ulster bank - stay clear

As i said earlier, it's great to hear about the good experiences- but when things go wrong, it's worth letting others know (and you would expect the bank to listen!)
 
I am with them 14 years and in general have them good. Did have probs with the Visa card people but that is seperate. Toward NIB who I have only bad experiences I think they are great!!
 
I know there will always be a certain level of mistakes with all banks and I've had various types of accounts with most of them....but I've had major,major issues with Ulster Bank. They made serious blunders with my mortgage a/c over an 18 month period. Debiting the wrong amount from my a/c, no statements, sending legal letters stating I was in arrears (when I was not), issuing me with no receipt when handing over a cheque to clear my mortgage, hidden charges etc etc etc. I've been through the mill and back trying to get these issues sorted, all to no avail....with the result I'm now in the process of making a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The main issue I have found with Ulster Bank is that nobody is prepared to take ownership for resolving an issue...you get passed from Billy to Jack and back & forth & end up repeating your complaints so many times that you just have to give up. The other major issue I have with Ulster Bank is that if you want to call your local branch, you get routed to a call center in Belfast & they then try to connect you to the branch. Needless to say, in all my times trying to get through to the branch, I've probably been sucessful less than 20% of the time...and when you do get put through you've been waiting on the line for long periods. The one real learning I've made from my dealings with Ulster Bank is check your statements inside out and query anything that looks unusual (although don't hold your breath awaiting answers). In my experience Ulster Bank are really really poor in relation to dealing & resolving customer issues. As far as I'm concerned stay well clear...
 
efm said:
PM sent
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Hey efm

Just like NavanMan1, I too have a UB Mortgage with a very low LTV (about 25-30%). I am on the ecb +0.95% tracker.

I also have an on-going case against UB with the FSO, regarding DD not being taken after bank account switch, and then getting nasty threatening arrears letter from UB, even though it was their mistake, and they did not stick to the agreement we reached.

They(UB) are very nasty people to deal with, and customer relations is almost non-existant, and definitely centered around what they can manage to get away with.

Perhaps I have burnt my bridges with them, but I would be most interested in seeing how you managed to get the ecb +0.75%.

Maybe you can PM me also with the secret formula
 
irishpancake said:
Hey efm.Just like NavanMan1, I too have a UB Mortgage with a very low LTV (about 25-30%). I am on the ecb +0.95% tracker.
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A tracker on such a small LTV should be 50bps above base - see your branch asap. I completed a self build mortgage in the last week or so and the service was very poor. The mortgage approvals department in Leopardstown kept sending out new legal packs for the smallest of details, meaning having to get a partner to witness and make repeated appointments with the solicitor [what should have taken a week took eight].

The point of contact for mortgages in my branch mentioned that RBoS took over Nat West/UBL, and has been making a lot of pointless changes in the banking structure over the last number of years. Prior to 2005 that bank was left to its own devices AFAIK as RBoS was concentrating solely on dealing with Nat West.

Overall I still rank UBL amongst the best - hopefully my problem is a glitch that will be resolved for future users...
 
MichaelDes said:
A tracker on such a small LTV should be 50bps above base - see your branch asap.
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Thanks MichaelDes

If you mean ECB +0.5%, I agree wholeheartedly with you. But I think only NIB offer this at present.

My Mortgage is around €58k (after 3+ years on 10-year €80k Tracker Mortgage).

At the time ECB +0.95% was a relatively good deal, and UB were to the forefront with brokers etc.

House is valued at €350k, so even my LTV figures are totally conservative.

I think calling into my local UB Branch is going to be problematic, as I have an on-going Ombudsman case against them, as outlined above.

Switching to NIB would probably be the right thing to do, especially as I am seriously pee'd off with UB, and particularly their Customer Relations, which seems an awful lot of trouble, for very little gain.

Having said that, I will be switching as soon as the FSOB case is finished, if only to show UB that they cannot treat customers in such a cavalier fashion.

The FSOB settlement should easily cover the costs involved, such as an up-to-date Valuation Report.

AFAIK, the minimum loan amount with NIB is only €20k, so this will suit me just fine.

Also, on checking the NIB site:


[broken link removed]
 

If you go to any kind of ombudsman in the Republic of Ireland, bear in mind that they are prohibited by law from investigating complaints unless the internal complaints process of the company in question has been exhausted.

This holds true for any kind of industry, not just financial institutions. If you ever have need to contact the Commission for Energy Regulation with regard to irregularites in your energy bills, for example, they will tell you the same thing.

It is not unheard of for companies to tell an ombudsman one thing, and tell the customer another. I was recently in a situation where I had to contact an ombudsman and ask them to investigate a series of complaints I had with a particular comany. The company told me that as far as they were concerned, the complaints procedure had been exhausted, and that was the end of it. However, they told the ombudsman that the internal investigation was still ongoing. Thus, my complaint was dropped, and I didn't know it until I phoned the ombudsman two weeks later (I eventually sorted it out by threatening the offending company with Joe Duffy).

This is not to say that Ulster Bank is guilty of this, but it's worth noting that this happens all the time. Companies can use an ombudsman's procedures to delay or even kill a customer's complaint.
 
It is for this reason that I have repeatedly mentioned that all matters require to be documented in writing. Therefore this being done, no entity can tell a parcel of spoof.
 
Ulster Bank nightmare

Sadly, I have to join people on this forum who have negative experiences with ulster Bank.
I went to UB in Cork in April to set up a standing order to pay an outstanding balance on a bill. The girl at the costumer desk said that she will do it for me, so I left assured that everything is ok. Last month I got an unexpected visit from a dept collector who informed me that I have unpaid bill.
I went back to the bank and have been informed that there is no evidence whatsoever that I came to the bank and requested standing order.
I have been however assured that they will review the CCTV footage and get back to me. Needless to say I haven't hear from them since.
It is clear to me that Ulster Bank allows their employees to be negligent without any consequences. their transparency in respect to customers is highly questionable.
In general I advise to all who read this post to avoid Ulster Bank.
 
Tutturus, was this standing order to go out of a current account? If so, how did you not know the standing order did not go into operation? Do you not get statements? CCTV footage confirms only that you visited the bank, not what you did there. The responsibility to pay your bills rests with you, not the bank. It is up to you to check that they have done what you asked. Human error occurs. Why would you not check your own account to ensure the standing order was in effect?
 
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