Watchdog finds BoI guilty of litany of mistakes

Bank of Ireland was guilty of a litany of mistakes in its dealings with Dungarvan businessman David Walsh.

Mr Walsh, who runs Office School and Computer Supplies at Lower Main St in Dungarvan, was refunded €33,000 in interest overpayments by the bank on his commercial loans and had his annual repayments reduced by €30,000 per year, after he challenged the bank for failing to automatically reduce his monthly loan repayments when interest rates changed from 2001 to 2008.

Mr Walsh also forced the bank to refund €11,000 on the interest overcharged on his current account as a direct result of the bank failing to cut his monthly commercial loan repayments when interest rates fell.

The Financial Services Ombudsman’s report on the case outlines a number of other failings by Bank of Ireland which acknowledged and apologised for its shortcomings in its dealings with Mr Walsh.

The Ombudsman’s report said he was concerned by the number of lapses in customer service and that the bank failed to inform Mr Walsh of increases and decreases in interest rate changes.

The Ombudsman found:

* Bank of Ireland incorrectly credited a payment of €100,000 to a commercial loan instead of to a bridging loan.

* The bank incorrectly changed, without authorisation, Mr Walsh’s personal current account into the name of his company Office School and Computer Supplies.

* Bank of Ireland sought to charge Mr Walsh a fee for reviewing the charges on his accounts.

* The bank left voicemail messages for Mr Walsh regarding his accounts.

A bank official stated: “I can understand the annoyance caused to Mr Walsh when he was advised by a message left on voicemail that a direct debit would be unpaid.

This message should have requested Mr Walsh to contact the bank to discuss his accounts.”

* On one occasion Bank of Ireland wrote to Mr Walsh on notepaper with no heading which was in handwriting that was “difficult to decipher” and was not marked private and confidential.

* Bank of Ireland acted incorrectly in reversing standing order payments when there were sufficient funds to meet the payments.