Central Bank review of trackers for other banks

From reading the scope of the CB's review in press release i had a modicum of hope, but this thread seems to be implying that cases need to be similar in context to PTSB.....in my own case was on KBC Tracker , bombarded with letters as the rates flew up went up , moved to 5 year fixed..........lost tracker in process, several cases rejected by FSO which were word for word similar to my own,documentations wording was sufficient in those cases, so havent approached ombudmsan , probably still within 6 year period ...maybe i was honing in on the piece re banks practices, transparency informing you of implications etc ............heres hoping its all encompassing review of all practices around trackers . Fair play Brendan and Padraic for sticking with this for so long !

I certainly wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

The relevant PTSB borrowers had a contractual entitlement to default back to a tracker rate on the expiry of their fixed terms and the High Court upheld decisions of the FSO that this entitlement captured circumstances where a borrower broke out of the fixed term early.

However, the Central Bank may well take the view that even where it is clear, on the face of it, that there is no similar contractual entitlement to default back to a tracker, the circumstances in which borrowers with trackers were persuaded to enter into fixed term contracts was such that it gave rise to a breach of the Consumer Protection Code. If the Central Bank does come to that conclusion, it seems probable that the Central Bank would order any relevant lenders (and KBC seem to be very much in the frame here) to permit borrowers to choose to revert back to a tracker rate, notwithstanding the terms of their contract and may, possibly, also order compensation to be paid to impacted borrowers under threat of financial sanction.

I don't have any particular insight into the Central Bank's current review but I definitely wouldn't give up all hope that it will not produce a favourable result for certain borrowers.
 
I requested that the FSO review my case and they have written back stating that they cannot review it as a decision was made and can only be referred to the high court? I thought the FSO were reviewing Tracker cases? My case was partially upheld.
Hi Staffy,
I am curious in what way was your case partially upheld. Did you get some part of your loan back on a tracker?
 
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I requested that the FSO review my case and they have written back stating that they cannot review it as a decision was made and can only be referred to the high court? I thought the FSO were reviewing Tracker cases? My case was partially upheld.

I sent an email to the Central Bank and received a reply which stated the following:
"I should also add that in our statement on the examination of tracker-mortgage related issues, we mentioned that we have been engaging with consumer groups as well as the Financial Services Ombudsman to help inform our work."

I then sent a letter to the Central bank setting out comments and errors that I felt were of a systematic nature and also included relevant details from my FSO case so as to assist and inform the Central Bank with their examination of tracker issues. I received a reply from the CB which stated, "I confirm that I have forwarded it to the consumer division for information."

I also sent a copy of the CB letter to the FSO asking that my case be included in any review that they (FSO) are currently doing. I received a very generic reply, don't have it to hand, but it didn't add much. Pretty much said the same thing as you (Staffy) quoted.

I am aware that others have done something similar. If you feel you have a case it may be worth doing something similar, ie bringing the attention of the CB to it. Important to note that the CB is not reviewing individual cases, to quote it:

"It is important to advise you that the Central Bank does not have a statutory role in investigating individual consumer complaints against financial service providers, nor does it have a statutory role in considering decisions made by the Financial Services Ombudsman." The CB also stated:

"Regarding the broader examination of tracker mortgage-related issues, we are currently working on a methodology for our examination and we are liaising very closely with key consumer stakeholders, including the Financial Services Ombudsman, to make sure that our examination will cover all issues which are potentially impacting on consumers. As the scope of the examination will potentially be very broad, it is likely that it will take a considerable length of time to complete. Our priority in this examination, as always, is getting the right outcome for consumers."

Therefore it is important to highlight matters that are indicating systematic issues and errors, rather than simply focusing exclusively on your own case. Your own case clearly helps to inform.
 
I received a copy of the form I signed to fix from Kbc today, was only 4 years back when I came off 5 year fixed and was moved to variable (having been on tracker previously )so still within the timeframes allowed . Will follow up with central bank and fso and see where it takes me . The thread has outlined many good points to support my complaint , thanks . As post above says might not get much more than automated response from CB ,but need fso to realise the issues affecting KBC customers who jumped/were pushed off their trackers in 2006/2007 and the underlying conditions and behaviour of the bank at that time which certainly impacted my decision .
 
I received a copy of the form I signed to fix from Kbc today, was only 4 years back when I came off 5 year fixed and was moved to variable (having been on tracker previously )so still within the timeframes allowed . Will follow up with central bank and fso and see where it takes me . The thread has outlined many good points to support my complaint , thanks . As post above says might not get much more than automated response from CB ,but need fso to realise the issues affecting KBC customers who jumped/were pushed off their trackers in 2006/2007 and the underlying conditions and behaviour of the bank at that time which certainly impacted my decision .
I think the fso goes from the date of the fixed rate instruction rather than the date of when you noticed it.

Also no-one has answered the query on CB code of conduct - this came into effect on Aug 1st 2006 and KBC had expiry date of july 22nd on many of their fixed rate documents - hence it is possible that no matter what the outcome, many kbc customers will be left out.
 
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