Ulster Bank letter “an insult”

Speaking at the monthly meeting of Banbridge District Council last Monday, Councillor Marie Hamilton said the £20 being offered by the bank was “not good enough”.

Hundreds of local people were affected by the breakdown of the bank’s computer system and in a letter to Banbridge District Council chief executive, Liam Hannaway, Ulster Bank group chief executive, Jim Brown, conveyed an “unreserved apology” for the inconvenience caused to ratepayers.

In the letter, Mr Brown refers to a “complex issue” but gave assurances that no-one would be “out of pocket” and that credit ratings would be unaffected.

However, Mrs Hamilton said the letter was an “insult” and the compensation scheme was derisory.

The £20 scheme has generally been lambasted by customers after the bank revealed it would pay just £20 (£25 Euros) to compensate for the technical problems which left thousands unable to withdraw cash or access their accounts for several weeks.