Ulster Bank has advised current account customers to start moving their accounts now

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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www.rte.ie

Ulster Bank urges customers to get ready for changes

Ulster Bank is encouraging customers to get ready for changes coming next year as part of the bank's withdrawal from the Irish market, which was first announced in February.
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Ulster Bank said it will contact customers directly when they need to take action, adding that this will start early next year when it plans to begin to serve formal account closure notice to current account and deposit account customers.

In advance of this, the lender is urging customers to consider their options, avail of supports and get ready to choose a new banking provider, especially for current and deposit accounts.
 
There is going to be a rush for the door and if you experience problems Ulster Bank will be overwhelmed and unable to resolve it timely.

The other banks will also be overwhelmed by applications for new accounts, so there may be long queues.


So get your skates on.

Brendan
 
In anticipation, I opened a current account in AIB. Unfortunately having my direct debits and similar moved across is taking forever. The "working from home" excuse for poor service in some cases, is being used for nil action.
 
Hi Bronco

Would you consider moving your key direct debits manually? For example, your mortgage so that your credit record is not damaged?

Brendan
 
From their press release

Personal Customers – Choose, Move & Close Readiness Campaign

Ulster Bank intends to give all active personal current account and deposit account customers up to six months’ notice* to Choose, Move & Close their accounts, on a rolling basis, beginning early in 2022. In preparation for this, Ulster Bank is encouraging customers to get ready for these changes coming in 2022, consider their options and avail of Ulster Bank supports to prepare. Ulster Bank encourages our personal customers who are ready now to contact us on 1850 424 365 (or on 0818 210 260 after 01 November) to arrange an appointment or call into a branch where we will be able to help customers, who are ready, on an individual, personalised basis to prepare to Choose, Move & Close their current and deposit accounts.



Process for Personal & Commercial Customers current and deposit accounts Choose, Move & Close:

  • Process is signposted to facilitate early movers, those who may need additional time or support and to help as many customers as possible to Choose and to be ready to Move & Close.
  • Telephony and branch resources supporting customers, including vulnerable customers.
  • Early in 2022, customer receives letter and/ or email outlining their closure date and how Ulster Bank can support them to Choose, Move & Close. The notice period is up to six calendar months (standard regulatory notice period is 60 days but we are expanding this for Ulster Bank customers).
  • Further outbound contact made to vulnerable customers and those with complex needs to support them to Choose, Move & Close.
  • Customer receives two reminder emails/ letters.
  • If no action is taken, customer account would be closed with a cheque issued for any remaining balance.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Hi Bronco

Would you consider moving your key direct debits manually? For example, your mortgage so that your credit record is not damaged?

Brendan
Click to expand...
Yes Brendan,

I am doing them all manually. Picking them off one at a time. Next big ones are the State pensions for myself and my wife. Unfortunately still waiting on Mercer to even acknowledge that they are doing something on my private pension.
 
On your advice Brendan, I made an appointment with AIB to switch out of my Ulster Bank account. As my wife is an existing customer, we have to go to a branch. If I was opening it in my own name, I could do it online. We're going down tomorrow morning as Saturday's is the only day that we are both free. Had to book a month in advance. They say it takes an hour to open an account.

With regards switching DDM, I am just going to do it myself. From past experience, the bank misses some or have difficulty with things like Netflix. Easier to do it myself. For us, the biggest debits are all on the 1st, so 1 December will be the first big debit for the new account, once it's open.
 
There is mayhem currently based on the experiences related to me by my sister and BIL.

Start with my BIL, an Ulster Bank customer for decades. UB decided he had to get a new passport costing €75 to prove who he was in order to close the accounts they needed him to move. Salaries, pensions recently, tax rebates and so on paid in, taxes, insurance premia (car, life, health, home, holiday) paid out.

It then took BoI weeks to open accounts, confirm account numbers, issue a cheque book, issue cards, and more nonsense when it came to setting up direct debits. He now has a BoI current account he can access online and a BoI savings account which he cannot for some strange unknown reason. He rings up to get a balance on the account he cannot access online and the phone-bots keep asking for a balance which he doesn't know because he consolidated a number of UB accounts into one BoI account for convenience. He's trying to keep track of what UB is doing with his money and his new bank won't help.

He and his wife called down to drop off more documentation to UB in person rather than rely on An Post. They found the entire staff of the UB branch locked out of work! Instead of handing the papers to a bank official, they were told to shove them through the letterbox.

Due to the complications BoI created in setting up their accounts, sis & BIL, phoned AIB to get an appointment to set up accounts there, In early October, they were given a date of November 26th (2021 that is!!) to attend for in-branch interviews and exchange of papers, ID, etc.

I suggested meeting Captain Mainwaring in his bank in Walmington-on-Sea. At least there you had the option of referring to a stupid boy as a "You stupid boy Pike." Fawlty Towers banking is the state of the art here today.
 
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Brendan Burgess said:
Wow. There is going to be mayhem next year.

People are not going to have their accounts closed in time and they will get cheques for the balance but won't have anywhere to lodge them.

Brendan
Click to expand...
I'm sure if you call in mid week you won't have as much trouble. We knew there was plenty of time so were willing to wait. A lot of accounts can also be opened online. Funny that this couldn't be done when one of the couple is an AIB account holder...
 
With regards to Ulster Bank, they haven't formally told anyone that they are closing their accounts yet, and they have indicated that they'll give up to six months notice of account closure, so I think that's quite good, in terms of lead in time.

Obviously, moving banks needs a bit of thought and a little advance preperation:

- first on the list is to decide exactly what services are important to you (be it great tech, a branch network, cash handling facilities etc.)

- second on the list, should be to ensure that you know what documents you'll need, to get a new Bank account opened, and have them ready, before you try and start the process. This isn't overly challenging, but it's very black and white, so provide the exact documents requested, ensure they are in good condition and within date, and you shouldn't have any issues.

Personally, I don't have confidence in the switcher processes, and like to move all of my standing orders and direct debits, along with salary etc. myself. That way, I sleep easy, knowing that everything has been done in a timely manner, and done correctly.
 
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We (wife and myself) have used Ulster for "almost" everything for a long time now. Thankfully, i've also had a current and deposit a/c with AIB and never closed it down, but with hardly any activity in it over the past 10 years or so. Will be checking next week to establish if we can just switch over our Ulster accounts with not too many problems. Appreciate the advice that this is going to happen in the next few months, and with Christmas in between all of this I guess it's time to get the skates on. Actually meant to do something about it before now but had forgotten all about it.
Really sorry to see this happening with Ulster, they've been good to us over the years and they'll be missed by a lot of people.
 
Unfortunitely, the loss of two more banks from the Irish Market, and further reduction in competition, will impact us all, to some degree.

The online banks and non - banks will help fill the void, but I think many of them have a bit to go, before they'll be considered a full replacement for a Bank with a notable branch network etc.

For those of us that have been through this before, when the likes of Danske, BoSI/Halifax and ACC closed, its probably a little less unsettling, although still a pain in the neck.

The lesson for me, after the last round of banks closed, was not to ever have all of my eggs in one basket (in terms of my banking and credit requirements), and I'd be suggesting that approach now be taken, by almost everyone reading this discussion thread.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
From their press release

Personal Customers – Choose, Move & Close Readiness Campaign
.........
[*]If no action is taken, customer account would be closed with a cheque issued for any remaining balance.
[/LIST]
Click to expand...
What happens if you're in an (approved) overdraft?

And/or have a balance outstanding on your credit card?
 
Overdrafts are usually callable? So when they give you notice, they will cancel your overdraft.

They will stop your credit card and you will have to pay them the balance.

Best to avoid the hassle and get the switch underway now.

Brendan
 
You'd think UB staff would be capable of following detailed, signed, written instructions delivered to the branch by the account holder. You would think wrong. Today my BIL and my sister discovered that not one of the actions they instructed UB to take were completed. No-one in UB could explain why.

The instructions were as follows:

  • Account 1 UB, transfer the balance to BoI Account X and closeout Account 1
  • Account 2 UB, transfer the balance to BoI Account X and closeout Account 2
  • Account 3 UB, transfer the balance to BoI Account X and closeout Account 3
  • Account 4 UB, transfer the balance to BoI Account X and closeout Account 4
  • Account 5 UB, transfer balance less €100 to BoI Account X and leave Account 5 open
  • Account 6 UB, transfer balance less €100 to BoI Account X and leave Account 6 open.

Simple? Not if you work in UB apparently

While they stood before a woman seated at a desk they watched while the bank official harrumphed her way through the list of instructions. My sister eventually asked if her husband could have a chair. My BIL is in his 80's, a cancer survivor, frail and hard of hearing. Once the chair was supplied he was asked for his passport (again!!!) and he was asked if he was comfortable having "this woman" (his wife, with EPOA and nominated next-of-kin) overhear his business. He confirmed he could not conduct the business at hand without her presence and help.

When action items 1 through 4 were completed the bank official said she could not follow the instruction for Accounts 5 & 6 and tried to insist they close the accounts out completely. My sister refused saying she'd get back to them with final instructions next week once they had confirmation from BoI that the transfers had been completed successfully. They asked for printed confirmation of each transfer and closing statements for accounts 1 through 4.

Another issue is that BoI has still not been able to supply online access to the new deposit account, but cannot (will not?) explain why
 
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