AIB Don't blame the staff on the helpline for not being very informative

Snapper

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I had a joint mortgage account with AIB. We came out of a fixed rate in 2012. Received the letter and 1615 cheque in March 2018. We moved house later that year and closed that mortgage.

I called them at the beginning of June and they didn't give me much info, they confirmed that we were included in the cohort being reviewed but wouldn't confirm if we were due any further redress.

I noticed yesterday that the AIB website had been updated to say that the review was complete so I called them again. This time I was told the amount of the redress was 12% of the balance of the mortgage at the time that we exited the fixed rate. The guy I spoke to looked up the balance from that date and confirmed the exact amount (a simple calculation of 12%). He said that the interest payment was still being calculated as it was a more manual process with different variables for each customer.

He couldn't say exactly when it would be completed as it was being done in batches but said it would be completed by end of August. He also said that we would receive a single cheque for the 12% plus the interest, as opposed to a redress payment followed by a cheque for the interest. Although in our case there will actually be two cheques as the total amount will be split, one in my name and one in my wife's name.

I know that AIB are taking a battering here and rightly so, but I do feel it's worth calling out that all of the front line staff I have dealt with have been excellent. They clearly haven't always been able to give as much info as we would like but they are doing their best and I feel have been hung out to dry a little bit. The issues lie at board level / with senior management where it appears to me that there is a cultural problem around transparency and willingness to accept responsibility for their previous actions.

Anyway, I'm content for now to wait another 6 weeks, now that I have had it confirmed that we are included. If you're in a similar situation to me, I would recommend calling them and asking them to confirm same. They seem to be far more forthcoming now than they were 6 weeks ago.
 
@Snapper thanks a million for your update. It's very helpful. You say joint mortgage is closed but have you moved banks or are you still with AIB?

I agree completely in that everyone I spoke with on the phone has been very nice and as helpful as they can be given they don't know a whole lot themselves. I couldn't fault any of them for customer service at all. But it's frustrating being stuck somewhat in limbo for now.
 
@AnitaF I agree it has been a frustrating experience. Despite the fact that we received the 2018 cheque, and that the accompanying letter stated that we should have been offered a tracker when we came out of our fixed rate, I could not locate our original mortgage documents from when we purchased our old house so could not be certain that it included the relevant clause. Given the sums of money involved, this naturally led to some doubt in my mind that we may have been included in error. There was no basis for this except a natural pessimism on my behalf but it still played on the mind.

I'd hoped to get clarity when I called in June but AIB couldn't really give me any at that stage. There was a marked difference in the info I was given yesterday, in terms of the detail but also in terms of my confidence that the advisor I spoke to was better briefed about the situation and knew what to check on my account etc.

To answer your other question, we no longer have a mortgage with AIB. We took out a new mortgage with KBC when we purchased our current home. We don't have any banking relationship with AIB anymore.
 
When I called my local branch, they hadnt a clue what my writedown was for , or how I came to receive it . Wonderful lack of organisation communication right accross the board it would seem.. Consistent on this front anyway !!!!!!!
 
I know that AIB are taking a battering here and rightly so, but I do feel it's worth calling out that all of the front line staff I have dealt with have been excellent. They clearly haven't always been able to give as much info as we would like but they are doing their best and I feel have been hung out to dry a little bit. The issues lie at board level / with senior management where it appears to me that there is a cultural problem around transparency and willingness to accept responsibility for their previous actions.

A great point and well made. People answering calls always take the brunt of the abuse where people might want to vent, I have taken similar calls many moons ago, it is no fun and does affect you. It is absolutely a corporate culture in AIB (no matter who is at the top) and having being a staff member up to 2011, nothing really seems to have changed over the years.

Most ringing are lucky enough to be getting tens of thousands off their mortgage balances while those answering calls are most likely junior staff pushed out front whose life circumstances could be markedly different. It will all work through over the next few weeks and then everyone will see what is what. Ultimately this is just good news for everyone eligible in the cohort.
 
I was in the cohort who received the cheque for 1615 split between my wife and I. Thank you to Brendan for all the hard work I was not aware of any of this until we received the cheque. When I realised what was happening from Brendan on the radio and the letter from AIB with our cheque I looked at one of my mortgage statements from 2012 and at the top it said draw down date and first payment. But the draw down date given at the top of the page was not the date I drew down the mortgage, I drew down the mortgage many years previously. Its probably not significant but I was just wondering why the difference. thanks again for all the hard work really much appreciated
 
Apparently those on the helpline are agency staff, no previous banking experience. My son met up with a friend of his at the weekend & she told him she is working for Accenture who are sorting out the whole AIB tracker redress debacle.
 
Apparently those on the helpline are agency staff, no previous banking experience. My son met up with a friend of his at the weekend & she told him she is working for Accenture who are sorting out the whole AIB tracker redress debacle.

That makes sure they don't ad lib or throw in their own tuppenceworth when talking to those ringing in. It is a step to make sure they "stick to the script".
 
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