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Bank Overcharging and the Leap Year

The letter sent to customers contains an apology from the bank of Irish Examiner and a cheque to cover financial loss. Visit here: https://bit.ly/2S50fOh

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Bank Overcharging and the Leap Year

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  1. Bank overcharging and the Leap Year

  2. Bank of Scotland has been forced to compensate thousands of customers for incorrectly charging an extra day’s mortgage interest for the 2008 Leap Year. According to the bank, the 10-year-old overcharging error only came to light during a recent review of its Irish mortgage accounts — conducted prior to its sale in September of Irish retail mortgage loans to Australian-owned loan portfolio and property manager, Pepper Asset Servicing. The bank has set up a helpline for the estimated 28,000 affected customers.

  3. While the bank itself refused to quantify the exact number saying “a guess on numbers is likely to be inaccurate”, the Irish Examiner was told by staff operating the helpline that the figure is understood to be in the region of 28,000. The bank also refused to say how much compensation is involved, but again helpline staff said they understand the bulk of the redress figures are “double digit”. This could put the total payout at up to €2.8m. Asked if the bank has informed the Central Bank of the error, a spokesperson for Bank of Scotland said: “We are in contact with the regulator about this.”

  4. The spokesperson also said that “the additional day’s interest was charged for the February 29, 2008, [leap year] which has not occurred in any other leap year”. “We are currently reviewing relevant accounts and will ensure that no customers are out of pocket as a result,” she said. The letter sent to customers contains an apology from the bank and a cheque to cover financial loss. This includes the incorrectly charged day’s interest plus compensatory interest at 8% per year, calculated from June 2008 to December 2018, plus an additional €1 “to ensure you are not out of pocket for any fees your bank may charge for encashing your refund”.

  5. Joint mortgage account holders should each receive 50% of the amount due. This paper asked the Central Bank if it is aware of the overcharging error and of the number of people affected by it and the amount of compensation involved. The Central Bank said while it “cannot comment on individual firms” it “is aware of the error and has engaged with the firm in question”.

  6. In a statement, the Central Bank said it “expects all firms to have adequate systems and controls in place and where issues that affect customers arise, they should be addressed and rectified, with the overarching objective of protecting consumers’ interests, including ensuring that they are not left out of pocket”. “Firms must also communicate clearly and promptly with affected customers and ensure that any identifiable loss is remediated. Any customer who considers that they have been affected by this error should contact Bank of Scotland via Pepper.”

  7. Contact us- Loan Analysis Solutions Locations : Naas, Kildare, Ireland Email : contact@loananalysissolutions.ie Website : www.loananalysissolutions.ie

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