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

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents/barclays-2023-automated-mortgage-charge-discharge-error
Last updated: Oct 21, 2026

Barclays Bank UK plc · Institution's own AI · severity 3 of 5

Per the High Court's 2023 judgments in Barclays Bank UK plc's representative claim against its borrowers, Barclays devised and tested for eleven months a computer programme to find mortgage charges it believed no longer secured any debt and to discharge them automatically at HM Land Registry. About 25,905 of some 41,213 listed charges were removed before customer queries to Barclays and the Land Registry exposed the error; the bank stopped the process and found 5,141 charges still secured live loans. The court granted rescission and ordered the titles corrected, while Barclays paid for borrowers' independent legal advice and undertook to compensate anyone who proves a loss. The courts describe an automated programme, not AI.

## Key facts

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Date | 2023 (disclosed Oct 23, 2023) |
| Institution | Barclays Bank UK plc |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| AI system | Automated computer programme built to identify redeemed mortgages and discharge their charges at HM Land Registry; not described as AI |
| AI? | Automated system not described as AI — The system was automated, but neither the institution nor a regulator described it as AI; it is listed because it is routinely discussed as an AI failure. |
| Category | Other (Institution's own AI) |
| Status | Resolved |
| 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— Material harm risk across thousands of customers: 5,141 live mortgage loans were left unsecured until the High Court rescinded the discharges in a series of 2023 hearings, with Barclays undertaking to compensate any borrower who proves a loss. |

## 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]

## Timeline

- 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]
- Oct 12, 2023 — Barclays issues a Part 8 claim against representative borrowers seeking rescission of the mistaken discharges. [1]
- 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]
- Nov 14, 2023 — Orders are made for 3,898 straightforward titles. [2]
- 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.
- 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]

## 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?

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]

## FAQ

### What went wrong with Barclays' mortgage charges in 2023?

Per the High Court, a computer programme Barclays built to find redeemed mortgages and remove their charges at HM Land Registry produced an inaccurate list. About 25,905 charges were discharged automatically before customer queries revealed the problem, and 5,141 of them still secured outstanding loans.

### Did Barclays borrowers get their mortgages written off?

No. The court found the discharges were a mistake and that it would be unconscionable for borrowers to keep the benefit, so it rescinded them and ordered the Land Registry titles corrected so the charges subsist again. The borrowers still owed the money throughout.

### Was Barclays' discharge programme AI?

No. The judgments describe a computer programme devised and tested over eleven months and an automatic discharge process on Barclays' system, and Mrs Justice Bacon calls the cause an internal process error. Neither judgment describes it as artificial intelligence; it is recorded here as an automated-system failure.

### Were Barclays customers compensated?

Barclays paid for independent legal advice for all affected borrowers, undertook to compensate any borrower who can prove a loss caused by the mistaken discharge, and undertook not to add its legal or rectification costs to any borrower's mortgage account, according to the November 2023 judgment.

## Sources

1. [Barclays Bank UK plc v representative borrowers [2023] EWHC 2726 (Ch), judgment of HHJ Paul Matthews](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2023/2726) — High Court of England and Wales (The National Archives, Find Case Law), Oct 23, 2023 (court): "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](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2023/3113) — High Court of England and Wales (The National Archives, Find Case Law), Nov 30, 2023 (court): "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."

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