NIB Ditch Free Banking For New Customers and now existing customers

Hi Wolverine, sorry I didn't see this sooner.

Maybe I'm being over-cautious, but I would insist on a letter signed in person by either your branch manager or the head of lending. This constitutes a change to the terms written into your official loan documentation, which is all very formally signed, dated and witnessed, and given the way NIB have treated their customers I would have no compunction about requiring them now to conduct their business in a professional manner.

If they ever tried to pull a fast one on your ECB Tracker rate, a signed letter like this would be a much firmer defence than an email from an employee (soon-to-be ex-employee, perhaps) at their 247 Staff Enquiries department, who has no authority to alter the legally binding terms of your Loan Agreement. I would consider this email simply as an explanatory note in response to your questions, not as an adequate assurance that your tracker rate will be protected.

A "Custody Cash Account" has appeared in my online banking in the last few days. (So now I have my Easy feeder, the mortgage and now this new one). It appears to offer 1.5% p.a. on credit balances - any idea what this is for? I'll give them a ring later on but I wanted to see if anyone else had come across this as well.

Yes. I have a custody account with them and use this account to settle trades, corporate actions and take their account fee (€20 *2 p.a.).

I also have a custody account, but up to now the Easy account was used to settle trades (and pay for the fee). I rang my branch and they've clarified it for me; Basically what was my Easy account (which was a full-blown current account (but I only used it as a servicing account) has now been converted to a servicing account. In order not to incur charges, there can only be 5 transactions or less a month on it. The new Custody Cash account is only to be used to pay for trades and the account fee. I'll have set up another transferee from my BoI account to get money into that account to settle trades (as if I transfer money from the old easy account straight into this custody cash account, then that will make the easy account look like a proper current account which will then attract fees). If I want to use the proceeds of any share dealings against my mortgage, I have to transfer the money back out of the custody cash account into BoI and then back again from BoI to the Easy feeder and then put it against the mortgage - which will take a good few working days instead of being instantaneous - as to do otherwise seems to not be allowed by the Custody Cash account.

It's a mild annoyance, not the end of the world. What I don't get is that in order for them to save money, it would appear they've set up another (free) single-purpose account to have to manage for everyone who happens to have a mortgage and custody account with them.

Regarding TRS payments into my Loan Servicing Account, NIB are offering me the use of a Standing Order to move this money into my Ulsterbank Account. Does the SO have to be for a fixed amount or can it be that I can set it up to move whatever TRS payment that I have received?

Must be a fixed amount.

twofor1 said:

Has any existing customer with the standard mastercard managed to get the Easy Plus or Prestige package without having to call personally for a financial assessment ?

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No, I too had to visit a branch to basically change the colour of my card! It was an hour spent with a nice but gormless young official who like many I encounter in the industry, didn't really understand my working as a contractor, umbrella accounts etc - but in the end I gave up trying to explain that the company name paying my wages was a legal entity rather than an employer.

I moved back to my home town in Dublin about 2 years ago so it was worth building a relationship with the local branch which is becoming a "service center" (which I guess is really just what remains of a branch). Its had the interesting impact of the "branch" for the mastercard now being Swords while my current account still has a Cork South Mall sort code. I'd certainly prefer the option of being able to visit the nearest service center than have fit it in during a rare weekday trip to Cork.

I had 2 current accounts, a mastercard and an eSaver account. The history is that due to the appalling way I was treated when in arrears with AIB and BOI about 10 years ago, I shut down my relationship with them as soon as I had cleared everything I owed and moved everything to what was then an NIB "Freebank" account. When they brought in the combined package a couple of years later, I moved to the "easy" package to take advantage of the cheaper credit card rate. I left the Freebank account open because it had a chequebook attached, the easy didn't, and they only have a 450 euro per day withdrawal limit, which in Ireland is not enough cash to pay your rent!!

So I've closed the Freebank account (my domestic renting is via internet banking now so don't need cheques), left the eSaver open (I don't use it so much since they reduced the interest rate - I use Rabodirect as I do buy the odd invstment with them and it makes it a little more difficult to withdraw. I switched to Easy Plus as I used to pay for travel insurance every year and it goes some way towards covering the cost. I also switched to the gold card for the sake of it.

It is striking though, that our banking needs do change from time to time and the services need, but really none of the banks are fully addressing this. A lot of older people were very alienated by the cashless banking, and given that they are the wealthiest group in the country, you'd think NIB would have done more to retain them. I'd imagine that if they really wanted to pull out of Ireland they'd have done it already. By the looks of things they seem to be retrenching and watching what happens and I'd say they'll take a decision a year or two down the line. They're still very big players up north so there is a bit of an interest in retaining some business in the republic to service business customers crossborder needs.

Recently when AIB and NIB introduced charges I consolidated my 2 current accounts into 1 NIB prestiege account.

I was on holidays recently and when checking on-line banking I noticed there were 3 fraudulent transactions.

I rang up, spent ages waiting on the phone. The operator identified that the problem was with my wife's card and said he would cancel hers and get a new card issued. They were also to send out some paperwork to report the fraud and claim a refund. All fine so far.

The form never arrived, the blocked both cards and now I can see the available balance had dropped further so there may be more transactions.

Went to ring this morning Sunday to sort it out but the call centre is not opened Sundays.

They only have an ebanking support which is a foreign call canter who don't have access to accounts.

On top of this they are closing the local branch in a few weeks.

Seriously thinking of going back to AIB now but it is a condition of the mortgage sti pay it from my NIB current account.

DingDing said:

Seriously thinking of going back to AIB now but it is a condition of the mortgage sti pay it from my NIB current account.

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If you want to move, don't let that stop you. Get the account type changed to a feeder account for the mortgage - and go and set up your main a/c with AIB. They can't charge you for the feeder a/c - provided you don't make any additional transactions - other than transferring funds into it.

Thanks for that advice. I must call in during the week.

Has anyone any knowledge of NIB's standpoint to the Custody account fees and the Prestige account? I was on the phone to them over a month ago about changing to a Prestige account and they told me the €40 fee for the custody account would be included in the €125 Prestige rate. Between the free insurance and the Custody fees this would have been a good option for me. However, when I went to the bank they told me this was a mistake even though the first girl at the counter told me it was true. Has anyone else enquired about Custody account fees being included in Prestige account fees and what was the outcome?

Just an addendum - the e-banking facilities have had a reduction in functionality for free(servicing) accounts- you can't transfer money out of them any more, which is most annoying.

DingDing said:

Recently when AIB and NIB introduced charges I consolidated my 2 current accounts into 1 NIB prestiege account.

I was on holidays recently and when checking on-line banking I noticed there were 3 fraudulent transactions.

I rang up, spent ages waiting on the phone. The operator identified that the problem was with my wife's card and said he would cancel hers and get a new card issued. They were also to send out some paperwork to report the fraud and claim a refund. All fine so far.

The form never arrived, the blocked both cards and now I can see the available balance had dropped further so there may be more transactions.

Went to ring this morning Sunday to sort it out but the call centre is not opened Sundays.

They only have an ebanking support which is a foreign call canter who don't have access to accounts.

On top of this they are closing the local branch in a few weeks.

Seriously thinking of going back to AIB now but it is a condition of the mortgage sti pay it from my NIB current account.

Click to expand...

a few years ago i had 2 fraudulent transactions on my nib current account and both on the same day. a couple of months ago it happened again and that was after getting a new card/pin. i filled out forms and got my money back each time but never an explanation. strange how it happened again.