Bank of Ireland has found another 6,000 customers overcharged in the tracker scandal

BANK OF IRELAND has confirmed that an additional 6,000 of its customers were impacted by the tracker mortgage scandal.

The rampant overcharging has embroiled all of Ireland’s main banks, which have been involved in either wrongfully denying customers a tracker mortgage product or charging them the wrong rate of interest.

The final number of impacted customers is expected to be close to 30,000 once the Central Bank’s examination into the issue has concluded.

Today Bank of Ireland said it has made substantial progress with its redress and compensation scheme in the last two weeks and will soon be sending compensation offers to 4,300 customers it had already confirmed as affected.

“These letters will also set out the range of options which are open to customers and the bank aims to compensate all of these customers, subject to their agreement, by the end of this year,” the bank said in a statement.

It also said it has continued to review whether further customers should be included in the compensation process and has “agreed to include an additional 6,000 accounts within the scope of the compensation scheme”.

This brings the total number of overcharged customers at the bank to 10,300. The bank said it had put aside up to €175 million to compensate the latest 6,000 affected account holders.

Central Bank intervention

Central Bank governor Philip Lane recently told the Oireachtas Finance Committee that customers of two unnamed institutions had been told they were not impacted when the regulator believed they were.

In a statement this afternoon, the Central Bank said it had identified the 6,000 additional Bank of Ireland customers as impacted, but the lender had previously disputed the suggestion.

“As the governor of the Central Bank has previously made clear, we will continue to challenge all lenders on disputed cases,” it said.

“This approach gets money back faster to people affected. We will continue to pursue lenders and hold them to account for their unacceptable failings by using all powers.”

The Bank of Ireland announcement comes two weeks after Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe hauled in bank chiefs – including Bank of Ireland’s Francesca McDonagh – to commit to faster progress in paying back what they owe their customers.

The country’s five main banks issued apologies after this meeting, with all but one – Ulster Bank – promising redress and compensation to impacted customers by the end of this year.

Today McDonagh said making progress on the tracker issues has been a top priority for her since taking up the CEO’s role in October.

“The bank is also confirming today that (around) 6,000 additional customers will be part of the compensation scheme. This now gives us a clear picture of the number of impacted customers,” she said.

“I unreservedly apologise to all impacted customers for the financial loss and anxiety this has caused them and their families.”

Written by Michelle Hennessy and posted on TheJournal.ie