Charlie Weston had a good article on the topic here.
Banks refuse to return owners to trackers after switching
"Cases have emerged where banks admitted that mortgage holders should not have lost their trackers. These people have been offered refunds and compensation, but not put back on a tracker rate.
In most cases, they had switched mortgages to another bank after being denied the re-instatement of their tracker.
Despite the admissions that they should not have lost their trackers, the homeowners are not being restored to the low-cost rates.
However, Ombudsman Ger Deering said his office often orders banks to restore customers to tracker rates.
"The FSO has and will continue to direct that tracker mortgages be reinstated in appropriate circumstances," he said."
I have seen the paperwork in the case of Paul Favier and it really defies belief.
Paul switched from ptsb to AIB. He borrowed no additional money.
ptsb contacted him last year and told him that they had taken the tracker away from him incorrectly - so no dispute there.
They refunded him the overcharge up to the date he switched and nothing since.
He appealed to the Customer Appeals Panel for a refund to date and for his tracker back. He was absolutely clear in what he was asking for from the CAP
And this was the CAP's decision
This makes no sense at all. They make no reference to the fact that he asked for his tracker back.
ptsb told Padraic Kissane and me that they "would look favourably" on such cases. But it appears that they are rejecting them.
Paul has gone to the FSO and I would expect that the FSO will uphold his appeal, given the comments that Ger Deering has made in public. Bill Prasifka would have rejected it on the grounds that "he had voluntarily terminated his relationship with ptsb".
The Central Bank should issued clear guidelines to the lenders - if you took a tracker from someone and they later switched lender, take them back on the same terms.
Brendan