‘Millions of euro’ overpaid in BoI interest

The holders of thousands of commercial mortgages and loans may have overpaid millions of euro in interest because Bank of Ireland does not automatically cut standing order payments when interest rates fall.

Waterford businessman David 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 said that he only began to look at his massive interest loan repayments when the bank threatened to refuse to honour his cheques because he had exceeded his overdraft limit — which arose directly from the bank taking too much cash from his current account to pay his commercial loan charges.