AIB Requested and paid to break out of a fixed rate in Dec 2008, but AIB did not implement it until late January 2009

[Loopylass]

User AIBRedress has updated us today.

I just got off the phone, this is what has been explained to me:

We are getting a €5,000.00 payment this month as a part payment against the redress/compensation. This can be lodged without any issues and is not accepting the offer.

As it will take time to work out figures of the compensation and redress, they are estimating it will be the end of October before the balance is paid.

The tracker will be re-instated at start of September. They could not confirm the percentage at the moment.

A letter will be sent out at the end of August with figures and information.

He informed me that they only got clarification on this on Thursday and Friday and can now discuss with the affected people.

Borderline cases
A couple of things on this. Firstly we’ve gone with the 12 Jan as a cut off point to give some extra room and take into consideration the Christmas period.

In terms of your query:

Breaking from fixed rate cases are in the group and if a breakage fee is due and the breakage is paid on or before the 12 Jan it’s in the group (even if the break was actioned after the 12th).

Some cases did not require a breakage fee and as long as requests were received up to and including the 12 Jan they are included in the group.

There are also a small number of borderline cases we included where we felt there was a delay on our side that brought them past the 12th.



Frequently Asked Questions

My fixed rate was due to finish in 2010, but I broke out early before 12 January 2009. Am I in the 300 cohort?

Yes. AIB has confirmed this.

Why are these guys getting trackers?

The Central Bank insisted that had AIB complied with the terms of their contract, they would have increased the tracker rate instead of withdrawing it in October 2008. However, based on the experience of previous changes to tracker rates, it would have taken AIB 12 weeks to implement that change.

So the Central Bank insisted that AIB give all those customers the tracker rate which would have existed during that 12 week period


Brendan

Hi Brendan,

First time posting! First of all thank you so much for everything you have done. Really appreciate it. Only for you we would not be in this position getting this redress!

We have a query Brendan if you could help us in any way or advise us re the 300 cohort. Ill explain what happened back in 2008/2009!

We requested a breakage cost early December 2008 to break from our 3 year fixed rate of 4.9%. The Bank sent us a letter on the 8th December advising us the breakage cost was €164.93.
We replied on the 11th December 2008 which they received on the 15th December 2008 requesting this and enclosing a copy of their letter with the breakage cost.
We asked our local bank how we should pay this. We had 2 Current Accounts with AIB at the time, one specific for the Mortgage Account.
The person in the Bank told us to transfer the the breakage cost of €164.93 into this Mortgage Account and Home Loans will take it from the Mortgage Account, we done this transfer in December. After checking the Current Account online after a week, we saw the €164.93 had not been taken from the Mortgage Account. We then contacted our Bank again to ask why had it not been taken. It was explained to the person in the Bank that this was the incorrect way of paying the breakage cost, that we had to pay the money directly to Home Loans in Dublin. Home Loans then said they will send out a new breakage cost! Unknown to us, in between all this the interest rates went up and when the new breakage cost was sent to us, on the 9th January 2009, it was €4,301.91! We then went back down to the Bank and asked why should we pay this new breakage cost as we had done nothing wrong and done what the Bank had told us do. Our Bank contacted Home Loans explaining that it was an error on the Banks side and the original breakage cost should stand, which the Home Loans Department agreed and hence sent out the breakage cost of €164.93 again to us, which we then payed and broke out of our fixed rate. All of this should have been dealt with in December but because of the wrong information from the bank it delay breaking out of this fixed rate until the 27th January 2009!
If it was not the Banks fault, they would not let us go from a breakage cost of €4,301.91 back down to €164.93!


So sorry that was long winded! but hope you get the gist!
We left AIB last year and moved our mortgage to a different bank! We got the €1,615 in 2018. I know we wont get any capital write down as gone from the Bank and then when news of the 300 cohort came out, I rang the helpline last week and spoke to a lovely man, I told him the whole story as all he had on record was that we were not part of the 300 as we broke out on the 27th January 2009! We would be getting a cheque end of August.

I explained all about the hassle we had and the whole breakage cost issue in December and he looked into it and said he saw notes on the system confirming what i told him that a breakage cost of €164.93 was paid in December but due to the error in processing our request it never went through and a new breakage was issued on the 9th January!
He said he would get back to us and get it investigated. He rang me yesterday and said No, we are not part of the 300 as the Bank is going by the date of the 27th January 2009 that we broke out! He said he explained everything but they are going by this date!

This is so unfair Brendan,, it wasn't our fault this delay. Can you advise us what to do next or should we take it to ombudsman, It is so frustrating.
Sorry again for the long post!

Thanks a million

 

[Brendan Burgess]

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

The system says that you are not in the cohort because you broke out on 27th January.

As you have all the documentation, I would be surprised if AIB does not put you in the 300 cohort, which we now have to rename, the 301 cohort.

If they refuse, then I would feel sure that the Ombudsman will.

Wait until you get the letter from AIB and it will give some means of appealing.

Brendan

 

[Loopylass]

Thanks Brendan.

I will wait till I get the letter and see then! Hopefully in the next week! Thanks again.