Bank of Scotland Difficulties

I've a tracker mortgage with BoSI, and they are proving to be a pain in the neck to deal with. Some of the more major issues....

• All calls must be dealt with through Certus, who administer the accounts on their behalf. However, Certus do not have authority to deal with anything more complicated than an "outstanding balance" query, and every call must be forwarded to a Scottish office...meaning all issues (and Data Protections compliance queries) have to be addressed more than once.
• There is no way to view any information on the account online, nor is there any plan to facilitate this in the future. I've been told, over the phone, that this only applies to "Irish" mortgages.
• They cannot send any information via email. Again there is no plan for this to be implemented any time soon.
• They CAN send stuff by snail mail, but experience has taught me that post can take anything from 2 - 5 weeks to arrive.
• They can also send stuff via fax, provided I, and all names on the account, sign an undertaking that we are fully responsible for anything sent by BoS. My name and my ex-GF's name are on the mortgage account, but her mother acted as guarantor at the time, so her name is also on the account. Getting this signature will not be possible.
• There is no way to pay off chunks of the mortgage, or increase monthly payments, unless I save the cash and transfer it to the mortgage account in batches of €1000.
• I asked if I could escalate my issues to senior management, and was given a generic postal address (again no emails) to send it into. That was in early May and I've received no response.

The '3 names on the mortgage account' issue had a nasty by-product whereby there was only space on their computerised system for X number of letters, so my name didn't make it onto their system. This meant I could not speak to anybody, about anything, for a number of years as I was not a named account holder.


I have only just successfully managed to have a permanent note added to the account to say that I am actually responsible for taking out the mortgage. It required being on hold for approximately 1/2 an hour while the operative physically pulled the mortgage file from the bank vault and confirmed my information, as they would neither call me back nor give me a number to call myself.


Basically, I get the impression that they are losing money on these mortgages, so are not willing to expend any resources on the accounts. Every time I have a small query or need any documentation, it requires a phone call (during business hours) and possibly a 3 week wait for the post to arrive. I've had instances of account statements being too out of date for usage by the time they arrive. It is also, quite frankly, absurd that a mortgage that is due to expire in the late 2030s cannot be viewed over the internet.


So, what are my options? Can I complain about this kind of behaviour to anybody over this side of the Irish Sea, or is it a case of 'tough luck'?

Carawaystick

Are BoSI regulated in Ireland or the uk?
Have they any office in Ireland?

Thanks for the response.


I'm unsure, tbh, whether it's here or over in the UK that they would be regulated. I assumed that, seeing as they are still in operation here (even though they are not accepting any new custom) that Irish rules and regulations would be in effect, and they would still fall under the umbrella of Irish banking legislation. Is this not the case?


I've emailed a complaint on to their head office, as it seems the regulatory bodies insist that this be carried out before they can do anything.

Carawaystick

If they have an office here, you have a much stronger hand. If they are in Scotland, that's the weakest hand, as the legal system in Scotland is different to england or here.

They sure are loosing money on mortgages, which is why they're closed down, except they can't close out the mortgage loans.

I'd only deal with a bank by post anyway, you just get ground down over the phone with the bank's protocol.

Are the letters dated? and are the dates 2-5 weeks ago when they are received? or are the responses delayed and the letter is dated 2 days ago to a query 5 weeks ago? if you know what I mean?

I'm not sure I see why you need online access ot a mortgage? I get a statement every year with 12 months payments on it. what's the issue?