Referral fees are fees charged when you operate your account outside the agreed terms e.g. writing a cheque or passing a standing order that exceeds your limit. This is "referred" for approval or rejection to a manager who charges a fee to your account (whether or not the amount is paid!). AFAIK approx €10 to €20 depending on the institution
They will not affect a mortgage application unless they are continuous i.e prime lenders (BOI/AIB/Ulster etc) will still consider you but will not do you any favours, they will probably give you the minimum you qualify for and no more.
Thanks for that. I noticed one on my bank account as I didn't have enough in for a transaction. Never happened before (and won't happen again) but just wondered how banks treat them. I'm due to draw down a mortgage in the next month or two and am worried if it will have an effect on it.
The bank has already checked your credit and assessed your bank statements. They will not do this again before drawdown, even if they do, one referral will not make a difference.
We were approved and offered the mortgage over 6 months ago, waiting on a new build, so I was worried that the Bank might check everything again and see the referral. Hopefully not!