# AIB now calling about the redress



## zinzan (23 Jul 2020)

Just off the phone - they rang to explain the write down and that the interest refund would be in the post. Seemed to think we should be delighted with it.
Asked them would a tracker rate be given - ‘not part of the ruling’. I pointed out that they are only begrudgingly doing the bare minimum from the ruling with any acknowledgement of wrongdoing on their behalf. They mentioned if not happy can go back to the ombudsman after interest refund received. I said there’s also the high court and left it at that.
I know it’s only helpline staff doing what they’re told but am fuming after it - it’s brought back all the frustration and fob offs we’ve dealt with since starting this process back in 2016!


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## Shay75 (23 Jul 2020)

So, to be clear, they rang you *before* you got any post?

Are you still with AIB?


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## Brendan Burgess (23 Jul 2020)

Interesting.

What is your position zinzan that marks you out for special attention? 

I presume you did not lose your home? 

Have been in touch with them? 

Brendan


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## zinzan (23 Jul 2020)

Shay75 said:


> So, to be clear, they rang you *before* you got any post?
> 
> Are you still with AIB?



Still with AIB

Got the letter acknowledging capital reduction last week- apparently this was to follow up on that and


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## zinzan (23 Jul 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Interesting.
> 
> What is your position zinzan that marks you out for special attention?
> 
> ...



No idea Brendan!
Haven’t lost home, we are part of the group that has been pushing this since 2016 and have all the usual fob offs from the appeals panel, rejecting their decision etc.etc.
It’s the standard case that the Ombudsman ruled on so can’t understand why they would ring us and others haven’t been- thought I’d flag it here to see if it’s a new policy. Wondering are they trying to get people to say they’re happy with the decision or something?!


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## AnneMarieB (23 Jul 2020)

I received a phonecall today also. Unfortunately I was just leaving for work at the time and didn't have time to speak to her properly. She just asked if I had received correspondence in relation to the write down. She explained about the 12% writedown and that I would receive the rest in the post before the end of August. She seemed to be surprised that I was familiar with and understood what was happening. My mortgage repayment comes out on the 28th of the month so I asked if mine would be reduced this month. She couldn't answer that but said I should ring the helpline where they would be able to answer that.


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## AnneMarieB (23 Jul 2020)

I have no special circumstances so I'm unsure as to why I received a call ie  no arrears, most split mortgage etc.


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## Brendan Burgess (24 Jul 2020)

AnneMarieB said:


> She seemed to be surprised that I was familiar with and understood what was happening.



You should have expressed surprise that the call centre understood what was happening.

Brendan


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## coolaboola12 (24 Jul 2020)

were they able to tell you the amount you will be getting in the cheque ?


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## zinzan (24 Jul 2020)

coolaboola12 said:


> were they able to tell you the amount you will be getting in the cheque ?



No, they claimed  the write down would enable them calculate what the cheque would be and that would issue towards the end of August with more explanation on how the sum was reached.


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## mnbarrett (24 Jul 2020)

I had a similar call, complained about the confusion with the writedown letter arriving without any explanation, was told well we had to do it that way. I was told my compensation for all this was the initial check of 1600, that the 1000 of that is all the compensation I am entitled to, basically to consider myself lucky and if I'm not happy in August to take a complaint to the ombudsman. They are calling because alot of people we not happy about the way it was sent out.


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## David_Dublin (24 Jul 2020)

Would be very interested to hear if they are going to communicate an appeals procedure as part of sending the cheque. If someone here thinks of it, you might ask about it when you get a call. From the above, sounds like ombudsman is the only option.


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## Johnno75 (28 Jul 2020)

I received a call today about the redress from AIB. Second call in two months. I have sold my property last year and discharged the Aib mortgage. I was told today a precise amount I should expect to receive as at today’s calculations (but that it had to be finalised) and that it would issue before the end of August. Interestingly, I was asked what I thought about the amount. I said I would have to see what the calculation was based on and whether it tallied with the Ombudsman decision. For completeness, I should say that I received that rather vague letter some months back from AIB advising me to contact them if I was considering selling another property I currently own. I am considering selling it, and I had told them this previously, and this seems to have prompted the call today from AIB. They were keen to know whether I was still selling it and had previously advised me not to sell. I found the call odd. It seemed like they were gauging my reaction to the amount on the table.


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## Shay75 (29 Jul 2020)

I myself have not received a call. Ì left AIB in November.  Now that you mention it, when i asked for the redemption figure back then, AIB did write to me in similar terms. In retrospect, it looks like they were concerned about how it might look when they should have offered a tracker. Maybe it's coincidence. 

My circumstances were that my wife's income over the last 5 years steadily decreased and while we could service the mortgage, it was taking up more and more of our nett income so we very reluctantly decided to sell our home and buy a smaller property in order to reduce our outgoings.

To make matters worse, the property we bought turned out to be a money pit, so any money we do get will be used to pay off the loan we took out to fix up this house. 

There is unequivocally no question for us that if we were given a tracker at the time it was supposed to be given, we would have absolutely stayed where we were. This is not because of the trouble with this house, but because we didn't want to leave the previous one. We were prefectly happy there. We just didn't want both of us working and having nothing left at the end of the month. 

So if do get a call, i will definitely ask them who i can write to about that aspect of their shortcomings.


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## Brianios (30 Jul 2020)

I too will be following up with whomever I need to in relation to the final part of the puzzle in this big mess i.e. the tracker mortgage. I can't understand for the life of me why the Ombaudsman did not deem this a requirement in the first instance. It seems simple (maybe too simple to me!) 

1 - write down capital we would have saved if we were on tracker
2 - refund interest paid on this capital
*3 - offer tracker mortgage.*

1 & 2 cover off 2008-2020 in relation to contract

*3 should cover off 2020 to mortgage end*

I really do think it is outrageous that this, the main reason for the whole thing, was left out of the final judgement.


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## Oakshade (30 Jul 2020)

Perhaps it's a waste of a stamp and time but I'm in the middle of writing to AIB by way of complaint to ask them to transfer my mortgage balance to the tracker that was unavailable to us in 2012 (got the earlier 1615 and recently got capital write down). Am I nuts?


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## Megafan (30 Jul 2020)

Brianios said:


> I too will be following up with whomever I need to in relation to the final part of the puzzle in this big mess i.e. the tracker mortgage. I can't understand for the life of me why the Ombaudsman did not deem this a requirement in the first instance. It seems simple (maybe too simple to me!)
> 
> 1 - write down capital we would have saved if we were on tracker
> 2 - refund interest paid on this capital
> ...



Just re the above, I don't think the issue is really the Tracker Mortgage per se, the issue is the  tracker Margin rate. Most of us (as far as I am aware anyway) didn't have a quoted margin rate in our documents. AIB withdrew trackers in October 2008 and as far as we know, the margin rate at that time was 1.5%.

When the ECB rate was 0 or close to zero, then a margin rate of 1.5% would be invaluable but as above none of us have that rate noted in our docs, the legal argument would be that AIB never actually changed the margin rate and when we rolled off our fixed rates whenever that might be we would have been entitled to the last available tracker rate. Had there been an actual quoted margin rate in 2010/2011/2012, it would have been a multiple of 1.5 so as to make it unattractive.

That is the massive error AIB made by withdrawing trackers, rather than doubling the margin or whatever in 2008, it would have saved literally hundreds of millions for them and we'd be none the wiser, and in fairness most of us went about our lives since not giving trackers or clauses a second thought until a handful of other people did some years back. Also, leaving Clause 3.2 in new mortgage contracts after withdrawing trackers is, call a spade a spade, a gigantic mess up on AIB's part.

It isn't easy I'd imagine for the FSPO to judge against AIB in this case, because in fairness to AIB, I don't think they ever intended things to end up where they are. Had the FSPO went any stronger in their judgement, I don't think we would be where we are today in terms of write-downs and refunds. That's not to say there aren't some legs left in this process but it is a war of attrition.


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## tnegun (30 Jul 2020)

Exactly the biggest issue is and always the rate, we know what AIB said it would of been in hindsight 7.9% and we know the rate that prevailed at the time 1.5% . We won't know until its published but I suggested back in April when some details came to light that the FSPOs award looks to be somewhat of a compromise weighted heavily in our favor but not going the whole way to awarding a tracker.


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