More than 1,000 customers of ICS Mortgages have seen their credit ratings hit during an 18 month period due to an error made by the lender.
As reported by the Irish Times, the company incorrectly informed the Central Credit Register (CCR), run by the Central Bank of Ireland, that these mortgages were distressed when they were not.
The incorrect data was first submitted in December 2017 but only “fully rectified” by 31 July 2019.
As a result, any customers who attempted to take out credit with another lender from March 2018 – when the register went live – until the correction may have found themselves ineligible to borrow.
A spokeswoman for the company said eight customers had informed the lender that they had been affected by the mistake.
A subsidiary of non-bank lender Dilosk, ICS Mortgages wrote to 1,067 buy-to-let and owner-occupier mortgage-holders informing them of the error.
The paper reported that all of the loans had a rate reduction which was wrongly portrayed to the register as a “restructure event”, suggesting that the loan was in arrears.
The Irish Times added that punishments had not been applied to ICS or Dilosk, but it understood they were in discussion with regulators and the Data Protection Commission.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS