Ulster Bank customers, I beg you, move now or you could be left locked out of your savings

Although I’ve already opened a new account elsewhere, I’ve decided to keep my Ulster Bank account open as well in case I’ve missed something. A stray direct debit or a regular card charge that I forgot and can check from time to time to make sure it’s ok. I have no intention of closing my account until I absolutely have to or until it’s done for me.

But I appeal to those customers who have not yet done what is necessary, while sharing your pain at what lies ahead, to switch accounts because if not, you could find every outgoing card, let alone yours Savings that are becoming inaccessible and believe me, this is getting worse.

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To update

The central bank has overseen the resolution of the Ulster Bank.

The last thing it wants is for thousands of customers to drift away while the country’s fourth-largest banking organization disappears.

To date, 38 percent of accounts have been closed entirely.

However, the three remaining banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB) opened over 800,000 new accounts, twice as many closed. I’m on this number – I opened a new account but kept my Ulster account as well. You don’t want that, but it’s a perfectly reasonable approach in my opinion.

That means their messages are getting through, but they worry it’s not fast enough.

Ulster Bank will actively close or rebrand branches from January.

Of the 447,733 accounts remaining open at Ulster Bank, 55 per cent are considered “primary”; This means they are active with a lot of usage and may be the only ones a customer has.

Of the new accounts opened with other providers, 58 percent were online, the rest in a branch. I did both because the online way wasn’t working – for some reason my ID didn’t want to be uploaded which resulted in me having to wait for an appointment to complete the process. Scheduling branch appointments takes over a week.

Even if it’s the last thing on your mind in the run-up to Christmas, not switching can result in missing out on vital payments like welfare or pensions. If your employer transfers your salary to a closed account, it will simply be credited back to them.

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What’s next?

Customers notified by Ulster Bank in April (the first phase) will have their accounts frozen from this month and fully closed by the end of December.

They start with clients who are considered to be ‘unreliable’, ie who are suspected to already have another account but are also continuing the old one. I guess I am – I’ll let you know. The bank says 70 percent of customers have either closed or “materially shut down” operations.

The next wave are those customers (retail and business customers) with six or more transactions in the last 30 days or those on social security benefits.

Then there are those who receive an incoming payment of more than €125 a month because it could be a wage or a pension.

They have agreed not to freeze any more accounts between December 9th and January 6th.

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store closures

Twenty-five branches are grouped into Permanent TSB – you should be notified if yours is one of them (see panel).

Otherwise, the branch will simply be closed. After that you will no longer have access to staff, ATMs, accommodation or personal advice.

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What to do

If you’re worried about your account being frozen and haven’t managed to move it elsewhere yet, you can contact Ulster Bank on 0818 210 260 or 1800 656 001, particularly if you identify yourself as ‘vulnerable Customers, meaning someone who would consider needing additional help or assistance with switching accounts.

They have a team of people willing to help customers migrate.

Fraud

As at any other time, customers are reminded that scams and scammers abound

They love to take advantage of people and their money. So never click on a link that asks you to “verify” your account. Real banks don’t do that. They also don’t ask you to “verify” or verify PIN codes, passwords, or account details.

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final steps

For any remaining customers who have not received the message and who the bank is unable to contact, frozen accounts will be moved to closed accounts.

This will be done within 30 days and any funds remaining in it will be sent in the form of a check to the customer’s last known address, less any late fees.

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Stay smart to grab a bargain

This week is Black Friday, closely followed by Cyber ​​Monday.

I’m not sure how this all started, but I’m pretty sure we can blame the Americans!

Anyway, it can be a great time to snag a bargain, especially when it comes to electronics and gadgets, but the only way to be sure of a discount is to know what the item costs first.

So now is the time to research what you want to snag. Here are my other tips:

• Find out what the price is today and by Friday you’ll know if the deal is legit. Turn on notifications for sites you want to follow, but clear them afterwards!
• Don’t be tempted to buy too much. If you weren’t going to get it anyway, then it’s no bargain to have, even at a lower price.
• Also, be aware of return policies in stores. I hear from many readers who believe they have a “right” to give back whatever they want, but that’s definitely not the case.

Whilst you have legal rights to return damaged or unserviceable items, this does not extend to items that are perfectly fine. It’s up to the shop’s individual rules, and many are using Black Friday as a way to slam up old merchandise that they definitely don’t want to take back this side of Christmas.

The only exception are goods purchased online; This way you have a right of return within 14 days of delivery for any reason, but you may have to pay postage to send it back to the company.

And finally, remember that Brexit is still the elephant in the business: UK shops don’t have to abide by these or any other consumer rules as they were created by the EU. I just stopped shopping there.

Credit unions set a cap on savings

You may have received bad news from your local credit union.

Many of them have been forced to limit the amount of savings members can have.

Since many of these are pensioners with lump sum pensions, some could be precluded from having more in their accounts.

This is because credit unions need to reserve (keep liquid) more of their deposits than banks, and also because many chronically under-credit.

The best bet is to find another home for excess savings, and that could mean placing them with a mainstream bank. They charge no fees for deposit accounts and do not limit what is in them. Government Savings offer bonds and certificates, but they can tie up your money.

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