Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses place a lot of emphasis on engagement with the banks and have argued that customers should engage with the banks. To follow on from what the Chairman said, I know of an individual who tried to engage with his bank. It was a buy-to-let case. The rent he received was paying the interest but it was not paying any of the capital. He got a letter saying that he was going to put into receivership. He tried to engage with the bank and visited his local bank manager who told him he could do nothing about it and had nothing to do with it. The man could not make out the signature on the letter that came to him so he was completely frustrated. He could not deal with the bank. Eventually, he had to try to get an intermediary to work on his behalf. His treatment by the bank was outrageous. A man who wanted to engage could not engage.