We have been flooded with queries from Permanent TSB customers in the last two weeks trying to get some clarification on what the redress letters that they have received mean for them, writes solicitor Anthony Joyce.

There is a general feeling of anger that Permanent TSB appear to have glossed over the very real human aspect of the effect this has had on the lives of over one thousand families.

I have sat across from people and heard personal stories of hardship, heartache, stress and depression which have taken a devastating toll on them. They have had to make difficult choices that no family should have to make regarding how they live their lives and what life they are trying to provide for their children.

They have had to go to family members to ask for a dig-out to help them to pay their way as mortgage rates hit 6.95%. And these are the people who were lucky enough to have family members in a position to help them.

Then there are people who fell in to arrears due to the practice of overcharging by the bank. The redress put to these people by Permanent TSB is that the amount that they were overcharged by will be put towards covering arrears that would never have happened in first place but for the actions of the bank. That is not redress.

In Association with

While some clarity has been provided by the recent agreement between the bank and one such family, where the bank have clearly and publicly confirmed that they will refund the full amount of the monies that have been overpaid, we are still very much in the dark as to how the figures put forward by the bank have been calculated.

The bank does invite mortgage holders to seek a copy of the calculations but in one instance, one of our clients only received a copy of his original loan offer in response to this request.

Opacity and Scepticism

Sadly, there is a level of opacity over the entire redress scheme as proposed by Permanent TSB, who it has to be remembered have had at least half a year to polish their approach and try to deal with this calculated in such a way as to limit the damage to themselves.

There has been no explanation from the bank as to why a particular interest rate has been set other than to say that this is the mortgage rate that they would have been paying otherwise.

We have seen in our office a range of rates from 0.8% as high as 4.3% over the ECB rate. There is no consistency in what is being put forward by the banks and it is understandable that people receiving these letters after six years of mistreatment view the offer with a degree of scepticism.

It must be remembered that this is a situation that has come about as a result of Permanent TSB’s unreasonable refusal to accept a decision made by Financial Services Ombudsman by appealing this to the High Court and then again to the Supreme Court after they were unsuccessful once more.

Had Permanent TSB faced up to its responsibilities at the time of the initial decision by the Financial Services Ombudsman and allowed these customers retain the Tracker mortgages to which they were contractually entitled to, neither the bank nor their customers would be in this situation.

The Financial Services Ombudsman has already decided upon this issue and there is no reason why any of the customers affected should have to go before that process again. In our view, it is not unreasonable that customers do not want to deal with panels suggested and set up by a bank with which they no longer have any relationship of trust.

Seeking Compensation

This is why we are seeking immediate payment of what the bank has set out while pointing out that this does not come close to providing full and adequate compensation for everything that these people have been through.

Permanent TSB on the first page of their letter to those customers affected, in bold and underlined, “The aim of the programme is to return your mortgage account to the position it would have been in had the failure not occurred and to compensate you for this failure.”

What they are now proposing is that they repay the money that was overcharged, by their calculations, and then little more than a fob for the what they clearly only see as an inconvenience.

They have a substantially long way to go before what they are offering can be considered adequate compensation and the idea that they believe their initial suggestions come even some way close to this just shows how badly they have misjudged the human tragedy that they have caused to be played out across the country.

+ Anthony Joyce is the Principal of Anthony Joyce & Co Solicitors. He is a graduate of the University of London and was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2001. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors and in 2013 he was also admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales.