A convenience store owner yesterday said he felt vindicated in his decision to turn down a settlement offer by AIB of €35,000 and proceed with his claim for overcharging when a judge awarded him almost €20,000 in compensation as well as his costs.
The judge strongly criticised the bank for its treatment of Mr Denis Murphy (45), who runs BMC Stores at 2/3 West Beach, Cobh, Co Cork, who declined the €35,000 offer from AIB outside Cork Circuit Court yesterday morning. Instead, Mr Murphy had the satisfaction of hearing Judge James O'Donoghue criticise AIB for its treatment of him.
"In the light of the recent overcharging scandal by AIB, it is timely for the court to show its disapproval. It is regrettable that matters could not have been resolved at the very moment he registered his complaints - in those circumstances, I find that he was wronged," declared Judge O'Donoghue.
Judge O'Donoghue said he was awarding Mr Murphy €5,000 in punitive damages "to discourage further incidents of this sort in the future" along with €5,000 in aggravated damages, while he also ordered the bank to pay back €9,678 which he ruled the bank had overcharged Mr Murphy.
Mr Murphy had claimed that AIB owed him €9,678 for overcharging through both reneging on an agreement to charge him 17p per £100 cash lodged and instead charging him 45p per £100 cash lodged, and overcharging him interest when his account was overdrawn - all over a two-year period between May 6th, 1999 and August 24th, 2001.
Mr Murphy said he had transferred his account from Bank of Ireland in May 1999 following an approach by AIB when it opened beside him in Cobh. He made an arrangement with the then manager, Mr John Glasheen, to be charged the primary rate of 17p rather than the usual fee of 45p per £100 cash lodgement.
But after Mr Gerry Deegan had replaced Mr Glasheen, Mr Murphy noticed an overcharging of about £200. He brought it to Mr Deegan's attention and he was told that it would be rectified. The error was not rectified, however, and further meetings followed with Mr Deegan who told him "in a very abrupt manner" that he had called Mr Glasheen and that Mr Glasheen had no recollection of agreeing a 17p per £100 rate.
"I rang John Glasheen (now at another AIB branch) and he told me he never had any conversation with Mr Deegan about my account," said Mr Murphy who later complained to Mr Deegan's successor, Ms Liz Burns, who told him: "No refunds, no refunds - that is the past, nothing to do with me."
Ms Burns later accepted that there was overcharging and offered to pay him £1,000. AIB regional manager Mr Tom Connolly later met him and offered him £3,000 and then £3,500 but he refused each offer. He estimated that the amount of overcharging totalled £7,500, or €9,687.
Afterwards Mr Murphy - who still banks with AIB - said he had taken the case because he felt the charges were unjustified and he was appalled at the way he had been treated. "I'm delighted with the outcome and I hope this is a wake-up call to AIB in general," he said. He thanked his accountant Mr Donal Healy and solicitor Mr John Boylan for their assistance.
Asked about declining the €35,000 settlement offer, Mr Murphy replied: "I wanted the situation aired not only from the point of view of getting what was justly mine but for people in general.
It shows that a small businessperson or anyone can take on a big company like AIB Bank and come out as winners - it just proves the judicial system does work in this country."
