Hi Brendan,That is very clear cut. "Once you have chosen to opt out of the tracker mortgage, you can not switch back to this rate option."
What is also not answered is the many that were told by ebs staff they would revert to their tracker rate
Hi All,There is a great deal of ambiguity around the definitions used by EBS in their loan offers pre 2008. In some instances trackers & fixed interest rates were on offer pre 2008 but standard variable rates were not on offer.
From reading posts on here and looking at my own contract the following terms seem to have been used in loan offers circa 2007 when describing interest rates on tracker & fixed rate mortgages:
*Tracker Mortgage:
Interest rate (variable): 5.25%
Interest rate basis: Variable ECB Base +1.25%
*Fixed Rate (3 years):
Interest rate after 3 years: Variable Base (currently 05.25%)
EBS have never offered an official definition of “variable base rate” although they have officially stated that their current SVR “is not directly linked to any reference rate i.e. ECB base rate.”
The only definition I can find of “variable base rate” is on the mortgagesireland.ie website which states that “a variable base rate is a mortgage interest rate that can change over the term of the term of the loan depending on the rates of the Central Bank meaning the monthly payments can go up or down in a given period.”
Hi Padraic
That surprises me, because most people hadn't a clue what trackers were at the time. It's odd that so many asked.
I am further surprised that years later they would remember that they asked.
And even further surprised that when their fixed rate ended, the many people did not complain about it.
But if someone was told that. And if they took it up with EBS when the fixed rate ended, then they should get their trackers back, even if what they were told flatly contradicts the documentation.
But people who remember 12 years later the contents of a conversation and who did not raise any complaint when the fixed rate ended, have no case, in my humble opinion.
Brendan
Do you know anybody who originally started loan on tracker in approx 2006 before fixing for a year? Would be interesting to know what they reverted to in 2007.The variable interest rate basis is specified in our loan offer (as below).
Interest Rate (Variable): 3.75%
Interest Rate Basis: Variable ECB Base + 1.25%
However, fixed rate conversion form we signed while fixing during Feb 2007 doesn't have "The variable interest rate basis will be specified in the loan offer letter issued by EBS (if the loan is approved)." following the "... at the end of fixed rate term loan will convert to the applicable variable rate then prevailing". I guess this existed in the "Application for a fixed mortgage rate" form, wherein you start on a fixed rate. We started on a tracker rate in April 2006, then fixed for 3 years in Feb 2007 and were put onto SVR at the end of fixed term. Not sure, if the earlier "fixed rate conversion form" (pre 2007) had this line and if it was dropped by EBS at some point.
We had complained long time back and EBS rejected our complaint noting the "Once you have chosen to opt out of the tracker mortgage, you can not switch back to this rate option." (from the tracker application form) and fixed rate conversion form claiming that, "applicable variable rate then prevailing" is the SVR. We complained again last December and the response is exactly the same. They never answered any of the questions raised either in the previous complaint few years back (noted in my previous post) and during December, but yet suggest it's their final response!
Good point. However, I haven't come across anyone on this thread or others (related to EBS) who started on tracker around 2006 and then fixed for a year. I guess majority fixed for 3 or 5 years.
Not to say, no one did. as I don't see anyone on these threads, either no one did or those who did were back on trackers before EBS stopped offering them or happy with whatever rate they were put on to when the fixed term ended. When our fixed term was coming to an end (Feb 2010), EBS had sent us a letter outlining the options which only had SVR or Fixed. When I queried this with the EBS customer service, I was told "EBS had pulled out of the tracker market during Oct 2008 and is not offering tracker rates anymore and hence the only options available were SVR or Fixed."
Those of you who started on fixed and were put on SVR at the end of fixed term, do you all have the below in the "application for a fixed mortgage rate" you signed when starting the loan, but the "Variable Interest Rate Basis" is not stated in the loan offer?
"The variable interest rate basis will be specified in the loan offer letter issued by EBS (if the loan is approved)."
Has anyone else received final response letters from EBS in the recent weeks?
We took out our original mortgage in Nov 2004 on a 'teaser' fixed rate for one year.
When that expired, we were given a range of options (fixed, SVR, tracker).
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?