BOI Closed my Account

Big Lar · 07-02-2014 8:14pm #1

So I have a BOI current account for the past 25 years, I pay €100.00 per week into it from my main AIB account and I use it for holidays and doing things around the house.

Two weeks ago I get a letter referencing SECTION 54 OF THE CREDIT CONSUMER ACT, 1995 and that I had an unsatisfactory relationship with my bank I had 7 days to close the account or it would be closed for me.

Figured it was mistaken identity so I replied by letter stating who I was and gave my PPS and DOB.

Phone rings the day after the deadline and the bank manager is on the line apologising for the error but they had already closed the account and a draft was on the way, she explained that the post within the bank was slow and the letter had only landed today, I could go in and open another account if i wanted but this one was closed. I was so pissed that I hung up the phone.

Three days later the bank draft came, next day a letter with a full apology and stating that my credit rating was unaffected, day after that another apology letter and a €100.00 voucher for a local restaurant.

It took me almost a half a day to open up another account in the TSB as ID had to scanned and sent to Dublin to be verified so i had to knock around town for a few hours.

I am really gutted with the whole saga and the thought of the way I was treated so I am going to return the voucher as it is a meal that I just would not enjoy.

I don't see how they can get off so light handed so I was thinking of asking for a draft of about €1k (perhaps more) for the local school or going down the solicitor route as I believe that I have a valid claim for my out of pocket expenses and torment and the €1k donation would be cheaper for them in the long run.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Please no rants about the banks

MagicMarker · 07-02-2014 8:24pm

You should have rang them straight away. With only a 7 day window I don't understand why you decided to respond with a letter.

axel rose · 07-02-2014 8:26pm

What exactly are your out of pocket expenses?

Big Lar · 07-02-2014 8:35pm

They started with a letter so I responded with a letter, why didn't they ring me ?

Expenses is at least a half days work

axel rose · 07-02-2014 8:43pm

You are out of pocket because you didn't do the obvious and phone the bank. You have to shoulder a portion of the blame for this. The bank have accepted theirs and not only apologised personally but also compensated you.

Think of the time you would waste going to a solicitor. Donate your voucher to the school so they can raffle it. Therefor everyone is happy!

Big Lar · 07-02-2014 8:53pm

axel rose wrote: »

You are out of pocket because you didn't do the obvious and phone the bank. You have to shoulder a portion of the blame for this. The bank have accepted theirs and not only apologised personally but also compensated you.

Think of the time you would waste going to a solicitor. Donate your voucher to the school so they can raffle it. Therefor everyone is happy!

It's a fair point

P. Breathnach · 07-02-2014 9:52pm

axel rose wrote: »

You are out of pocket because you didn't do the obvious and phone the bank....

Phoning is not always the best thing to do. There isn't a complete record for both parties of what has been said, and misunderstandings can arise easily. If I see any possibility of a problem, I resort to the keyboard and send either an email or a letter. My experience is that letters usually carry more weight.

Chazz Michael Michaels · 07-02-2014 9:57pm

Mad idea. Send letter and phone?

Or, send a quill written letter by stagecoach. Either/or.

Fred Swanson · 07-02-2014 10:19pm

This post has been deleted.

hfallada · 08-02-2014 8:43am

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Phoning is not always the best thing to do. There isn't a complete record for both parties of what has been said, and misunderstandings can arise easily. If I see any possibility of a problem, I resort to the keyboard and send either an email or a letter. My experience is that letters usually carry more weight.

One of the most basic things you learn in leaving cert business is picking an appropriate form of communication and speed is the most important aspect. If you need to reach someone instantly you don't send a letter as it can take to long and most of the time it leads to a phone call anyway. An email would be perfectly fine.

OP I use BOI and find it a bit of a messy bank to deal with. A lot of the staff are hopeless, it's internet banking looks like something from 1998 and their branches are a nightmare. Op would you not consider a Rabo savings account. It pays interest and money is quick to clear between it and aib

Nervous Wreck · 08-02-2014 9:48am

Fred Swanson wrote: »

€100 voucher is not good enough.

I would seek a final response letter and give that to the ombudsman. The bank needs a good kick up the hole here.

Assuming this is a joke, lol.

tfitzgerald · 08-02-2014 9:57am

I'm not a big fan of banks. But in this case I think they did the right thing. And this should be dropped

Sheeps · 08-02-2014 10:11am

1850 715 815

P. Breathnach · 08-02-2014 10:47am

hfallada wrote: »

One of the most basic things you learn in leaving cert business is picking an appropriate form of communication and speed is the most important aspect. If you need to reach someone instantly you don't send a letter as it can take to long and most of the time it leads to a phone call anyway. An email would be perfectly fine. ...

There are many components of effective communication, of which speed is one. I favour using communications of record in contract matters - generally email. But where I see a problem looming, I resort to the post.

I have found that many businesses take letters more seriously than emails. Why that is, I don't know, but it happens. I could recount two experiences with BOI where contacting them by phone over problems did not lead to solutions, but in each case when I sent letters the matters were resolved to my satisfaction.

Perhaps letters get placed on the desks of people who have the capacity to make decisions, while the minions in the call centre have very little authority.

wmpdd3 · 08-02-2014 11:52am

With boi, if you ring they tell you to go into a branch, if you go into a branch, they put you onto 365.

I always deal in letters, its the only way.

P. Breathnach · 08-02-2014 12:20pm

wmpdd3 wrote: »

With boi, if you ring they tell you to go into a branch, if you go into a branch, they put you onto 365.

I always deal in letters, its the only way.

As I already said, the staff in call centres seem to have very little authority. It seems to be the same in the branches. I'd go so far as to say that most counter staff not only have little authority, but seem to me to be short on training.

Even the branch managers have quite limited powers compared to how things were when I first started using banks. Anything that is not entirely routine needs to go to the regional office.

Fred Swanson · 08-02-2014 6:23pm

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Fred Swanson · 08-02-2014 6:24pm

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Pablo Sanchez · 08-02-2014 6:28pm

Op your main day to day banking account is not even with the BOI, how much of a inconvenience is it really?

At the end of the day voucher is a good will gesture, and its probably more than you would have earned in interest even if you sit on your draft for 6 months.

yawhat! · 08-02-2014 6:30pm

Just get over it and move on! Making a mountain out of a molehill.

Nervous Wreck · 08-02-2014 8:46pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Again.... joke?

Fred Swanson · 08-02-2014 8:49pm

This post has been deleted.

Big Lar · 09-02-2014 11:24pm

Sheeps wrote: »

1850 715 815

Ah that Joe Duffy thrives on other people's misery

Pablo Sanchez wrote: »

Op your main day to day banking account is not even with the BOI, how much of a inconvenience is it really?

At the end of the day voucher is a good will gesture, and its probably more than you would have earned in interest even if you sit on your draft for 6 months.

yawhat! wrote: »

Just get over it and move on! Making a mountain out of a molehill.

The reason for the first post was to get others opinions on the matter

Everyone is saying the phone, the phone, the phone, and as I said earlier it started with a letter so I followed with a letter.

In the end of the day the system that they have in place is at flawed for two reasons:

The mistake should never have been made, I am quite sure that they don't close accounts on a regular basis. Would be so hard to have a procedure in place where they double check before doing this ?
Their postal system is slow as the manager admitted this to me. Knowing this should they not extend the deadline to 10 days ?

As regards being out of pocket and inconvenience, I am out of pocket and I have been very much inconvenienced (Took half a day to have my documents verified and open another account in another bank) but I find it more of an insult than anything else considering like most others both my wife and I didn't come out of the boom so well but we put the shoulder to the wheel and paid out debts and are still paying them. I don't want any medals for keeping up my agreements with the bank, but I do think that I should not be treated like pure dirt either.

Money hurts, €100.00 voucher to the bank means nothing and nobody will have to answer for it but I figure that €1k missing from the pot will rattle some cages and make a difference and that's really the reason that I would like to pursue this. Like in the first post, this is not for personal gain as I would donate it locally.

But perhaps I am making a big thing out of nothing, and should just smear on the Vaseline and take it ?

Fred Swanson · 09-02-2014 11:26pm

This post has been deleted.

Big Lar · 09-02-2014 11:27pm

Fred Swanson wrote: »

I see someone moved the thread to the lions den that is talk to BOI.

I doubt you will get any positive answers from them.

Might send em a letter

sawdoubters · 09-02-2014 11:31pm

https://financialombudsman.ie/

Bank of Ireland: Billy · 10-02-2014 10:08am

Hi Big Lar,

Many thanks for posting.

We're sorry to hear of the error in closing your BOI account and that you are dissatisfied with how the branch have dealt with the matter.

If you would like to send us a PM with your name and account opening branch, we will pass a copy of this thread to the Customer Services Manager of the branch.

Thanks

Billy

Big Lar · 10-02-2014 1:33pm

Thanks for your reply Billy,

I started the thread in another forum and it was moved here by the mods I'm guessing, It was not my intention to approach the bank here at all. The whole purpose of the thread is to get a bit of level headed opinion on the matter before I go any further as I feel that my own judgement is a bit clouded on this.

With regards to the PM they are already aware of my dissatisfaction in the branch, but look it it cannot hurt to send it on.

BOI Closed my Account

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