A probate services company which has signed a deal to ­handle Barclays customers was the subject of criticism this week.

ITC Legal Services (ITC), which according to its website has a transparent fixed-fee policy which makes it competitive on price with solicitors, has agreed a third-party arrangement to run Barclays Bank’s deceased case management activities.

As part of the arrangement, ITC has access to all of a deceased person’s Barclays Bank account details, and may refer the bereaved friend or relative to its own, commercially independent probate services division to arrange a home visit. Staff operate from a call centre, where there are four qualified solicitors.

Jeremy Groeger-Wilson, head of the wills and estates team at Kent firm Clarkson Wright & Jakes, questioned ITC’s claims of price competitiveness. He said he was also concerned that vulnerable people may feel under pressure to sign up to the probate service.

A spokeswoman for Barclays Bank said it had come to an official outsourcing arrangement for ITC to become a third-party supplier of deceased case management services on its behalf. ITC, therefore, had access to paperwork and other details relating to the deceased’s bank accounts and other relationships with Barclays Bank. The connection between Barclays Bank and ITC was made clear to customers, she stressed.

ITC chief executive Martin Trees said he was unable to respond to queries put to him by the Gazette, but endorsed the comments from Barclays Bank.