...if you decide our changes are not for you, you can of course choose to close your account by writing to your local branch.
However; the charges - as far as I can see, virtually every line on my statement will be subject to a minimum charge of 25C. Not much per transaction but it adds up.
What about if you don't have a cheque book anymore, will they refund the unused stamp duty on the cheques that you can't write.
You can use any remaining cheques but you won't get a new cheque book when they are all used.
Got my letter too this week. Would love to be able to close the account and not face the charges to service my tracker mortgage as per point two by ang1170. I think I would not risk the great tracker for the sake of about €20 plus the odd few euro for a few transactions, a year in fees. I'll just aim to not use the bank for anything other than service the mortgage. That's all I already really did.
On principle I would never open an account with charges but I think it's a small price to pay for a great tracker product that is not available on the market anymore.
+1. And I would store this letter carefully, with the original mortgage documents.(2) They will remove the requirement to maintain a current account to service a mortgage held with them. That is, it will be OK to close the account.
[...]
Personally, I'd want to see confirmation of this second point in writing from them before closing the account, as it is a breach of the mortgage agreement as originally drawn up.
See my post earlier in the thread. I have an easy account purely for mortgage servicing and received no such notification of fees being applied. Furthermore, I have been advised by a customer service rep for NIB - that no decision had been taken for customers in my bracket. Therefore, you can still keep the account - provided you use it exclusively for mortgage servicing - and do your current account banking elsewhere..
Are we likely to have any banks offering charge free current accounts in a few months’ time?
What are people’s experience of the other banks offerings: BoI looks to be a real pain, Ulster looks to be on the point of withdrawal. AIB looks the best option at the moment, but what’s it like in practice?
I'd say it's only a matter of time before they introduce charges for you, if what I was told is accurate. It seems there are only two choices: keep the account and pay charges or close it. However, if you choose to close it, I would make sure to get a written statement from them that the relevant clause in the mortgage agreement about keeping an account with them no longer applies.
Quite possibly not - but there won't be any customer complacency as far as I'm concerned. Moved from BOI to UB to get mortgage. Then 2 years later moved mortgage to NIB. Moved current account to Halifax. Moved current a/c back to UB when Halifax packed their bags. I guess there won't be much to choose from - but I will move to whomever is offering the best deal if UB start charging fees.Are we likely to have any banks offering charge free current accounts in a few months’ time?
AIB has the simplest conditions to comply with to get free banking.
That's what I thought. Can anyone comment on what they are like to deal with, though? Is their online banking any good? NIB scores pretty high on both these counts in my experience and it may just be worthwhile paying the charges, and sticking with them.
AIB restrict online wire transfers after 3:30 PM every day.
What features matter to you with online banking ?
Unless customers request otherwise NIB will move you automatically to a 24/7 account.
Quite possibly not - but there won't be any customer complacency as far as I'm concerned. Moved from BOI to UB to get mortgage. Then 2 years later moved mortgage to NIB. Moved current account to Halifax. Moved current a/c back to UB when Halifax packed their bags. I guess there won't be much to choose from - but I will move to whomever is offering the best deal if UB start charging fees.
...we're different to other banks. We're delivering services to you in a way that gives you value for money and that rewards you for your loyalty to our bank. We believe that's fair to you and that it's also fair to us.