# Got my letter from Ulster Bank today



## SaySomething (22 Dec 2016)

Confirming I got my letter today. I hope the rest of you get yours soon, but if not, do ring mortgage centre to check your Jan 1st repayment amount. Best of luck.


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## Miakk (22 Dec 2016)

Congratulations SaySomething!

TBH as long as I don't know either way, I still have hope...so I am going to leave it until Jan 1 to see what transpires, rather than potentially cast a shadow over Christmas. (I'm a former FA customer so I think different circumstances to yours) 

Best of luck to all the other posters on here, I have no doubt that it is through your strength and perseverance, coupled with the support via this forum, that this tracker issue came to get the scrutiny and prominence it deserves.


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## Brendan Burgess (24 Dec 2016)

HI SS 

What did the letter actually say? 

Brendan


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## SaySomething (27 Dec 2016)

Brendan Burgess said:


> HI SS
> 
> What did the letter actually say?
> 
> Brendan


Sorry Brendan only seeing this now. The contents were pretty much identical to the statement on the Ulster Bank website. Obviously it included my old rate and the new tracker rate, along with details of the change in monthly amount due. It also included a paragraph referring to my complaint, and stated that once my file has been completely reviewed they will give me a response to my complaint.

Exactly the same as the website, it says they will write to me again in March to set out a timeframe for compensation/redress/payment for independent financial advice. It doesn't say I will receive these in March, it says they will write to me again then.


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## Brendan Burgess (27 Dec 2016)

OK, and is the tracker rate the rate you expected? 

Brendan


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## SaySomething (27 Dec 2016)

Tracker rate is as per my original contract. Same as my friend who got a similar letter a few days before me. The rate is written into the contract. Yes it was as I expected. 

Having the benefit of my file to refer to, I can confirm that there are no "prevailing variable/tracker rate" clauses in the fixed rate instruction I signed. I wasn't expecting a higher rate than the contract to be an issue for me.


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## itsmelee (3 Jan 2017)

I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this issue. I received a letter from Ulster Bank Christmas week saying my mortgage had been part of the review. My mortgage was identified as being impacted and I was to be returned to the original tracker margin of 1.15%. I can confirm the reduced mortgage payment was taken from my account today.


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## justo (3 Jan 2017)

I too received a letter the week before Christmas. ULB have put me on a tracker rate of 1.05%.

I have to admit this was out of the blue - I have had a few arguments with ULB over the years but never about a tracker mortgage. I always thought I just stupidly missed the boat on that one.

Over the years this mortgage has caused me a lot of grief. I wrote to them on a number of occasions and met with ULB staff in my local branch to look at options to reduce my repayments at various times over the years. I also asked for and received a mortgage repayment holiday for 3 months to try to sort out my finances at one point.

They said in the letter that they would write back in March 2017 with an update of the review on my mortgage account. I have tried to speculate when the issue first arose and how much of a refund I am due but I can't recall the last time my rate changed or the history of rate changes over the last 11 years of the mortgage.


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## SaySomething (4 Jan 2017)

justo said:


> I too received a letter the week before Christmas. ULB have put me on a tracker rate of 1.05%.
> 
> They said in the letter that they would write back in March 2017 with an update of the review on my mortgage account. I have tried to speculate when the issue first arose and how much of a refund I am due but I can't recall the last time my rate changed or the history of rate changes over the last 11 years of the mortgage.



You can wait until March to get the next update (when you might or not get the answer), or you can request a copy of your entire file under the data protection act. You need to pay a statutory amount of €6.35 and make a formal request in writing to do this. The bank have to return your file within 40 days of your request. If you decide to go down this route you'll be able to get the answers yourself, plus check the file for any other irregularities.

I've been told that the files are sealed until the investigation are completed, so this it seems, is the only way you can get a copy of your mortgage file at the moment if you're part of the investigation.


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## Wardy7 (4 Jan 2017)

That's fantastic news and the best part being that you got the correct rate. 

I would be inclined just to sit back and wait to hear what the review brings.  It can be very stressful going after them and fighting with them and I personally don't think you need to do it.  You are obviously going to get what's coming sooner rather than later.

Enjoy!


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## Deisegirl (9 Jan 2017)

Hello
I have received just before Christmas a letter from Ulster bank stating my mortgage is impacted by tracker investigation.
From 1st January 2017, I have been put back to 1.05% tracker mortgage instead of my usual SVR at 4,30%.
I had taken the mortgage in sept 2005 on a tracker for one year and then got fixed from 2006 until 2016.
My question is : How do I calculate roughly the compensation?
At the moment mortgage went down from €1020 to €743/ month (before TRS). And does anybody  know a good independent financial advisor?
Thank you


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## SaySomething (9 Jan 2017)

Deisegirl said:


> Hello
> I have received just before Christmas a letter from Ulster bank stating my mortgage is impacted by tracker investigation.
> From 1st January 2017, I have been put back to 1.05% tracker mortgage instead of my usual SVR at 4,30%.
> I had taken the mortgage in sept 2005 on a tracker for one year and then got fixed from 2006 until 2016.
> ...



Congratulations!

You fixed for 10 years all in one go? I think you only calculate the compensation from the point in which you exited the fixed rate. Unless you fixed for 5, then fixed again - then you calculate from the end of the first fixed rate term.  

Does that make sense?


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## Deisegirl (9 Jan 2017)

No, I did not fix 10 years one in a go. I fixed for 3 years at a certain rate, then again for 3 years at another rate..etc


Say something said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> You fixed for 10 years all in one go? I think you only calculate the compensation from the point in which you exited the fixed rate. Unless you fixed for 5, then fixed again - then you calculate from the end of the first fixed rate term.
> 
> Does that make sense?





SaySomething said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> You fixed for 10 years all in one go? I think you only calculate the compensation from the point in which you exited the fixed rate. Unless you fixed for 5, then fixed again - then you calculate from the end of the first fixed rate term.
> 
> Does that make sense?


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## SaySomething (9 Jan 2017)

Deisegirl said:


> No, I did not fix 10 years one in a go. I fixed for 3 years at a certain rate, then again for 3 years at another rate..etc


You'd need to check your file. If you weren't offered a tracker when you exited your first fixed rate then as far as I know you'd be entitled to an adjustment from then.


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## Deisegirl (9 Jan 2017)

SaySomething said:


> You'd need to check your file. If you weren't offered a tracker when you exited your first fixed rate then as far as I know you'd be entitled to an adjustment from then.


Hi
I got letter from Ulster bank ( i am not former first active). I am entitled to redress as I got letter to confirm it. 
I just wanted to know can  Brendan Burgess or anybody give me an idea how much is redress and has anybody used an independent financial advisor to check out bank calculations .
Thank you


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## SaySomething (9 Jan 2017)

Deisegirl said:


> Hi
> I got letter from Ulster bank ( i am not former first active). I am entitled to redress as I got letter to confirm it.
> I just wanted to know can  Brendan Burgess or anybody give me an idea how much is redress and has anybody used an independent financial advisor to check out bank calculations .
> Thank you


There's a pinned post at the top of this forum giving you an idea of how you can work out the calculations. I know many people speak highly of Padraic Kissane in terms of independent financial advice. 



mister32 said:


> If you were fixed for the entire time until 2016 then the redress would be very small
> 
> Good news is going forward the rate is lower
> 
> ...



I doubt it. Considering I was in and out of a MARP during the time I should have been on a tracker my redress figure should be higher than a normal customer who was overpaying, but paying in full. There's simply no way of telling what method they are using to identify customers and in what order. I have asked but they're reluctant to give me any information on the tracker review - either at Ulster Bank's end or the Central Bank.


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## babyblackie (26 Jan 2017)

No. We didn't yet. I think it's all very daunting. Did you get anything useful from the DPC when you contacted?


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## jamestkirk (29 Mar 2017)

Hi All,

I have a mortgage with UB and We got a letter similar to all above about a redress. How does one go about trying to figure out what they could be potentially owed? We are looking at all our old documents and is there a particular wording piece of copy (apart from the obvious! that we should be looking out for? Thanks and apologies in advance if this a totally stupid question!


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Dec 2017)

Hi Say Something 

Happy Anniversary. It's a year to the day since you got your letter. 

I am a bit confused. 

Have they not calculated your correct repayments yet? Are they still taking the repayments based on the incorrect rate? 

Brendan


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## SaySomething (22 Dec 2017)

I’m concerned enough by the calculations that I will be looking at them with a professional in the New Year. Some of the calculations are clearly wrong. 
Happy anniversary indeed!


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## justo (22 Dec 2017)

SaySomething said:


> I’m concerned enough by the calculations that I will be looking at them with a professional in the New Year. Some of the calculations are clearly wrong.
> Happy anniversary indeed!



First of all congrats! A long time coming...

Could I clarify... have they returned the overpayments they took in error, plus 13% of this amount?


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## SaySomething (22 Dec 2017)

13.5% of the overpayments is less than €1,500. Therefore I get the minimum payment figure of €1,500 instead.
There has also been a large credit to our mortgage account. We are not entitled to compensation on this figure.


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Dec 2017)

Hi SS

Sorry, I might not have been clear in my question.

22 December 2016, they wrote to you saying that you had lost your tracker in error. 
At the time your monthly repayment was €x. 
Did they reduce your monthly repayment immediately to reflect the reduced rate? 

Brendan


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## SaySomething (22 Dec 2017)

In December 2016 they reduced my monthly repayment.
An overcharge accrued when in arrears remained on the mortgage until this week, at which time my monthly repayments reduced to €1,000 per month.
These are illustrative figures but in the general range of the amounts due!

Timeline:
December 2016 repayment: €1,450 per month (on SVR)
January 2017 - December 2017 repayment: €1,170 per month (returned to tracker, but with overcharge still in place)
January 2018 repayment: €1,000 per month (overcharge removed from account)


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Dec 2017)

Hi SS 

Now I understand. 
They reduced the monthly repayment. 
But they were unable to calculate the refund to you at that time. 
So your balance was overstated. 

I think that this messing by Ulster Bank would entitle you to a fair bit of compensation. 

This is the most deserving type of case, in my opinion.
The only reason you were in arrears was because they charged you the wrong rate.  Simply and solely. 

Brendan


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