Barclays

Retail bank. Products & services: Banking, Travel Insurance.

Updated: 3 August 2026

Company Overview

Industry: Retail and small-business banking (ring-fenced UK bank)
Parent company: Barclays PLC (company no. 00048839)
Regulator: Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 759676)
Ombudsman: Financial Ombudsman Service
Customers: 42 million accounts (Barclays Bank UK PLC, banking category)
Founded: Ring-fenced bank Barclays Bank UK PLC operational from 1 April 2018; Barclays group traces its origins to 1690
Legal entity: Barclays Bank UK PLC (company no. 09740322)

2.01Complaints opened per 1,000 accounts (banking and credit cards)
42%Complaints closed after 3 days but within 8 weeks (banking and credit cards)

What customers complain about

Customers complaining to Barclays Bank UK PLC most often raise issues Barclays classifies as ‘general administration and customer service’, which it says is the main cause of complaints across banking, credit cards, home finance and credit-related products and covers delays and bank errors. In the six months to 31 December 2025 it opened 80,470 banking and credit-card complaints (2.01 per 1,000 accounts) and 89,539 complaints in total, upholding 60% of the banking and credit-card complaints it closed — with home-finance (mortgage) complaints upheld at a higher 75%. Fraud and scam disputes are a prominent theme across large UK banks, now backed by mandatory APP-scam reimbursement rules in force since 7 October 2024. In July 2025 the FCA fined Barclays Bank UK PLC £3.1m over financial-crime failings linked to WealthTek. Complaints go by phone (0800 282 390), post (Freepost Barclays Customer Relations), the app or a branch, with an 8-week final-response window (15–35 days for payment services).

Complaint categories

1
General administration and customer service
Barclays records ‘general administration / customer service’ as the main cause of complaints across its banking and credit cards, home finance, credit-related and investments categories in the six months to 31 December 2025. Barclays says this grouping includes areas such as delays and bank errors.
Barclays UK complaints data, 1 Jul – 31 Dec 2025 (home.barclays/who-we-are/reporting/uk-complaints-data/july-to-december-2025).
2
Home finance (mortgages)
Mortgage complaints are a stand-out area: Barclays Bank UK PLC opened 5,356 home-finance complaints in the six months to 31 December 2025 at a rate of 6.01 per 1,000 accounts — higher than its banking rate — and upheld 75% of the home-finance complaints it closed, its highest uphold rate in that period.
Barclays UK complaints data, 1 Jul – 31 Dec 2025 (home.barclays/who-we-are/reporting/uk-complaints-data/july-to-december-2025).
3
Fraud, scams and APP reimbursement
Disputes over refunds for authorised push payment (APP) scams and card fraud are a prominent theme across large UK banks including Barclays. Financial Ombudsman data reported in the press has ranked Barclays among the banks generating the most fraud-related ombudsman complaints, and since 7 October 2024 banks must reimburse eligible APP-scam victims under mandatory rules.
Financial Ombudsman Service data reported by national press (reported, not independently verified here); Payment Systems Regulator APP reimbursement rules in force 7 Oct 2024.

Latest statistics

80,470Complaints opened (banking and credit cards)1 Jul – 31 Dec 2025
42%Complaints closed after 3 days but within 8 weeks (banking and credit cards)1 Jul – 31 Dec 2025

Figures are Barclays Bank UK PLC's own FCA complaints return for the reporting period 1 July to 31 December 2025 (H2 2025), published on Barclays' UK complaints-data page. Barclays reports 42 million accounts in its banking category and covers the Barclays, Barclaycard, Barclays Business Bank and Tesco Bank brands. 'Opened' counts complaints logged in the period; percentages are Barclays self-reported and not independently audited, and cover a single six-month period. Banking and credit cards is by far the largest product grouping and the most relevant to personal customers. Figures for the separate Barclays Bank PLC (investment/corporate bank) are reported separately and are much smaller (9,293 banking and credit-card complaints opened).

Contact methods

Complaint journey

1
Contact Barclays
Raise your complaint by phone, post, in the app, online or in branch.
Typical responseImmediate
What happens
Call 0800 282 390 (option 1 for a new complaint; +44 (0)207 116 7488 from abroad), write to ‘Freepost Barclays Customer Relations’ (no stamp or postcode), raise it in the Barclays app or online, or speak to someone in a branch.
2
Acknowledgement and reference number
Barclays confirms it is looking into your complaint and gives you a reference.
Typical responseAs soon as possible
What happens
Barclays says it will aim to get back to you as soon as possible to confirm it is investigating, tell you when to expect a response, and give you a unique reference number so it can find your record quickly.
3
Investigation
Barclays looks into what happened and keeps you updated.
Typical responseRegular updates
What happens
In many cases Barclays says it can put things right straight away; where it needs longer to investigate it will keep you updated on progress and may contact you by phone, email or post for more information.
4
Final response
Barclays writes to you with its decision on your complaint.
Typical response8 weeks (payments: 15–35 days)
What happens
For payment-service complaints Barclays aims to send a final response within 15 days and no later than 35 days after receiving your complaint. For all other complaints it sends its final response in writing within 8 weeks; if it needs longer it will write to explain why and say when to expect the response.
5
Ask for a review or escalate to the Ombudsman
If you are unhappy, ask Barclays to look again or go to the Financial Ombudsman.
Typical responseWithin 6 months
What happens
If you think Barclays has missed something you can ask it to review your complaint again. Once you have Barclays' final response, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to review it free — you must contact the ombudsman within 6 months of the final-response letter, and they will ask to see it.

Response times

Barclays says it will aim to get back to you as soon as possible to acknowledge your complaint, confirm it is investigating and give you a unique reference number. For complaints about payment services it aims to send a final response within 15 days and no later than 35 days after receiving the complaint, in line with the Payment Services Regulations. For all other complaints it sends its final response in writing within 8 weeks, the general FCA limit; if it needs more time it will write to explain why and say when to expect the response. If Barclays cannot resolve a complaint within 8 weeks, or issues a final response you disagree with, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If your complaint isn’t resolved

If Barclays can’t put things right, you can escalate — free of charge — to an independent body:

Financial Ombudsman Service

Recent news

16 July 2025
The FCA fined the Barclays group a total of £42,408,300 over financial-crime failings. Barclays Bank UK PLC — the ring-fenced retail bank — was fined £3,093,600 for failing to properly assess money-laundering risk before opening a client-money account for WealthTek, and agreed a voluntary £6,281,757 payment to WealthTek's clients; the separate Barclays Bank PLC was fined £39,314,700 over its handling of Stunt & Co. Both penalties reflected a 30% settlement discount.
Read more
27 February 2026
Barclays' half-yearly UK complaints data showed a marked fall in volumes: total complaints to Barclays Bank UK PLC dropped about 43% compared with the first half of 2025, with banking complaints down 45%, and it opened 80,470 banking and credit-card complaints (2.01 per 1,000 accounts) in the six months to 31 December 2025. The figures now also include Tesco Bank.
Read more

Earlier cases

27 June 2012
Historic: the Financial Services Authority (the FCA's predecessor) fined Barclays Bank PLC £59.5 million — then its largest-ever fine — for manipulating and making misleading LIBOR and EURIBOR submissions, breaching FSA Principles 2, 3 and 5. Barclays also paid US$200m to the US CFTC and US$160m to the US Department of Justice as part of a wider settlement.
Read more

Know your rights

Payment Services Regulations 2017
Govern how Barclays must handle payments, unauthorised transactions and payment-services complaints, including the 15-day (up to 35-day) final-response window Barclays applies to payment-services complaints. This is general information, not legal advice.
APP scam mandatory reimbursement (PSR rules, in force 7 October 2024)
For most authorised push payment scams made by Faster Payments or CHAPS on or after 7 October 2024, Barclays and the receiving bank must reimburse eligible victims, usually within five business days, up to a maximum of £85,000, with the cost shared 50:50 between the sending and receiving banks. Consumer-standard-of-caution and time-limit conditions apply.
FCA rules — DISP and Banking: Conduct of Business (BCOBS)
Set Barclays' complaint-handling obligations, the eight-week final-response deadline and your right to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and require fair treatment of banking customers. This is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I complain to Barclays?

You can call 0800 282 390 (option 1 for a new complaint, +44 (0)207 116 7488 from abroad), write to ‘Freepost Barclays Customer Relations’ (no stamp or postcode needed), raise it in the Barclays app or online, or speak to someone in a branch.

How long does Barclays take to respond to a complaint?

For payment-service complaints Barclays aims to reply within 15 days and no later than 35 days; for all other complaints it sends a final response within 8 weeks. If you are still unhappy you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Am I complaining to the right Barclays?

Personal and small-business customers bank with Barclays Bank UK PLC (the ring-fenced bank, FRN 759676), which also covers Barclaycard and Tesco Bank. Corporate, investment and private-banking customers deal with the separate Barclays Bank PLC (FRN 122702) — make sure your complaint goes to the right entity.

How many complaints does Barclays get?

In the six months to 31 December 2025 Barclays Bank UK PLC opened 80,470 banking and credit-card complaints (2.01 per 1,000 accounts) and 89,539 in total, upholding 60% of the banking and credit-card complaints it closed.

Who regulates Barclays?

Barclays Bank UK PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA (FCA Firm Reference Number 759676). These regulators enforce the rules but do not resolve individual complaints — the Financial Ombudsman Service does that.

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