The couple, represented by Kenny Solicitors, argue this assumption of when they became aware was “unfair and unreasonable”. However, the ombudsman said the couple had been on notice of issues relating to their suitability for the mortgage in 2011 after a consultation with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). The couple maintain they only became aware the loan was mis-sold to them after consulting Mr Hoey in 2019.
The couple also allege IIB did not exercise proper care in assessing their ability to repay.Īccording to legal filings, the couple sought to have the matter investigated by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) but were told their complaint was out of time.īy law, complaints can be made to the ombudsman no more than six years after the date of the conduct giving rise to the complaint or no more than three years after an alleged victim became aware of the conduct. They say IIB had granted an exemption from the normal practice whereby lending institutions require borrowers to have life cover and if this had been required, it would have flagged their unsuitability for the loan. Soon they were in severe financial difficulty and under pressure to sell their home. The couple was unable to get additional credit in Portugal and ended up losing the deposits they put down on two apartments. The 13-year mortgage, secured against their family home, was given even though Mr Baynes was aged 62 and unemployed at the time, while his wife, then 57, had an income of just €2,000-a-month. Joseph and Ann Baynes, from Dundrum, Dublin, were given a loan of €150,000 by IIB Homeloans, a subsidiary of KBC Bank. He claims the ombudsman is taking too long to consider complaints and is rejecting too many of them on the basis they are deemed outside of time limits. The couple are being advised by Ben Hoey, of Quartech, a former Merrill Lynch and Bank of Ireland executive who is helping people who were mis-sold mortgages to claim compensation.