Ulster Bank redress options available

Customers at Ulster Bank who were affected by the transaction malfunctions a number of weeks ago are set to receive compensation from the bank.

The package of measures is available to customers  seeks to refund all fees, charges and debit interest which may have been charged in error and correcting any credit interest owed as a result of the technical meltdown.

Customers will also be reimbursed reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the incident while their credit ratings will not be permanently affected.

The bank is also suspending certain fees, charges and surcharges interest for three months, as well as not introducing account maintenance fees for personal current account holders until July 2013.

Customers who visited branches during the technical meltdown will receive an automatic one-off payment of €25

“Once again, I apologise unreservedly to our customers and customers of other banks for the inconvenience this has caused and thank them for their patience as we worked to resolve this issue,” said Ulster Bank CEO, Jim Brown.

“We recognise that we have work to do to restore our customers’ trust in us and we believe that this is the first step in that direction. We have worked with our key stakeholders to ensure the additional measures which we are taking provide a comprehensive response to customer concerns and demonstrate our commitment to making amends.”

A provision of €35m has been made at a Group level for Ulster Bank costs arising from the technical incident. Given the scale of the impact on our customers, we expect that there will be additional costs over the coming months as we continue the process of putting things right.

Out of pocket expenses will be processed from this week onwards. Customers can claim through a freepost address being sent out to customers by the bank. Customers are asked to hold onto receipts for phone bills, bus tickets, travel receipts, bill and invoices.

The announcement was welcomed by Fianna Fail Finance spokesman Michael McGrath TD.

“Overall, the package of measures announced by the bank for its customers affected by the IT debacle seems to be fair and reasonable provided it is implemented efficiently and the bank doesn’t unnecessarily contest claims for out of pocket expenses,” said Deputy McGrath. 

“I expect the bank to be fair in its assessment of expense claims by customers and not to be petty and challenge the validity of every item being claimed. In essence, Ulster Bank’s restitution package needs to ensure that no personal or business customer is out of pocket or disadvantaged in any way as a result of this IT failure.”

Customers who are concerned about their own redress options can contact Ulster Bank on 1800 205-100 Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm.