Ulster Bank compensation scheme for IT issues

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vandriver

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A colleague of my wife had €125 paid this morning(nothing in MY account though)

The [broken link removed] website has all the details.

Here is the Press Release - Brendan

Ulster Bank statement: 31st August 2012
ULSTER BANK ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE OF MEASURES FOR CUSTOMERS
Ulster Bank has today announced details of the comprehensive actions it is taking to provide full redress for customers affected by the bank’s technical incident. The package of measures is available to customers from Monday 3rd September and has been built on four core principles:

  1. Refunding all fees, charges and debit interest which may have been charged in error and correcting any credit interest owed as a result of the incident
  2. Reimbursing reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the incident
  3. Reassuring customers that their credit rating will not be permanently affected
  4. Recognising the inconvenience caused with a range of proactive customer measures
Refunding:
We are already proactively refunding all fees, charges and debit interest which may have been charged in error and correcting any credit interest owed to Personal, SME and Corporate customers’ accounts as a result of this incident. This is happening automatically and we expect to have the majority of adjustments completed by the end of October 2012.

Reimbursing:
Our customers who have incurred reasonable out of pocket expenses as a result of this incident can now claim for these to be reimbursed and we will start processing these from Monday 3rd September. Information on how to claim is available to our customers through our website, branch network, telephony centre and we are also writing to our customers. Customers can send us their claim to our FREEPOST address.


We will also pay an additional 20% on top of these expenses up to a maximum €120, to Personal and SME customers.
It will help if customers can back up their claim with any original paperwork for example, phone bills, bus tickets, travel receipts, bills or invoices.

Reassuring:
We know that credit ratings are a significant concern to our customers and we continue to work with credit reference agencies to ensure that no customer's credit rating is permanently affected as a result of this incident. If a customer has concerns about their credit rating they should visit their local branch and speak to a member of staff or call us on 1800 205 100 and we will facilitate a credit report for them, free of charge.

Recognising the inconvenience caused:
We appreciate that the recent technical incident impacted on the day-to-day banking needs of our customers and in recognition of this inconvenience, we are implementing the following additional measures:

i.An automatic one-off payment, which equates to an additional rate for 3 months of 0.06% Gross, 0.25% AER (fixed) on the average daily balance between 1 September and 30 November 2012, for those Personal and SME customers with a savings account.
ii. A 3 month waiver will apply to certain fees, charges and surcharge interest.
iii. During the incident, we encouraged customers to visit an Ulster Bank branch to access their funds. In recognition of the inconvenience this caused, an automatic one-off payment of €25 has been made to those Personal current account customers who visited and transacted at a branch during the period of the incident (19 June – 18 July) more frequently than in the equivalent period before the incident (19 May – 18 June).
iv. Commitment not to introduce account maintenance fees for all Personal current account customers until July 2013.
If a Personal current account customer has not incurred any reasonable out of pocket expenses or does not qualify for the €25 automatic payment for visiting and transacting at a branch more frequently during the period of the incident, yet has suffered inconvenience, we would also be happy to discuss that customer’s individual circumstances. Customers should speak to a member of staff in their local branch or call us on 1800 205 100.


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.
  • If customers are seeking reimbursement for reasonable out of pocket expenses they should contact their bank directly. Banks will use their usual complaint handling policies and procedures to investigate and respond to any claims arising from this incident.
  • If a customer of another bank has concerns about their credit rating as a result of this incident, they should contact their own bank who will facilitate a credit report for them free of charge.
Commenting on the customer redress programme Ulster Bank CEO, Jim Brown said:
“Once again, I apologise unreservedly to our customers and customers of other banks for the inconvenience this has caused and thank them for their patience as we worked to resolve this issue. 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. We have worked with our key stakeholders to ensure the additional measures which we are taking provide a comprehensive response to customer concerns and demonstrate our commitment to making amends.”

A provision of €35m has been made at a Group level for Ulster Bank costs arising from the technical incident. Given the scale of the impact on our customers, we expect that there will be additional costs over the coming months as we continue the process of putting things right.

The package of measures will be available to Ulster Bank customers from Monday 3rd September and in the interim, customers who are concerned about their individual redress and are seeking further information can go online, call into their local Ulster Bank branch or call us on 1800 205 100, Monday – Saturday, 8am – 6pm. Business and Private customers should speak to their Relationship Manager or usual point of contact.

Full details are available on our website at www.ulsterbank.ie
 
Just from listening to the 9am RTE1 news.

The gist of it is compensation for anyone who had to visit the branch during the outage will get €25...

No introduction of Bank fees til June 2013?

Out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed etc however no mention of those who had to wait weeks in order to get paid but managed to get by without visiting the branch and had to go to Post Offices etc to pay bills.

Link to "Compensation" details.

[broken link removed]
 
I posted this on another page - I still can't get into my online account - anyone else the same problem? Quelle Surprise!!!
 
I can't logon either.. must be adding me hugh compo to my account, so must be patient.
 
I cannot believe that people would settle for a mere 100.00 euro compensation ! Ulster bank chiefs that may be reading this must be laughing (all the way to the bank ! ) This is one of the biggest breakdowns in history and exact clinical financial compensation is NOT anywhere near sufficient. The real human pain this has caused,anxiety,stress,worry,embarrassment etc. must be taken into account & compensated for in conjunction with the "out of pocket amounts" which will vary from client to client. I really feel UB customers should form an alliance and engage the appropriate legal & financial expertise to go to UB & negoiate a realistic settlement figure & if it comes down to a case by case basis so be it.
 
Jonny said:
I cannot believe that people would settle for a mere 100.00 euro compensation
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eh Jonny its €25 and to qualify for that amt you must have visited the branch during the outage otherwise you get...



Nowt.
 
well I got a measly 25e paid into my account yesterday.. certainly wouldnt suffice for the amount of stress and running around I had to do over two or more weeks.. reading it on line the hoops/receipts/invoices etc they are looking for for people that had to travel to other branches etc is madness.. i had to que so much for lodgements for work also that i had to get stamped and could not use the quick lodge as it was our year end (which still hasnt been sorted here in work) how do I go about proving all this?
 
Any word from the Financial Ombudsman about the offer? Or is it deafening silence yet again. I agree with Jonny above - the bank chiefs are just laughing at us, will it affect their pay - I doubt it.
In my own case, I still can't logon & there is no way I'm going into their bank - why would I waste my time yet again. When there was the problem I did go in, but in the end didn't do any transaction as I was told that it would be pointless - so I won't be getting anything for that. The whole bank is a farce!!
 
They wouldn't have relased this without agreeing it with the Central Bank. I am happy enough. Not out of pocket, €25, free credit check and no Ufirst account fees for a few months. I can live with that. I can understand why people who were seriously inconvenienced aren't happy though.
 
Harry31 said:
Any word from the Financial Ombudsman about the offer?
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Nothing on their website that I can see but RTE mentions this:

The planned deal has been approved by the Central Bank, while the Financial Ombudsman said anyone not happy with their award can appeal.
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and the CB have issued [broken link removed].

Ulster Bank has now finalised its remediation plan, following the recent technical failure which caused widespread inconvenience and disruption due to the unacceptable delay in resuming normal services. This affected both its own customers and those of other banks. Ulster Bank is now writing to its customers directly to outline next steps. The measures contained in its remediation plan will be effective for customers from Monday 3rd September 2012.
As part of its engagement with Ulster Bank, the Central Bank is requiring Ulster Bank to provide clear and timely information to all its customers on the remediation plan and, in particular, what customers should do next in order to ensure they receive any redress and compensation payments due to them.


Bernard Sheridan, Director of Consumer Protection, said:
“We encourage all Ulster Bank customers to proactively contact Ulster Bank following receipt of their letter from the bank to ensure that their issues as a result of this incident are properly addressed. Customers of other banks who were affected should get in touch with their own bank in the first instance to seek redress for loss and inconvenience. If customers are not satisfied with the outcome, they can make a formal complaint to their bank.
While Ulster Bank is required to reimburse and make good any actual losses suffered by customers, the level of any payment for inconvenience suffered is not subject to the Central Bank’s regulatory standards or approval. This is a commercial decision for Ulster Bank. Where customers are not satisfied withhow Ulster Bank is dealing with them, they may refer their complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman.”


Impacted Ulster Bank customers are advised to contact Ulster Bank via branch, website or on the telephone at 1800 205 100. Customers of other banks impacted by this issue are advised to contact their own bank through normal channels.



The Central Bank notes the inclusion of redress and disruption measures in Ulster Bank’s remediation plan including a free credit rating check, disruption payments and waiving of some fees.


The Central Bank will monitor the implementation of the remediation plan to ensure that it is communicated clearly and delivered effectively.
The investigations into Ulster Bank’s and the wider RBS Group technical failure and how it emerged and developed are continuing.
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Just managed to get into my account - I didn't receive any compensation - obviously the fact that my salary didn't go in for a week doesn't merit anything!
 
Harry31 said:
Just managed to get into my account - I didn't receive any compensation - obviously the fact that my salary didn't go in for a week doesn't merit anything!
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Did you not go to a branch to take out money when your salary wasn't paid?
 
No Sunny, I took money out my CU account, I did call into the branch to attempt to pay in that cash because I didn't want D/D's to miss, but was told that it would be pointless paying in the cash as they couldn't guarantee that it would show up. I couldn't be bothered arguing with them for 25Euro - they can keep it I'm going to close my account.
 
Harry31 said:
No Sunny, I took money out my CU account, I did call into the branch to attempt to pay in that cash because I didn't want D/D's to miss, but was told that it would be pointless paying in the cash as they couldn't guarantee that it would show up. I couldn't be bothered arguing with them for 25Euro - they can keep it I'm going to close my account.
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Be careful you don't cut off your nose to spite your face. By all means, change banks if you like but this could happened to any one of them. Ulster Bank are still the only one (as far as I know) that offer free banking without conditions and a guarantee not to start charging until July 2013. I would hold off until then and then move.
 
Sunny said:
Be careful you don't cut off your nose to spite your face. By all means, change banks if you like but this could happened to any one of them. Ulster Bank are still the only one (as far as I know) that offer free banking without conditions and a guarantee not to start charging until July 2013. I would hold off until then and then move.
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Maybe I will hold off - it's just that it gets tiresome dealing with them!
 
I have edited the first post in this thread to reproduce the press release

Whatever about the amounts, it is a well designed system.

Most people suffered some small amount of inconvenience and they don't have to submit a claim. 300,000 (?) of them are getting €25 directly into their bank account. Most people wouldn't have bothered documenting a claim, so this is good for everyone. Customers are saved the hassle of complaining. UB resources are freed up to deal with the more serious complaints.

They have agreed with the other banks that they should compensate their own customers directly and UB will then compensate those banks. Again, this is very clever and very efficient. If your employer is an UB customer and was 2 weeks late in paying you, you have no legal claim against UB. Your employer might have though. This allows these claims to be resolved quicky and efficiently.

Are the amounts adequate?

They are paying most people €25 anyway, but they are free to submit a larger claim if they don't like that. I would have thought that it would be better all round to pay €100 instead of €25. This would satisfy most people, but would push the cost up from €7.5m to €30m for this aspect.

They will pay out of pocket expenses up to a limit of €125 as well.

The commitment not to introduce fees until July 2013 is a good move, although I personally don't like "free banking".

I don't understand why they are paying extra deposit interest. It seems like a very paltry amount and they would have been better not offering anything than offering 0.06%. Someone with €10,000 on deposit will get €6. Paying €6 is more likely to cause offence than paying nothing.
 
No reimbursement for us.

It seems therefore that if you are not living such as that you needed to physically queue in a branch to get money for food or other essentials, you are not worth compensating.

Notwithstanding the fact that salaries were delayed then paid then overpaid and deducted again, direct debits were delayed, legitimate purchases were debited twice and remained on the account for weeks, visa bills not paid and then charged interest and fees for consecutive months even though the money had left my account to pay it and ultimately having to watch account like a hawk to ensure UB did not somehow manage to make yet another cockup, all against a backdrop of repeated fruitless calls to Anytime Banking...

Baffling!
 
My other half queued in the Stillorgan Branch for half an hour to be told that they couldn't deal with the transaction. So she had to leave. Who recorded this visit to the branch?
 
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