Mortgage provider not returning calls - what to do?

I have a problem in relation to my mortgage & the bank (AIB) will not communicate with me, I'm not sure what I can do now, other than switch banks....

I took out a mortgage in Aug 2006 at an introductory tracker of .75% above ECB. In early Aug this year, I received a letter from the bank to say that I would be switched to 1.25% above ECB as introductory term was over - fine.

I rang to confirm repayment amounts & was told that actually as my LTV is less than 80%, I am entitled to stay on .75% above ECB & all I needed to do was send in a letter requesting same. I sent the letter but heard nothing.

After many calls to get verification, on the 29th Aug, I finally got verbal confirmation from the supervisor that my rate would remain at 4.75% & repayments would remain at X amount, same amount I had previously been paying.

The next repayment came out on 3rd Sep & the amount was wrong, over by €136. Since then, I have rung numerous times on a near daily basis in an effort to speak with the supervisor but they haven't returned my calls, they've been ignoring me for well over a month now! I've been repeatedly told that they are looking at my account & I have been given date committments that they will get back to me but they never do.

Their compaints department is basically the people who aren't returning my calls. Even so, I wrote a letter on the 27th Sep detailing the situation but this too has so far been ignored. I have been advised to contact the IFSRA ombudsman & mentioned this in my letter.

Is this now the only option available to me? I'm tempted just to move my mortgage at this stage but feel I am entitled to know what is going on.

My repayment on 3rd Oct was also €136 above the norm.

any advise/experience?

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

Sounds like my dealing with AIB. You need to work you way up the chain to command. Skip the drones, ring up the reception and get the name of the head of Mortgage Lending or what ever they call the department and start annoying him/her or at least their PA!.

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

Yes it does! thanks for that but the problem is the people (2 names) I am trying to talk to & keep leaving messages for etc are the supervisors/managers in the lending section. I've asked for their seperiors & been told they are in charge of mortgages, they are also the people who open complaints addressed letters!

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

Are they a high street lender?

If so i would go into your home branch. Ask to see the mortgage advisor and tell them the situation. Then advise them you'll be back the following week/day and you want it sorted.

Telephone conversations are a waste of time on some matters. I'd love to know where the recordings are kept that they inform you of each time you call.

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

They still have people above them! Have you tried the HR department for names.

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

GarBow said:

Are they a high street lender?

If so i would go into your home branch. Ask to see the mortgage advisor and tell them the situation. Then advise them you'll be back the following week/day and you want it sorted.

Click to expand...

Yes they are but I don't have any accounts in any branches. I got the mortgage through a broker.
Can I still make an appointment with the mortgage advisor in any branch to highlight the issue?

Re: Mortgage Provider not returning calls - what to do?!

Worth a try i would suggest. Your not dealing with a broker now your dealing with the provider. Even the branch manager may push things along for you.

I had a similar experience with PTSB and found that face to face confrontation got things moving a lot quicker.

I have had issues with AIB going back to June. Via my broker and directly we tried to engage with AIB to resolve the issues. It took till this week for it all to be resolved. I had written to the ombusman who advised me to contact AIB Customer Support and go through AIB's complaint proceedure. I have done that but also did the following:

1. Postd a blog outlining what happened - [broken link removed]
2. Posted in AAM - Letting off Steam - http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=65353
3. Posted in boards.ie - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055162624
4. Did a google.ie search for "AIB mortgage" next morning and showed them the AAM posting was ranking right up there on the 1st page
5. Faxed a complaint to AIB HQ Customer Support Centre

I then emailed those I was dealing with in AIB with links to these posts and as they are on public forums / blogs told them they could join and respond if there was anything factually incorrect...following the blog and post here an apology the next day with a promise that all has been resolved, I await to see that.

All in all a waste of my time and the broker involved but I was intent that they were not going to brush me off.

Good luck with your issue,if you want any further details feel free to PM me.

Eoin

There are new regulations in place for dealing with customer complaints.

How to make a complaints from the Financial regulator's "It's your money" site:
http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=96&pID=147&nID=393&aID=0

Your September letter should have had a written acknowledgement within 5 working days, which should have included the name of the person who is dealing with you situation.

Your problem should be resolved within 20 working days of receipt of original complaint.

At this stage, I'd call them again to ask if your problem has been logged on the complaints handling system (all institutions will have them now). Tell them to make a note that your next step will be to escalate to the financial Services Ombudsman.

You should get a response from that.
Lets know how you get on.
D8L

Unfortunately these regulations do not seem to have any effect. Within the process I have gone through I emailed the complaints unit in AIB Mortgages and got no response (I know people will say I should write, but AIB's own documentation states you can also email). It was only when I wrote to the ombudsman that he advised of the customer support unit in AIB HQ - I'm still awaiting a response from them but to be fair they are still within the 5 day response that you've mentioned.

I wouldn't have taken the actions I did but it appears that AIB mortgage unit's policy is to ignore their customers - the broker channel with their millions and end customers with smaller amount.


Eoin

Make sure all your correspondance is in writing from now on, no phone calls, and send it by registered post/recorded delivery.

Most banks have staff members with names like "customer relationship manager" or "customer account adminstrator", each of whom have a quota of customers allocated to them. These people are based in a branch or HQ. If your bank has these people, find out which one you have been allocated to and make an appointment to visit them in person and sort it out. If not, I suppose you could always walk into whatever branch of the bank holds your mortgage account (must be physically located somewhere) and insist on speaking to someone face to face.