Mortgages in arrears should be prioritised for review and refund

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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I was speaking to someone in deep arrears who expects to get their tracker back.

It is really urgent for them as their life is on hold due to huge arrears.

1) These cases should be prioritised and a decision made whether they are getting their tracker back or not.
2) If they get the tracker back, the correct rate should be applied immediately.
3) The next stage should be the calculation of the refund. That should not take more than a couple of weeks.
4)Then the bank and the Central Bank and their respective advisors can argue for the next 12 months about the details of the compensation system.

But these cases should get a decision as a matter of priority.

Brendan
 
@Brendan Burgess I couldn't agree more. I've written to the Central Bank about this more than once, along with querying the extension of the December 2017 deadline. This is the most recent reply I've received to this query:

"The issues raised will be considered in the context of our broader supervisory work.
​
In relation to your engagement with your lender under MARP, you have the right to appeal the lender's decision to Ulster Bank's Appeals Board under the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears 2013."​

The letter then goes on to recommend if I'm not satisfied with the outcome I have the right to make a complaint to the FSO.

I've also written to my own bank about this, twice since the beginning of December asking for clarification. I haven't received a response to either letter.

How this works for a customer that was/is in arrears but charged the wrong rate of interest:

While I was restored to my contractual tracker rate before Christmas, I had accrued arrears on my account since my tracker rate was not returned to me many years ago, also I entered in/out of MARP a few times. I've used your spreadsheet pinned to the top of this board to get a rough calculation of the incorrect arrears figure and estimate it's roughly €35,000. So while I'm paying the right rate of interest now, I'm paying interest on a sum of money that I should never have been charged in the first place. This represents a difference of approx €250 per month to me. Plus I'm still marked as being in arrears.

My bank say:

" We will now continue with our detailed assessment of your mortgage account. This is like to take a number of months due to the complexity of the review and the necessity for independent assurance by a third party, which will help us ensure that all our customers receive a fair and consistent outcome.

This is the first in a number of communications that you will receive. We will write to you again in March 2017 to provide an update on the progress of the review, which will include timeframes for the information set out below." (redress/compensation/payment towards independent professional advice/independent appeals process)​

The language in the letter is key (emphasis my own). I read it that it's unlikely that my account will be fixed in March. In fact I have no idea when it will be fixed, nor it appears do the bank. In the meantime, I continue to overpay on a mortgage that the bank admits has been wrongly charged.

When you are in financial difficulties and enter in/out of a MARP, €250 per month is the difference between scraping by and having enough to pay your bills in full and on time.
 
I do understand the logic of that but what about those who are just about keeping it together without going into arrears - they're likely making big sacrifices too in order to make that possible.

In my own scenario I need to make some big life decisions, that should have been made years ago but again are in hold til all sorted and in each day that passes they are being affected by the wait.

Those who have already been through the FSO as some sort of problem was previously identified vs those who may not have known at all who will take longer to identify

You could also argue for length of time - someone who is 8 years in the situation vs someone who is a relatively short period. I think mos could make an argument for where they come in order of being sorted out.

I would say though that there should be a clear transparent process of how they are actually going about sorting it out to let individuals make some sort of plans in their circumstances.

I did hear of one case anecdotally where a person had given up house and were offered it back by the bank - they don't particularly want that solution but it shows that the bank in question have come up with a solution of sorts in not too long a period for them.
 
I'm not disagreeing with you on the topics you've raised but a mortgage in arrears (particularly when it shouldn't have been) has knock on effects that you wouldn't have if you were paying in full.

  1. Your ICB record reflects your arrears/MARP payment status, making it difficult to apply for credit elsewhere.
  2. Moving mortgage really isn't an option and you're locked with your provider (until now probably on a high variable or fixed rate that you can't negotiate down).
  3. A customer paying in full who has their interest rate restored straight away gets their monthly repayments to around the correct amount.
  4. A customer with arrears won't. They will get their payment amount adjusted but continue to pay for the arrears until the bank decides it's time to fix the issue.
Why not fix the customers in arrears and all customers get compensation/redress etc at the same time? The situation as it is penalises customers who got into arrears, even if they wouldn't have in the first place if they'd been charged the correct rate.

There's no transparency for any customers. It's dreadful.
 
Hi notabene

The principle is that there should be some prioritisation.

First and foremost, anyone who has legal proceedings issued against them should be sorted out.

Secondly those in arrears.

I fully appreciate that some of those who are not in arrears have their lives on hold. But there is nothing like legal proceedings to disrupt your life.

Brendan
 
Completely understand and I'm not disagreeing either, I'm playing devil's advocit for them as I know I've certainly been hugely affected by it though I managed to keep myself out of arrears.

Yet because I managed to do that I was told I was not as bad off as some and I don't accept that attitude. I'm not where I should be in many regards and just because I didn't go into arrears doesn't mean that's the attitude with which it should be treated. A large part of that was pure luck that extra opportunities came along when they happened too. After 9 years of it, I'm utterly spent both from fighting for it and working as much as possible and really want to move on with my life.

You are right that it doesn't affect the others credit rating and you should have yours fully restored. I do understand the charges and that does have a big knock on effect. I'm not trying to be lacking empathy at all.

But it does affect borrowing capacity as you are getting older as you wait for it to be sorted. It affects lending rules which have changed. It affects other financial instruments which you might avail of - and just basic cash flow too. Can you change a 12 year old car, do you get it fixed, can you reduce the amount you've been working to make up the money. And some of these decisions have deadlines. different set of problems which i know, in one way you could say lucky to have, but still big decisions which this impacts.

The fact of the matter is that we don't have any transparency as to how it is being done or when it will be done. This is then compounded for all customers by the length of time which it has taken to be fixed, if enough resources were put to it by all parties there shouldn't be an issue of who's is fixed first.
 
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Agreed and I don't understand why customers who were pre-identified by merit of going through the FSO shouldn't be sorted first. Seems very unfair to me.
 
Thank you Notabene. Your words completely echo my own life and frustrations due to this debacle. We managed to stay out of arrears but the damage to other areas of life and sacrifices made are irreparable.
 
Is there an order of priority, does anyone know? Are they contacting customers on that basis?
 
I would doubt it's being done with any rhyme or reason!! I'm certain there are not prioritising based on those perceived to be in the biggest trouble due to this. Don't kid yourself they actually care!
 
Banks will slowly trundle their way through cases.

They would find it well nigh impossible to set a prioritisation regime , as they don,t know their customers and do not have the skill base or competence to do so. Also , they don,t care !
I wonder if a customer who is in difficulty and knows they are due refund , could they ask to have all or part payment deferred until conclusion.
 
Gerry Canning said:
Banks will slowly trundle their way through cases.

They would find it well nigh impossible to set a prioritisation regime , as they don,t know their customers and do not have the skill base or competence to do so. Also , they don,t care !
I wonder if a customer who is in difficulty and knows they are due refund , could they ask to have all or part payment deferred until conclusion.
Click to expand...
I was told if I was in difficulty I'd have to enter back into a MARP as on paper I'm still in arrears until they complete the investigation. They can't come to an arrangement, it's MARP or full repayments.
 
Say something.

Yup its a nuisance for you , but I would be inclined to go onto MARP but put in writing that doing MARP is another stressful item for you , and good luck !
 
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