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TODAY THE CENTRAL bank revealed the number of customers overcharged by their banks as a result of the tracker mortgage scandal had risen to 33,700.
In a strongly-worded statement, it also said that in 13,600 of those cases it had to push for the lenders to admit these customers were impacted.
Today all of the main banks issued statements updating their numbers, with one of them – AIB - admitting to issues with an additional 4,900 accounts.
AIB split impacted customers into three groups
These new figures bring the total number of impacted AIB accounts to 13,848.
The bank has compensated 3,146 customers in the first group and a further 130 will be complete by the end of the year. AIB also identified 956 customers who were on a tracker rate, but who were being charged a higher rate of interest than they should have been. It most cases, the bank said the overcharging was less than €500.
So far, 736 accounts in the second group have received redress and compensation and another 220 will receive payments by the end of March next year.
AIB will pay each of the customers in the third group compensation of €1,000 plus €615 towards independent advice by the end of March 2018. They will also have the option for a 12 month period to avail of the bank’s current prevailing tracker rate on a go forward basis and the right to appeal through the independent appeals process.
KBC‘s figures have also increased significantly. The lender had initially identified 417 accounts as impacted and it said the majority of these will receive redress and compensation by the end of the year. This had been on top of the 517 overcharged accounts the bank had identified in a review back in 2010.
In October this year, however, the bank said it anticipated an additional 200 – 600 accounts would be identified. Today the bank said the actual number of additional impacted accounts is 2,557.
“These accounts will be moved back to a tracker rate, if the account is still open, and they will receive redress and compensation,” it said. Payment of redress and compensation for the customers identified more recently as impacted will commence in January 2018 and complete by the end of June 2018.
Bank of Ireland, which has admitted to overcharging on 10,300 accounts, said all impacted customers with an open mortgage account have been returned to their correct tracker rate.
7,270 customers have been contacted with an offer of compensation, and an additional 400 offers of compensation were issued today.
1,947 customers have received payment of their compensation to date and a further 250 compensation payments are currently being processed.
“We are working hard to make things right for all impacted customers – and are continuing to work closely with them to ensure that we can fix this issue, as sensitively as we can, in all cases,” the bank’s CEO Francesca McDonagh said in a statement.
Ulster Bank, which has identified just under 3,500 customers as impacted, said all have been put back on their tracker rate.
Redress and compensation has been paid to 1,017 customers to date.
“I would like to reiterate my unreserved apology for the failures which led to customers being impacted under the examination, as well as for the length of time which it is taking for us to put this right. This apology extends to all customers, even those not impacted by the examination as well as to our people working in Ulster Bank. However, we continue to learn from this and we are focused on completing this process, putting this right and rebuilding trust in Ulster Bank,” chief executive Gerry Mallon said.
Mallon also said that following feedback from the Central Bank, Ulster Bank is working to identify any additional impacted customers.
Permanent TSB has paid back and compensated all 1,980 customers it identified as impacted by the scandal. Chief Executive Jeremy Masding said the failures which led to this issue should not have occurred.
“We again apologise to all customers who were impacted by these failures.”
The Central Bank has a number of enforcement investigations ongoing and is also due to make a report to the Minister next summer.
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Something unnatural about all this. Who would let work dictate their entire life and the existence or non-existence of their kids?!
Yeah, imagine forcing women to delay having children so they can make even more super profits.
Disgraceful. Yeah.
Careers should fit around families not the other way round.
If equal maternity and paternity leave was given and jobs were shared properly upon return to the workplace then there would be no need nor a want to freeze eggs for this purpose.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a partner and be able to make the decision that they will have kids eg. next year. If it was only that simple!!
Some of us might liked to have kids before 35 but relationships didnt work out etc. No harm to freeze a few eggs, take the pressure off!
Very true but this should be state enabled. Rather than by multinational companies looking to increase their profits rather than look out for the individual.
These companies are looking to increase female participation and I would think that the majority of women are held back by the fact that maternity leave (without equal paternity leave) takes them out of the professional world and leaves them at a negative standing.
Introduce paternity leave and level the playing field. And give fathers their right to bond with their children too.
Obviously, not every family is catered for in this situation, but if you want to freeze your eggs I don’t think facebook or apple should have anything to do with it.
Thats all true Laoise.. I know plenty of women want to go back to their career once maternity leave is over. Its their right and it should be so. Sadly things can change in the workplace while you are away. Its often very subtle. Sometimes its not. Personally speaking, my job was given to the bosses son during my maternity leave and i was made redundant. I could have sued but i think i was glad. I got a job 2 minutes away from home with less stress.
Having said all that and i am glad that i am with the kids full time now, i do miss working. There is a bias against working mothers and its terribly unfair. Something needs to change!
@Laoise This sounds like it is aimed at their American workforce, and over there all healthcare is generally paid for by your employer.
Agh nepotism is another thing I’d love to eradicate but that’s just an ideal world.
Things certainly need to change but I’d like to think they are slowly. There’s an apetite for discussion over these matters whereas before anything other than the status quo was shot down.
And, I think the view of the working mother is changing now also. I know plenty of working mothers, single and married that excell at working and raising a family. Lots of working fathers that buck the trend too. There just needs to be encouragement. :)
@John They may be targeting American avenues now but they have a large employee base in Ireland too so that ethos may eventually carry over here.
And I’ll use any excuse to talk about maternity/paternity leave in Ireland :)
New life is never guaranteed, speaking from experience I would never have delayed having children.. Little did I know it was never meant to be ..
This is actually disgusting, I can understand career people not wanting kids but I wouldn’t delay having my family to make my boss happy. Good shout about Apple and facebook, it’s about time they paid their way
Unclench!
Nobody is forced to do this. It’s actually an additional benefit being offered to those who want it..
Its would be great if Apple and Facebook paid their taxes too. Maybe we could fund a lot more social health solutions.
Brave New World!?
I was lucky to have one and we should have started much earlier!
Short-sighted view of employee retention and maximising talent and also a way to eliminate older workers. Would like to see upfront their policy on supporting the same women returning to the workforce following maternity leave in their 40′s and supporting their careers having frozen their eggs. But no, that’s probably not part of the plan. If they’re not going to support family-friendly policies in natural child-bearing years they’re sure as hell not going to do it in later years.
Corporate greed and short-term view of retention and maximising employee talent. Would like to see what their family-friendly policy is in supporting older women returning to the workforce following maternity in their 40′s having frozen their eggs. No, probably not part of the plan.
It would be great if Apple and Facebook paid their taxes too, instead of using our society as place to wash money through.
Corporate state. Orwell. Is well and truly here.
the system programming the robots
Sad state of affairs. With the recession many people are finding themselves in this crux. Having both partners working has eroded a lot of family life. All to pay a bigger mortgage.
So true
I heard other so called experts suggest that women should go back to giving birth at 17 or 18 straight after leaving high school as they could be in college at 20 – 21 and ready to give the rest of their lives over to their career.In other words if you must have kids have them but your life belongs to a corporation and don’t forget that.Also I’ve read a theory that some companies should start providing on site full schooling ie.playgroup – university for employees kids so that the kids can be raised in the corporate culture so that they could make perfect future employees. Companies like Google or Facebook certainly have the resourses to create such a system and the need for such employees.I put it down as a conspiricy theory but now Im not so sure.
This is outrageous, particularly since ova preservation has a much lower success rate than sperm or embryo preservation! Great that they are giving their employees the option if that’s what they wish, but not sure it would be for me!
Corporation ey?
have your say