Bank fined €2k after refusing car loan to woman for being ‘too old’
Ulster Bank was ordered to pay €2,000 compensation to Phyllis Fahey, who was 70 at the time, for breaking age discrimination laws after they told her she could only be a candidate if she was under 65.
Ms Fahey was a customer of the bank’s Maynooth, Co Kildare, branch for 10 years when the incident happened in 2005, had savings on deposit there and had no outstanding borrowings with the bank.
Yet she never got to make her formal application for the €6,000 she wanted to replace her existing car because when she phoned to make initial enquiries, she was told it was policy not to accept over-65s.
The rejection caused her upset and embarrassment, and she had to return to the car dealership where she had placed a deposit on a car, and cancel the deal. She said it made her look as if she had a bad credit rating.
Ms Fahey subsequently got a loan from a credit union which had no difficulty with her age, although she still felt too embarrassed to return for the car she originally wanted.
She told the Ulster Bank soon afterwards that she was making a complaint under the Equal Status Act yet when the case came before the Equality Tribunal recently, the branch claimed the events were distant and memory of them impaired. The bank insisted no age limit had applied and that the case arose out of a “misunderstanding”.
The tribunal’s investigating officer, however, described Ms Fahey as a “very credible witness” while the bank had taken no opportunity to try to rectify the claimed misunderstanding, even when she told them she intended making a complaint.
Age Action Ireland said the ruling was highly significant for older people.
“Older people with good credit records and evidence of their ability to repay a loan, are frequently refused by financial institutions,” said spokesman Eamon Timmins. “Today’s ruling means another obstacle has been removed for older people. We hope that all financial institutions will review their policies towards older people as a result.”
Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, said it was also his experience that banks, mortgage providers and insurance companies often applied discriminatory age limits.
“I hope this is a confidence boost for older people,” he said. “Phyllis has shown extraordinary leadership in taking a case and refusing to accept what is widespread ageism.”
However, the Professional Insurance Brokers’ Association called for a full debate on the issue of age and financial services, as the Financial Regulator had suggested customers over the age of 60 needed special protections in financial matters.
PIBA chairman Jack FitzPatrick said: “Defining an elderly person as one aged 60 or over is too extreme and today’s decision on age discrimination throws the issue into sharp focus.”
Ulster Bank said it was disappointed by the decision and stated there was no upper age limit for personal loans either in 2005 or now.
* Contact the Equality Tribunal on lo-call 1890 34 44 24.
* Contact Age Action on 01-4756989.
