My ex-husband raided my Barclays savings pot to the tune of £25k despite me never setting it up as a joint account

A Barclays customer was left reeling after discovering £25,000 had been taken from her savings overnight by her ex-husband, despite him not being named on the account.

Jane* has been a loyal customer with Barclays for nearly 25 years, having opened a current account in 1999. 

Since then, she has used two savings pots intermittently since then, including one which she put £25,000.

Barclays initially offered just £500 compensation and told Jane* the savings pot was a joint account

The cash had been sitting in a savings pot for a couple of years, since Jane’s mother’s estate had been settled. 

She noticed she wasn’t earning interest and moved the £25,000 into the interest-earning pot on 21 March.

Three days later, Jane went to buy some garden furniture, only to discover her account had been cleared.

‘That’s when I first contacted Barclays [only] to be told it was a joint account. The woman on the phone kept saying “You must know who took it, it’s your joint account”. I was floored when she said my ex-husband’s name.’

However, Jane told This Is Money the account had never been a joint account, and the money had been taken the day the cash had been deposited.

Barclays told Jane the pot had been made into a joint account in 2004, despite Jane separating from her ex-husband two years earlier. 

It is unclear how a joint account was created without Jane’s knowledge.

After raising a complaint with Barclays, she was told there was nothing that could be done and she was offered a measly £500 in compensation. 

Jane told This is Money that Barclays had initially agreed that her ex-husband’s name had never shown on the account or any statement.

After contacting the Financial Ombudsman, Jane contacted This Is Money who intervened on her behalf. 

Some days later, Barclays apologised and accepted their mistake, offering Jane the full £24,904 allegedly taken by her ex-husband.

A Barclays spokesman said: ‘This is a rare and isolated incident whereby a previous joint party named on the account did not have their access withdrawn. 

‘Their access has since been fully removed and we are extremely for the distress and inconvenience caused to our customer.

‘To resolve this complaint, we have informed the Financial Ombudsman Service that we have returned the funds lost in this transaction to our customer, along with a further payment for the distress and inconvenience caused.’

It is understood that Jane will also be offered 8 per cent interest for the duration she didn’t have access to the funds, as well as £500 compensation.

The sorry saga didn’t end there, though. 

Jane, who graciously accepted Barclay’s apology and compensation, queried how her ex-husband was allowed access to the account and is adamant it was never a joint account.

Barclays says Jane opened a single account in 2002, the year she separated from her ex-husband, and two joint savings accounts two years later.

Jane told This Is Money: ‘I left my husband in 2002. Under no circumstances would I ever have opened one, let alone two, savings accounts with him. I was already using those savings pots before then.’

She added that she had taken out a mortgage with Barclays in her own name in January 2004, the second house she’d bought on her own. However, Barclays said paperwork proving the divorce was finalised in March 2006 was only provided in 2014.

The case has now been referred to the Financial Ombudsman, who will further investigate the circumstances and how Jane’s ex-husband was able to access her account.

*Name has been changed 

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk