Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2017
237. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Finance the recourse available to mortgage customers who were not offered the better value tracker mortgages by financial institutions when they took out mortgages; if financial institutions were duty bound to offer trackers to customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46608/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe scope of the Central Bank Tracker Mortgage Examination covers all lenders which sold tracker mortgage accounts, including both for the family home and investment properties, up to the end of 2015:
- that originated on tracker interest rates;
- that had tracker interest rates applied at any stage during the term of the underlying mortgage agreements; and/or
- where the underlying mortgage agreements provided for contractual rights to or options for tracker interest rates at any stage during the term of the agreements.
All tracker mortgage accounts, including staff loans, that fall within this scope are covered by the Examination.
However, subject to compliance with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements, a lender is not obliged to offer any particular mortgage product to a prospective borrower.
The Central Bank issued details on the tracker mortgage Examination in March 2017 and October 2017 which are available at the following link:
https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/tracker-mortgage-examination.
Where a customer is dissatisfied with their lender’s approach in relation to a tracker mortgage issue, the customer has to right to refer a complaint directly to the lender. Lenders have set up dedicated units to deal with complaints and queries in relation to tracker related matters. Details as to how a customer can complain directly to the lender are available on the lender's website. The lender is required to handle all complaints in accordance with the requirements of the Consumer Protection Code. If the customer is not satisfied with the outcome of how their complaint has been dealt with, the customer has the right to make a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman who is the statutory competent authority to deal with individual customer complaints.
