TRS Letter
I spoke to PTSB about this and I understood their explanation as follows (numbers used below are for explanation, i.e. they're not real):
My monthly repayment was €1200.
I was entitled to €180 tax relief.
PTSB overstated my tax relief as €200.
They collected €1000 from me, but only €180 from the Government.
They should have been requesting €1020 from me.
As a result, only €1180 was being paid off my mortgage.
They have been doing this for 5 years.
As a result the mortgage has been underpaid by 5 (years) x 12 (months) x €20 (amount that's missing) = €1200
As the interest I pay on my mortgage is calculated based on the principle amount still owed to the bank, it was always higher than it should have been due to their mistake. As a result, I was overcharged interest.
In plain English, the letter that they sent explains that they are writing off the €1200 that was underpaid and they are refunding the interest that was overcharged.
It also says that going forward they will be applying the correct TRS amount, so you might see a change in your future payments.
Clear as mud?