# EBS rude employee: 12 mo to pay minor arrears or else court proceedings.



## benny11 (1 Jul 2011)

I received a letter this morning of E.B.S stating that i was in mortgage arrears and that i had 12 months to clear this arrears or they would issue proceedings against me ( of which i am not sure ) .

Firstly I was not aware I was in arrears but admit the onus is on me to keep a track of my payments. 

I contacted EBS immediately and discovered I was is in arrears of €633. I pay my mortgage first thing every week as i am lucky to still have full-time employment even though drastically reduced hours, pay etc.( like everybody else I am sure). 

I apologised for the mistake and promised to pay the balance asap. 

Just before I left the call I asked why they were sending such threatening letters over a relatively small amount considering how much I am paying over the lifetime of the mortgage. I was told quite rudely that it didn't matter how little the amount is that would do this after 12 months. 

I asked him did he think it fair to bring people to court for such small amounts and he replied yes they should be after 12 months. His overall attitude I just felt was very distasteful I thoughts banks were supposed to be acting understanding and helpful these days especially an institution like EBS who has acted so recklessly themselves over the last number of years. 

That's my two cents any way.


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## Greta (1 Jul 2011)

He is only an employee following EBS's policies, what's the point asking him if it's fair or not? Life is not fair in general.
If you feel he was particularly rude to you, you can make a complaint to EBS about it, but fairness doesn't really come into it...

They probably issue these threatening letters automatically, regardless of the amount. I saw some letters (nothing to do with me personally, thankfully) threatening court action over amounts as little as a few pence!

Though if EBS upset a lot of their customers by such rudeness, then they will damage their own customer base, and will ultimately suffer, and that will be fair, if it's any consolation to you


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## Jim2007 (1 Jul 2011)

The front desk guy has very little to do with setting policy or driving decisions, but he is the one who has to face the public anger... so after taking it for so long is it any wonder he is a bit cheesed off!

The reality is that he is just like the rest of us... he is not the guy who gets the big bonus and can walk away.... he is the guy who's job is on the line and who has to pay the mortgage too...

Jim.


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## dahamsta (1 Jul 2011)

It doesn't matter how cheesed off he is with his job, if the OP was polite to him, he should be polite back. If he doesn't like his job, there's plenty of people out there that'll do it instead of him. There's no excuse for rudeness to a customer at EBS' level of business. None.


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## Sue Ellen (1 Jul 2011)

dahamsta said:


> It doesn't matter how cheesed off he is with his job, if the OP was polite to him, he should be polite back. If he doesn't like his job, there's plenty of people out there that'll do it instead of him. There's no excuse for rudeness to a customer at EBS' level of business. None.



Well said.


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## ajapale (1 Jul 2011)

Thread title (original 'E.B.S. Shocking') changed to   EBS rude employee: 12 mo to pay minor arrears or else court proceedings.


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## WizardDr (15 Jul 2011)

I think if you said you were paying everyweek and did not miss a payment then something may have happened on a rate change - if you did not get notice to change your payments for example - I dont know the facts. I would establish that first - are you a good keeper of records? Once you know how it happened then you can decide the course of action. 

It may well be automated letters but it sounds unfortunate that you were dealing with somebody who could not be bothered to check out a matter from what sounds to me like a wonderful customer. Dont hold back where you encounter rudeness regardless. But check the details out first.

Make an official complaint if the facts back you up and follow it through.


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## Brendan Burgess (15 Jul 2011)

The content of the letter may well be dictated by the Central Bank in the Consumer Protection Code and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.

Once you fall into arrears, they may well be obliged to tell you the implications of not clearing them e.g. that they may seek to repossess the home. If they don't do it, the customer could argue at a later stage that they did not know that their house was at risk.

it is the same with labour law. Sometimes you want to have a quiet chat with an employee. But if it is a warning, you have to say that this could lead to a second warning and then to dismissal. If you don't, you will probably be had up for unfair dismissal. 

I rarely encounter rudeness in dealing with companies, but in banks and shops I see rude customers all the time. I see the banks handling them politely. 

Rudeness is in the ear of the beholder. 

benny, I suggest that you set up a direct debit for your mortgage so that this does not happen again. You are running the risk of damaging your credit rating. 

Brendan


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## ontour (15 Jul 2011)

dahamsta said:


> It doesn't matter how cheesed off he is with his job, if the OP was polite to him, he should be polite back. If he doesn't like his job, there's plenty of people out there that'll do it instead of him. There's no excuse for rudeness to a customer at EBS' level of business. None.



i did not read from the OP that EBS employee was rude, the OP was taken aback with the fact that such a small arrears was being treated as something far more serious than it is.  As others have pointed out it was probably a standard procedure being followed.

In the greater scheme of things I wish the financial institutions were far more direct about the risks of debt over the last number of years as it would appear that there are so many people that were very naive about the risk of their lending activities.


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## iscritto (15 Jul 2011)

"I received a letter this morning of E.B.S stating that i was in mortgage arrears and that i had 12 months to clear this arrears or they would issue proceedings against me ( of which i am not sure )"

Would you rather they didn't send the letter and just left the arrears on the account ... in turn damaging your credit rating ? OR Would you rather they said nothing about taking you to court in 12 months until you receive a summons ?

Is it not better that the bank tell you that you missed a payment and lay out the result  of missing more payments.


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## horusd (15 Jul 2011)

Many moons ago I worked in a financial insitution and the letters we issued were standardised to comply with legislation. I agree they can get people's back up, and the agent should have handled it better. Most people accept a resonable  explanation delivered in a nice way.

But I have to say that I was often really shocked at how rude clients could be. I recall having to ask people to stop cursing, and occasionally having to hang up or walk away. I can honestly say I've never spoken to anyone like this, and it never failed to amaze me that such people could be walkin around and not in a straight-jacket!


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