Have you been affected?
Both Ulster Bank and Danske Bank are further embroiled in the Tracker Mortgage Scandal following complaints made by customers to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. The Banks may be forced by the Central Bank to apply the decisions of the Ombudsman to all customers who have been affected in the same way.
Danske Bank
The High Court has refused an appeal by Danske Bank (formerly National Irish Bank) following a decision of the Financial Ombudsman after a complaint was made by a customer who switched to a new fixed rate mortgage in 2006 and was not informed that, in doing so, they were losing their right to their original 0.99% Tracker rate at the end of the fixed rate period or that they were taking out a new loan entirely.
The new loan was described as a “restructure” and fixed the customers’ rate for three years but took away their tracker rate. The Ombudsman decided that the language was ambiguous and that the customers were entitled to redress and compensation.
Ulster Bank
Similarly, Ulster Bank are currently appealing three decisions of the Financial Ombudsman to the High Court. The decisions relate to customers who were on variable home loan interest rates but who signed “flexible mortgage transfer” forms to avail of a tracker rate but later fixed their rate and were not returned to their tracker rate.
Reports have suggested that there are hundreds of customers who are affected and may be due redress and compensation. More often than not, this compensation is not nearly enough and does not reflect the hardship faced by customers who were overcharged. We can assist clients to review your entitlement to a tracker rate, appeal the level of compensation and/or take legal action against the banks.
We advise customers who feel that they may have been impacted to contact their bank and request that their account to be reviewed under the Tracker Mortgage Examination. Customers may also take up a full copy of their bank documentation to review as a subject access request under GDPR and Irish Data Protection Acts.
