pTSB interest rate hike

Lifesapitch

nb83 wrote: »

well i rang on the 11th and asked if i could fax it and was told no, but when i rang back when on the 15th to ask if they had got my letter i was told that they were actually excepting faxes and that it was the only way it would have reached them in time. the bank are now in the process of searching for the phonecall to see if i was told not to fax it.
I wonder if the rates are valid for 7 days of when the letter was dated or when the letter was received?

I was in a similar situation and they told me it was valid 7 days from when the letter was dated. The letter was very late arriving, just the day before the 7 days had lapsed. I brought it into a branch and got them to sign it there and then. While i was on to one of the guys on the phone he said that they were way behind on processing applications because of demand and would be accepting them after the expiry date. Could of been just trying to get rid of me though..

nb83

ya i rang the branch and they told me that they couldnt do anything for me that it was the people in dublin, i was alsotold that it didnt matter when they received it, it matters when you post it! Im still fighting it anyway so hopefully i have enough to back myself up.

Mr Velo

nb83 wrote: »

did anyone try and fix there rates before they made the announcement on the 11th? I asked for the letter to be sent out on the 3rd of Feb, i did not receive the letter till the 8th and sent it back in the post on the 10th and got a letter yesterday saying that I was not within the 7 day period. Can anyone advise me on this please?

I phoned up on the 2nd February - got them to send me out the letter. It arrived on Monday 7th Feb and i completely forgot to fill it in that night and send back on the Tuesday. I phoned up on Wednesday to ask if i could pay the €100 change fee by Postal Order. At that point the lady asked me if i could fax her the letter - as the 7 days were up that day (so the 7 days include the bloody weekend).
I faxed the letter - then went to the Post Office, got Postal Order, and sent the letter and fee off in registered envelope.

Got a letter early this week to state that they had received the letter and put us on the interest rate we had requested. Very very lucky to have got in before the hikes (announced at 8pm on the night our letter was Dublin bound).

nb83

Ur lucky you thought to go into the bank. I didnt post it till day 7 and rang on day 8 to say that i didnt think it would make the post and asked if i could fax it but they wouldnt except the fax then but i was told this week that they should have excepted the fax. They're still looking into it so hopefully Ill get the 5 year rate. The thought of being so close and not getting it would be heart breaking.

Dempo1

nb83 wrote: »

Ur lucky you thought to go into the bank. I didnt post it till day 7 and rang on day 8 to say that i didnt think it would make the post and asked if i could fax it but they wouldnt except the fax then but i was told this week that they should have excepted the fax. They're still looking into it so hopefully Ill get the 5 year rate. The thought of being so close and not getting it would be heart breaking.

Just curious was Rate are they offering over five years?

ANXIOUS

Just to clarify it says on the letter that the rate is valid for 7 days from the date on the letter.

nb83

they were offering 5.75 for 5 years and 5.25 for 2 years.

ANXIOUS

Dempo1 wrote: »

Just curious was Rate are they offering over five years?

Raised 3points from 5.75% to 8.75%.

nb83

ya it did say on the letter thats its valid for 7 days but i didnt get the letter till day 5 and my partner was away for the night so i had to wait for him to come home to sign it. So we signed it the evening of day 6 and posted it on day 7. I was also told on the phone that there was a backlog and it didnt matter when they receive it that it matters when i send it.
Am i fighting a lost cause?

ANXIOUS

nb83 wrote: »

ya it did say on the letter thats its valid for 7 days but i didnt get the letter till day 5 and my partner was away for the night so i had to wait for him to come home to sign it. So we signed it the evening of day 6 and posted it on day 7. I was also told on the phone that there was a backlog and it didnt matter when they receive it that it matters when i send it.
Am i fighting a lost cause?

No I'd keep trying if I was you. What's the worst that can happen you save thousands on your mortgage a year. I wouldn't really pin your hopes on the post, it's not ptsb who determines when you revive it it's an post. I'd focus on the fact that someone told you not to fax it in. Just remain civil when dealing with them as it'll get you further than shoutting at them.

If it doesn't come to a satisfactory outcome you can alwYs go to the ombudsman.

nb83

ya ill keep fighting it alright, theres no way id leave it go tht easily. Hopefully they'll be able to find the call and be able to do something for me but i rang on day 8 about the fax so if they were really mean they'll probably hold that against me.
Thanks for all the help.

BostonB

noworries wrote: »

Look, variable mortgage rates, in most cases, are priced off the Euribor 3 month rate which has a long term average(10 years) of approx 3%.

Banks need to make a margin on this and without competition the will look to
make approx 2 percent on this - so you get roughly 5% rate give or take a bit
of competiton.

However, all the financial institutions in Ireland are insolvent so they need
another few basis points to make a further profit in order to pay off thier
creditiors so say 6.5%. The ones that are hoplessly screwed will try to make
more to avoid being wound up.

Average mortgage interest rates in the rest of Europe are about 5.8% -
barring any shocks in inflation (which are lurking in the background) I would
expect that a mortgage interest rate of 7% is not too far away and I
would urge any mortgage holder to 'stress test' themselves against that
figure.

Now for the disclaimer - I don't have a mortgage anymore - I lived through
the currency crisis in '91 when the mortgage rate went to 13% and slowly
came down to 4.5% by the end of the 90's I beleive that any rate under
5% is not sustainable as inflation will quickly kill off any gains.

Moaning and whining about a mortage rate increase to 5% is a waste of time. Conserve your energy for when the rates of pTSB mortgages reach 9%

Do you think all the other banks rates will also go up? How fast do we think they will climb?

BostonB

I note this...( for new customers) I dunno wheres a similar list of rate for existing customers. I got quoted 5.3 for a 5yr with BOI. I assume nowheres is going to let you move now.

Best Interest Rates on 5 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages in Ireland.
Rates checked February 18th 2011

PTSB 3.7% Max 50% LTV
Ulster Bank Secure Step 3.95% Max 95% LTV (Restricted to specific developments)
AIB 4.39% Max LTV 92%
EBS 4.64% Max LTV 90%
Haven 4.5% Max LTV 85%
NIB 4.6% LTV 92%
EBS 4.64% Max LTV 90%
BOI 4.64% Max 92 LTV
KBC 5.2% Max 80% LTV


Rates shown will normally just be for new customers – not existing ones.

Speak Now

Is there a higher variable rate for mortgages where the outstanding balance is a certain percentage of the property value (e.g 80%). I see the standard variable rate is 5.19% from next month where as mine will be 5.55%.

nb83

ya it depends how much you have left to pay on your mortgage. the variable rate for me is 5.65%.

km79

just an update from me. ulster bank honoured the 3yr fixed rate they had offered the day b4 the rates went up 4.3% for 3 years. i got the letter back on day 9:D