By . Rachel Rickard Straus . PUBLISHED: . 03:20 EST, 17 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:13 EST, 17 September 2013 . Barclays will have to refund £100million next month after 300,000 customers were overcharged because of paperwork blunders. The bank admitted yesterday it had breached the Consumer Credit Act by wrongly charging interest to personal loan customers in a series of errors dating back to 2008. Up to 300,000 Barclays customers could be in line for a windfall of a few hundred pounds each as repayment for the errors, which relate to arrears notices and statements. Payout: Up to 300,000 Barclays customers could receive a few hundred pounds each . But the full extent of the errors is not yet known. The refunds will be given to personal loan customers, but the bank has . revealed it is now reviewing all its businesses – including Barclaycard – . to assess them for similar problems. This raises the prospect of even more refunds – Barclaycard has more than ten million customers in the UK. Buried on page 28 of its 10,000-word prospectus, Barclays said it had 'identified certain issues with the information contained in historic statements and arrears notices relating to consumers loan accounts. It is therefore implementing a plan to return interest incorrectly charged to customers'. Barclays says those affected will be contacted and that customers do not need to take any action themselves. The admission comes as Barclays faces a £50million fine over allegations it channelled more than £300million in secret fees to Middle Eastern investors during an emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis. The embattled lender said it is appealing against the huge penalty from watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority, which has branded its behaviour ‘reckless’. News that it is facing another huge fine will come as a blow to beleaguered investors and chief executive Antony Jenkins, who is trying to both restore the bank’s reputation as well as get its finances in order. It follows the £59million fine levied on the bank last summer for rigging Libor interest rates by defunct regulator the Financial Services Authority. The allegations surround fees paid when Barclays went cap in hand to Qatari investors in June and October of 2008. Barclays . is accused of making improper payments worth £322million to oil the wheels of . the deal. This saw Qatar Holding, part of the state-owned investment . authority of Qatar, pump £5.3billion into the bank by snapping up new shares. Facing allegations: Barclays is accused of making improper payments worth £322million to Qatari investors . The deal, sealed at the height of the financial crisis, helped Barclays avoid going to the Government for taxpayer support. But it has come back to haunt the bank. It is accused by the FCA of acting ‘recklessly’ and breaching stock market rules by failing to disclose the fees to investors  in the prospectus issued at the time. The bank is battling the allegations and said the fees were paid for advice. It is also being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office as well as US authorities. Barclays said that adverse findings could lead to fines, ‘possible criminal liability’. The dispute could go to a tribunal and  take months to be finalised. The watchdog issued warning notices to Barclays last week, including notification of the financial penalty. A Barclays spokesman said of the personal loan blunder: ‘Barclays has proactively reviewed information it has historically sent to its customers relating to interest charges where we have found technical documentary errors. ‘As a result Barclays has identified certain issues with the information contained in some statements and arrears notices relating to consumer loan accounts. ‘Due to these notification errors, interest was not due on certain accounts during the period that Barclays made this mistake, and whilst no one has been mis-sold to, customers are entitled to have their interest payments returned. No customer will pay more than they were ever contractually expected to. ‘Barclays has notified the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which is responsible for consumer credit issues and is implementing a plan to return interest payments to customers as swiftly and efficiently as possible. ‘Barclays is undertaking a review of all its businesses where similar issues could arise to assess any related issues.'
Blunders relate to personal loans dating back to October 2008 .
Barclays has warned its Barclaycard division could also have been affected .
Barclays faces a £50m fine over allegations it channelled more than £300m in secret fees to Middle Eastern investors .
By . Rachel Rickard Straus . PUBLISHED: . 03:20 EST, 17 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:13 EST, 17 September 2013 . Barclays will have to refund £100million next month after 300,000 customers were overcharged because of paperwork blunders. The bank admitted yesterday it had breached the Consumer Credit Act by wrongly charging interest to personal loan customers in a series of errors dating back to 2008. Up to 300,000 Barclays customers could be in line for a windfall of a few hundred pounds each as repayment for the errors, which relate to arrears notices and statements. Payout: Up to 300,000 Barclays customers could receive a few hundred pounds each . But the full extent of the errors is not yet known. The refunds will be given to personal loan customers, but the bank has . revealed it is now reviewing all its businesses – including Barclaycard – . to assess them for similar problems. This raises the prospect of even more refunds – Barclaycard has more than ten million customers in the UK. Buried on page 28 of its 10,000-word prospectus, Barclays said it had 'identified certain issues with the information contained in historic statements and arrears notices relating to consumers loan accounts. It is therefore implementing a plan to return interest incorrectly charged to customers'. Barclays says those affected will be contacted and that customers do not need to take any action themselves. The admission comes as Barclays faces a £50million fine over allegations it channelled more than £300million in secret fees to Middle Eastern investors during an emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis. The embattled lender said it is appealing against the huge penalty from watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority, which has branded its behaviour ‘reckless’. News that it is facing another huge fine will come as a blow to beleaguered investors and chief executive Antony Jenkins, who is trying to both restore the bank’s reputation as well as get its finances in order. It follows the £59million fine levied on the bank last summer for rigging Libor interest rates by defunct regulator the Financial Services Authority. The allegations surround fees paid when Barclays went cap in hand to Qatari investors in June and October of 2008. Barclays . is accused of making improper payments worth £322million to oil the wheels of . the deal. This saw Qatar Holding, part of the state-owned investment . authority of Qatar, pump £5.3billion into the bank by snapping up new shares. Facing allegations: Barclays is accused of making improper payments worth £322million to Qatari investors . The deal, sealed at the height of the financial crisis, helped Barclays avoid going to the Government for taxpayer support. But it has come back to haunt the bank. It is accused by the FCA of acting ‘recklessly’ and breaching stock market rules by failing to disclose the fees to investors  in the prospectus issued at the time. The bank is battling the allegations and said the fees were paid for advice. It is also being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office as well as US authorities. Barclays said that adverse findings could lead to fines, ‘possible criminal liability’. The dispute could go to a tribunal and  take months to be finalised. The watchdog issued warning notices to Barclays last week, including notification of the financial penalty. A Barclays spokesman said of the personal loan blunder: ‘Barclays has proactively reviewed information it has historically sent to its customers relating to interest charges where we have found technical documentary errors. ‘As a result Barclays has identified certain issues with the information contained in some statements and arrears notices relating to consumer loan accounts. ‘Due to these notification errors, interest was not due on certain accounts during the period that Barclays made this mistake, and whilst no one has been mis-sold to, customers are entitled to have their interest payments returned. No customer will pay more than they were ever contractually expected to. ‘Barclays has notified the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which is responsible for consumer credit issues and is implementing a plan to return interest payments to customers as swiftly and efficiently as possible. ‘Barclays is undertaking a review of all its businesses where similar issues could arise to assess any related issues.'
series of errors dating back to 2008. Up to a £50million fine over allegations it channelled more than £300million in secret fees to Middle Eastern investors during an emergency fundraising blunder: ‘Barclays has proactively reviewed