A MAN left disappointed after hiring two escorts for £8,000 tried to get the money back from his bank using rules meant for scam victims.
He said he booked them for three hours through a website and met at an agreed location.
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But he made a formal complaint to Barclays after feeling ripped off.
The High Street bank ruled it was impossible to know what exactly he had agreed with the escorts and told the man — identified only as “Mr H” — to pursue a civil case against them.
Instead, he took his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Rejecting his claim, it said in a judgment: “It’s clear that the escorts met in the agreed meeting place and spent some time with Mr H.
“This suggests an intention to deliver the agreed services.
“The escorts may not have completed what was agreed and/or Mr H did not receive all the services he expected — but that’s not enough to say that this was a scam. I accept Mr H may feel the agreement was not completed, and the escorts are now uncontactable.
“But overall, I think it is reasonable to consider that this is a civil dispute between the parties.
“I don’t know whether he has a legitimate grievance against the escorts. But if he does, that fault doesn’t lie with Barclays.”
Last night Barclays said: “The protection of our customers’ funds and data is our highest priority.”