# charged to close account



## shane55 (26 Jun 2008)

I had a BoI special bonus saver account which I closed today at the end of its 18 month term.  I was charged euro 2.20 for the cashiers cheque.I asked could the funds be transferred to another Bank without charge and told not, they could only transfer them to another BoI account which I did not have. I asked could the bank not write me a cheque to pay me back my own money without charging me and was told no. Is this standard practise by all Banks when closing accounts? seems Ludicrous


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## ClubMan (26 Jun 2008)

What do the terms & conditions of the account say?


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## Digger (27 Jun 2008)

Why not just leave account open with zero balance.


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## evoke (27 Jun 2008)

that is a good idea


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## G7979 (27 Jun 2008)

I think the charge is for the bankers cheque not to close the account, I had the same charge when I got the cheque for my car loan a couple of years ago, I thought it was a bit much, not the 2 euros, but having to pay them to start the loan in the first place,


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## shane55 (27 Jun 2008)

The charge was for the bankers cheque, not to close the account, but in effect I was being charged to close the account as there was no other method of receiving the funds other than cashiers cheque. should BoI not just have written me a cheque like any other business that was making a payment would, all I was doing was having my own money transferred from them to me, why should I have to pay for that? whatever about having to pay for a cashiers cheque to transfer your own money to a third party, having to pay to have your own money given to you is complete extorsion


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## Diego Murphy (28 Jun 2008)

Transferring it to your current account from your special bonus savers account would be free. If you have online banking, you could then transfer it to any other irish bank account for free.  That would probly have been the easiest way to get around the charge


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## Murt10 (28 Jun 2008)

I wanted to move a couple of grand a few years ago from one bank to another bank down the road. The first bank wanted to charge me for the draft. The cheek of them trying to charge me for taking my money out of my account, so for pure badness, I insisted in getting the money out of my account in cash. No charge. I walked to the other bank and lodged the money there (wouldn't be surprised if the CAB had a look at the transaction). 

I'm sure that the time and energy that the bank and their staff spent getting the money and counting it was far higher than the couple of euros that it would have cost them to give me a cheque. Also, they were losing interest on the money as soon as (or sooner) it was given to me, while this would have been earning money for them until it was presented
at some later time for them to honour.

I don't have a problem paying for a draft made payable to a third party, but if I only want it made payable to myself then I do object.

Murt


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## shane55 (29 Jun 2008)

I didnt have any other accounts with BoI so they couldnt transfer it, they said they couldnt transfer it to any other account I had with another Bank either. i was also told that I couldnt have it in cash, cashiers cheque was the only option and Id have to pay for it. The terms and conditions of the account state there are no transaction fees for lodgements or withdrawals, I wrote a letter to the bank manager saying that as I had no other way of withdrawing the money, being charged for a cashiers cheque was in effect a withdrawal charge and hence a breach of the account terms and conditions. I asked for a refund and assurance that BoI would change their policy in relation to same. Hes away at the moment, Im waiting for his reply, if any


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## BOXtheFOX (30 Jun 2008)

About 10 years years ago my young son was given a U.S. dollar bill from a relative. He went down to the Bank of Ireland in Stillorgan to cash his new found wealth only to be charged 25p for the transaction.


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## ClubMan (30 Jun 2008)

BOXtheFOX said:


> About 10 years years ago my young son was given a U.S. dollar bill from a relative. He went down to the Bank of Ireland in Stillorgan to cash his new found wealth only to be charged 25p for the transaction.


Banks charging for a service? The cheek of them!


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## ClubMan (30 Jun 2008)

shane55 said:


> I didnt have any other accounts with BoI so they couldnt transfer it, they said they couldnt transfer it to any other account I had with another Bank either. i was also told that I couldnt have it in cash, cashiers cheque was the only option and Id have to pay for it. The terms and conditions of the account state there are no transaction fees for lodgements or withdrawals, I wrote a letter to the bank manager saying that as I had no other way of withdrawing the money, being charged for a cashiers cheque was in effect a withdrawal charge and hence a breach of the account terms and conditions. I asked for a refund and assurance that BoI would change their policy in relation to same. Hes away at the moment, Im waiting for his reply, if any


If you get no satisfaction from them then you could always take it to the [broken link removed] but for €2.20 it hardly seems worth it. Unless you value the principle of the matter much more than that?


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## BOXtheFOX (1 Jul 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Banks charging for a service? The cheek of them!


 
Couldn't resist eh?


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## ClubMan (1 Jul 2008)

BOXtheFOX said:


> Couldn't resist eh?


No. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets fed up with people criticising banks and other service providers for charging for the service provided.


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## tink (1 Jul 2008)

As far as Im aware this is standard practice with these type of accounts I am in same situation with another bank and Im not complaining as they gave me a good interest rate and I could open up a current account if I wanted but I don't want to !


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## Bobby1 (1 Jul 2008)

BOXtheFOX said:


> About 10 years years ago my young son was given a U.S. dollar bill from a relative. He went down to the Bank of Ireland in Stillorgan to cash his new found wealth only to be charged 25p for the transaction.


 
Not trying to be smart but what do you expect???!!!, do you think banks and the such are set up by nice people who wouldnt dream of charging you a fee for their service! Of course they are going to charge- thats how they stay open to serve you!


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## BOXtheFOX (2 Jul 2008)

Bobby1 said:


> Not trying to be smart but what do you expect???!!!, do you think banks and the such are set up by nice people who wouldnt dream of charging you a fee for their service! Of course they are going to charge- thats how they stay open to serve you!


 
As an ex banker who worked on the foreign exchange counter for many years I certainly would not have charged a child a fee of 25p to change one U.S. dollar bill. There are lots of nice people working in financial institutions who can show initiative in grey areas. Fees and charges can, and often are, waived.
Quite often the same money goes around and oftentimes comes back to the original bank. If a bank wishes to attract a customer back in the future they need to treat them properly.


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## Guest124 (2 Jul 2008)

I'd like to hear how shane55 got on. So is everybody saying that we should not have FREE banking with our Current a/c's? The guy only wanted his money and yes I understand why he is annoyed over €2.20.


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## tink (2 Jul 2008)

No, his account is a special saver account nothing to do with fees on current accounts....


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## shane55 (2 Jul 2008)

ClubMan said:


> If you get no satisfaction from them then you could always take it to the [broken link removed] but for €2.20 it hardly seems worth it. Unless you value the principle of the matter much more than that?


I might do that
 No its not the 2.20, its the fact that the charge wasnt justified, I didnt need a cashiers cheque, I needed my money to be transferred to another account,cant see why BoI couldnt have done this electronically or paid me with an ordinary company cheque without charge, I havent heard back from the manager yet, hes on holidays apparently


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## Guest124 (2 Jul 2008)

tink said:


> No, his account is a special saver account nothing to do with fees on current accounts....


 
- Yes I realise that -sorry probably didnt make myself clear. I was just trying to make a point about certain People shouting about FREE banking with Current a/c's etc. yet they couldnt understand why the 2.20 charge was such a big deal to this Person.


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## Guest124 (24 Sep 2008)

shane55 - any word on how you got on with the charge?


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## nlgbbbblth (26 Sep 2008)

We are not in the US so the correct term is 'bank draft' not 'cashier's cheque'.

If someone is closing their account discretion can be and should be used in deciding whether or not to apply the fee. 

As for charging a child 25p (obviously minimum commission charge) to change a dollar bill - well I would have waived it.


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## Perplexed (27 Sep 2008)

Yes, BOI could have transferred the money electronically if the amount concerned was over €25k but the charge would have been a lot higher than €2.20.
I work for BOI and I certainly wouldn't have charged a child for changing $1 !
As BoxtheFox says a bit of discretion has to be applied at times.
I can't say I support all BOI policies but we do provide a service and in all walks of life services have to be paid for. We are a business after all 
!
Free banking in all organisations means No Fees on everyday transactions on current a/c's. Getting a draft is not a typical transaction.


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## UL in BAC (20 Jan 2009)

The €2.20 charge is not charged by the bank, so don't blame them. It's a charge for the hollogram on a bank draft that is paid to the govt (not the Bank). You do not pay this if you have a golden years account, paying to a charity or student(depending on bank for the last one). If you are desperate to avoid the €2.20 charge ask to fill out an interpay (which is free) and the money will be transfered to your account in the other bank within three working days.


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## fmcg (20 Jan 2009)

I have the special saver account with BOI and I have withdrawn cash from it twice without charge. You could have withdrawn it all in cash without charge, surely what the policy is for one BOI branch should be the same for all??
The only time I've not been charged for a bank draft is if its a draft for a charity.


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## UL in BAC (21 Jan 2009)

With the special saver account you can withdraw 4 times a year without charge. If you withdraw more than that you are charged. It's automatically taken out from your SBSA by the comp.


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