She’s not what you’d expect. Phyllis Fahey’s sparkling eyes invite a friendly chat and a nice cup of tea. But underneath the soft exterior you quickly find a woman who is determined to speak out and fight for what’s right.

It all started in February 2005, when a then 70-year-old Phyllis wanted to trade in her car. Her husband wasn’t well and she needed a more reliable motor.

Phyllis chose a new Ford Focus from her local car dealer in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, and handed over a deposit. The garage suggested she use Ford Finance to complete the payment, but Mrs Fahey wanted to take out a car loan with her long-standing bank, Ulster Bank.

Never ask a lady her age
When she phoned her branch in Maynooth, where she had lived before moving to Rathfarnham, the female bank official asked Phyllis to confirm her age.

That was a big mistake. It spawned a disagreement that eventually spent three and a half years before the Equality Tribunal. “I told her I was 70, then she asked me to hold on for a few minutes and when she came back she said ‘I’m very sorry, I’ve just spoken to the manager and he told me that the bank’s policy is they don’t give loans to people over 65’,” explains Mrs Fahey, now 74.

The baffled grandmother explained to the official that she held deposit and mortgage accounts with the bank and that the branch held the deeds to her home, but it was to no avail. The official claimed that her hands were tied and bank policy was final.

Shocked by the outcome of the call, Mrs Fahey and her son, Liam, who witnessed the exchange, initially worried the car deposit might be lost.

But the car dealership refunded the payment, so the determined pensioner set about finding the rest of the money elsewhere.

In search of a fair deal
First she contacted Ford Finance, which confirmed it enforced no such age cut-offs when it came to offering loans. And Mrs Fahey got the same response from her local credit union, which was also happy to offer her the loan.

Eventually she accepted the credit union loan but was too embarrassed to return to the Rathfarnham dealership to reclaim her car. “Since I was refused a loan they might have thought I wasn’t a good customer so I went to another garage in Tallaght and paid for the car there.”

Although she finally had her car, Mrs Fahey was distressed by the whole experience and angered at what she saw as blatant age discrimination. “Sometimes I feel you become invisible after 60. There are lots of times when older people are discriminated against but they’re too nervous to do anything about it.”

But Mrs Fahey wasn’t going to let the matter lie. First she contacted Age & Opportunity. The advocacy group for older people put her in touch with the Equality Authority, which agreed to handle the case. During a mediation hearing, Ulster Bank offered to pay €500 compensation, but Mrs Fahey hadn’t taken the case for monetary gain. Instead she asked the bank to print on each of its statements that it didn’t discriminate against people over 65. When the bank refused, she decided to proceed with the case, which eventually took three and a half years to be decided.

Fighting the good fight
Ulster Bank continued to deny that it had ever imposed any age limit on car loan customers. But the tribunal agreed with Mrs Fahey’s account of events and in 2008 announced a finding of age discrimination under the Equal Status Act. The bank was ordered to pay compensation of €2,000 to Mrs Fahey, but the determined lady was more concerned with the message the verdict sends.

At the time of the ruling she said: “I was thrilled not only for myself but for all older people. I hope this gives other people courage.”

The indefatigable Mrs Fahey has become a bit of a regular on the TV and radio and talk show circuit discussing the many issues affecting older people. Now that the banks are sorted don’t even ask about the sub-standard care she has found in nursing homes!