DRN6142717 – General comparator: breakdown of legal fees charged to a mortgage account (Barclays)
What happened: A complaint against Barclays about legal fees of £6,943 charged to a shared ownership mortgage account after possession proceedings were stopped. The borrower's relatives said Barclays had refused to give a breakdown of the fees. The Ombudsman obtained and reviewed the confidential breakdown, the solicitors' charging scheme and the invoices, was satisfied that reasonable legal fees had been charged, and did not uphold the complaint.
What the Ombudsman decided: Complaint not upheld.
A published Ombudsman decision that does not concern Rooftop Mortgages Limited. Included only as general comparator material.
What mattered to the Ombudsman
- That a lender may only claim its reasonable costs
- That the Ombudsman could review the confidential breakdown and invoices even where privilege was not waived to the borrower
- That invoices still had to be supplied to the borrower
These are the factors this particular decision treated as important. Ombudsman decisions are not precedent and another case can turn out differently.
What this does not prove
This is comparator material about another lender. It is not evidence about Rooftop, and it does not mean any particular legal fee on your account is reasonable.
Source details
- Source type
- Financial Ombudsman Service decision
- Source
- Financial Ombudsman Service, final decision DRN6142717 (Ombudsman: Claire Sharp)
- Date
- 24 October 2018
- Reference
- DRN6142717
- Mortgage type
- Residential
- Jurisdiction
- United Kingdom
- Organisations
- Barclays Bank Plc
- Source quality
- Official source
- Last checked
- 2 September 2026
- Added
- 2 September 2026
What happened
A complaint against Barclays about legal fees of £6,943 charged to a shared ownership mortgage account after possession proceedings were stopped. The borrower's relatives said Barclays had refused to give a breakdown of the fees. The Ombudsman obtained and reviewed the confidential breakdown, the solicitors' charging scheme and the invoices, was satisfied that reasonable legal fees had been charged, and did not uphold the complaint.
What the Ombudsman decided
The Ombudsman recorded that the lender can only claim its reasonable costs; that where the lender is not willing to waive privilege she could not say withholding the breakdown was unfair provided invoices were supplied to the borrower and the breakdown was shown to this service; and that, having reviewed the breakdown and invoices, reasonable legal fees including VAT had been charged.
Outcome
- Complaint not upheld.
Key extracts
“Barclays can only claim for its “reasonable” costs.”
Ombudsman, final decision DRN6142717
Why this record may be relevant
Included only as general comparator material on how the Ombudsman reviews legal fee breakdowns and invoices. This decision does not concern Rooftop Mortgages Limited.
Source
Financial Ombudsman Service, final decision DRN6142717 (Ombudsman: Claire Sharp)
View original sourceThe date shown is the date stated in the published decision by which the consumer was required to accept or reject it. This decision does not concern Rooftop Mortgages Limited and is not evidence about Rooftop.
If you believe this record is inaccurate or incomplete, see corrections and right of reply.