Barclays' automated programme wrongly removed 5,141 live mortgage charges from the Land Registry

What happened?

Per the judgment of HHJ Paul Matthews on 23 October 2023, Barclays ran a long-term project to identify mortgages that had been redeemed but whose charges had never been removed. Because of the numbers involved, "this was to be done by way of a computer programme which was devised and tested over a long period, I am told eleven months, to identify those charges." The programme identified 38,313 charges, and an internal "Go/no-go" meeting added a further book of about 2,730, making some 41,213.[1]

After the meeting authorised it, "the charges began to be automatically discharged on the system", with simultaneous applications to the Land Registry to remove them from the registered titles. After about 25,905 charges had been discharged, Barclays and the Land Registry began receiving enquiries from customers who believed they still owed money. Barclays stopped the process and investigated; the Land Registry had done exactly what it was told, and the list Barclays used was not accurate. Barclays concluded that some 5,141 charges had been discharged although money was still owing.[1]

Barclays issued a Part 8 claim on 12 October 2023 against representative borrowers on behalf of the whole affected group. The judge found a distinct mistake, noting "the claimant took some care to produce an accurate list", granted summary judgment for the representative defendants' property, and set a "bifurcated" process for the remaining borrowers, who could raise reasons specific to their cases.[1]

Per Mrs Justice Bacon's judgment of 30 November 2023, which describes "the mistaken discharge, by the claimant, of over 5,000 registered legal charges on properties due to an internal process error", the 3,898 straightforward titles were dealt with on 14 November 2023 and orders for 936 titles with third-party interests were made on 30 November, with further titles left to later hearings.[2]

When did it happen?

1. Oct 2023

   By early October 2023 (the judgments give no exact date), Barclays' automated programme has discharged about 25,905 charges at HM Land Registry, customer queries have exposed that 5,141 still secured live loans, and Barclays has stopped the process.[1]

2. Oct 12, 2023

   Barclays issues a Part 8 claim against representative borrowers seeking rescission of the mistaken discharges.[1]

3. Oct 23, 2023

   The High Court grants summary judgment rescinding the discharge of the representative defendants' charge and sets a process for the other borrowers.[1][2]

4. Nov 14, 2023

   Orders are made for 3,898 straightforward titles.[2]

5. Nov 30, 2023

   The court makes orders for 936 titles with third-party interests; further titles are listed for 20 December 2023 or later.[2]

What was the impact?

• Customers: 5,141 borrowers whose mortgage charges were wrongly removed while their loans were still outstanding, plus third parties with interests in some of the titles.[1][2]
• Other: About 25,905 charges were discharged before the process was stopped; Barclays was left an unsecured creditor on the affected loans until the court restored the charges. The judgments record no quantified loss.[1][2]

Severity 3 of 5: Material harm risk across thousands of customers: 5,141 live mortgage loans were left unsecured until the High Court rescinded the discharges in a series of 2023 hearings, with Barclays undertaking to compensate any borrower who proves a loss.

How did Barclays Bank UK plc respond?

Barclays' response is recorded in the court judgments: it stopped the programme as soon as it learned of the queries, investigated, and sought rescission through the courts. It paid for an independent law firm to advise all the affected borrowers, undertook to compensate any borrower who proves a loss from the mistaken discharge, agreed to pay the defendants' costs from 14 November 2023, and undertook not to add its costs of the proceedings or of rectifying the error to any borrower's mortgage account. No separate public statement from Barclays was found in the sources reviewed as of 2026-10-21.[1][2]

What was the outcome, and did regulators act?

The High Court rescinded the mistaken discharges and ordered the Land Registry titles altered so the charges subsist again, in batches through late 2023, with Barclays claiming priority over certain third-party interests on 80 titles by agreement. No regulator action over the error has been reported as of 21 October 2026.[1][2]

1. Barclays Bank UK plc v representative borrowers [2023] EWHC 2726 (Ch), judgment of HHJ Paul Matthews court
   High Court of England and Wales (The National Archives, Find Case Law) · Oct 23, 2023
   “Because the meeting decided to go ahead, the charges began to be automatically discharged on the system, which discharges simultaneously made related applications to the Land Registry to remove the charges from the registered title.”
2. Barclays Bank UK plc v representative borrowers [2023] EWHC 3113 (Ch), judgment of Mrs Justice Bacon court
   High Court of England and Wales (The National Archives, Find Case Law) · Nov 30, 2023
   “This is the latest of a series of hearings to resolve the mistaken discharge, by the claimant, of over 5,000 registered legal charges on properties due to an internal process error.”