Calls to repay £125k to woman after banking error

Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde said Pam Beevers must be fully compensated

An MP has said he will close his Barclays bank account in protest after a woman from his constituency was left £124,875 out of pocket due to a banking error.

Pam Beevers, from Langney, in Eastbourne, East Sussex, cashed a £125,000 cheque from her dying partner at a Barclays bank branch, but was only paid £125 after it cleared.

Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde called for Ms Beevers to be fully compensated, adding: "Anything less is completely unjust."

A Barclays spokesperson said: "While we acknowledged the mistake when the cheque was paid in at our branch, the money has never been held by Barclays."

The bank added: "Therefore, we cannot refund funds that remained in an account with another bank.

"We apologise for the distress and inconvenience this has caused and offered Ms Beevers £500 to reflect this."

The Financial Ombudsman Service has provided an independent review of the case, Barclays added.

'Emotional turmoil'

Ms Beevers told BBC Radio Sussex that she had deposited the cheque at a Barclays branch in Waterlooville in October 2023, which is now closed.

She added that the cashier then handed her the "folded up the receipt".

"I didn't think to look at it, but in hindsight, I should have. I could have kicked myself to kingdom come," Ms Beevers said.

Her partner, Colin, died in November 2023.

She said that she then received an update from Barclays on her phone which stated her balance.

"I wondered where the money was," she said. "I was in a state of shock."

In January 2024, she said that she went to the Barclays branch in Eastbourne to ask about the money.

She said that her partner had closed his account at Lloyds and that she would cash the cheque.

Ms Beevers said the words on the cheque "clearly" reflected the amount of £125,000.

She said the bank asked her to take the matter with an ombudsman, which resulted in a compensation of £500, which she described as "sickening".

"I am not sure what's going to happen. We have a solicitor working on the case," she added.

"This has caused me a great deal of emotional turmoil."

Earlier this month, Babarinde called on the Prime Minister to work with him "to force Barclays Bank to compensate Ms Beevers" during Prime Minister's Questions.

Babarinde said he was "appalled" by Barclays' mistake which had a "life-changing impact".

He said he was planning to speak with the financial secretary to the Treasury to put "further pressure" on Barclays.