Unsound Unsound:
This really is unfortunate. I switched to RBC from CIBC about 5 years ago and I've never been happier with a bank. The customer service I've had from my branch has been above and beyond on numerous occasions.
I know that things aren't always as black and white as this article makes it seem, but I will be following this story, and talking to other banks if they really are just replacing canadians with foriegners for no good reason. I just worry that it won't be more than a couple years bfore there aren't any better choices...
I know that things aren't always as black and white as this article makes it seem, but I will be following this story, and talking to other banks if they really are just replacing canadians with foriegners for no good reason. I just worry that it won't be more than a couple years bfore there aren't any better choices...
Really? I got a pair of bad stories to share about them.
My personal experience with them I had a little awhile ago, when I was still in Petawawa (it was the Pembroke branch). I had to make a deposit to someone else's bank account to cover the cost of my horses board. Before the teller allowed me to make the deposit, I had to provide her with an email, phone number, address, date of birth, yadda yadda yadda yadda. THEN I was allowed to give the account number I was depositing too. For the life of me couldn't figure out why.
![[huh]](./images/smilies/icon_scratch.gif "huh?"){kind=icon}
About a month or so goes by and they started calling me, telling me I had paperwork to finish to activate my account. I told them to stick it, this continued for another month or so. Then the phone calls went from me needing to finish off paperwork for an account to owing the bank fees for this account, backdated to when I first "opened" it.
Getting them to realise this was their error, not mine was a bit of an ordeal. First I had to prove that I didn't sign the paperwork, which conveniently was missing. Then I had to prove that I didn't initiate the process to open an account. Never did get around to it (really how could I prove I didn't do something?). Eventually they just stopped calling. So I'm assuming someone there either figured out that they fucked up, or the 60 dollars wasn't worth their time.
The other happened to a friend of mine here in Wainwright. Not my story, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Basically she was attempting to liquidate investments, no small amount either. A transaction that was supposed to take 2 weeks (RBC wouldn't allow an instant-transfer due to the amount), took 6 weeks. The person who handles these specific types of funds alleged it was a "busy" time of year, and never called her back to inform her of the predicament. With large-dollar transactions, yes their is a process, but our big banks are professional institutions, and should have the timelines for these things down to a T. If it's going to take 6 weeks, tell your customers it'll take 6 weeks, not 2.
To add a bit more insult to injury, they subsequently attempted to make her purchase a whole bunch of mutual funds with the money, rather than release it to her accounts. I get banks want to make money off their customers, but you don't hold a person hostage with their own money.
Anyways, only dealings with these folks, in 2 diff towns on either side of the country, 2 bad experiences. It's either crooked dealings or incompetency. Either way this article just adds to what I see as a chronic problem in this particular bank.
I use TD for both basic banking and investing. So far it's been as good of an experience as banking goes. No major fuck ups, and banking is reasonably easy, fast, and convenient.
