Friday, September 6, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
A reminder. See details below.
“The book will be launched this coming Saturday (7th. September), in Cork at St. Finbarrs GAA Club, Togher, Cork. Talks/presentations/readings start at 2pm., aiming to finish up by 5pm.”
The book "Irish Life And Me" ... Printed copies can be ordered here: www.IrishLife.eventbrite.com/
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Previously the blog mentioned a new book being launched by the Common Law Society of Ireland. It is based on real experiences with troubled bank, Permanent TSB. The book will be launched in St. Finbarrs GAA Club, Togher, Co. Cork - Sat. 7th. September - 2pm to 5pm.
The public meeting will also feature an update regarding the ongoing litigation against the household charge and property tax.
Friday, August 2, 2013
It has been brought to our attention that Ulster Bank is preparing to send out over 3,000 summonses this coming weekend and another 1,000 + the following weekend. Other banks are likely to follow this. This follows the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013.
The Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruling has been mentioned on the blog previously and this Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013 removes this protection and will target thousands of family homes in Ireland.
Our message is not to lose hope or surrender your home. You can visit the website of The Common Law Society, who are happy to assist you in guiding, directing and educating people in keeping their homes and businesses. Their website is www.thecommonlawsociety.com
There is also People for Economic Justice. Their website is www.peopleforeconomicjustice.com
Debt Options http://www.debtoptionsireland.com/
Anti-Eviction Taskforce https://www.facebook.com/AntiEvictionTaskforce
Thursday, July 25, 2013
http://www.galwaybayfm.ie/component/k2/item/1973-city-property-auction-resumes-following-protest
THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2013 17:40
City property auction resumes following protest
Galway Bay fm newsroom - A property auction has now resumed in the city after it had to be temporarily abandoned due interruptions from protestors.
Up to 20 protestors entered the auction room and disrupted proceedings shortly after the event got underway at 3 this afternoon.
One property was sold before proceedings were temporarily suspended for half an hour, leaving 18 properties on the list.
It follows a similar protest in Dublin earlier this month where Allsop Space was forced to cancel its event.
The group held the demonstration to highlight concerns over the sale of some houses which they claim were repossessed.
Auctioneer Colm O'Donnellan assured the protestors that 90 per cent of the properties were private sales, not bank sales
Shortly after this exchange further discussion then took place between the protestors and the auctioneers and it was agreed to remove two receiver sales from the list.
Gardaí remain at the scene of the auction in the Harbour Hotel in the city.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Regarding the acts and other points of information contact the Common Law Society or Debt Options.
MICHAEL BRENNAN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR – 17 JULY 2013
BANK customers who feel they have been harassed by their banks over their mortgage arrears have been urged to use a little-known power to make complaints to the Gardai.
It came after leading psychiatrist Ivor Browne said he had written to banks on behalf of financially stressed patients telling them he will hold them responsible in the event of a patient's suicide
In the Seanad, Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins said that bank customers had a right to complain about unfair pressure from banks under the 1997 Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Person Act.
“They do not have a right to destroy people’s lives and that of their families by exerting pressure on a daily basis,” she said.
Under the act, it is an offence for a bank representative to demand the repayment of a debt so frequently that they would cause “alarm, distress or humiliation” for the householder or their family. The penalty on conviction is a fine of €1,905. However, there has been only one conviction under this section of the act between 2003 and 2009.
Speaking afterwards to the Irish Independent, Ms Higgins said it provided an extra layer of protection for bank customers - on top of the restrictions on phone calls and visits in the code of conduct for banks.
“Anybody can walk to their garda station and make a complaint that they are being harassed by their bank. It’s a decision that will be made by the Gardai based on the number of phone calls and visits,” she said.
However, Ms Higgins said there had been a low level of prosecutions under this section of the act so far.
“We are very shy at enforcing the law in Ireland,” she said.
The Master of the High Court has previously warned that the banks are driving some borrowers who can not pay their debts to suicide. Ed Honohan, brother of Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan, said he had dealt with several debt cases where the borrowers had subsequently taken their own lives.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Two vitally important pieces of information. Download, Share, Print Off, Use them.
http://www.attackthetax.com/downloads/LegalNoticeToBank.pdf
http://www.attackthetax.com/downloads/LegalNoticeToEmployer.pdf
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Comment: Thought and Action stated before that not all bankers are banksters but speak to the person at the customer service desk of your local bank and they will go white with fear when asked about certain topics about banking. Others will stare at you with a blank face. The reality is that banks and bankers have blood on their hands.
The stark reality is that people must fight. Many will keel over. Sadly many people have killed themselves. This is never the moral thing to do. It is a David v Goliath battle but many are fighting the banks. It is important to remember a person is not alone. Support is available.
The “help” the banks are offering is in reality smoke and mirrors. Your ‘friendly’ and ‘caring’ bank manager knows the swindle of modern banking, they know the menace of banking, and these bankers have entire nations and people enslaved in debt. The politicians are the glove puppets of the Usurers.
See article below
Campaigner accuses banks of adding to suicide crisis
A man who lost two brothers to suicide has accused banks of contributing to the suicide crisis.
Suicide prevention campaigner Pat Buckley, a co-founder of the Let’s Get Together Foundation in Midleton, Co Cork, made his comments as he staged a graphic dawn protest on Cork’s St Patrick’s Bridge yesterday.
He said lending institutions “have blood on their hands” for putting pressure on people crippled by debt and already struggling to cope with the recession.
“People just can’t cope anymore,” said Mr Buckley. “The lending institutions in this country are pressuring people struggling under huge debts.
“Family members are struggling with mortgages and debt. That’s what’s killing people now. And the Government isn’t doing enough to help.”
Mr Buckley has lost two brothers to suicide. Mark took his own life in Jun 2002 aged 30, and James took his life in Sept 2003 aged 22. They are buried side by side in Midleton.
Moved by their deaths, Mr Buckley helped set up the Let’s Get Together Foundation — a voluntary suicide support group that has helped fund counselling for hundreds of people.
However, he said he has seen little or no improvement in national suicide rates. “It’s actually getting worse,” said Mr Buckley. “We reckon it’s now nearly four people a day who take their own lives.
“And we think the suicide figures are way above what is reported. My actions today were borne out of sheer frustration at the lack of an adequate State response to the problem. We really need to get people talking about it to normalise it and to find a solution.”
He was joined by Galway man Colm Farrell, who completed the 32 County Suicide Awareness Walk last week after almost four months on the road.
“I walked through villages and towns in every county and met a lot of families affected by suicide,” said Mr Farrell.
“I heard their stories and they told me that nothing is being done in this country about the problem.”
Meanwhile, Mad Pride Ireland has launched an independent fellowship based on the 12-step approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous to try to deal with the suicide crisis.
Suicide Anonymous Ireland will host its first meeting at the SMA community centre in Wilton, Cork City, at 8pm on Friday.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The sale of the PTSB Finance Ltd Loan Book was previously mentioned on Thought and Action. We share with you this post from Awaken Longford. Do share with your contacts and friends.
http://awakenlongford.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/the-banks-said-it-was-ok-question-everything/
March 21, 2013 · by austbe · in Bankster News, The Courts
With regard to the former PERMANENT TSB FINANCE LTD which we know was the subsidiary of Permanent TSB whose business was , in the main, Car Loan Facilities.
Any person who had dealings with PERMANENT TSB FINANCE LTD would have received a letter in January this year which attempted to explain the effect of the sale of the Loan Book of PERMANENT TSB FINANCE LTD to DEUTSCHE BANK last year, in this letter you would have read, and I quote:
“We write to notify you that PERMANENT TSB FINANCE LTD has sold all rights, title, interests and benefits (including all present and future amounts owing to it) in respect of your Facility and all rights relating to you Facility to CONSUMER AUTO RECEIVABLES FINANCE LIMITED with effect from the 24 December 2012″.
This letter went on state that you the consumer, did not have to do anything, simply make your payments in the normal way.
Yesterday in Longford Circuit Court, at a Registrar’s Court, which for those who are not familiar with the Courts, is a Court which arranges cases to be heard at the next sittings of Longford Circuit Court which in this case is during the last two weeks of April 2013, a case between PTSB FINANCE LTD and a local person which has been ongoing for some time was called again, the solicitor for PTSB FINANCE LTD spoke first and expressed the wish that the case be called on as PTSB FINANCE LTD was very anxious to get the case on, the “defendant’s” representative, a lay person, expressed a serious confusion based on the wording shown above and PTSB FINANCE LTD’s failure to respond to any correspondence from the “defendant” despite repeated attempt’s to communicate. The “defendants” representative expressed concern that while the “defendant” was in no better a position to proceed due to the lack of communication with the “plaintiff” than and since the last appearance at a registrar’s court in 2012, the issue is now further compounded by the fact that the “plaintiff” does not appear to have any standing in the Court by virtue of the statement made, in absolutely unambiguous language, in the letter referred to above, in short, why are PTSB FINANCE LTD pursuing this matter as an injured party when they clearly state that they are no longer an injured party!
The “defendant” maintains that while there might well be an entity out there who allege’s they are due money on the basis of this facility, that unknown entity was not in Court!
PTSB FINANCE LTD solicitor had to ask for some time to contact the solicitor in Dublin who was dealing directly with the case for instructions, he returns some ten minutes later to inform the Court that he was no wiser as neither he nor the firm in Dublin had any instructions on how to proceed based on the matters raised by the “defendant” and as such they were not ready,(as they stated some twenty minutes earlier) to proceed! The matter has been left in the list until at least October 2013 and we shall watch this one closely!
The following is, in layman’s terms, the situation following the sale of PTSB Finance Ltd Loan Book in 2012:
The loan book was sold to DEUTSCHE BANK who set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called CONSUMER AUTO RECEIVABLES LIMITED where all the loans are located now, at the same time PTSB FINANCE LTD sold the business platform of PTSB FINANCE LTD to the former Managers of PTSB FINANCE LTD and they set up a new company called FIRST CITIZEN FINANCE LTD who were then appointed as the “servicer” (debt collector) of the loan book on behalf of CONSUMER AUTO RECEIVABLES LIMITED.
These loans were sold at a stated 18% discount and FIRST CITIZEN FINANCE LTD will continue to collect 100% of the outstanding Facility, therein is the financial incentive for all concerned.
It is worth noting that the sale of the loan book took place to improve the Tier 1 Capital Reserves of PTSB proper, this makes me wonder was the bottom of the barrel exposed again? and does it remain exposed regardless of their statements to the contrary.
Anybody who has received one of these letters should question the legality of these third parties to collect, after all they are simply debt collection agencies which you have not agreed or consented to do business with!
How many people are paying because they didn’t read the letter properly or only saw the ” you do not have to do anything” part and said to themselves “phew” thank god, I don’t have to do anything! This is what the bank relies on and you have given them tacit consent!
QUESTION EVERYTHING!!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
News from Tralee.
20 FEBRUARY 2013
THEY came from Killorglin, Ballybunion, Listowel and, of course, Tralee, last Sunday to voice their anger at the Government's continued policy of paying back bank debt.
The first 'Tralee Says No' march, modelled on the 'Ballyhea Says No' protests which has been going for over two years in the north Cork village, took place at 11am on Sunday outside the Kerry County Council buildings.
A respectable number of about 60 people took part in the walk and organisers said that they were happy with the turnout. Carrying banners, the group marched from the county buildings down to the roundabout at the Mile Height and back around again in a protest which took about 15 minutes to complete.
"It's a good start, I'm so pleased that there's so many new people I don't know here," said co-organiser Geraldine Nolan, from Cahermoneen in Tralee. "Ballyhea started small so we're hoping as we go on that more people will join us on Sunday mornings," she said.
Her sister and co-organiser, Mary Tobin, from Fenit, spoke to the crowd assembled after the march.
"Every Sunday we'll be here walking until the Government get it into their heads that the people of Ireland did not go mad and it's not our debt," she said.
"In simple terms, the bully in the schoolyard will always get away with it as long as everyone else does nothing. We need to send the message to the Government that we're not having it. There are a lot of people at home who see no hope but I'll tell you this much 'Tralee says No'."
Speaking to The Kerryman afterwards, Mary said the turnout was encouraging.
"We're delighted with the turnout. We were expecting just the ten of us but as you can see there's a lot of people who have wised up that it's not their debt and it's not their children's debt."
When asked why people tend not to protest in large numbers about such issues Mary offered her opinion.
"I don't know what it is about protesting in this country, is it that they think their neighbours are judging them? Nobody is judging them and they shouldn't be afraid to come out and protest. If not for your country, for your children," she said.
The protests will continue every Sunday morning at 11am outside Kerry County Council buildings in Rathass.
Namawinelake has this article in relation to troubled bank Permanent TSB which is 95.5% owned by the State. Will PTSB be gone by this summer?
February 26, 2013 by namawinelake
Well, Bank of Ireland has prevailed.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has announced this afternoon that that the so-called “Eligible Liabilities Guarantee” scheme will end for all new liabilities from midnight on 28th March 2013. The ELG scheme meant that deposits and bonds and all other money loaned to the banks whilst the ELG was in operation would have a backstop guarantee from the Government, so if the bank failed, then the Government would step in and cover 100% of what was owed to depositors, bondholders and other lenders to banks.
The ELG was provided by the Government but it made a charge for it. Last year,it took in €1,024m in ELG fees after taking in €1,236m the previous year, and guess what? Bank of Ireland which is now only 15%-owned by the Government wasn’t happy with having to hand over so much protection money, when Bank of Ireland felt that it was strong enough to attract deposits and loans without having the ELG in place.
The scheme was supposed to have continued until June 2013, so this announcement this afternoon is a bit of a surprise. It almost certainly means that Bank of Ireland has got its own way with Minister Noonan. There is no explanation today as to why the scheme has been ended earlier than previously.
But what about the other ELG banks – AIB/EBS and Permanent TSB?
The assessment on here is both of these banks are still in difficult straits with the potential for full-blown mortgage crises which threaten to create a wave of new losses. And Permanent TSB isn’t quite a “pillar bank” or at least it wasn’t one of the two “pillar banks” which the Government committed to supporting in March 2011.
So, could there be a Project Orange in the works right now in the Department of Finance to emergency liquidate PTSB, just as Project Red was in the planning pipeline since at least 12th October 2012? Remember that depositors at what was Anglo and Irish Nationwide are today nursing losses of at least €93m following the special liquidation three weeks ago.
But don’t panic. Even after the ELG is withdrawn, your deposits will still enjoy a guarantee of €100,000, and this is backstopped by the Central Bank of Ireland which has a €388m fund for such claims, and that fund is constantly replenished with an annual 0.2% levy by the Central Bank on all deposits in the State.The Department of Finance has issued some guidance notes that may reassure you further.
But if you have deposits of over €100,000, you might want to consider the health or AIB/EBS and PTSB closely, because the view on here is that neither is in the healthiest of states, and that with continuing high unemployment, the prospect of further property price declines, interest rate increases, less income as a result of the property charge, water charges, Croke Park 2 and anaemic domestic growth, both banks might be back looking for further handouts, and there is less than full support from the Government for PTSB in particular.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
TNS Radio is the 1st radio station to interview Tom in relation to his case against AIB.
http://www.tnsradio.com/31/post/2013/02/truthful-irish-special-tom-darcy.html
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Via the alternative media. Full update later
“The means to change,challenge by real people-Well done Tom Darcy.Please share!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Supreme Court of Ireland accepted the serious issues raised by me and the on going investigation by An Garda Siochana into Criminal actions by the AIB established by me. My statement was read out and not even counsel for AIB objected, not surprising the Irish media ignored the biggest thing to happen to this country since the bailout agreement; I’m back in the Supreme Court next Friday and want to thank everyone who attended today. The consequence of what I have initiated will remove the financial burden off every person in this country that entered into a financial agreement with an unlicensed Bank; this is the reality. Now its up to you to get it out to every corner of the World. The Irish Government/ Media DO NOT WANT THIS REPORTED???”
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Namawinelake has this article regarding the bank that is 99.5% owned by the Irish people.
The title is sarcastic really, you’re not going to learn very much.
As is now standard form in Ireland where drunks vote through draconian laws with colossal economic ramifications in the dead of the night, where clowns who oversee €3.7bn errors in the national accounts get promoted to Europe, where one minister seems to be doing his level best to undermine our meat sector, where another is suing a paper over a picture in a midnight bar on Budget week, and another still is suing a paper over what must be the only daub of mud thrown at him in the last year that isn’t true and where the most formidable judge in the land make decisions without access to the laws upon which he is ruling and where state employees take up senior positions in private sector companies which only days previously they had intimately overseen;
As is standard form in such a country, today we bring you details of the disposal of a massive tranche of state assets at the end of 2012, when Permanent TSB, the bank which we now 99.5% own sold car loans and other corporate assets in a deal which netted the tax payer €287m. The loans seemingly had a written-down value in PTSB’s books of €351m, so you, the tax payer shouldered a loss of €64m on that one transaction – nearly three years worth of respite care grants.
In the Dail yesterday, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan fielded a series of questions on the transaction from the Sinn Fein finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty, but really Minister Noonan just batted them away without disclosing anything like the level of detail to give assurance or confidence that the taxpayer wasn’t disadvantaged in the transaction.
So here’s what Minister Noonan won’t tell us (1) the full identity of the buyers (2) the loss on the transaction (3) the identities of the third parties engaged in the transaction and the fees paid (4) the recent trading results of one of the operating units which had 82 staff which was sold to its management. We do find out that the sale was to parties identified by PTSB and wasn’t open to the wider market.
It’s depressing.
The full parliamentary questions and responses are below.
Deputy Pearse Doherty: further to the statement by Permanent TSB in November 2012 confirming that it was selling loans with a value net of provisions and write-offs of €351m at February 2012, if he will identify the beneficial buyer of these loans.
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am informed by Permanent TSB that the majority of the loan assets of Permanent TSB Finance Limited and the entire loan assets of Blue Cube Personal Loans Limited were sold to Consumer Auto Receivables Finance Limited in late 2012. In addition, a small portfolio of largely corporate loans was sold by Permanent TSB Finance Limited to a third party global bank. I am informed by Permanent TSB that the terms of the sale preclude it from providing additional information without the consent of the other parties.
Deputy Pearse Doherty: further to the statement by Permanent TSB, confirming that it was selling loans with a value net of provisions and writeoffs of €351m at February 2012, in return for consideration of €287m, if he will confirm the loss that was booked by PTSB on the transaction; if he will outline the process undertaken by PTSB to dispose of the assets in order to maximize the return on the transaction; and if he will provide a schedule of the recipients, fees, and costs incurred by PTSB on the transaction.
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am informed by Permanent TSB that the loss booked on disposal is subject to audit and will be published in the Bank’s Annual Report which is due to be published in March 2013. Permanent TSB advises that a competitive sales process was undertaken, facilitated by the Bank’s corporate finance advisors. The Bank has informed me that over 20 parties were initially invited to express their interest in acquiring the assets and that multiple bidders were maintained through each stage of the process. I have been informed by Permanent TSB that ultimately exclusivity was offered to the bidder whose offer maximised the return to the Bank. Permanent TSB informs me that the total fees payable to all advisors, for services provided over a 14 month period will be disclosed in the Annual Report.
Deputy Pearse Doherty: further to the statement by Permanent TSB, confirming that it was selling two operating units to management for nominal consideration, if he will provide an outline of the valuations undertaken by PTSB of the two units so as to ensure the sale price was adequate; if he will provide the sales, operating profit, impairments and net profit after tax for the two units for each of the past five years; and if he will further provide the balance sheet for each of the units at 31 December 2011.
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am advised by Permanent TSB that the sale price achieved after a detailed process was recommended by the financial advisers and approved by the Boards of Permanent TSB Finance and Permanent TSB. I am informed by Permanent TSB that the remaining information sought is commercially sensitive. Permanent TSB advises that the financial impact of the sale will be reflected in the Annual Report due to be published in March of this year.
Deputy Pearse Doherty: further to the statement by Permanent TSB, confirming that it was selling two operating units to management for nominal consideration, if he will confirm the number of staff employed at both units and the number of staff being transferred to the buyer of the units; if he will confirm if any redundancies have resulted from the transaction; and, if so, the number and cost of such redundancies.
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: As I previously stated in response to PQ 53111/12 Permanent TSB has advised me that there are 82 employees employed at the two operating units and that all of the staff are being transferred to First Citizen Finance Limited. Therefore no redundancies have resulted from the transaction.
Deputy Pearse Doherty: further to the statement by Permanent TSB, confirming that it was selling loans with a value net of provisions and writeoffs of €351m at February 2012, if he will provide an outline of any other imminent disposals by PTSB.
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am advised by Permanent TSB that no loan book disposals are envisaged by it at this time.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Debt Options, who held a very successful meeting in Thurles last Saturday have a new website. The link is http://www.debtoptionsireland.com/
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Some news regarding the troubled PTSB of which Jeremy Masding is Chief Executive. Communication with banks should be in writing only.
By Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor
Friday January 18 2013
BANKS will be able to visit the homes of people in mortgage arrears unannounced under a change in the rules.
The Central Bank has relaxed its own strict code that limits the contact banks can make with people who have fallen behind with mortgage payments.
Existing rules mean that banks are not allowed to plague a borrower with constant contacts to pressure them into paying up. Banks can only make three unasked-for communications a month – either by letter, phone, visit or email.
Now the Central Bank will allow lenders who have been unable to contact a homeowner in arrears to visit their home unannounced, the Irish Independent has learned.
One of the key requirements of the change is that the visit should "represent a positive experience for the borrower", the Central Bank said of changes to the Consumer Protection Code, a rule book that banks must observe.
"While unsolicited personal visits could be difficult for some borrowers, we believe that a lender should be able to visit the home, where attempts at contact have failed and before deciding to commence legal action," the Central Bank said in an update to the Consumer Protection Code, dated January 3.
The change means such a visit would be on top of the three unasked-for contacts that are already allowed to be made by lenders each month.
Some 136,000 residential mortgage accounts are in some form of arrears.
The rule change comes as Independent TD Stephen Donnelly accused Permanent TSB of harassing an unemployed woman in arrears by telephoning her six times a day even though she has arranged to meet the bank this week.
Mr Donnelly said the Central Bank's rules limited banks to three unsolicited contacts with a customer every month.
The Wicklow and East Carlow TD claimed the woman, who is a constituent, was rung 18 times one day by an automated phone calling system.
The bank was in breach of the Consumer Protection Code and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, he told 'Today With Pat Kenny' on RTE Radio. Fines of up to €25,000 per offence can be imposed if a lender is found to have contravened the code, he said.
But Permanent TSB denied yesterday it had broken the rules. The rules limited it to three successful contacts a month, but in this case it had not been able to contact the woman.
The bank said the borrower was €50,000 in arrears and claimed there had not been any contact with the bank since the summer.
Protections for those in arrears, including a ban on repossessions, do not apply to those who stop co-operating with their bank, the spokesman for Permanent TSB said.
However, the bank did admit that a meeting had been set up by the branch with the homeowner but this had not been communicated to head office, where the automated calls were coming from.
- Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor
Irish Independent
