclays referred him to his own bank and declined to take further action. The Ombudsman found that Barclays was not wrong to follow standard industry practice by referring the matter to Mr R's own bank, and that as Mr R was not their customer, they owed him no duty of care. The Ombudsman concluded that the account activity was not suspicious enough to warrant intervention and that the account balance was under £15 when Mr R complained, making recovery impossible. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Barclays was not wrong to refer Mr R to his own bank as this is standard industry practice for fraud allegations. The Ombudsman noted that Mr R was not Barclays' customer and they owed him no duty of care. Even accepting the scam allegation, the account activity over four years was not unusual or suspicious enough to warrant intervention. The account balance was negligible when Mr R made his complaint, so freezing it would not have recovered the funds. Barclays' response to the allegation was reasonable in the circumstances.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website