Barclays Bank UK PLC · DRN-6171702

The complaint Mr W complains about how Barclays Bank UK PLC treated him after he enquired about adding his wife to his sole current account. What happened In July 2025, when Mr W contacted Barclays about an unrelated matter, he mentioned that due to a medical condition, he wanted to add his wife to his account, making it a joint account. Barclays enquired about how they could support Mr W more, and said their process regarding adding his wife would require a branch visit, but Mr W made clear that due to his condition, he could not visit a Barclays branch. Barclays took more information and said they would arrange a callback. Due to an internal error, a callback to Mr W was never made. Mr W says he did attempt to open a joint account online, but this was declined. Due to not being responded to, Mr W chased the matter in November logging a complaint. Barclays investigated and upheld the service issue within the complaint, apologising that Mr W was never called back when promised. The staff member also confirmed that the conversion of his account to joint names could not be done without a branch visit, but they did say other options existed. For the distress and inconvenience they caused, Barclays credited Mr W with £100. Mr W was unhappy with Barclays stance and response, saying the alternatives they offered were not equal to converting his account to joint names. Accordingly, Mr W brought the complaint to our service. Our investigator looked into the complaint and found that Barclays did not need to do anything further. Our investigator found that Barclays took ownership for their error, and regarding Mr W’s request, followed their processes correctly and offered alternatives. Mr W disagreed with this outcome, saying Barclays applied their processes overly rigidly, without any effort to make reasonable adjustments. Therefore, the case should go to an Ombudsman. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. Having done so, and while I recognise this will come as a disappointment to Mr W have decided not to uphold the complaint for broadly the same reasons as the investigator stated in their view.

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What appears to be the crux of this complaint, looking over the correspondence between Mr W and our investigator, is Barclays’ lack of effort towards what he regards as reasonable adjustments for his medical condition, plus their application of internal processes. Financial institutions are entitled to design and implement regulator-approved processes such as the conversion of a sole account to a joint account; and it is not within this service’s remit to tell a business how to run its procedures. It is the regulator – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who have the power to instruct Barclays to make changes to its policies and procedures, if necessary. This brings me onto Mr W’s point about Barclays not properly considering his vulnerability and not making a reasonable adjustment. I have listened to a phone call in which a Barclays staff member spent time understanding Mr W’s condition and going through the support that they could offer, annotating their systems accordingly. Therefore, I’m persuaded that Barclays did consider Mr W’s vulnerability. Regarding Mr W’s reasonable adjustment concern, Barclays have offered alternatives to a full conversion to a joint account such as adding his wife as an ‘authorised user’, as a 3rd party’, or the setting up of a Power of Attorney. I acknowledge Mr W has said these options are not equal to a joint account, but after consideration, they are what I consider to be reasonable in the circumstances. I note that Mr W says he has attempted to open a joint bank account online with Barclays but it was declined. Our service has liaised with Barclays and despite searching their system, regrettably they have no record of the application. I share Mr W’s frustration here as if a record could be found, it may indicate what Mr W would need to do going forward to successfully open a joint account with Barclays. In conclusion, I’m sorry to hear about Mr W’s predicament as it’s always regrettable when a simple process such as changing an account turns into a prolonged complaint. I’m satisfied that Barclays acknowledged their failing, attempted to compensate reasonably, and presented alternatives to Mr W’s request. And while Mr W is likely to be unhappy with my decision, I have to base that decision on the evidence and facts presented; therefore, I can’t ask Barclays to do anything further. My final decision For the reasons I have given it is my final decision that the complaint is not upheld. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr W to accept or reject my decision before 7 April 2026. Chris Blamires Ombudsman

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