AIB subsidiary forced to dump ads claiming £8 a month account was free

Ian Graham

Northern-based First Trust Bank, owned by AIB, has dumped an advertising campaign offering the account after the Consumer Council took action.

The council made an official complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the campaign.

As a result of the ASA investigation and subsequent ruling against the bank, First Trust agreed to remove all implications that the account was free from posters, advertisements and direct mail, said the Consumer Council.

The assurance extends to any future campaigns on the packaged current account, it added.

Eleanor Gill, chief executive of the Consumer Council said: "Free does not mean £8. per month to any member of the public.

"We took immediate steps to refer this campaign to the ASA on the ground that it was misleading and the ASA agreed that we had a valid point."

Ms Gill said consumers did not need glossy advertising campaigns or flashy new accounts.

"The Big Four Banks [Bank of Ireland, First Trust, Northern and Ulster Banks] need to provide real fee-free banking on all their accounts for their existing and new customers and give a decent rate of interest."

The misleading campaign came at a time when the personal current account market in the North was under investigation by the Commission, she said.

"Loyal customers are being charged more and getting less back for their hard-earned money than customers in the rest of the United Kingdom," she said.

The Consumer Council welcomed First Trust's "climb down" and its decision to co-operate with the ASA to resolve the complaint informally and quickly, she said.