A SECOND-YEAR law student who claims a bank clerk screamed “you have been on Crimeline”, and ran off without serving him, has sued Allied Irish Banks for damages for defamation.
Darren Reid, Slieve Bloom Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that Gráinne Hurley had thrown her hands in the air and screamed when he approached her station.
Ms Hurley, now an assistant manager with AIB in its Grafton Street, Dublin, branch denied such an incident had taken place and the bank has lodged a full denial and defence to Mr Reid’s claim.
Barrister John P Kehoe, for Mr Reid, told Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery that the court would hear that another bank official had approached Mr Reid and told him if he did not leave he would call the guards.
Mr Reid said that on October 15th, 2009, he had gone to the Grafton Street branch with the intention of asking the bank to desist from offering him loan facilities he did not want.
He had joined the queue for the customer service counter and had eventually approached Ms Hurley.
"She looked at me through her fingers and screamed 'I'm not serving you, you have been on Crimeline'," Mr Reid told the court. He said she had run off and had spoken to a colleague. He said he had never been on Crimeline.
He said a man, Hugh Dunlop, had approached him and told him if he did not leave he would call the guards. He had repeated this before Mr Reid left. He said a number of people had overheard what was said.
Ms Hurley said Mr Reid had called to the counter with a mini-statement of his account and had spoken to her about excess charges of €49 connected with his €450 overdraft facility.
She told Gemma Carroll, counsel for the bank, that Mr Reid had become loud, agitated and aggressive and she had asked him to calm down. She had stepped back to speak to Mr Dunlop who had joined them at the counter.
"Mr Reid became very angry, pointed his finger at me and said something which included the word 'slanderisation' but I cannot remember the exact statement," she said. Ms Hurley told the court that at no stage had she spoken the words "you have been on Crimeline" to Mr Reid or said that she was not serving him. The case will continue next week.