BOI Charging Quarterly Fees and Planning to move to KBC in response

bugsyb4

Hi,

This quarter myself and wife kept our account above 3k for all bar one/two of the days but yet still got charged quarterly fees.

I have since been onto your complaints team but got nowhere. Who do you complain to about the complaints team?!!! They were beyond useless!!

Is there anyone that can contact me to persuade me to not move all our banking to KBC, where they don't charge fees on an extra current account? All I am requesting is fees around €20 to be waived this month, it is more the principle of the issue. This money means nothing to BOI but does to a family. Also why do I have to pay €5 to maintain the account? KBC charge nothing I have since discovered!

Both loyal BOI customers each with 15+ years business with the company and also our mortgage with BOI and then feel like been treated like dirt!! Seems to be different rules depending on who you are with banks these days, never missed a mortgage payment or any other payment for that matter. Extremely disgruntled customer awaiting your response.

Bank of Ireland: Lorna

Hi bugsyb4,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to get in touch with us here on Boards.

We're sorry that you're unhappy with the quarterly charges and with your conversation with our complaints department. Once a balance of €3,000 is maintained, the customer will only pay a €5 maintenance fee. If the balance drops below this at any point during the fee period, charges are applied automatically by the system.

We will absolutely pass on your feedback about this. If you would like to log a formal complaint, you can do this online using the form here.

We would not be in a position to waive fees here on our social media channels.

Thanks again for the feedback, and we do hope you reconsider your decision to move your account,

Lorna

Sleeper12

The old system of average cleared balance was a fairer system tbh.

Ally Dick

KBC bank are a business too. You'll find they stiff their customers in other ways

Shefwedfan

I have bounced around all the main banks in the last few years

Now have everything with KBC, first off was just moving mortgage from BOI because the service was awful.....then I flipped current account, loans, credit cards etc etc....

Now I do all banking with them bar my Revolut card....the swap is fairly easy....

Don’t worry about KBC having no physical locations, cheques are dead and everything is online....app is extremely good...even if I get a cheque now I lodge into a credit union and then use the online banking to switch into KBC if I want to

So far yet to get screwed on anything with them....savings have a good interest rate and support is ok if I do have to ring....

A lot of the time I get the feeling from both BOI and AIB that they think customers have no real other options so they don’t bother with proper customer care.....like no matter how bad we are we will always have a 50% market share

PrettyBoy

bugsyb4 wrote: »

This quarter myself and wife kept our account above 3k for all bar one/two of the days but yet still got charged quarterly fees.

I have since been onto your complaints team

You were completely aware that if the balance went under €3k at any point - even for one minute - then you would be liable for fees though? Can you explain what BOI have done wrong in this situation that would warrant a complaint? If you drop in to your local branch and speak with the manager they will probably waive the fee on the account as a once-off goodwill gesture. Or you can move to KBC (or any other bank) and you'll find yourself in a similar situation at some point where you will be charged fees as a result of you clearly breaching their terms.

embers_fire

What is the maintenance fee for? That part of the OP's question wasn't answered.

PrettyBoy

embers_fire wrote: »

What is the maintenance fee for? That part of the OP's question wasn't answered.

Is it not obvious to you that the fee is based on the activity of the OP's account - cash lodgements and withdrawals, ATM transactions, debit card use, direct debits, standing orders, etc. - what else would it be for?

Shefwedfan

PrettyBoy wrote: »

bugsyb4 wrote: »

This quarter myself and wife kept our account above 3k for all bar one/two of the days but yet still got charged quarterly fees.

I have since been onto your complaints team

You were completely aware that if the balance went under €3k at any point - even for one minute - then you would be liable for fees though? Can you explain what BOI have done wrong in this situation that would warrant a complaint? If you drop in to your local branch and speak with the manager they will probably waive the fee on the account as a once-off goodwill gesture. Or you can move to KBC (or any other bank) and you'll find yourself in a similar situation at some point where you will be charged fees as a result of you clearly breaching their terms.

This minimum amount in current account is a disaster waiting to happen....I found out before. Something comes up and you get screwed.....the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing.....

It is done by like because they know a certain percentage will always get hit with unknown cost and drop below it, then they can make a good profit.

KBC is simple, stick a certain amount per month into the account and that is it,no minimum requirement or anything

Or the fastest growing bank in Ireland, N26, I know a couple of people which use BOI has a holding account more or less, money goes in on payday, money goes out the day after and they use N26 for everything.....also an option.

Or another person, money goes in, they leave mortgage amount in account. Rest gets transferred onto 2 revolut cards and they use that for transactions, then use the top up function on revolut to put some savings away.....

Ally Dick

Shefwedfan wrote: »

This minimum amount in current account is a disaster waiting to happen....I found out before. Something comes up and you get screwed.....the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing.....

It is done by like because they know a certain percentage will always get hit with unknown cost and drop below it, then they can make a good profit.

KBC is simple, stick a certain amount per month into the account and that is it,no minimum requirement or anything

 

Such a load of paranoid nonsense. The banks all have computer systems that work out the minimum balance, and the system automatically charges accordingly, if the balance dips below that minimum figure. It's not tactics. Nobody has the time to go around manually checking where customers dip below the figure, to catch them out! KBC bank have a similar system in place, and you'll find that they will clobber you as well if you dip below that minimum figure. Banks are a commercial operation. They're all in the business of making money. No bank is doing everything for free!

Shefwedfan

Ally Dick wrote: »

Such a load of paranoid nonsense. The banks all have computer systems that work out the minimum balance, and the system automatically charges accordingly, if the balance dips below that minimum figure. It's not tactics. Nobody has the time to go around manually checking where customers dip below the figure, to catch them out! KBC bank have a similar system in place, and you'll find that they will clobber you as well if you dip below that minimum figure. Banks are a commercial operation. They're all in the business of making money. No bank is doing everything for free!

Why are you quoting me? Did you read what I posted?

Did I say the bank manually works it out? oF course it’s a system...I’m just pointing out KBC is a better option for customer because you don’t have to keep a minimum in account?



How you mean its not tactics? of course it is....Banks are not dopes, they will have worked out the analytics to say what percentage will dip below, then they know how much it costs them or how much they can make. They don't introduce these accounts without doing a internal review to see how much it costs v profit.



Also, have a look here(the bit about minimum balance): <snip>



Oh yes KBC do have high rates if you use card in other countries, hence why I use Revolut


PS I know banks have to make money, but no point giving it to them if you don’t have to

Sleeper12

Ally Dick wrote: »

Shefwedfan wrote: »

This minimum amount in current account is a disaster waiting to happen....I found out before. Something comes up and you get screwed.....the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing.....

It is done by like because they know a certain percentage will always get hit with unknown cost and drop below it, then they can make a good profit.

KBC is simple, stick a certain amount per month into the account and that is it,no minimum requirement or anything

 

Such a load of paranoid nonsense. The banks all have computer systems that work out the minimum balance, and the system automatically charges accordingly, if the balance dips below that minimum figure. It's not tactics. Nobody has the time to go around manually checking where customers dip below the figure, to catch them out! KBC bank have a similar system in place, and you'll find that they will clobber you as well if you dip below that minimum figure. Banks are a commercial operation. They're all in the business of making money. No bank is doing everything for free!

This isn't really the case. BOI used to allow the average cleared balance. Their computer systems could calculate this decades ago.. They changed to the system they have now in the hope of someone dipping below 3K. There can be no other reason but greed

Shefwedfan

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Ally Dick wrote: »

Shefwedfan wrote: »

This minimum amount in current account is a disaster waiting to happen....I found out before. Something comes up and you get screwed.....the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing.....

It is done by like because they know a certain percentage will always get hit with unknown cost and drop below it, then they can make a good profit.

KBC is simple, stick a certain amount per month into the account and that is it,no minimum requirement or anything

Such a load of paranoid nonsense. The banks all have computer systems that work out the minimum balance, and the system automatically charges accordingly, if the balance dips below that minimum figure. It's not tactics. Nobody has the time to go around manually checking where customers dip below the figure, to catch them out! KBC bank have a similar system in place, and you'll find that they will clobber you as well if you dip below that minimum figure. Banks are a commercial operation. They're all in the business of making money. No bank is doing everything for free!

This isn't really the case. BOI used to allow the average cleared balance. Their computer systems could calculate this decades ago.. They changed to the system they have now in the hope of someone dipping below 3K. There can be no other reason but greed

This is standard, they have details on everyone spending for the last 40 years on computer, run some analytics and then offer a 3k minimum fund. Offer to 100k customers. You now have 300million supposed to be sitting in accounts in BOI. BOI can earn interest on this money.

Now based on the spending habits of people over the 40 years you could say 20% are going to dip below the 300k every 3 months..... Then this 20% get hit with large account fees which you could never charge if you had a normal account. So more money for BOI.

I am not saying this is bad or anything, all banks do it and as said above they have to make money.



See all the people who stuck reservations on a Tesla car based on a price that would never hit the market, while the customer figured this out the company had money in the bank


But if you have other options, you should investigate. BOI will not change unless they see customers leave.

I moved to KBC about 3-4 years ago because I kept getting hit with Bank fees as stuff just went on in account and it dipped below, at that stage they had the option of minimum deposit per month no fees......it is a lot easier than constantly watching the acocunt to make sure if doesntdip below a certain figure

Ally Dick

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Ally Dick wrote: »

Shefwedfan wrote: »

This minimum amount in current account is a disaster waiting to happen....I found out before. Something comes up and you get screwed.....the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing.....

It is done by like because they know a certain percentage will always get hit with unknown cost and drop below it, then they can make a good profit.

KBC is simple, stick a certain amount per month into the account and that is it,no minimum requirement or anything

Such a load of paranoid nonsense. The banks all have computer systems that work out the minimum balance, and the system automatically charges accordingly, if the balance dips below that minimum figure. It's not tactics. Nobody has the time to go around manually checking where customers dip below the figure, to catch them out! KBC bank have a similar system in place, and you'll find that they will clobber you as well if you dip below that minimum figure. Banks are a commercial operation. They're all in the business of making money. No bank is doing everything for free!

This isn't really the case. BOI used to allow the average cleared balance. Their computer systems could calculate this decades ago.. They changed to the system they have now in the hope of someone dipping below 3K. There can be no other reason but greed

This is standard, they have details on everyone spending for the last 40 years on computer, run some analytics and then offer a 3k minimum fund. Offer to 100k customers. You now have 300million supposed to be sitting in accounts in BOI. BOI can earn interest on this money.

Now based on the spending habits of people over the 40 years you could say 20% are going to dip below the 300k every 3 months..... Then this 20% get hit with large account fees which you could never charge if you had a normal account. So more money for BOI.

I am not saying this is bad or anything, all banks do it and as said above they have to make money.



See all the people who stuck reservations on a Tesla car based on a price that would never hit the market, while the customer figured this out the company had money in the bank  


But if you have other options, you should investigate. BOI will not change unless they see customers leave.

I moved to KBC about 3-4 years ago because I kept getting hit with Bank fees as stuff just went on in account and it dipped below, at that stage they had the option of minimum deposit per month no fees......it is a lot easier than constantly watching the acocunt to make sure if doesntdip below a certain figure

Banks have 6 years of data on customers and are obliged to get rid of all data greater than that

Shefwedfan

Ally Dick wrote: »

Banks have 6 years of data on customers and are obliged to get rid of all data greater than that

Yes personal data.....

They can keep analytics of age/buying habits etc as that is not specific to customers

embers_fire

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Is it not obvious to you that the fee is based on the activity of the OP's account - cash lodgements and withdrawals, ATM transactions, debit card use, direct debits, standing orders, etc. - what else would it be for?

There are still fees of 5 EUR per quarter year if you don't make any transactions on a current account. Are these related to maintenance?

Ally Dick

embers_fire wrote: »

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Is it not obvious to you that the fee is based on the activity of the OP's account - cash lodgements and withdrawals, ATM transactions, debit card use, direct debits, standing orders, etc. - what else would it be for?

There are still fees of 5 EUR per quarter year if you don't make any transactions on a current account. Are these related to maintenance?

Yes. They have made these maintenance charges impervious to how much money you have in the account. Banks got nastier after the bail out

Shefwedfan

Ally Dick wrote: »

embers_fire wrote: »

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Is it not obvious to you that the fee is based on the activity of the OP's account - cash lodgements and withdrawals, ATM transactions, debit card use, direct debits, standing orders, etc. - what else would it be for?

There are still fees of 5 EUR per quarter year if you don't make any transactions on a current account. Are these related to maintenance?

Yes. They have made these maintenance charges impervious to how much money you have in the account. Banks got nastier after the bail out

Do I have to say KBC and N26 don't have these?

Ally Dick

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Ally Dick wrote: »

embers_fire wrote: »

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Is it not obvious to you that the fee is based on the activity of the OP's account - cash lodgements and withdrawals, ATM transactions, debit card use, direct debits, standing orders, etc. - what else would it be for?

There are still fees of 5 EUR per quarter year if you don't make any transactions on a current account. Are these related to maintenance?

Yes. They have made these maintenance charges impervious to how much money you have in the account. Banks got nastier after the bail out

Do I have to say KBC and N26 don't have these?

I believe you, but I wonder how they are making money? 

Shefwedfan

Ally Dick wrote: »

I believe you, but I wonder how they are making money? 

Well like me once I moved one thing I moved other, so saving, credit card, mortgage etc all moved over...they make money on all of those

N26 seem to have a paid account for extras like Revolut

bugsyb4

An update here it was probably not the complaints team I needed to contact but they were still awful to deal with!!

A nice girl from customer service rang me after I completing an email survey slating BOI and she pointed me in the right direction so have since been to my local branch who have also been helpful.

So as of now I am waiting to hear back from the branch where we opened our account, the girl in the local branch I visited Friday has emailed them and just waiting for a call back to see if I can get this issue resolved!!

If I had of been told this information to begin with after going to numerous sources would have saved me a bit of hassle and would not have got me into such an angry fit Anyway just said would pass on positive dealings I had to take a balanced view.

I still can't understand the quarterly maintenance fee that I know other banks don't charge but see how this call goes before upping and moving to KBC. The hassle of moving seems too much when in reality it probably isn't seeing as I already have an extra current account with KBC.

Shefwedfan

To update, I just got this email from KBC :-)


We are reducing the lodgement requirement from €2,500 to €2,000 to make it easier for you to avail of the account benefits available to Extra Current Account customers.

The change will automatically come into effect from 26th August 2019 for existing customers, and there is no action required by you. If you do not wish to accept the new Terms & Conditions and Fees & Charges, you are entitled to close your account and no charge will be incurred for doing so. In order to close your account, any positive or negative balance must be cleared in full by you prior to account closure. If you do not instruct us to close your account before 26th August 2019, we will assume you have accepted the changes.

bugsyb4

Just an update here got fees refunded so thanks BOI ye are not all bad!!

It was a goodwill gesture on their behalf so it is definitely worth disputing if only under 3k for 1 or 2 days in the quarter and you need to go directly to branch where you opened account.

On an aside they actually refunded us for the previous quarter not the most recent one which was the one where we kept our balance above the 3k, so not sure how much investigation they do on it but look happy to get anything back.

Bank of Ireland: Kathryne

Hi Bugsbyb4,


Thanks for the update and for reaching out to us here initially.


We're happy to see you got this sorted and you were given a refund.


Please let us know if you have any other queries. 

Many thanks,
Kat

PrettyBoy

PrettyBoy wrote:

If you drop in to your local branch and speak with the manager they will probably waive the fee on the account as a once-off goodwill gesture.

Shefwedfan wrote: »

the bank will not give it back as you suggest, even going to branch and they will do nothing

This aged well.

bugsyb4 wrote:

Just an update here got fees refunded so thanks BOI ye are not all bad!! It was a goodwill gesture on their behalf