KBC exiting Ireland

christy c

Got cheque also yesterday. Anyone know if you can post a cheque to EBS to lodge or any other easier way than going to a branch?

Rock Steady Edy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121283592#Comment_121283592

I know you can take a picture of a cheque and upload it with at least 1 bank in the UK; could be at least a couple of years away for that kind of technology to reach the Irish banks...

I'd have thought that all banks should have a postal address to post cheques to.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121283618#Comment_121283618

The intent here is to get rid of cheques entirely rather than make it easier. A bank with arms in the US would need that deposit by phone support, because the electronic payments infrastructure in the US is so shockingly bad that cheques are still normal there.

There were 7.5m cheques used in H1 2023; which is a teeny tiny fraction of what it once was but its still rather more than I thought there'd be.

Last cheques I got were a sports club lotto win, and Laya Healthcare forgetting that they had changed my IBAN after I left KBC and sending me a refund to a non-existant account which bounced to a cheque. Think that's the only two I've had this decade so far.

rebelle

I got two cheques for €50 each so I'm very happy with this unexpected bonus.

Cartman78

Just got a cheque for twenty quid...was delighted with the unexpected windfall but now slightly peeved that other people seem to have got €75 😂

raxy

€20 here too. I'm guessing it was based on the amount in the account. The more saved the more refunded.

DaveyDave

€20 for me and €50 for my missus. Mortgage, 2 personal accounts each with a savings account and a joint account.

ongarite

Got cheque for €75 today too.

L1011

€50 for me. Did have the funds for a refurb in it for a bit which probably pushed the average high enough to get more than the baseline.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121283618#Comment_121283618

I can't see any bank bothering with implementing a solution to dealing with 19th century banking methods

L1011

KBC fixed is expiring in February and I got the BOI rate offer letter today, 3.25% for variable, all the fixed higher. Still significantly lower than for BOI-originating customers and I think possibly the lowest rate anywhere currently?

I want to start aggressively overpaying so was going to go variable regardless.

Q&A

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121439318#Comment_121439318

Why wait to overpay? You're unlikely to face a break fee if you fixed anywhere before the middle of last year.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121439780#Comment_121439780

I fixed in 2021. I'm paying the max overpayment allowed on the fix currently.

I have an expensive Christmas planned :pac:

Q&A

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121439810#Comment_121439810

Fair enough on other expenses but there is no such thing as max overpayment allowed. They won't turn away/post the overpayment back to you.

Yes, there is some amount they will allow before triggering a break fee calculation but market rates have moved since 2021. You can be pretty confident that break free will be zero for the rest of your fixed term. So you can treat it like a low cost variable rate mortgage and overpay as and when you can.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440035#Comment_121440035

Well, they won't modify the DD beyond a certain amount. But I am at the break fee calculation amount, albeit yes it is probably zero.

There's realistically one month between when I can start throwing money at it and when the fixed ends as it stands.

raxy

I got a refund from the savings account but we had a joint account with KBC & now we don't have a joint account anymore. Tried to lodge the cheque to my wifes's account but they returned it & said it can only be lodged to a joint account.

Anybody else have this problem? We don't want to open a joint account just to lodge a cheque.

I might try the credit union & see if they'll lodge it to a sole account

Jim2007

If a cheque is specifically crossed then you can't do anything with it but lodge it to the specified account type. Could you ask the issuer to re issue it with a different name or crossing?

raxy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121535643#Comment_121535643

Probably but they're not making it easy though. Print a form & complete it & scan & e-mail it back.

Was hoping someone else might have already done it. Job for another day I think!

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121535820#Comment_121535820

What is the crossing on the cheque? Some version of “account payee only”?

raxy

Itsnot crossed. Just has both first names, same surname. I assumed lodging to 1 persons account would be OK. They took it when my wife lodged it but called back & said they can't do anything with it & posted it back.

G_R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121536067#Comment_121536067

If it's not crossed, you should be able to sign the back to endorce it over to your wife, or vice versa.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121536067#Comment_121536067

If it is not crossed then it should simply be a matter of endorsing it and lodging in for collection. However if was returned, then you really need to know the reason before you can figure out what needs to be done in order to get it cashed. If for some strange reason the bank decided not to present it for payment, then you could just try another bank, but if they presented it and it was refused, then that would be a very different issue all together.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121536067#Comment_121536067

Are you sure the "crossing" isn't printed on the cheque?

Qrt

I believe it it’s crossed it can still be endorsed by one party and lodged into the other’s sole account, but if it says A/C Payee Only, then it’s a lot tougher.

You could always open a joint savings account if you have existing accounts with a mainstream bank, they can be opened in a few days at times.

raxy

yeah there is a cross on it, it's tiny & at the bottom of the cheque, account payee only.

I'll try the credit union & see if they'll take it. Not sure I could be bothered opening a new account for a €20 cheque.

Charlie-Bravo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121439318#Comment_121439318

This is interesting as the rate of 3.25% on a special variable is the best option at the moment (normal rate is 4.3% APR). I take it BoI wants to keep all of the mortgages they bought from KBC to make money on them and incentivise ex-KBC customers to stay!

It'll be interesting to see how the rate adjusts when the normal BoI variable rate moves.

G_R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764878#Comment_121764878

As part of the purchase agreement, BOI needed to offer ex KBC customers preferential rates in line with what they would have been offered had they stayed with KBC.

L1011

A few people mentioned on here and other threads how BOI were considering anything more than a 10% overpayment based on your monthly payments as needing a break fee calculation; compared to 10% of the principal when we were still with KBC. This meant that I, like those others I guess, were limited to a lower overpayment than we wanted - mine was about €8/month below what I'd intended though!

This morning I noticed €250 in my bank account with my mortgage account as the reference. Apparently they've realised that the KBC calculation should have been allowed, and this is an ex gratia payment; with a letter of options on, presumably, retroactive overpayments to come.

If they offer me the ability to pay the equivalent of that 8 quid/month and get interest credited for it I'll do it; if they offer me the ability to pay back up to that 10% of outstanding principal at the time back with interested credited I may have to consider raiding the savings account for a bit...

L1011

Options letter offers:

1: Increase overpayment above the inaccurate BOI limit - I'm finished my fix, so no use and obviously they have to offer this now they've realised the error

2: Make a lump sum payment of up to the KBC allowed limit (10% of balance minus any existing overpayments), which sounds like it will be backdated to the start of the overpayment period

Now, I was going to throw a lump overpayment in at the end of the month. I only started the overpayment in September so it'll backdate it to then, 6 months at 2.25% on what I'm intending to put in is the price of a few pints at best, but better in my pocket (well, off my mortgage balance) than theirs I guess.

On checking these various details I've now noticed that they forgot to continue the previous 10% overpayment when the fixed rate ended last month; despite saying they would - wonder can I get another 250 for that error :P

L1011

Took a while to get the confirmation, but I am allowed have a single lump overpayment backdated to the start of my miscalculated overpayment period; and the max amount is 10% of the outstanding value of the mortgage at the time when my fixed rate started, minus the overpayments I made.

As it was a fairly long fixed rate, this now amounts to more than 1/7th of my entire mortgage. I don't quite have that amount lying around, but I did just get my 2023 bonus payment, so there will be a substantial backdated payment that should see a reasonable amount of interest unwound from the remaining capital also.

I'd had an overpayment with KBC that expired earlier in the fix; and only renewed it with BOI afterwards hence getting their bogey calculation.