PTSB Flexible options

[Bosshog]

Is anyone else here using any of PTSB's flexible options?

I am making regular overpayments on my mortgage, which builds up each month and sits in my mortgage account as a credit.

When i first started doing this, i was told that when the credit built up to €1000 it could then be knocked off the principle. So when it reached €1000 i called them to do so, but i was then told it now had to be €1270 before you could pay it off the principle.
So i wait until the next month, and it reaches €1270, and i call. Now i am told that i have to cancel my existing regular overpayment before they will knock it off. So i am now very frustrated with this. They tell me it is in the small print, which i have in front of me and cannot find. So i ask them where in the small print does it say that, i am put on hold for nearly 10 minutes while they try to find the small print that does not exist. They come back on having not being able to find it, so instead read out the description of what a regular overpayment is.

Basically anytime i call PTSB regarding this matter i am getting different information from each person. It is very unclear and misleading. I pointed this out to the girl i was talking to and the call ended unresolved because the girl at this stage did not know what to say to me.

Has anyone else had any similar experiences to this? Do anyone know exactly what the story is with the regular overpayments?

The girl told me that there is no difference between the money sitting in credit or it being taken off the principle, as i am getting "100% benefit from the credit" - whatever that means?

 

[Trish2006]

Hi bosshog

We're doing the same for the last about 4 years. I rang up about the overpayment (€200 pm) being taken off the principal because it was in a separate column on the statement. It was explained that the figure is taken into account when calculating the interest, i.e. "getting 100% benefit from the credit" - it's taken off the principal before they calulate the interest. I think you're as well off to leave it as is. If you take it off officially then you're renegotiating either your repayments or your term. Since you're already getting the interest benefit and wish to continue the overpayments, i.e. you do not wish to reduce your payments then it makes no difference. You can officially reduce your term but are "effectively" doing this already, i.e. it will be paid off x years in advance. The advantage of leaving it as is is that you don't know what the future brings and if you ever have trouble paying in a particular month they will take the amount from the credit you have already built up instead of you going into arrears. That's why we're leaving ours the way it is for now. It was explained to me that all overpayments/credits are considered when calculating interest and that's pretty much why you're overpaying in the first place.
To sum up, there doesn't appear to be any real advantage to doing what you want but there is a clear advantage in not doing it.
If you do know of a good reason to do it then pass it on.