Consumer Affairs director unhappy with B of I over withdrawals policy

A war of words has broken out between the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, and Bank of Ireland following Ms Foley's decision to seek an explanation from the bank about its newly-introduced restrictions on over-the-counter withdrawals.

From now on, paper withdrawal slips are to be eliminated by the bank for all customers except vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the disabled. In a statement yesterday, Ms Foley questioned why Bank of Ireland had not informed her office about the restriction, despite the two parties having conducted discussions on changes in bank charges over a six-month period.

Bank of Ireland immediately responded to Ms Foley's statement by expressing surprise at the comments, which it said had been made "without any prior discussion with the bank".

Bank of Ireland rejected Ms Foley's assertion that her office had not been informed of the change.

Ms Foley responded in turn, reiterating her view that she had not been told about the restriction in over-the-counter services.

"I was made aware of their intention to differentiate prices in order to encourage people to use electronics rather than paper-based transactions," she said.

"At no stage did they say that they were going to restrict withdrawal services. I feel I did not get the full story."