Barclays ‘legal obligation’ as customers face extra charges | Personal Finance | Finance

A Barclays customer was surprised to receive messages from the bank about expecting extra fees to be paid after opening his new account. The saver contacted the bank via X to express confusion about some text messages they had received.

“Why do I receive these messages when my account is opened at the branch and why do you charge me a fee to respond?” they said.

They shared screenshots of their phone screens in two text messages. One asked the customer to answer “yes” or “no” to confirm whether they were “only a UK taxpayer and not a US citizen”.

The other message read: “Hello, we recently sent you a message regarding your tax residency information – please respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the text below. Your Barclays team.”

Barclays responded to apologize for the shock caused by the unexpected messages, saying: “I can understand your concern, especially if they are unexpected messages.”

The bank explained that it was a legal obligation for them to learn their tax details. The group said: “We are legally required to collect tax residency information for all clients who have access to income and assets associated with our accounts.

“You can rest assured that the SMS is legitimate, please respond with YES/NO according to your Tax residency status. Any costs incurred in responding will be borne by your current network provider.”

Barclays also invited the customer to send a direct message with their full name, postcode and contact number to discuss the matter further.

Bank’s website states Under UK law “all financial institutions” are required to determine the tax residence of all account holders.