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ULSTER BANK CUSTOMERS who were forced to visit a branch more often to access their current accounts during the summer months because of technical problems within the group are to receive a one-off payment of €25.
The bank said the compensation was “in recognition of the inconvenience” caused by the so-called technical glitch which affected about 600,000 customers between 19 June and the start of August.
Ulster Bank said it will make the payment to those who visited the bank more frequently between 19 June and 18 July than in the previous corresponding period of 19 May to 18 June.
For customers with a savings account, an automatic but one-off payment, equating to an additional rate for 3 months of 0.06 per cent Gross, 0.25 per cent AER (fixed) on the average daily balance between 1 September and 30 November 2012, will be made.
The bank has also promised to reimburse customers who have incurred “reasonable out-of-pocket expenses” as a result of the incident. Claims will be processed from 3 September with the bank offering to pay an additional 20 per cent up to a maximum of €120. Original paperwork, such as phone bills, bus tickets, travel receipts, bills and invoices, will be required to back up claims.
As part of its package, Ulster Bank said it wants to recognise the inconvenience caused and as another measure of goodwill will waive certain fees, charges and surcharge interest over a three-month-period. It has also made a commitment not to introduce account maintenance fees for all current account customers until July next year.
Ulster Bank also added that it was working with credit reference agencies to ensure that no customer’s ratings have been permanently affected as a result of the technical issues. Credit reports will be issued by local branches on request and free of charge.
If a current account holder has not incurred any out-of-pocket expenses and does not qualify for the €25 payment but feels they have suffered as a result of the summer problems, they have been encouraged to speak to a member of staff at their local branch or call the helpline.
Ulster Bank has already started to refund all fees, charges and debit interest that may have been charged in error. It is also correcting any credit interest owed to personal, SME and corporate customers’ accounts. It expects the adjustments to be completed by the end of October.
Customers of other banks
For non-Ulster Bank customers, fees, charges or interest that were incurred as a result of the incident will either not be applied or will be refunded directly by their own bank, where identified.
Customers who want to seek reimbursement for expenses have been told to contact their own banks, which will use their usual complaint handling policies and procedures to investigate and respond.
CEO Jim Brown apologised to customers again and thanked people for their patience.
“We recognise that we have work to do to restore our customers’ trust in us and we believe that this is the first step in that direction,” he said.
A provision of €35.5 million has been made by Ulster Bank’s parent group RBS in its latest accounts but the company expects to incur further expenses because of the “scale of the impact” of the incident.
Were you affected by the Ulster Bank technical glitch? Are you happy with the compensation package? Let us know in the comments section.
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One big problem in Ireland (Not entirely related to this article) is women with kids are encouraged to stay at home and have to depend on their husbands as creche fees are absolutely absurd. The price to put 2 children into my local creche is €1800 per month. This means that skilled women (in some cases men) are staying at home!
In Belgium they are subsidized so that they can work. Even a house cleaner is subsidized. This kind of system stops women having to stay at home to look after the kids and carry out house work and most importantly getting bullied by an unfair husband!
I don’t think subsidies are the way to go here. people here have this ‘the state should pay for my lifestyle choices’ mentality. Isn’t ireland broke? Why not pay a nanny to look after the kids when you are at work instead? have you a family support network, whereby your parents could help out?
Why didn’t you think of the costs a child involves before you had 2 children in the first place? people in westernized welfare state countries seem to just have kids and expect everyone else to pay for it. This doesn’t happen in the US, and it sure as heck doesn’t happen in any realistic state that doesn’t want to end up in the hands of the IMF.
No Lizzy.
Subsidies are the way to go if it means skilled women are going to be working and paying taxes, this will help Ireland. There are women with PHD’s that are staying at home to look after the kids as its not viable to put them into a creche. This is an awful waste of good skill.
No I don’t have a family support network, My parents are gone and my siblings have emigrated.
Also I don’t have 2 kids, I’m thinking about having kids so I suppose I did think of the costs a child involves as I went away and investigated it.
I was simply stating that the system that exists in Belgium encourages women to work and put their children into childcare rather than depending on their husband just in case the partnership falls apart.
It’s a bit of a tangent, but outside of medicine, I’ve never met anyone with a PhD who created anything
On the issue itself; Subsidies = cash, right? Why not make childcare tax deductible? “The people” abuse free cash just as surely as “the politicians.”
Wrong Chuck, in this case Subsidies does NOT= cash!
In Belgium is costs around €250 to send your child to a creche for the month, It costs this little as it is subsidised by the government. This is certainly the case in Kortrijk.
People pay a lot more tax over there alright but their system seems to work alot better than ours when you count in all the subsidies.
@ Lizzie
Clueless comments really.
Many countries subsidize child care, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France and many others.
@ Chuck
“I’ve never met anyone with a PhD who created anything”
Astonishing. Who do you think develops pharmaceuticals? Medical devices? Computers? etc etc etc
“It’s a bit of a tangent, but outside of medicine, I’ve never met anyone with a PhD who created anything”
Read the 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th words there…….
I cannot believe it was only in 1990 that rape within a marriage was ok, if a guy had of tried it he would had swiftly got to meet my friend the baseball bat, I know some one who was raped within a marriage and it changed the person she was and the relationship she had with her child was destroyed
No offense to the Irish generation above me, but you guys have so much crap that you should be ashamed of. On a regular basis I’m thankful that I didn’t have to live into that kind of Ireland.
And in fairness I’ve little doubt the same applied to alot of other small countries too.
We still have a long way to go but we’re making progress.
don’t be so sure that the current generation is without it’s faults and skeletons in it’s closets.
It’s great for you to look back and say the past generations had so much crap but alot of this continous and people in their 20′s now are just as capable of doing the same stuff that people did 40-50 years ago and they do.
True, but at least now,with Internet, immigration and improves technology answer education we’re more influenced by the outside and don’t hold onto ideas and assumptions about how things should be as much.
But yea I’ve little doubt the next generation will look back at massive aspects of our lives and wonder “what the hell were they thinking “.
Adrian your living in a dream world with that reproachful look you throw at the past Irish, and the self congratulation of the present. It’s only because of outside influences that Ireland has OSTENSIBLY changed… the EU, internet and the piles of money invested here which allowed thousands travel and form their own identities free of toxic influences form the collective here.
Some things have changed, but we haven’t moved on that much as a nation, despite outside and technological advances. Still ruled by the corrupt, still women get less pay, less opportunites, still lots of pressure to conform, still poor people and the vulnerable are raped in many other ways then sexually,
and if you haven’t occassionaly fought to change the system that is here, you are just as guilty as anyone in the past. if you have, good on ya!
Well done to the women who have come forward with this story, hopefully you are healing now after all the abuse and shame on the men of this country who did this damage to there wives and families , thankfully we are a society who now can get help with most things and move forward……..well done to OWN try and keep going even though you have little funding .
Thumbs up if you blame the church!
What a dumb comment! Sigh….
I am ashamed of being a man
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