Bank of Ireland increase differential on tracker rates

Well while were on about taxpayers not funding the landlords - how about Post Office savers being used to prop up BOI?

"The Post Office savings of 2.2 million people were illegally used by a crisis-hit Irish bank to prop itself up during the credit crunch, a tribunal was told today.
The Bank of Ireland created a "sham" sister bank in Britain to allow it to claim the £10 billion of deposits as its own to avoid collapse, it was claimed.

The arrangement also meant that the UK government would have had to pay uo to £85,000 compensation for every Post Office saver if the Irish bank had collapsed.

The sensational claims were made today by Irfan Qadir, 40, who was a senior director at the bank but claims he decided to become a whistleblower"

Gives you an idea of who and what we are dealing with. I know you cannot take as read everything you see on the Internet - but where there is smoke there is fire.

@Gary,

I'm sure Mark Alexander will be interested in this news.

I am sure he will Richard. The full article is at:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/bank-of-ireland-used-post-office-savings-of-22-million-people-to-dodge-collapse-6372287.html

As advised by a post on here all the money I had in the Post office has been withdrawn - and I have written to them to tell them why. That as a BOI customer I am fearful of them invoking the "offset" rule and using my savings to pay off a mortgage. With what they have done with the tracker differential I would not put it past them - plus this article.

To all you other PO savings customers with BOI Mortgages - get your money out!!!

Well! Ive held off for as long as i could, took onboard everyone's advice & comments. Altered my initial complaint an angle which seems to be the general consensus. I cant wast more of my now more precious work time on this without lodging my official complaint with BoI. Letters are in the post.

Thanks Mark & this site. I will continue to fight the cause.

All, feel free to copy, adapt & use.

Bank of Ireland
PO Box 27
One Temple Quay
Bristol
BS99 7AX

Re – My Propert
Account no – My Mortgage No
Product – FIXED BASE RATE TRACKER +1.75%
Your Ref: BTL????????

FORMAL LETTER OF COMPLAINT & REFUSAL OF TRACKER DIFFERENTIAL RATE INCREASE. UNFAIR RATE RISE & UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS

In response to your letter 25th February 2013.

I do not accept any change to my bank base rate tracker mortgage product, which clearly states ‘the interest rate we charge will track base rate for the whole mortgage term’ with a rate stated of 1.75% fixed above Bank of England’s base rate.

It also states in the terms of the Promotional Rate Conditions – “After this date the interest we will charge will track base rate for the remainder of the mortgage at a fixed differential of 1.75% above base rate.”
Whist there are inclusions relating to the ‘Differential’ this is very ambiguous.
Therefore, the Bank of Ireland has provided me a product that I believed was a ‘Fixed Base Rate Tracker’ when you are now implying it is a ‘Variable Rate Tracker’.
If the bank is prepared to offer rates & figures of 1.75% fixed differential for the term of the mortgage, then that is what it should.

These proposals of increasing the rate from 1.75% to 4.49%, above Bank of England base (over a 250% rise!) are totally unjustified & unfair, when currently, average mortgage tracker products are 2% above base for the term of the mortgage. You have given no explanation how you have arrived at the proposed new rate & clearly stated the rate was fixed at 1.75% for the term of the mortgage. It is not mine or any other Bank of Ireland customer’s responsibility to prop up your business, which is claiming the fault of adverse market conditions. Interest rates have been 0.5% since March 2009. The bank should accept its mistakes over its own financial planning & shortcomings. Also, the fact in your booklet provided with your letter ‘Understanding the changes to your Buy to Let Base Rate tracker differential’ quoting….’Is the Bank of Ireland doing this because it is in financial difficulty?’ with the answer & I Quote ‘No. Bank of Ireland has a strong mortgage business in the UK’

Mid last year I was offered by yourselves various financial incentives to move mortgages away from the Bank of Ireland. At no time was it indicated that you intended to increase differential rates. If I had been informed about your intentions, whether legal or not, I would have been able to make an informed decision well in advance.

However, without so much of another competitive product offered to me to make an overall informed decision, well in advance of any changes this is clearly a loophole the bank is exploiting.

Your proposals are an unfair rate rise & contain unfair contract terms.

Until a fair & satisfactory solution is arrived at, I do not authorise Bank of Ireland to collect via direct debit anything other than the current original amounts from my bank account for the ‘Fixed differential, Base Rate Tracker’ of 1.75% above base that was agreed in 2004 in the original contract.

I await your reply at your earliest convenience.

@Gary,

Good move, I would have done the same.

If you have a Nationwide account, they do a Loyalty Account which attracts great rates.

In case you're wondering - No, I don't work for them.

Hi,

Can we wait until Justin comes back with some legal advice ? We may be give us correct wording, etc.

This was on the radio today (about 60% in):-

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/5live/consumer/consumer_20130307-1323a.mp3

Spoke to BOI today you can email your complaints to:-

mortgage.services@boipluk.com

I have not tested this email address yet. They obviously did not include this email address in their literature as they did not wish to encourage complaints.

Maybe nothing but............

Initially I was on a 4.99% 5 year BTL fix.

Hidden away in the small print offer they do mention the "differential" and how they can basically change this to what ever they like!

However 5 years after I received funds they wrote a letter to me on the 22 April 08 which reads:-

"Your current mortgage rate will end on the 30th April. You'll then be charged interest at 6.75% which is Bank of England rate plus 1.75% (Bank of England Base rate currently 5.00% as at 10/04/08). Your new monthly payment will be **** for the following account number (s). *****."

No mention of the "differential". No mention of how it may not always be base just 1.75% . Just in black and white that "You'll then be charged interest at 6.75% which is Bank of England rate plus 1.75%". This has turned out not to be the case.

As I say probably nothing but I thought it worth mentioning.

Hello all

As you have possibly guessed, I've been out all day today and have only just got around to catching up with my emails and all the notifications of your posts. I have an early start tomorrow and will not get to my desk until mid afternoon.

It's now 11pm so I'm going to focus of getting some readers articles posted and then I'm afraid my bed will be calling me.

I am aware of the articles regarding BOI using into post office savers money and the ramifications. However, as this has now been covered by many other News channels and forums there's little point in me researching and writing an article here. Feel free to discuss it here though and if you fancy writing something to publish as a separate article I'll be pleased to consider publishing it. Please see the facility to propose an article in the second of the slightly larger boxes, just above the Navigation Bar at the top of each page, just below our header and logo.

Thank you also to all of you who have supported the upkeep of Property118 with your very kind donations to The GOOD Landlords Campaign

I have just read through all the posts and some posters mention the fact that they failed to receive the Residential Kortgage Conditions booklet with the original loan offer. I have a B and W mortgage from March 2004 and I still have all the paperwork supplied by the B and W. I too was not supplied with the Residential Mortgage booklet. I have read rhrough the small print with a tooth comb and it is Section 6(m) of the Residential Mortgage Conditions that is being used by the BOI to shaft us. I have now seen the full conditions on a forum download and the Section 6(m) basically gives the bank the power to do what ever suits them in relation to the interest rate charged. As this is of such critical importance my belief would be that it had to be included within the original loan wording. If the bank failed to attach it how on earth could it be described as clear and fair. Its like its hidden away.