Barclays (LON:BARC) has apologised for giving thousands of customers wrong information regarding payment protection insurance (PPI) claims.
The bank admitted that some customers had been told they had not taken out PPI despite this not being the case.
However, the bank said it was taking the necessary steps to contact the “very small percentage of customers” who were affected.
Specifically, Barclays stated that in “less than 1.1%” of those cases where requests came via claims management companies, customers were wrongly told that they did not have PPI.”
Earlier this month Barclays chairman John McFarlane came under fire after comments he made suggesting that many PPI claims had been fraudulent.
“The percentage of fraudulent claims is enormous,” McFarlane told the Mail on Sunday.
“We have turned portions of Britain into fraudsters.
“It was in the government’s interests [for customers to receive PPI compensation]: consumer spending rose and it weakened the banks, so the government is complicit here in the decline of the City. This is stimulation of the economy by buying flat-screen televisions.”
Various banks have been investigated by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over mis-sold mortgage insurance.
Barclays has been particularly affected by penalties relating to PPI charges.
Profits at the bank fell by 29 percent to £1.7 billion in the first half of the year, in part due to a £400 million PPI charge as well as a £1.4 billion settlement with US authorities over its selling of mortgage-backed securities.
Alongside Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS have faced numerous penalties relating to PPI and litigation issues.
According to Standard’s & Poor’s, in the five year period up to 2015, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS have collectively incurred costs of £55.8 billion relating to compensation and legal expenses.
The FCA has said that a total of £32.2 billion has been paid to PPI claimants since 2011.
Claimants still have until 29 August 2019 to submit a claim.
Shares in Barclays are trading +0.27 percent as of 14.28PM (GMT).