Media Articles

[AAM_User]

I thought it may be handy to have a thread with any media (Radio/Print/TV Links) about the fiasco.

I think it would be useful for anyone just coming in, or even for ourselves to reference. Unfortunately it won't be sorted by date, but useful to have otherwise

Please Contribute if you come across anything.

 

[AAM_User]

Sunday World

Borrowers asked to write ‘victim impact statements’ in PTSB fiasco
Sunday 2nd August 2015






Borrowers who were wrongly overcharged by Permanent TSB, some of whom lost their homes and fell ill, will have to write up the equivalent of "victim impact reports" to get properly compensated, according to financial advisors.
The bank is offering up to €50,000 to mortgage holders who lost their homes as a result of the systematic overcharging and a fraction of that to other borrowers' and the opportunity to appeal to a redress scheme if they are not happy, writes Maeve Sheehan on independent.ie.

But Padraic Kissane, financial advisor to some of the wronged clients, said "it appears to me that if customers want to appeal they are being asked to put in victim impact statements."

He said this was a cumbersome and bureaucratic process when they were entitled to fast redress. If the compensation was appropriate in the first place they would not have to claim compensation.

The state-owned bank is to hold face-to-face meetings this week with some of the 61 customers who lost their homes or properties because of the hiked-up interest rates.

The affected customers will be offered compensation that is estimated to be around 10pc of what they were over charged, and gives them the option to appeal. Some 61 of the affected account holders lost ownership of the properties, some of them family homes.

In 22 cases, the banks' failure was a "key factor" in loss of ownership.

The bank refused to disclose this weekend how many of the affected 1,372 customers it threatened or subjected to legal action. It claimed that the only property it actually repossessed was in 2012 - because it had been abandoned and was at risk of dereliction.

The rest of the properties that ended up back in the bank's ownership had been surrendered voluntarily, according to the spokesman.

The bank sought adjournments on all of the legal actions "months ago", he said, adding that the bank will pay "reasonable legal costs" as well as compensation.

[broken link removed]

 

[AAM_User]

Irish Independent

PTSB chief faces public grilling on mortgage overcharging

PUBLISHED 03/08/2015 | 02:30

[broken link removed]OPEN GALLERY 1
Permanent TSB chief Jeremy Masding faces a public grilling
Bank chief Jeremy Masding faces a public grilling by TDs and senators to explain the overcharging scandal that is set to cost his State-controlled bank tens of millions of euro.


The scale of problems at Permanent TSB could be larger than initially thought, according to the head of the office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO), Ger Deering.

At least 1,372 customers are due to be compensated by the bank after it failed to inform them that they would be penalised for changing their mortgage terms by being blocked from moving to a tracker-rate deal down the line.

At least 22 customers lost their properties as a direct result, and it was a factor in 39 additional cases, the bank has said.

Yesterday, Mr Deering told RTÉ's 'This Week' that 25 out of 100 cases brought by PTSB customers to his office in relation to their tracker mortgage contracts are not covered by a redress scheme announced last week.

Those complaints will now be fast-tracked, he indicated.

A spokesman for PTSB said each of those additional cases would have to be looked at individually and the bank was not aware of any other systematic or widespread problems. An enforcement investigation under way by the Central Bank is likely to lead to multi-million euro fines being levied against the bank. That money should go to affected customers, according to financial adviser Padraic Kissane, who is representing a number of those affected.

Meanwhile, Mr Masding should be called before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to answer questions over the overcharging scandal, Fianna Fáil's finance spokesperson, Michael McGrath, said yesterday.

Finance Committee hearings into the scandal would also include other witness from the bank, from the Central Bank and from the Office of the Financial Ombudsman, it is understood. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr McGrath said there should be "a number of hearings" before the committee to "address a number of issues".

"This absolutely needs to go as high as Mr Masding," said Mr McGrath.

"It is a very serious issue. I am calling on him to face the committee.

"Many things need to be addressed here. Firstly why they fought it tooth and nail until they got the deeds of these people's homes.

"The committee also needs to examine an appropriate compensation package for these families. How customers coming off fixed-rate terms are being treated also needs attention. We need to get down to the nitty-gritty of it."

Fellow committee member Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley said: "The bank's cavalier approach has had a devastating impact on the lives of some distressed borrowers. The people behind this need to be exposed and made answer in public for their actions."

The make-up of two committees that are being set up to oversee the compensation process for customers is due to be announced as early as today. Customers who have lost their homes have been offered an initial €50,000 payment while the process is in train. Final payouts are likely to be multiples of that.


http://www.independent.ie/business/...illing-on-mortgage-overcharging-31422571.html

 

[Bronte]

Can you also highlight radio pieces. For example this morning on a playback on Newstalk an interview with banker Niall O' Grady with the PTSB.

 

[AAM_User]

Absolutely Bronte. if you know the link put it in with the name of the station & time broadcast