A Consumer Council Guide to the Ulster Bank Redress Scheme - AUGUST 2012
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A Consumer Council
Guide to the Ulster Bank
Redress Scheme
AUGUST 2012Introduction
This Consumer Council guide is designed to support all consumers affected by the
Ulster Bank technical failure.
Ulster Bank’s IT Incident started on 19 June and severely affected customer
accounts for many weeks. Even now, some customers still have discrepancies on
their accounts. To reimburse and compensate customers for the disruption and out
of pocket expenses Ulster Bank have launched a redress scheme .
What is Ulster Bank going to do to put things right
As a result of the IT incident the Ulster Bank have introduced a range of measures.
These are:
1. Refund all fees and charges incurred as a result of the incident
2. Automatic payment of a £20 to Ulster Bank customers who had to visit a
branch during 19 June to 18 July and who carried out a transaction (more
frequently than the month before)
3. Make an additional 20 per cent payment on top of any out of pocket expenses
up to a maximum top- up of £100
4. Give consumers access to their credit report free of charge if they request it
5. Provide an increased savings rate of 0.25 per cent on existing savings
accounts for a period of three months. (September to November 2012)
Measure What Ulster Bank will do What you should do
Refund Fees and Ulster Bank should have Check your statement to
Charges automatically done this ensure this has happened- if
not complain in branch or by
telephone 0800 231 232
£20 automatic Payment will automatically be made Check your statement to
to Ulster Bank customers who had
payment ensure this has happened- if
to visit a branch during 19 June to
18 July . Payment will be made by 3 not complain in branch or by
September to eligible customers. To
telephone 0800 231 232
qualify you must have done this
more frequently than in the period
2before the incident (19 May to 18
June).
Reimburse out of Will make claims forms available in Fill in a claims form
pocket expenses branch, online or through freephone. (Technical Incident Customer
Will acknowledge all complaints in 5 Form) and send it to Ulster
days and respond fully in 8 weeks Bank (this guide contains
further information on making
a claim)
Make an additional Ulster Bank will automatically make You don’t need to do
20 per cent a 20 per cent additional payment up anything
payment on top of to a maximum of £100 on your out
any out of pocket of pocket expenses
expenses
Give consumers If you request it Ulster Bank will If you want to check your
access to their provide you with a voucher to credit rating has not been
credit report free of access a free credit report online via affected as a result of the
charge Experian. If you don’t have access incident contact your branch
to the internet they will send you an or the Ulster Bank free phone
application form for you to post to number. there are any
Experian changes that need to be
made to your credit report as
a result of the incident,
contact the credit rating
agency within 28 days
Provide an Ulster Bank will automatically Check your statement to
increased savings
increase savings rates on savings ensure you receive this
rate of 0.25 per cent
on existing savings accounts to 0.25 per cent for a
accounts
period of three month. This will be
paid as a lump sum after 30
November and customers should
see it in their December statement.
3Refunding fees and charges
Ulster Bank have confirmed that fees and charges incurred on Ulster Bank accounts
have been refunded automatically. However, you should check your statements to
see that this has happened. The Ulster Bank website has further details of fees and
charges and the charge dates in formation. If these fees and charges have not been
refunded you should make a complaint directly to Ulster Bank.
Out of pocket expenses – what you need to do
A claims process has now been published to explain how to progress claims for
items you had to pay for as a result of the payments issue, that Ulster Bank have not
automatically refunded to you. For details, please check the website
www.ulsterbank.co.uk/ and look for the ‘Technical Incident customer Form’. You
should also receive a letter and possibly an email from Ulster Bank telling you how
to get a copy of the form.
You can request a claims form or ‘Technical Incident Customer Form,’ online, in
branch or via the freephone number. In filling out the form you should describe
What happened to you because of the computer problems
What you want them to do to help put things right for you
What losses you want them to cover
Try to keep it short- just include the key facts and figures.
Attach any evidence you have it will help in assessing your claim. If you don’t have
any receipts or paper records Ulster Bank will still assess your claim
Here are some items that you should consider including on your form if you have
been affected:
Include a note of other financial losses which the bank might not be aware of which
occurred when you were trying to sort out things. For example;
The cost of phone bills
4 Parking charges
Borrowing money from other sources to tide you over
Petrol/Diesel/taxi fares
Extra childminder costs for having to arrange care to visit a branch
Legal bills for a delayed house purchase
Try to include any documentary evidence of these things. For example, credit card
bill, phone bill, bus tickets and emails.
You should also document non financial losses for example
Consumers can be compensated for the trouble stress or inconvenience
they’ve been put through
This includes embarrassment such as having your debit card declined at the
checkout in the supermarket
Or the disruption caused by having to take time off to sort out urgent
problems
Ulster Bank will refund any charges on your Ulster Bank account but if you have
occurred fees and charges on any other account as a result of their IT incident ,
Ulster Bank should refund it. This includes:
Unpaid fee for returned cheques or direct debits
Interest on an overdraft
Overdraft set up fee
Unauthorised overdraft fee
Late credit card payment fee and interest
Credit card cash withdrawal fee and associated interest
Mortgage default fee (missed a payment)
Write down the value of the payment and the date it was due.
If you need help making a claim
5Ulster Branch Staff in branches will help consumers with the process and filling out
the claim form. Advice agencies such as Citizens Advice and Advice NI can offer
independent advice and support to consumers who need support in making a claim.
The Claims Process
Customers fill out claim form online or in branch and submit to Ulster BankYou can return
your form using a freepost address:
1906 Central Claims Unit
Ulster Bank
Freepost BEL 4084
Belfast BT1 5BR
Ulster Bank will acknowledge the complaint within 5 days and will give customers an
individual reference number, customers can use this to check progress of complaint
Straight forward claims will be dealt with by dedicated branch staff whereas more complex
claims such as a lost holiday will be automatically escalated to specialist in the Central
complaints team
Ulster Bank will deal with complaints within 8 weeks. Simpler complaints should take less
time
If Ulster Bank don’t resolve the complaint to the consumers satisfaction it will be escalated
to the Central Complaints team. There is an 8 week timeframe for resolving the complaint
If Consumers are still not happy with the final resolution offered by the bank they can
contact the Financial Services Ombudsman (FOS) on 0300 123 9 123 or email
complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
6Credit ratings
Ulster Bank is working with the credit reference agencies to ensure that no
customer's credit rating is affected as a result of this incident. Ulster Bank is making
arrangements to cover the costs of this check for their customers.
If you want to check your credit report you should make a request to Ulster Bank.
They will give you a voucher to allow you to access a free credit report online via
Experian. If you don’t have access to the internet they can give you a paper
application to be completed and send to Experian via post.
If there is anything incorrect in your credit history report you can apply to the credit
agencies to get it amended. You must do this within 28 days of receiving the report
and you will need to have proof that the entries are wrong.
Experian Ltd Equifax Plc Callcredit Ltd
Customer Support Advice Credit File Advice Centre One Park Lane
Centre PO Box 1140 Leeds
PO Box 1140 Bradford West Yorkshire
Bradford BD1 5US LS3 1EP
BD1 5US
If you don’t have an Ulster Bank account, but have been affected
Ulster Bank has been working with other banks to put similar automatic fees and
charges refund process in place for consumers with accounts elsewhere. If you are a
customer of another bank and are seeking reimbursement for reasonable out of
pocket expenses or if you have concerns about their credit rating, you should contact
their own bank directly.
Your bank will then use its usual complaint handling process to deal with your claim
and will facilitate a free credit report for you. Ulster Bank will then reimburse your
bank.
7If you’re not happy with the final outcome of your claim or complaint
If you are unhappy with the service from your bank, or have received charges or
incurred costs which were through no fault of your own over this issue, you should
complain directly to them in the first instance. Normally, banks have up to eight
weeks to provide a final response to customers.
If you do not get a response after eight weeks, or if you are not satisfied with their
response you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
The FOS helps settle individual disputes between banks and their customers and it
is completely impartial and free.
Call 0800 0 234 567 or go to www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
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