# Lost a PTSB tracker in 2008 .  Too late to raise a complaint?



## Joe90 (6 Feb 2015)

Hi,

We bought our house in 2005, and got a PTSB tracker mortgage.  

In January 2008, I quit my job to take up a full-time training course, and we re-mortgaged adding €30K on to the amount borrowed.  This was decided on after we thought long and hard about, as I was working in financial services and I was spending more time commuting than with my very young children.  Since then, I have a career I love and spend quality time with my family.  Everything has worked out really well for us, but we have been under enormous financial pressure for most of that time. 

At the time we applied to re-mortgaged, we were told that we could not have a tracker mortgage, even though it was still an available  PTSB product at the time.  We have been on SVR interest rates, and have paid a lot more for our mortgage since then, and we have always had a bad taste in our mouths about the way it was dealt with at the time.  We didn't do anything about it at the time, as we had no other recourse to the funds required for me to go to college full-time, and to run our home.  

We were never advised in writing why we were denied a tracker, nor were we to be aware then that the SVR charged by PTSB would be one of the most expensive in the market in subsequent years.  in 2011/12, we were making reduced payments, as we were both struggling to get work.  This resolved itself over time, and we have come out if that time with an arrears issue put to bed last year in an arrears capitalisation arrangement.  At the time of filling in SFA's and meetings with CSA's, one even queried one day why we _weren't_ on a tracker mortgage as this was what we had received at initial drawdown for the property.  

My query is are we too late to query the loss of our Tracker Mortgage at the time of our re-mortgage in 2008.  We feel that PTSB has brushed this under the carpet, and we were told verbally that we did not get offered a Tracker Mortgage because we did not involve solicitors in drawing down the additional mortgage amount of €30K in 2008.  We were never happy about it, but felt we could do nothing whilst we were in a payment arrangement and in arrears with PTSB.  Now that similar cases have come to light and PTSB has withdrawn their legal defence, is there any point in us raising it with them, and if so, what is the best course of action?


----------



## Brendan Burgess (6 Feb 2015)

Hi Joe

Your story is unclear. 

Your main mortgage was a tracker.  

You applied for a remortgage which was on an SVR.

Did they take the tracker off the main mortgage as well?  Is your whole mortgage on SVR now? 

Assuming that they took the tracker off the main mortgage, this is my take on it...

1) You had a contract with ptsb for a loan of €x at a tracker rate
2) They had no right to simply take you off a tracker 
3) They had no obligation to give you an additional €30k 
4) If they gave you the additional €30k on condition that the entire mortgage would be on an SVR, you had every right to decline the €30k and the change of your interest rate. 
5) But you accepted the revised deal, so I don't think you had any grounds for complaint then or now

There is no connection between your case and yesterday's cases. 

Even if yo have some case, which I just can't see, you are beyond the 6 year time limit. 

Brendan


----------



## Joe90 (6 Feb 2015)

*Thank you for your reply Brendan.* 

Your main mortgage was a tracker. *Yes.*

You applied for a remortgage which was on an SVR. *We applied for a  €30K topup on our mortgage, but at no time was it made clear to us that we would have to surrender our tracker mortgage.*

Did they take the tracker off the main mortgage as well?  Is your whole mortgage on SVR now?
*The whole mortgage is SVR since that time.  *

Assuming that they took the tracker off the main mortgage, this is my take on it...

1) You had a contract with ptsb for a loan of €x at a tracker rate
2) They had no right to simply take you off a tracker
3) They had no obligation to give you an additional €30k
4) If they gave you the additional €30k on condition that the entire mortgage would be on an SVR, you had every right to decline the €30k and the change of your interest rate.
5) But you accepted the revised deal, so I don't think you had any grounds for complaint then or now. 
*We feel as well that they had no right to take the tracker off us, but gave us no choice.  We feel the consequences of the acceptance of the offer were not communicated to us in any meaningful way or made clear to us.  *

There is no connection between your case and yesterday's cases.* We understand that totally.  *

Even if yo have some case, which I just can't see, you are beyond the 6 year time limit.* Just wondering why this time limit applies, we were dealing with the PTSB in attempting to hold on to our home for 2 years and did not want to provoke a repossession order....*


----------



## Brendan Burgess (7 Feb 2015)

OK

Let's look at a simple principle here by way of background to answering this question. I take out a mortgage with Bank of Ireland on a fixed rate of 3% for 20 years.  After 3 years, I discover that they are charging me 5%. I can get them to correct the rate to 3%.  Let's say that after 8 years, I find that they are charging me 5%.  Then it's clear to me that they should also correct it to 3% and backdate it 8 years.  The FSO seems to think that as they made a mistake over 8 years ago, I am outside the 6 year time limit, but I would dispute that.

With that in mind, let's look at your case. 


Joe90 said:


> *at no time was it made clear to us that we would have to surrender our tracker mortgage.*



Were you not told at all? Or was it simply not clear? What paperwork did you sign?  

If they simply switched your main mortgage to an SVR by mistake, then they should correct the mistake.  

If you signed papers which clearly showed that you were switching to an SVR, then you have no case. 

If you signed papers which you did not understand, then it will be up to the Ombudsman to decide, if you come within the 6 year limit 
It's probably best to answer this and to reproduce the wording of what you actually signed before discussing it further.


----------

