identify redress compensate Customer Guide The Mortgage Redress Programme is a programme by permanent tsb to correct the position of certain mortgage customers who may have lost an opportunity to move to a tracker mortgage because of failures by permanent tsb. Questions? Call our helpline on 1800 855 830 (or +353 1 215 1343 if calling from outside Ireland) Monday Friday 8.00am 9.00pm (including August bank holiday) Saturday 10.00am 2.00pm www.permanenttsb.ie
What is the Mortgage Redress Programme? The Mortgage Redress Programme (MRP) is a redress programme being implemented by permanent tsb to address the position of certain customers who lost a contractual right to be offered a tracker rate mortgage as a result of failures on the part of permanent tsb. This programme is being implemented as a result of an investigation by the Central Bank of Ireland. If you are an impacted customer, these failures may have meant that What were the failures? The circumstances in which permanent tsb s failures arose are as follows: permanent tsb failed to inform certain customers of the consequences of their decision to break from a fixed rate or discounted tracker period early. The consequences of breaking early were that customers lost their contractual right to be offered a tracker > you may have paid more on your mortgage than you would otherwise have been required to pay. > you may have generated arrears on your mortgage that would otherwise not have occurred. > you may have been involved in legal proceedings that would otherwise not have been necessary. > you may have lost ownership of your home or another property that secured your mortgage. rate in the future (at the time that their fixed rate or discounted tracker period would have ended). Other customers had a contractual right to be offered a tracker rate at the end of any fixed rate period. However, due to failures by permanent tsb that option was not communicated to them at the end of their fixed rate period. permanent tsb deeply regrets the failures which have made this programme necessary and apologises to all customers who were impacted by this issue. permanent tsb fully appreciates that this is a serious issue that has had significant consequences for customers and it is being addressed as such. THE MRP HAS THREE OBJECTIVES: Identify To identify each permanent tsb mortgage customer who was impacted by permanent tsb s failures and to correspond with each to outline details of the redress and compensation programme that has been established. Redress To invite each impacted customer with a permanent tsb mortgage to choose whether they would like to move now to the tracker interest rate provided for in their mortgage loan conditions, which they might have moved to, but for permanent tsb s failures. To offer each impacted customer the opportunity to have their mortgage account adjusted to reflect the position it would now be in if the customer had been on a tracker interest rate from the maturity date of the relevant fixed rate (or discount tracker period). The effect of the adjustment will vary from customer to customer, but outstanding balances may be reduced; and customers may receive refunds of overpayments made. If an impacted customer is in arrears, their arrears balance may be reduced (or even eliminated). The interest rate applying to the mortgage accounts of impacted customers has already been reduced to the level they would be at if their account was currently on a tracker interest rate, while they are considering permanent tsb s redress offer. Compensate To pay each impacted customer an amount of compensation in recognition of the failures by permanent tsb.
What does the Mortgage Redress Programme mean for you? permanent tsb has already reduced the interest rate that applies to the mortgage accounts of impacted customers so that their rate is no higher than the interest rate that these accounts would be on if they had selected the tracker interest rate provided for in their mortgage loan conditions. This rate reduction will remain in place until 30 November 2015. If you are an impacted customer it means that you will have lower mortgage repayments while you consider permanent tsb s redress and compensation offer further. permanent tsb will write to you with details of how this failure impacted your mortgage account and to set out the elements of its redress and compensation offer. If you are engaged in legal proceedings on your mortgage, these have been adjourned by permanent tsb. 1 Redress The letter will detail what your mortgage balance would now be had you selected a tracker interest rate on the maturity of your fixed rate (or discounted tracker) period. This letter will explain how the outstanding balance on your account may be adjusted to reflect the position it would have been in had the tracker interest rate applied. The letter will also set out the amount of any net refund which may be due to you following this balance adjustment. Where an account is in arrears, any overpayment following the adjustment will be first applied to reduce the arrears balance, prior to any net refund being paid, and this is explained in the letter. The letter will also explain that you have a choice to now move to the tracker interest rate that you were contractually entitled to be offered at the maturity date, and will set out what your estimated repayments will be in the future, if you make that move. 2 Compensation The letter will also set out the amount of compensation which permanent tsb is offering to you. 3 Next Steps The letter will contain instruction forms for you to complete and return, depending on the choices you wish to make in relation to permanent tsb s redress and compensation offer. The letter will also explain that you have a right to appeal permanent tsb s redress and compensation offer, as described above. Further details in relation to the process for bringing such an appeal is set out in this Customer Guide. You may make an appeal while still retaining the redress and compensation payments outlined in the letter. An appeal does not affect your right to make a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman and / or to pursue the matter through the Courts. What should impacted customers do next? If you are an impacted customer, you will receive a detailed letter from permanent tsb which you should read carefully. The letters are typically long and quite detailed because this is a complicated issue. It is important that you understand what is involved and in particular, the different elements of the redress and compensation programme. Independent advice You may wish to seek independent advice on this matter and the redress and compensation offer includes a sum of money to pay for such advice. This money will be added to the relevant compensation payment that permanent tsb proposes to pay, and you have full discretion as to what you use it for. If you want to avail of the redress and compensation offer you are required to complete the instruction forms enclosed with the letter, and to send them to permanent tsb (in the pre-paid envelope supplied). Upon receipt of the completed instruction forms, permanent tsb will arrange to adjust your balance and interest rate and to make the redress and compensation payments within approximately seven working days of receipt of the relevant forms.
What tracker interest rate will you be entitled to move to now? This will depend on your mortgage loan conditions. Not all tracker rate mortgages apply the same rate of interest. Different tracker mortgage products may charge different amounts (or margins ) above the ECB rate. The tracker product and the rate to which you will be entitled to move is set out in the loan conditions of each individual customer. In the case of some impacted customers, the specific tracker interest rate which they will be entitled to (i.e. the margin over the ECB rate) was not specified in their mortgage loan conditions. In these cases their loan conditions provided that they would be entitled to be offered the tracker rate which permanent tsb was offering on the date on which the customer s fixed rate (or discounted tracker) period would have matured. How has permanent tsb calculated how much extra the failure may have cost you? As part of this programme, permanent tsb created a detailed model to track how each account would have evolved had the failure not occurred and had a tracker interest rate applied to the relevant account. This model, which has been extensively and independently tested for accuracy and reliability, tracks the tracker interest rate that would have applied to your account, if you had chosen a tracker rate when the fixed rate (or discounted tracker) period matured, and compares it to the interest rate that was in fact applied to your account. This model measures how the amount owed on the account would have changed if you had been on the tracker interest rate from the relevant date, and it calculates how much interest was actually paid, compared to the amount that would have been paid if you had been on the tracker interest rate. At the end, the model calculates exactly how much extra you overpaid by not being on a tracker rate, and how much of this amount should go to reduce the outstanding balance on your account, and how much should be returned to you as a net refund. In the case of customers in arrears, any overpayment will be first applied to their arrears balance, before a net refund (if any) is paid to the customer.
If you have queries permanent tsb has a dedicated team available to assist customers with their queries at the following times: Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 9.00pm (including August bank holiday) and Saturdays 10.00am to 2.00pm. They can be reached on Freephone 1800 855 830 (or +353 1 215 1343 if a customer is calling from abroad). Customers may also check the website www.permanenttsb.ie, email your query to redress@permanenttsb.ie or contact their local permanent tsb branch to speak to one of the bank s dedicated mortgage advisors. If you wish to appeal The purpose of permanent tsb s offer of redress and compensation is to seek to put you in the position, which you would likely have been in, had permanent tsb s failures not occurred and also to compensate you for the failures which occurred. If you are not fully satisfied with any aspect of the redress and compensation offer made to you (for example, because you believe that you may have suffered additional losses as a result of the failures), you may submit an appeal. permanent tsb has established a comprehensive appeals process, designed to ensure that every impacted customer whatever their circumstances can have their own situation reviewed, and can appeal the redress and compensation offer, or aspects of it. There are two appeals panels (the Customer Appeals Panel and the Independent Review Panel), details of which are set out below. Customer Appeals Panel The Customer Appeals Panel is for impacted customers who are included in the Mortgage Redress Programme whose loans have always operated normally (i.e. customers who have never been in arrears); customers who have (or previously had) some arrears on their mortgage loans; and customers whose mortgage has been restructured (or is in the process of being restructured). Members of Customer Appeals Panel > One representative from the legal profession (Chairman) > A second independent member > An executive from permanent tsb to provide expertise in relation to those matters to the panel. Independent Review Panel The Independent Review Panel is open to impacted customers who have lost ownership of their property or who are currently (or were previously) engaged in legal proceedings with permanent tsb as a result of going into arrears in relation to their mortgage. Members of Independent Review Panel > One representative from the legal profession (Chairman) > One representative from the accountancy profession > One representative with expertise in consumer affairs Making an appeal will have no impact on the redress and compensation payments offered to you now. What do I need to do to bring an appeal To bring an appeal, customers should request an appeals form from permanent tsb by calling our helpline on 1800 855 830, (or +353 1 215 1343 if calling from outside Ireland), Monday - Friday 8.00am - 9.00pm (including August bank holiday) Saturday 10.00am - 2.00pm.
Customers will need to complete an appeal form and return it (together with any supporting documentation relevant to their appeal) to the relevant appeals panel, at the address set out in the form. Once an appeal form is submitted, all correspondence relating to the appeal will be with the appeals panels and their Secretariat, which is an independent professional service firm, which has been appointed to provide administrative support to both panels. Key points to note in relation to bringing an appeal to either appeals panel When we are sending a customer the appeal form, we will also enclose with the form further details on the procedures for bringing an appeal, and the information and documentation the customer needs to include with their appeal form. Please note the following key points in relation to bringing an appeal: > Both appeals panels will consider appeals in relation to any aspect of permanent tsb s failures, including: i. The level of compensation offered by permanent tsb; ii. The redress offered by permanent tsb, including the amount by which permanent tsb has offered to reduce their loan balance; and iii. The tracker rate to which they have been offered the opportunity to move. > The appeals panel may decide that the customer making the appeal should be offered additional compensation if: i. The losses which they claim are not already covered by the redress and compensation offer; ii. It is established that the losses they are claiming result from permanent tsb failures and that these losses were a foreseeable result of the failures; and iii. They can provide evidence in support of the losses they are claiming. > Regardless of the decision of the appeals panel, customers will be entitled to retain the compensation amount already offered to them in the redress and compensation offer. > If a customer wishes to obtain legal, accounting or other expert advice in relation to bringing an appeal they will only be entitled to recover the reasonable costs of any such advice if the appeal is successful and the customer agrees to be bound by the decision. > Any appeal must be submitted within 12 months of the date the customer acknowledges receipt of the redress and compensation offer, whether you do that by telephone, in writing, in person or by completing the instruction forms enclosed with your letter. > Any appeal does not affect your right to make a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman and / or to pursue the matter through the courts. Finding out more permanent tsb has produced a number of short videos which will help explain how the failure arose and what we are doing about it. These are available on our website at www.permanenttsb.ie or you may request a copy by phone to 1800 855 830 or +353 1 215 1343 if calling from outside Ireland. Monday - Friday 8.00am - 9.00pm (including bank holidays) Saturday 10.00am - 2.00pm. permanent tsb has also prepared a number of answers to questions which we believe customers may wish to consider. These questions and answers can be downloaded from our website at www.permanenttsb.ie or you may request a copy by phone. Questions? Call our helpline on 1800 855 830 (or +353 1 215 1343 if calling from outside Ireland) Monday Friday 8.00am 9.00pm (including August bank holiday) Saturday 10.00am 2.00pm www.permanenttsb.ie permanent tsb p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.