Will BoI honour the 0.2% mortgage rate discount KBC customers get?

I called KBC who told me there is an understanding with BOI that the current account discount would be kept in place with having a BOI current account. Then they said there may be no obligation on them and they can change their minds after the transfer.
There is nothing in the fixed contract saying they will have to, as it refers to a 'KBC' current account, which will no longer be possible.

**The more of us that make submissions on this the better...**
 
KBC CS told me yesterday at the moment there is an 'understanding' in place with BOI that they will maintain the current account discount upon transfer. He acknowledged however there is no obligation on them after that. That's worrying. There is nothing in the fixed term agreement to protect it.

We must all make submission to Brendans link above.
 
My understanding is that the 0.2% current account discount is an arrangement only introduced from 2014 when they were trying to entice current account customers in. Its not part of you mortgage terms and conditions and i do not believe there is any contractual entitlement to it.
 

My offer from KBC in 2021 states the below. It seems the lender may withdraw with one months notice. This wouldn't have been a great move for KBC but much easier for BOI to do.





 
My reading of those terms and conditions would not give either KBC or Bank of Ireland any additional right to withdraw the 0.2% discount. (KBC has the existing right to withdraw it now if you stop mandating your salary or if you close your account.)

The only possibility that BoI could claim would be:

The Lender further reserves the right to withdraw the Current Account Mortgage Rate after the
occurrence of any of the following events on the provision of 30 days notice ... :

(i) on the closure of the Borrower's Current Account.
Click to expand...
So KBC closes your current account.
BoI claims that the Borrower's Current Account has been closed and so you no longer comply.

Neither the Central Bank nor the Ombudsman would tolerate this and Bank of Ireland would know this, so they would not even try it.

However, anyone potentially impacted by this should make a submission to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on the issue.

Brendan
 
I have no idea how BoI is going to treat KBC customers.

Are they going to have a separate rate card for them?
They have separate rate cards for new customers and existing customers so there is nothing to stop them having a separate rate card for former KBC customers with higher or lower rates.

Brendan
 
I was onto them in the last week to see about the possibility of breaking our fixed rate before the move to BOI. This isn't a runner but I did query about BOI honouring the 0.2% discount and the customer service rep said that this would be kept (she did assume it would be by moving the main bank account to BOI too) so similar to what's been said to others. With past dealings I've had with Irish banks I'll be taking this with a large grain of salt
 
Times Article -

KBC clients to keep cheap mortgages​



Article is semi-paywalled, but states customers will keep the discount.
Though I think they should have stated "lifetime" in this context is the lifetime of their fixed period
 
Spoke on phone to KBC this week, their customer service (mortgages) indicated that the terms of the KBC mortage would not stay same (ability to redraw funds may not be there) Also, they indicated that the variable rate could/would change. Not sure if that's correct but is concerning... BOI variable rates seem a lot higher..
 
So is everyone with the 0.2% discount staying put with their KBC current accounts until the mortgages have transferred? I'd normally be one for getting things done in good time, but presumably as soon as we switch current account we lose the discount so gotta stay put for now?
 
I spoke to KBC Mortgages CS a couple of times recently. They have said that BOI have agreed to honor the current account discount, but knew not a thing more than that. I said, with KBC knowing this, why not just include it in the fixed rate rather than giving a discount for those holding a current account, for those who want to fix? No answer.. Wonder why they cant are are unwilling make it more water proof for customers..
I would say there is a lot of smoke screening going on to make sure this buyout goes through. So they give verbal assurances on the phone but nothing in writing! After all the people giving the verbal assurances wont be in their jobs in a year.
They have also said they are absolutely swamped with people trying to fix before this takeover happens. We wanted to break out of our 10 year fix to get back in at a lower 10 year rate. We paid off 3k from the 10 year fixed and the break fee was '0' even though we had over 4 years left. So am guessing it may be good time to do it.
 
FYI - KBC have updated their FAQ on this. Clarity at last!

Question:
"I have a discount on my KBC mortgage because I have a Current Account with KBC. What will happen to this discount if my mortgage is transferred to Bank of Ireland?"
Click to expand...
Answer:


The next question then asks about closing the current account ahead of the mortgage move to BOI, and they say you can do it after 1 June 2022 and won't loose the discount. "From the 1st June 2022 you will be able to close your KBC Current Account and your Mortgage Discount will be honoured by KBC Bank Ireland and by Bank of Ireland once your mortgage transfers. In the meantime, you should continue to adhere to the KBC conditions associated with the discount i.e. continue to have your salary mandated to your KBC Current Account."

source: https://www.kbc.ie/mortgages/important-update [accessed 26 April 2022 at 22:30hrs]
Link to source
 
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