Not upheld: misinformation about mortgage payment amounts following drawdown complaint against Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs K complained that Bank of Ireland gave her incorrect information about her monthly mortgage payments after she drew down an additional £43,000 in October 2025, resulting in an unexpected payment of £1,422.60 instead of the approximately £300 she believed she would pay. While the ombudsman found that BoI did make an error on the call by not clearly stating payments would increase, the error was corrected in a letter sent shortly after, and Mrs K had been previously advised in August 2025 that additional borrowing would substantially increase her payments. The ombudsman noted that Mrs K had already planned to extend her mortgage term to manage higher payments and that BoI had offered alternative solutions when she raised concerns. The complaint was not upheld, and the ombudsman found the £200 compensation already paid by BoI to be fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While BoI made an error on the October call by not clearly stating that monthly payments would increase, the ombudsman found this mistake was corrected in writing shortly after. The ombudsman placed significant weight on Mrs K's previous conversations with BoI in August 2025, where she demonstrated understanding that additional borrowing would substantially increase payments and had already planned to extend her mortgage term. The ombudsman found it reasonable for Mrs K to expect higher payments given these prior discussions, and noted that BoI had offered alternative solutions when Mrs K raised concerns. The ombudsman concluded that the £200 compensation was fair given the circumstances.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website