Ulster Bank takes action to repossess home of elderly Dublin couple

Ulster Bank began legal action to repossess the home of a Dublin couple in their late 70s at the County Registrar's Court yesterday.

The case was one of 15 taken by the Ulster Bank out of a list of 20 repossession cases.

Counsel for the couple said his clients had been living in their home “for upwards of 41 years”. They had financial difficulties and had come to an arrangement with the bank, which they continued to honour. The couple had appointed a solicitor, yet the bank had sent the paperwork to repossess their home directly to them.

He said the couple, who were not present in court, were "crying out for dialogue" with the bank, but the bank was refusing to talk to them. He claimed the bank had not complied with the code of conduct for dealing with people in mortgage arrears.

Code of conduct

County registrar Patricia Casey said the bank must comply with the code of conduct. And if a solicitor is acting for a client, all correspondence must go to the solicitor, she said, and not to the individual’s home. She adjourned the case until January.

In a separate case, also taken by the Ulster Bank, a man attended court on behalf of his son and described his situation as “hopeless”.

His son was psychotic and bi-polar, he said. At the time he took out his mortgage, he had been working in IT and was fully capable of repaying it, but now was “incapable of dealing with life”.

Ms Casey adjourned the case to January and advised the man to talk to the bank’s solicitors.