Deaf Permanent TSB customer awarded €8k after bank refused to deal with interpreter

Complainant claimed bank’s blanket policy on not dealing with third-party representatives discriminated against her as it placed her in a 'vulnerable' category which she claimed was an affront to her sense of independence

Complainant told the WRC she regularly used Irish Sign Language Interpreting Services
services, which she described as 'fantastic', to have perfectly normal conversations with service providers like restaurants, insurance companies and her family doctor. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Permanent TSB has been ordered to pay €8,500 compensation to a deaf customer after it refused to deal with a sign language interpreter who was assisting her with a phone call.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled the bank had discriminated against Sofiya Kalinova under the Equal Status Act 2000 on grounds of her disability and that she had been “greatly inconvenienced” by the bank.

The WRC heard Permanent TSB officials rejected any claim that the bank had failed to provide Ms Kalinova with reasonable accommodation as she was invited to attend a branch or use its website.

The bank also noted that there had been incidents in the past where third parties had committed fraud after accessing personal details of bank customers.

Ms Kalinova, who gave evidence through sign language, said she would encounter the same difficulty even if she did have time to call into a branch of Permanent TSB.

She claimed the bank’s blanket policy on not dealing with third-party representatives discriminated against her as it placed her in a “vulnerable” category which she claimed was an affront to her sense of independence.

Representatives of the bank argued Ms Kalinova had been treated no differently than any other customer in a similar situation.

However, the WRC noted Permanent TSB had also confirmed it was actively seeking to determine if there was a method for interacting with customers who were deaf like Ms Kalinova, while also ensuring legal and regulatory requirements were satisfied and customer information was protected.

Ruling

In her ruling WRC adjudicator, Penelope McGrath, praised the service provided by Irish Sign Language Interpreting Services to deaf people, including assistance with evidence at the hearing.

Ms Kalinova told the WRC she regularly used ISLIS services, which she described as “fantastic”, to have perfectly normal conversations with service providers like restaurants, insurance companies and her family doctor.

While she normally used Permanent TSB’s online app to do her banking, Ms Kalinova said she needed to speak directly to one of the bank’s agents after experiencing a difficulty with her password in the summer of 2019.

She explained that after booking an interpreter who explained her role to the bank, the call was passed to various officials before a manager eventually confirmed it could not do business with her through a third party.

Ms McGrath noted Ms Kalinova had tried to explain that the person assisting her was an interpreter and not a third party.

The WRC adjudicator said she understood that Ms Kalinova was not asked any security questions and was repeatedly described as a “vulnerable” customer during the call.

Ms McGrath said the complainant had taken exception to the notion that the interpreter speaks on her behalf.

“This is a misunderstanding and is incorrect as the role of the sign language interpreter is to give voice to the specific communication,” said Ms McGrath.

She noted the bank had written to Ms Kalinova on August 21, 2019, and confirmed it would only talk to a named account holder and recommended she should go into a Permanent TSB branch with a valid photo ID.

Ms McGrath also observed that banks were allowed by the Central Bank to deal directly with third parties when it was an issue of arrears.

While the bank had also indicated in the letter it was looking at changes to its procedures, the WRC said Permanent TSB again refused to deal with an interpreter after Ms Kalinova called them in October 2019.

Ms Kalinova told the WRC she encountered no such problem when dealing in the same way with another bank.

The WRC heard Permanent TSB had engaged with ISLIS since October 2019 as a result of Ms Kalinova’s complaint with a view to providing reasonable accommodation to deaf customers while guarding against the risk of fraud.

Interpreter an essential aid

The WRC said it could not disagree with Ms Kalinova’s assertion that an Irish Sign Language interpreter was an essential aid to a deaf person.

Ms McGrath said the bank’s failure to take that on board amounted to an indirect discrimination on grounds of disability.

However, she praised Permanent TSB’s response and willingness to look at how it might accommodate all deaf people.

At the same time, Ms McGrath said she could not understand why the bank had not agreed some sort of bespoke arrangement with Ms Kalinova since she first made a complaint to the WRC in early 2020.

She said the appointment by Permanent TSB of a liaison official to deal with Ms Kalinova would have been “a modest but helpful intervention”.