Quarterly Maintenance Fee - what for??

Mick222

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Hi,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I like many others have emigrated over the last few years and I left my account open in Ireland with a pot of money to fund return visits and also hold as an account perhaps if I someday I return permanently. I recently reviewed my account to find a 'maintenance fee' of €20 p.a. being taken out of my account even though I have not used it in well over a year. [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I'm sure you have sent out communication to customers outlining changes to T's and C's with this fee structure detailed buried in there somewhere but can you please provide a summary breakdown of what the maintenance fee is used for. As I do not use my account I feel a 'maintenance' fee is absolutely unwarranted on top of all your other charges. I feel that if I am giving you €20 a year I should at least know what my money is funding.......although by the looks of it it's just more profit with a pre-tax profit of just under €1bn last year! Maybe it paid for the Christmas party.......or the ~€1m pay for your CEO??[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]With the minimum account holding requirement of €3k I also feel like this is a tax on the people who can afford it least and it is disappointing from a CSR that you have taken this approach, especially considering the current economic climate. As a bank you should be supporting people in all financial positions, not penalising those that have less in their account!!  To be honest it is not like you are providing a world class service either. Your website and app are of a pretty poor standard and your branches (that I have been in) are of a poor standard too. Opening hours are completely customer unfriendly and I'm sure your operating costs (and ultimately customer service) have been reduced significantly over the last few years by taking hours out of labour.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would appreciate your response but I feel that either way I will be closing my account and saying good riddance to your sub-standard service and non-justified fees. And please do not send me on a link to somewhere on your site that gives a really terrible summary of your fee structure. I would like BoI to at least take the time to craft a reasonable response and at least I feel like I have got something for my 5 quid this quarter!![/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]The banking world is becoming the retail banking world but you guys are still stuck in the past. Rubbish opening hours, rubbish service, rubbish digital proposition and all for the charge of €20 p.a.!! I definitely don't think people would shop at Tesco if €5 was added to their shopping charges every 3 months! But at least I can drop into a Tesco store a lot more convenient than I could one of your branches so I'd probably be happier paying Tesco than you guys!! [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I basically feel like you are taking the p*ss out of your customer base and charging them for doing business with you but not really giving anything in return. I thought banking had changed but obviously not in Ireland. Still just a bunch of bankers![/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Look forward to your response.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Regards,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Mick[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif](soon to be ex customer) [/font]

Sheep Shagger

Um who pays for the ATM network, phone and internet banking infrastructure etc ?

TBH think a fiver a quarter (cost of a pint) is cheap for the 24/7 service you're getting.

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Mick222 wrote: »

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Hi,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I like many others have emigrated over the last few years and I left my account open in Ireland with a pot of money to fund return visits and also hold as an account perhaps if I someday I return permanently. I recently reviewed my account to find a 'maintenance fee' of €20 p.a. being taken out of my account even though I have not used it in well over a year. [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I'm sure you have sent out communication to customers outlining changes to T's and C's with this fee structure detailed buried in there somewhere but can you please provide a summary breakdown of what the maintenance fee is used for. As I do not use my account I feel a 'maintenance' fee is absolutely unwarranted on top of all your other charges. I feel that if I am giving you €20 a year I should at least know what my money is funding.......although by the looks of it it's just more profit with a pre-tax profit of just under €1bn last year! Maybe it paid for the Christmas party.......or the ~€1m pay for your CEO??[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]With the minimum account holding requirement of €3k I also feel like this is a tax on the people who can afford it least and it is disappointing from a CSR that you have taken this approach, especially considering the current economic climate. As a bank you should be supporting people in all financial positions, not penalising those that have less in their account!!  To be honest it is not like you are providing a world class service either. Your website and app are of a pretty poor standard and your branches (that I have been in) are of a poor standard too. Opening hours are completely customer unfriendly and I'm sure your operating costs (and ultimately customer service) have been reduced significantly over the last few years by taking hours out of labour.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would appreciate your response but I feel that either way I will be closing my account and saying good riddance to your sub-standard service and non-justified fees. And please do not send me on a link to somewhere on your site that gives a really terrible summary of your fee structure. I would like BoI to at least take the time to craft a reasonable response and at least I feel like I have got something for my 5 quid this quarter!![/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]The banking world is becoming the retail banking world but you guys are still stuck in the past. Rubbish opening hours, rubbish service, rubbish digital proposition and all for the charge of €20 p.a.!! I definitely don't think people would shop at Tesco if €5 was added to their shopping charges every 3 months! But at least I can drop into a Tesco store a lot more convenient than I could one of your branches so I'd probably be happier paying Tesco than you guys!! [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I basically feel like you are taking the p*ss out of your customer base and charging them for doing business with you but not really giving anything in return. I thought banking had changed but obviously not in Ireland. Still just a bunch of bankers![/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Look forward to your response.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Regards,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Mick[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif](soon to be ex customer) [/font]

Hi Mick222,

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards and sorry to hear that you’re unhappy with the Maintenance fee. We appreciate you taking the time to send us in your feedback here.

We have invested substantially in the infrastructure associated with our Current accounts over recent years - this includes our branches, phone, online and mobile channels.

The €5 quarterly maintenance fee ensures that we can continue to build on these while providing the following features and benefits to our customers which I have outlined below. 

Access to over 250 branches which includes over 2,000 qualified financial advisers across the country and 1,500 ATMs nationwide. We also have numerous customer service channels, phone, email and social media presence.

We have increased the number of External Lodgement ATM’s across the country as well as some of our branches opening Saturday mornings or later on weekday evenings to accommodate appointments with our Advisors and access to self-service machines. We also provide self-service lobbies outside of branch opening hours. I hope this alleviates your concern somewhat that our hours are not customer friendly.

Our 365 Online service, Mobile Banking app for iPhone and Android users and a tablet app, gives you access to your account both at home and abroad. 365 Online also includes the option to receive eStatements – online statements as a pdf instead of paper. Our website has an extensive Help Centre where you can find answers to our customers most frequently asked questions.

The Pay to Mobile service - allows our mobile banking app customers to transfer money to any registered Bank of Ireland account simply by knowing the mobile number of the account holder.

I do hope my response here explains our Maintenance fee better for you and hope that you reconsider closing your account with us. As I mentioned above, we appreciate all feedback we receive from our customers, and we will pass on your feedback to the relevant teams.

If you need help with any query please let us know.
 
Thanks,

Sarah 

Mick222

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Thanks you for the response. However it has only answered part of my query.[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I still fundamentally disagree with the charge. What it says to me is that the generic way in which Banks make money (lending money at rates higher than the cost of the money they lend) is no longer enough or you are not good enough at it so it was decided to whack a lazy £20 p.a. ‘maintenance fee’ on to accounts to top up your ~€1bn profit. [/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]The fact that you also state that this covers ATM’s and other services such as the Mobile App is also disappointing as this is a service that the majority of banks will provide all of these services (and more to a higher standard also) without any account fees. I’m not sure why fell you can justify a charge when this is offered as part of the service by other Banks, do you feel that your service is above and beyond the general standard and therefore justifies a charge? [/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]If it is these services that BoI feel the charge is justified why do you apply this fee to people who do not use these services. I have not used any ATM, Branch or Online service in the last year yet I have still been charged £20. Again, it feels all a bit lazy and sly. You also state on your website that you provide services free of charge such as ATM use and branch use (copy of website content below). Technically this is incorrect as you have just stated there is a €5 quarterly fee for these services. Is this incorrect? It does not state anywhere on that page that a minimum of €3k is required to get those services for 'free' so I am assuming you are aiming this at all current and potential customers.[/font]



[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Also one of my key questions was why the charge only applied to c[/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]ustomers with an account holding below €3k? What you are basically saying that the charges that you justified in your response (ATM’s etc.) only apply to a certain population of your customer base – and actually those who can probably least afford it. Can you please explain why you feel this discriminatory fee structure has been applied rather than a sweeping fee? To me it is basically saying that you are happy to penalise those with less money, is this correct?[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Website Content - 'Free' Services[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]bankofireland.com/personal/current-account/fees-and-charges/[/font]



[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Free fee everyday Banking[/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]
Enjoy transaction fee free banking with our Current Account range.  With a Bank of Ireland UK current account the following services are FREE of charge, no matter how many times you use them:[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Lodging and withdrawing cash in branches[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Making payments online, on the phone and in shops using your debit card in the UK[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Withdrawing cash free of charge from cash machines (ATMs) in the UK, and all Bank of Ireland cash machines in Ireland¹[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Setting up standing orders and direct debits for regular payments[/font]

·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Paying by cheque²[/font]

Bank of Ireland: Tara P

Mick222 wrote: »

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Thanks you for the response. However it has only answered part of my query.[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I still fundamentally disagree with the charge. What it says to me is that the generic way in which Banks make money (lending money at rates higher than the cost of the money they lend) is no longer enough or you are not good enough at it so it was decided to whack a lazy £20 p.a. ‘maintenance fee’ on to accounts to top up your ~€1bn profit. [/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]The fact that you also state that this covers ATM’s and other services such as the Mobile App is also disappointing as this is a service that the majority of banks will provide all of these services (and more to a higher standard also) without any account fees. I’m not sure why fell you can justify a charge when this is offered as part of the service by other Banks, do you feel that your service is above and beyond the general standard and therefore justifies a charge? [/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]If it is these services that BoI feel the charge is justified why do you apply this fee to people who do not use these services. I have not used any ATM, Branch or Online service in the last year yet I have still been charged £20. Again, it feels all a bit lazy and sly. You also state on your website that you provide services free of charge such as ATM use and branch use (copy of website content below). Technically this is incorrect as you have just stated there is a €5 quarterly fee for these services. Is this incorrect? It does not state anywhere on that page that a minimum of €3k is required to get those services for 'free' so I am assuming you are aiming this at all current and potential customers.[/font]



[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Also one of my key questions was why the charge only applied to c[/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]ustomers with an account holding below €3k? What you are basically saying that the charges that you justified in your response (ATM’s etc.) only apply to a certain population of your customer base – and actually those who can probably least afford it. Can you please explain why you feel this discriminatory fee structure has been applied rather than a sweeping fee? To me it is basically saying that you are happy to penalise those with less money, is this correct?[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Website Content - 'Free' Services[/font]


[font=Verdana, sans-serif]bankofireland.com/personal/current-account/fees-and-charges/[/font]



[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Free fee everyday Banking[/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]
Enjoy transaction fee free banking with our Current Account range.  With a Bank of Ireland UK current account the following services are FREE of charge, no matter how many times you use them:[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Lodging and withdrawing cash in branches[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Making payments online, on the phone and in shops using your debit card in the UK[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Withdrawing cash free of charge from cash machines (ATMs) in the UK, and all Bank of Ireland cash machines in Ireland¹[/font]
·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Setting up standing orders and direct debits for regular payments[/font]

·         -[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Paying by cheque²[/font]

Hi Mick222,

Thank you for contacting us here on Boards.ie.

We would like to apologise again that you are unhappy with the quarterly maintenance fee applied to all personal Current Accounts. Just to mention the account maintenance fee is charged on every account regardless of the account balance.

As mentioned in our previous response [font=Arial, sans-serif]the €5 quarterly maintenance fee ensures that we can continue to maintain and build on services we offer to our customers. [/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]In regards to your extract from our website please note that this relates to quarterly fees and charges which are separate to the maintenance fee. See here for more information on this:[/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]https://www.bankofireland.com/fees-and-charges-365-online/ [/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]We will certainly pass on your feedback regarding the quarterly maintenance fee. [/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]Thanks again, [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Tara C[/font]