Tracker Mortgage Decision Reference 2025-0191

• Case Outcome: Rejected
• Year: 2025
• Reference: 2025-0191
• Date: 16 December 2025
• Subject Matter: Tracker Mortgage
• Finantial Sector: Banking
• Conducts Complained Of: Failure to offer appropriate compensation or redress CBI Examination,Failure to apply the correct tracker rate as part of the Examination

Decision Ref:

2025-0191

Sector:

Banking

Product / Service:

Tracker Mortgage

Conduct(s) complained of:

Failure to offer appropriate compensation or

redress CBI Examination

Failure to apply the correct tracker rate as part of

the Examination

Outcome:

Rejected

LEGALLY BINDING DECISION OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN

Background

This complaint relates to a mortgage loan account held by the Complainants with the

Provider which was secured on the Complainants’ residential investment property.

Mortgage loan account 9608 drew down in the amount of €160,000.00 and the term of

the loan was 20 years.

The Complainants’ mortgage loan account was considered by the Provider as part of the

Central Bank of Ireland directed Tracker Mortgage Examination (the “Examination”) and

was deemed to be impacted.

The Provider issued a letter dated 20 December 2017 to the Complainants informing the

Complainants of its “mistake”. The letter details as follows:

“We recently reviewed your mortgage and discovered that we had made a mistake.

In this letter we will explain what we did wrong, how it affects you and what we will

do now to make things right.”

- 2 -

/Cont’d…

Additionally, in the letter dated 20 December 2017, the Provider explains how it “got

things wrong” in relation to the mortgage loan account as follows:

“In our review, we found that when you moved to a fixed rate from a tracker rate,

we failed to provide you with sufficient clarity as to what would happen at the end

of that fixed rate. Because of this, you may have had an expectation that a tracker

rate would be available to you at the end of the fixed period. The language used by

us in your documentation may have been confusing as to whether it was a variable

interest rate which varied upwards or downwards tracking the ECB Rate or a

variable interest rate which varied upwards or downwards at our discretion.”

With respect to the effect the failure had on the mortgage loan account, the Provider

outlined as follows:

“How this failure affected you

As a result of our failure, we can confirm that you were charged an incorrect

interest rate between 26 Jan 2009 and 07 Sept 2015.”

In this regard, the Provider made an offer of redress and compensation to the

Complainants in the letter dated 20 December 2017. The offer in the sum of €18,100.46

comprised the following:

1. Redress of €16,364.05

• Total interest overpaid in the sum of €15,584.81

• Interest to reflect the time of value of money in the sum of €779.24

2. Compensation of €1,636.41 for the failure on the mortgage loan account.

3. Independent Professional Advice payment of €100.00

The Provider issued a further letter to the Complainants dated 31 January 2018 in which

the Provider informed the Complainants that it increased the independent professional

advice payment from €100.00 to €500.00 as follows:

“…

We’re writing to you now to tell you that we intend to top up our payment to you

for independent advice by an extra €400 an increase to €500.

…”

The Complainants appealed the redress and compensation to the Independent Appeals

Panel on 30 May 2018. The Independent Appeals Panel rejected the Complainants’ appeal

on 27 March 2019 as follows: