Secrets revealed by Barclays blunder

BANK customers had confidential details of their accounts sent to complete strangers after a computer blunder. Barclays dispatched statements to the wrong households after an error in which addresses were switched.

The mistake meant hundreds of recipients had access to the private transactions of fellow customers, including the size of their bank balance.

When one customer complained he was offered £20 compensation. He refused it so the figure was increased to £30 - which he again turned down.

The error happened last week when Barclays switched to a new software package for its computer system. Names and addresses were changed in error for a short period when customers came to update their account details over the phone, online or at a branch.

Those banking over the internet were first to be hit because the system works 24 hours a day.

Bosses managed to spot the error and notify most customers before the statements reached the wrong addresses, warning that they should be destroyed. But some customers concerned at the breach are demanding new account numbers and security details to ensure their money is safe.

Derek Smith, 44, said he was dismayed when he opened his statement last week to find the financial details of a stranger - with a hefty overdraft. Mr Smith, a train driver from Northolt, West London, said: 'I ordered the statement over the internet. The one that arrived was addressed to me but it had someone else's account number and sort code.

'At first I thought I had inadvertently got into massive debt because the person who should have been sent the statement was £2,500 overdrawn and I am not. But then I read the address on the top of the statement and it belonged to someone in Liverpool, not me.'

Staff offered Mr Smith £20 to compensate for the mistake when he phoned to report the error. He said: 'I refused it and a customer care manager offered

me £30 - but I refused that too. I want a new account number, not £30 - that doesn't make up for the security breach.

'For all I know, someone in another part of the country might be walking around knowing what I spend my money on.'

The £30 offered to Mr Smith is the same amount the bank charges for bouncing a cheque. Customers also face a £20 charge if they use a debit card while in unauthorised overdraft, while such an overdraft can incur interest of up to 27.5%.

Barclays said it would offer compensation on a case-by-case basis. A spokesman also said it had contacted those affected and asked them to destroy any items they were sent incorrectly. 'We have apologised to the individuals concerned.'