Jeweller wins claim against Barclays for leaving him £150,000 short

A Hatton Garden jeweller has won a claim against Barclays Bank for taking £150,000 from his account without notice.

The claim arose after a transaction occurred between the claimant and a customer who wanted to buy over £250,000 worth of diamonds. Payment was made by money transfers from an HSBC account to the jeweller's account with Barclays.

On the day the customer was due to receive the diamonds, the claimant telephoned his account manager at Barclays, who assured him that the funds had cleared. However, later the same day, before the claimant had released the diamonds to the customer, Barclays retuned the money after a request by HSBC, which suspected fraud by its account holder.

The claimant was not informed until he received a letter a number of days later, by which time he had released the first tranche of the diamonds worth over £150,000. The customer then absconded with the diamonds.

The jeweller sued his bank for breach of contract and negligence. The claimant alleged Barclays had assumed a responsibility by virtue of providing an account manager who knew the nature of the claimant's business and was aware of the specific transaction in this case.

He also argued that Barclays should have informed him as soon as it received the request from HSBC to return the money.

The bank initially defended the claims vigorously but eventually capitulated and paid for the jeweller's full losses and legal costs.

Giles Mooney, a barrister practising from 9 Gough Square representing the claimant, said: "This is a sobering tale that reveals how the banks can just take money out of your account without proper notice or any thought to the consequences.

"My client went through a difficult and stressful time before Barclays owned up to its error, and it is now incumbent on Barclays and other banks to put more stringent procedures in place to inform their customers when something like this happens."

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