Court dismisses woman's bankruptcy annulment bid after overcharged mortgage repayments

However, the annulment application was not a matter in which the court had the jurisdiction to rule in Ms Dennis's favour.

The difficulty, in this case, the judge said, was that the reasons for seeking to set aside the bankruptcy, including that the bank had wrongly overcharged her on her mortgage repayments, lie outside of the bankruptcy process.

Bank of Ireland only admitted its error after Ms Dennis's discharge as a bankrupt, the judge said.

Any redress sought by Ms Dennis against the bank "lies elsewhere", the judge added.

Ms Dennis lost her family home, was left financially crippled and personally devastated after being charged over twice what was due on her monthly mortgage repayments between June 2012 and December 2017, to Bank of Ireland.

After obtaining financial advice, Ms Dennis successfully petitioned the High Court to be adjudicated a bankrupt in October 2017 and was discharged from her bankruptcy 12 months later.

In 2019 the bank after carrying out a review of her account unreservedly apologised to Ms Dennis for its failure to provide her with a tracker rate on her mortgage at a time she was entitled to one.

Bank of Ireland also withdrew its claim in her bankruptcy of amounts totalling €115,000.

The bank accepted Ms Dennis was entitled to compensation, redress and a refund of interest charged, also acknowledged its error was a factor in her losing her family home at Seaview Terrace, Killala Co Mayo.

In 2015 the bank sought an order from the Circuit Court seeking repossession of her home after she went into arrears and was unable to make repayments sought by the bank so it could sell the property.

Ms Dennis, represented by solicitor Evan O'Dwyer, applied to the Court to have her bankruptcy annulled.

In a written Judgement Ms Justice Pilkington said that Ms Dennis's position was very straightforward.

Had Bank of Ireland not made the error, which it belatedly admitted, Ms Dennis claimed she would have never been put in the position she was in, and would not have self-petitioned for bankruptcy, the Judge said.

However, the judge, while noting the stress and distress that Ms Dennis had endured over a considerable period of time, said that the issues the applicant had with Bank of Ireland were not directly relevant to the annulment application, and did not relate directly to the bankruptcy process.

It was not a matter in which the court could exercise its jurisdiction in her favour, the judge added.

The Judge said it appeared that the court had jurisdiction to reverse abuses of process or fraud. In this case there was no fraud nor an abuse of process.

Another difficulty for the court was Ms Dennis had been discharged from bankruptcy, and section 135 of the 1988 Bankruptcy Act precludes any review, cancellation or variation of an order of discharge.

No case law had been opened to the court that would allow the court annul an order of bankruptcy that has already been discharged, the Judge added.

The Insolvency Service of Ireland, the judge said had acted in accordance with the terms of the 1988 Bankruptcy Act, and had behaved properly in regards to Ms Dennis throughout.

In all the circumstances the court had no option other than to dismiss the application to annul the bankruptcy which the judge held was misconceived.

The court heard Ms Dennis currently rents a property at Killala Road, Ballina Co Mayo.

When she sought to be adjudicated a bankrupt she believed she owed Bank of Ireland some €171,000 on foot of loans taken with the bank. Her then home was valued as being worth €73,000.

She also had additional debts of €66,000 owed to revenue and another bank.

She claims that had she all the relevant information from Bank of Ireland in October 2017 she would not have sought to be adjudicated a bankrupt.