Pricewatch reader queries: The Ulster Bank account that refuses to go away

A reader called Roseanna has for years been “receiving statements from Ulster Bank that just keep adding interest on to interest on an account that I tried to close years ago”.

Over a period of several years her wages were paid into the account, and she paid a direct debit for her health insurance out of it as well. She decided to change accounts, and so there wasn’t a lot of money in it when the health insurance company looked for its direct debit of €94 or so.

“I paid the direct debit myself by credit union cheque to the health insurance company, and went to the bank and told them that I wanted to close the account,” she writes. “They wouldn’t close it because I did not have any identification with me.”

She then wrote to the bank and asked it to close the account, but it remained open, and she started getting bills “for the amount of the bounced direct debit plus interest and interest and interest. I got so fed up with this that recently I went into the bank with €100 and identification and asked to speak to the manager.”

She sat down with him and explained what happened and offered to pay €100 to clear the account, “but he wouldn’t take it and told me he would look into the matter and get back to me. Since then I have not heard from him, and, when I called in to see him after receiving the usual interest-added-on notice, he wasn’t available. I’m sick to death of seeing the envelopes from Ulster Bank coming in my letterbox”.

We contacted the bank and were told that it “always has to properly identify a customer in order to make changes to their account or for transactions in our branches. We ask for ID when a customer is seeking to close their account.”

A spokesman said the bank had “a rigorous complaints process in place and it is designed to ensure that customers receive a fair outcome. In this instance, we don’t have a record of the customer’s complaint. However, we want all our customers to be very satisfied with the service they receive from us, and we have contacted the customer to assist with their request.

Ulster Bank takes customer satisfaction very seriously. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Paying a high price for Ticketmaster services

A reader has been in touch about Ticketmaster.

“I’m wondering have you ever queried why the service charge is so high, particularly when all they have to do is email a ticket to me? And I would also like to know why it seems to be a percentage of the ticket price and not just a set rate per ticket purchased?”

He points out that if he buys a ticket at a price of €33.15, the service charge is €4.15, but if he buys a ticket at €36, the charge rises to €4.50.

We have queried the Ticketmaster service charge. In fact, we have queried it on many occasions on behalf of many readers who can’t understand how the company can charge so much for, apparently, doing so little. We have also suggested in the past that, if it must impose a service charge, could it not at least impose it on each transaction rather than each individual ticket. A person buying six tickets for some concerts could end up having to fork out almost €40 in service charges.

Ticketmaster always offers a robust response. It says its per-ticket service charges are its “main income”, and the cost is always agreed in consultation with the client, who is the organiser of the event.

“This fee contributes to our credit/debit card processing services, merchant fees and distribution costs and also helps pay for the technology – including installation and maintenance of computer hardware and software, telephone lines – plus the associated labour in addition to access control at venues, which make it possible to provide the most convenient, and safest, ticket-buying options available.”

Its service charge is 12.5 per cent of the ticket’s face value, with a minimum of €1.50 up to a maximum of €6.85.

The charges seem high to Pricewatch, but no matter how frequently we highlight it, the company has shown no inclination to change its policy.