Sometimes you may need someone to help you manage your mortgage or loan. For example, you might want support in dealing with repayments or doing paperwork. You could get extra help from what is called ‘a third party’. For example, a third party could be a family member, a trusted friend or a professional advisor.
Different types of support are available, depending on your circumstances. See below for more information on getting extra support when you need it.
There may be times when you need additional help to manage your mortgage or loan – either for a limited period or all the time.
For example, when you:
You can get support from someone you know or from a professional adviser, such as a solicitor or financial adviser.
You can choose to have someone support or act for you in different ways, depending on what you need. The following sections tell you about different types of supporters and how they can help you.
Each item below links to a section further down this page
Always be careful when seeking or accepting offers of financial advice online or through social media.
Be aware of approaches from so-called professional people falsely presenting themselves as qualified financial advisers and offering debt management or debt clearance services for a fee.
Seeking help from advisers who are not properly qualified may mean you receive advice that is misleading or not suitable for your circumstances.
In some cases, people who are falsely claiming to be financial advisers may be trying to obtain your personal information or money by fraud.
If you have doubts about any communications you have received, please contact us directly. We’re here to help.
If you have missed mortgage or loan repayments (you are in arrears) or if you are worried about missing future repayments, you can appoint someone to deal with us on your behalf. This could be a family member, a friend or a professional such as an adviser from MABS (the Money Advice and Budgeting Service).
They are known as an authorised third party. Their role is to communicate directly with us and help you manage or pay off your arrears or avoid getting into arrears.
They may:
Please ensure the form is signed by all borrowers who wish to appoint this person to act on their behalf.
A trusted contact person is someone you choose. They give us permission to contact them in particular situations to help us look after your interests.
We may contact your trusted contact person if we:
Your trusted contact person:
If we need to contact your trusted contact person, we may share limited confidential information with them. However, we will not involve them in any legal or financial matters relating to your account.
To appoint a trusted contact person, you can:
You can appoint one or more people, known as decision supporters, to help you make decisions about your mortgage or loan. Depending on what you want or need, they can:
Help you make decisions, or
Make decisions jointly with you, or
Make decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so
You can get information on the different types of decision support arrangements on the Decision Support Service (DSS) website. You can also contact them by:
Phone: +353(01)2119750 or
Email: queries@decisionsupportservice.ie
If you decide to appoint a decision supporter to help you deal with your mortgage, please send us a copy of the decision support arrangement.
These arrangements are monitored by the DSS. They register decision support arrangements and supervise decision supporters.
Under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, there are 3 main types of decision supporters:
If you need help understanding or weighing up certain decisions, you can appoint someone you trust as a decision-making assistant by making a formal agreement. The assistant can help you find and understand information, think through your options and let other people know your decisions.
Find out more at Decision-making assistance agreement. This is external website and opens in a new window.
If you cannot make certain decisions alone, you can make a co-decision-making agreement with someone you trust, such as a friend or family member. This agreement allows you to make decisions jointly with them. You will both sign any legally binding documents together.
Find out more at Co-decision-making agreement. This is external website and opens in a new window.
If you can no longer make certain decisions even with support, the court may appoint a decision-making representative to act on your behalf. They can only make decisions listed in the court order and must always consider your wishes.
Find out more at Decision-making representation order. This is external website and opens in a new window.
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) allows you to give someone you trust the authority to act on your behalf if you become unable to make decisions in the future. This is called losing capacity.
This person, known as your attorney, can make decisions about your personal welfare, property and financial matters. It is important to note that an EPA can be a family member and does not need to be a lawyer.
Find out more at Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). This is external website and opens in a new window.
You may want someone to act on your behalf for a different matter – that is not related to arrears – such as paying off your mortgage in full or selling your property. This person could be a family member, a friend or a professional such as a solicitor, accountant or financial adviser.
They are known as a general authorised third party, and they can:
If there is more than one borrower, each borrower can appoint their own general authorised third party.
If you wish to appoint a general authorised third party to look after a specific matter (other than arrears), you will first need to authorise them. To do this, you can:
Please ensure the form is signed by all borrowers who wish to appoint this person to act on their behalf.
In certain circumstances, you can appoint someone to act for you in certain legal matters by creating a general Power of Attorney. This could be a person you know or a professional adviser, such as a solicitor. The appointed person is known as your attorney, even if they are not a lawyer.
It is recommended that you get independent legal advice if you are thinking of appointing an attorney in this way.
If you create a general Power of Attorney relating to your mortgage, please send us a copy so we can work with the appointed person as outlined in the document.
You can find more information on the Citizens Information website at Agency agreements, trusts, and ordinary powers of attorney. This is external website and opens in a new window.
.png?width=280&height=112&name=Phaidon%20%20Logos%20(1).png "Home page")