Survey Says…
Posted by Gail | Filed under Smart Shopper
I’ve been getting a lot of angry and desperate emails in the past few weeks about people’s sad experiences with their financial institutions. I was going to do a poll on “how happy are you with your FI?” when I realized there were so many questions to ask to get the answer. So I’m conducting my own survey on you, your financial institution (FI) and your level of satisfaction. I’ll compile the results and report back in a few days.
- Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
- What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
- Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
- If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
- What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
- What don’t they do that you wish they did?
- On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
- If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
- When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
- How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
- What have you learned from your FI?
- What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
- What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
- In what country are you banking?
I want to get a many people answering this survey as possible, so pass it on. I’m going to offer a copy of Debt-Free Forever to the person who makes the most referrals on this survey. The person you tell must put your name at the top of their response to the survey like this: “DOREEN SENT ME”. If you wish to respond privately to this survey, you may do so by copying it and emailing it to me at getgvo@gmail.com with the word SURVEY in the subject line.
I can’t wait to see the results of this…. I’m very interested in seeing just how happy (or not) we are with our financial experiences.
February 8, 2010 at 7:21 am
I am going to fully answer the survey but I can say that I am “reasonably” happy with my FI and likely wouldn’t change at this point as they all seem to be about the same level of service. About 50% below what I would expect of any service industry but as long as they all give about the same changing is just too much effort.
I actually changed banks about 5 years ago on the recommendations of friends (international travel friendly, etc) and had a terrible experience straight off the bat. Wrote a very angry e-mail asking why I should bother to go to the effort of changing banks to get the same crappy service I get at my current FI??? The branch manager actually called me personally to apologize and I got what I needed but wow! I had to give a serious serve to a whole pile of people to get something.
I now deal with 4 different fi (including banks in Canada/Australia) and very few offer just what I want which is I guess why I am at four. Actually 5 if you count my car loan through the car dealer.
February 8, 2010 at 8:05 am
My answers:
1. CIBC 65%
First National – 85%
RBC 35%
2. CIBC – Primary bank account, VISA card, line of credit
First National – mortgage
RBC – credit card
3. First National far and away the best. Tell them what you want done and they do it, now.
4. CIBC – so many examples. 1. Internet banking – I pay my credit card off in full every month, transferring the money from the primary account. Three times they have taken a double payment and then taken 3-5 days to give the money back. 2. Line of credit – they won’t deduct interest if you make monthly payments. Eg: If my monthly interest is $50 and I make a $1,000 monthly payment, I should be paying $1050 per month, right? But no, once they see the $100, they credit $50 back, so I’m really only paying $950. They say there is no way to stop this. Mortgage – had one with them before on a variable rate. Wanted to keep payment at set monthly rate much higher than required payment. Every time interest rate dropped, they dropped the payment back to what was required so I was paying less than I wanted. Thank goodness it was only a one year term.
5. All of the things in #4.
6. All of the things in #4. Also, a genuine apology would be nice instead of “someone seems to have made an error”.
7. 0%
8. Hate to admit it but a combination of laziness and fear. Laziness because all my bill payments are by internet and I just know that payments will be missed or taken double because CIBC is involved. Second, if I take my line of credit somewhere else, I’ll have to go through the home appraisal thing again and whatever other hoops they can think of, unless they don’t do that anymore – I guess I should check that out – and I just don’t want to. I also fear that all the big banks are pretty much the same. I ask around work and no one I know is happy with their bank.
9. Can’t remember – really.
10. You have to be kidding. By what I’ve written about what they did with my mortgage and LOC, you see they are only interested in their goal of keeping me in debt as long as possible.
11. Don’t trust a bank to get anything right – ever.
12. Bad communicator, no customer service, sneaky and self-serving
13. If I went to another bank and they would guarantee that they would cover any screw-ups by CIBC on the transfer of all bill payments and I didn’t have to jump through hoops to switch my LOC, I’d be gone in a flash.
14. Ontario, Canada
February 8, 2010 at 8:32 am
I will email regarding my current FI, but wanted to post regarding a past one. I used to have accounts with several FIs, but primarily with one particularly large blue one. I was almost done graduate school, not making much money and paying crazy fees to hold a basic chequing account and student line of credit. I left for the comfy chair of the green FI when blue told me I would have to start paying full fees on my account because at age 27 I was no longer a student in their eyes. Didn`t matter I had two years of full time school left or that I would be making much more money down the road….no one even bothered to reply to my letters. Not smart on their part when I left with all my accounts and future banking needs(mortgage, RRSPs, etc.). A temporary frustration for me, but very short sited on their part.
February 8, 2010 at 8:43 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Royal Bank; I would rank it a 75. PC Financial; I would rank them a 70. TD; I would rank them a 80.
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
I have a savings account, and a visa rewards with them. Through PC Financial Husband has a savings account , I have a savings with them too – and we have a joint chequing with them. Husband has a TD Visa, and we have a GIC with TD too.
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like TD, as they haven’t called half a dozen times about my account (nothing is wrong, they just wanted to talk). They also sat down with us and discussed many avenues for investment before we decided on a GIC. The other two FI’s either sat down with us and gave us vague information, or they only told us that if we invest our money with them, they’ll give us no banking fees.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
Well, the above from question 3 really… also the inability to be more informative. Also, while at my primary FI, I had 6 different people handle my line of credit in 2.5 years – and over that many financial advisors (at least at my branch)… it didn’t exude confidence in their services.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Call me over 6 times in a month! Honestly, I had a woman call me wanting to talk about my accounts (I have one with this FI)… I asked if there was something wrong, and she said no… so I told her we had nothing to discuss.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I wish they would make calling a particular branch easier instead of calling a 1-800 number. I also wish that they would make me feel more comfortable going into a meeting with them – anyone that I’ve went to see was either answering a phone call while I was talking, or sorting through files… one person was eating their lunch!
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
50% trust? I think my primary FI got this because of their tellers. I love those ladies.
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
My first reason was the inability to find what I am looking for in other banks. Hubby and I have had many discussions and researching sessions and we still can’t decide. Ultimately, we are waiting to see where we are going to be getting our mortgage, and will most likely bank with that FI.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
When they allowed my father to cosign a line of credit for me to go to school back in 2003. Since then, I’ve done everything in my power to get rid of the damned thing so I wouldn’t have to deal with that FI.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
Again, see number 9. They put me through university and teachers college.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
Other people offer similar if not the same banking options. I need to go out and see whose options I like better, and in the end, who I like personally dealing with face to face.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
RBC, your facade is not fooling anyone! (7 words in a sentence).
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
It isn’t what, but when we are.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 8:46 am
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
National Bank. Rank = 70
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
National Bank: Mortgage, Secured LOC, Unsecured LOC, Credit Card, Low-MER Altamira Index Mutual Funds RRSP. No costs on any transactions due to all-in-one secured LOC. No overdraft
CIBC: Unsecured LOC, pay deposit, no costs on any transactions due to employee benefit. No overdraft
ING: High Interest Saving Account, and TFSA.
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like CIBC best due to service and care of financial assistan I deal with. I dont use much of their service as this point, as they do not offer advantages over Nat Bank. Also, the penalty to break my mortgage at Nat Bank is $30K presently (2 years into 7 year term on 295K mortgage @ 5.22% APR)
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
Poor service. Poor response time to requests.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Take too long to respond.
What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Propose scenarios, strategies, and basic financial planning.
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
Nat Bank = 50% trust
CIBC – 95% trust
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Penalty fees for breaking mortgage at Nat Bank.
Lower management fees on Index Mutual Funds at Nat Bank.
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)?
Nat Bank. Cant remember. Only respond to my request, without proposals for anything or extra service beyond what I ask of them.
CIBC: goes the extra mile.
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
N/A.
What have you learned from your FI?
Not much, except for their policies.
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
out there to make a profit.
What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Better rates, lower management fees, less interest fees.
In what country are you banking?
Canada (Quebec).
February 8, 2010 at 8:57 am
#1. Scotiabank. I’m very happy. No complaints. 95%
#2. Scotia has my LOC, 4 bank accounts, RRSPs, RESP, Visa
Credit Union has my mortgage and a LOC.
#3.
I like Scotia the best because of the variety in products available to me/costs associated with. Accessability, the website is great too.
Credit Union was DH’s bank and they have been very good to us also. Smaller FI and is very flexable with lending options. Though rates are not as competative.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
- I have no issues.
What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Not sure.
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
90%
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I’m happy with the FI so no need to switch.
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Credit Union worked numbers to save me the most money given my current finances when refinancing.
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
I’ve looked after my goals without help from the FIs.
What have you learned from your FI?
About Email money transfers, RESP options, mortage options.
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
conservative, trustworthy, convenient, global, accessable, stable, dependable.
What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
To not be able to access them.
In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 9:18 am
1. In the U.S. there is currently a campaign to persuade people to move their money from the large national banks that received bailouts to smaller community banks. My primary account is already with such a bank, which happens to be about the 15th-oldest bank in the U.S. as well. I’d rate their service 100, especially because they do not charge for miscellaneous services that result in extra fees at most banks.
2. I don’t use this bank for anything other than checking. I would have applied for a mortgage there when I bought my house, but I needed to close in 5 weeks and they couldn’t process it that quickly.
My mortgage is now at Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide which had purchased my mortgage from the originating bank. I haven’t required any service other than their sending statements and posting my payments.
I have credit-card accounts with several major U.S. issuers and can’t see much difference among them. The only one I have ever had bad service from was American Express, which other people think has the best service.
3. My local bank.
4. N/A
5. Nothing.
6. Offer a mortgage refi on better terms than my current lender?
7. 90. No experiences of dishonesty or genuinely bad advice, but sometimes I am not quite certain that they grasp the situation completelly.
8. No reason to consider changing primary bank. Have considered changing banks for credit-card accounts but don’t see any real difference.
9. Last week. (The local bank, of course.)
10-13. No response.
14. United States
February 8, 2010 at 9:24 am
I too had a similar experience with the big blue bank when I was a student. I had one small student loan for one semester only. I had to return each year with the proper paper work which indicated I was still a student so that they would not begin charging me interest. I continually tried to make an appointment to deal with the necessary paperwork. I was always told I didn’t need an appointment for this and to just drop into the branch. Which means that my matter was a pain and not worth reserving anyone’s time to deal with. I always had to wait for a long time and was deal with poorly by staff irritated to have to deal with me and my needs. When I graduated I had saved enough to pay off the loan before the end of the interest free period. I again went into the bank (without an appointment) and tried to do this. The staffer who finally met with me proceeded to work out a payment schedule for me. I told her I wanted to pay off the loan in full. She said, “oh, no you don’t have to do that, we have a payment schedule right here.” Not until I became rude and demanded if there was some rule which prevented me from paying my loan off in full that day did she concede there was not. I proceeded to pay off the loan and close my account. I know I was a money looser for the bank at the time but again they were only looking at me the student, not me the future adult with a mortage, bank accounts, credit cards, etc. Very short sighted on their part and I will NEVER go back. They lost a potential client forever. I hope they treat today’s students better.
February 8, 2010 at 9:28 am
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI? I am with BMO. I’d give them about an 85
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one. We have mortgage, 6 accounts including the boys. My spouse has overdraft. I have a BMO Mastercard.
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why? I have banked with BMO since I was 12 so many of the older staff know me and know me well. I think it gets you better service, or at least it feels like it.
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad. Little things. I wish I could pay lump sums to my RESP or my loan via online rather than going down in person. Their hours and my hours make it hard to find a time I can get there without leaving work.
What don’t they do that you wish they did? More online access for things like Lump sums, ability to click on a cheque in my online statement as see the scan of it (Innovation Credit Union has this)
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? Older ones – 100%, new ones? hard to say.
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? small town loyalty. But I do have accounts in the CU as well.
What have you learned from your FI? I learned the correct way to make a lump sum payment so it doesn’t just go to your interest.
In what country are you banking? Canada
February 8, 2010 at 9:55 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI? 95 – Scotia Bank
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
Scotia Bank – TFSA, chequing/saving accounts, LOC and CC
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why? Scotia Bank has the best customer service people that I have dealt with.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
The only reason why I didnt give them 100 is bc there was some miscommunications at the beginning of our banking relationship when I was switching all my accounts over, but its been great ever since. And they bent over backwards to fix the issue quickly which I liked. They were excellent communicators too.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? No complaints really…maybe open earlier would be nice.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did? They should really have no fee accounts but they dont unless a big amount of money sits in the account.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? 95
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? Havent thought about it…but if I did I know now what a pain in the ass switching accounts over is and I hate it.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? My FI rep helped me get a great int % on a LOC
11. What have you learned from your FI? Banking is good.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? competent, resourceful, positive, accountable, respectful, direct, excellent communicator
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI? no fee banking and easy switching of accounts
14. In what country are you banking? Canada
February 8, 2010 at 9:56 am
It’s not so much our FI I’m not happy with….it’s our financial advisor. He talked my husband and I into going with the Manulife Bank, which is in Toronto and I live in Calgary. We went with the ManOne Account which means everything goes in and out of one account. It is really a large revolving line of credit. The FA new what type of spender I am but he strongly encouraged this account. Yes, I know that if I had used the account properly then it may have worked out. Two years later, my husband and I are $300,000 in debt, $32,000 which is credit card debt.
We have now changed our FI to the Alberta Treasury Branch and will aggressively tackle our debt. Another FA told me that the ManuOne account is the worst possible account because it never lets people out of debt. Because the money is too available and because we are not disciplined enough to use the account the way it is meant to use, it has truly become a nightmare.
Gail, I read your blog everyday and I believe I finally get it. PAY OFF YOUR DEBT and don’t let it happen again.
Thanks for all your positive advice and support. I am listening!
February 8, 2010 at 10:04 am
Hi Gail,
In reference to your weekly survey it does not have someplace to choose “automatically paid though the bank”. I have all my bills paid automatically where the money it taken from my account and I don’t need to do a thing. This way I never miss a payment.
You need to revamp this survey.
Anne
February 8, 2010 at 10:08 am
I was with the NBC (National Bank of Canada) for the past 30 years… til I figured how much I paid for their service and how they treated me : still like a student…
I switched and my satisfaction went 40 to a 80 on the scale.
February 8, 2010 at 10:27 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
PC Financial – joint checking and two TFSA’s (one in each of our names)
I will give them a 100
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
We also have our mortgage with TD and hubby has a secondary savings account with TD, only because his mother likes to deposit $100 into an account for us once a month. But we don’t touch the money because it’s a weird arrangement she’s decided to create to make herself feel better about lending money to another sibling. Side story!
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
PC Financial by far. No fees, no phone calls and no issues at all. Even when I needed a last minute bank draft for a hefty amount when we signed off on our mortgage with another institution, they had it processed over the phone and ready for pick-up at CIBC within 12 hours. We are “no-service” clients, so this bank suits us perfectly.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I will likely try to not renew our mortgage with TD, due to the extremely bad experience we had when signing where, despite our insistance on not needing their mortgage insurance, we were bullied into buying it. Yes, it was only one employee who created the situation, but it was enough for me to not bother with them anymore. Why would it be worth my time? Plus, their banking fees are way too high. I banked with TD as a student and paying $3.50/month for very minimal transaction use is way too high IMHO. Now that I have a free bank account that makes decent interest, I don’t understand why anyone would use a fee-based bank for daily banking.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
nothing
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
nothing
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
98 (only because I think you wouldn’t believe me if I said 100! haha)
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Since moving to PC I’ve never thought about switching.
Between my husband and I, we’ve banked with CIBC, RBC, and TD and PC has proven to be the least annoying. Hubby banked with CIBC from about age 10 – 30. I had a short relationship with RBC when they lent me some money for a car in my early twenties, but most of my relationship was with TD. After I graduated and was told the cheapest account for my needs was going to be 12.95/month I had no problems walking out the door with my money and closing those accounts. I know that fees are necessary to pay for salaries and such, but I just don’t need the services of a full-service bank.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
When we needed a large draft processed quickly and there was no problem getting the funds quickly.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
higher interest savings accounts, no fee banking, PC points for grocery rewards
Both have saved us lots and made us significantly more money
11. What have you learned from your FI?
not much
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
easy, cheap, no hassles
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
I guess it would have to be a full service bank with zero fee bank accounts that didn’t have rules attached to them (ie min balance, or limited transaction use, etc).
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 10:29 am
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Scotiabank – 95%
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
Scotiabank – 1 mortgage, chequing & savings account, TFSA account, VISA card, line of credit, overdraft protection – now looking into RRSPs with them
TD – 1 chequing account, line of credit
RBC – RRSP
CIBC (First Line Mortgages & PC Financial) -3 mortgages, VISA
A few others – credit cards only
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
Scotiabank – deal with you on an individual basis – they look at my numbers – I don’t get “we’re raising everybody’s …” – I’m treated like an individual not just another customer/number.
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
TD – most of my accounts were with them – been with them the longest – received a letter stating customers would be charged $50 if they left their credit line with a 0 balance for more than 1 year (it’s been a while I might be off on the amount of the service charge) – they have a monthly service charge for the privilege of having overdraft protection (insane interest rates not enough for them?) – received a letter (mass mailout) stating everyone’s interest rates going up on lines of credit (my agreement with them was prime + …)
Scotiabank – sent out letter (same time as TD did) stating the interest rate on my line of credit would increase.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Nothing.
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Stay open late – the one thing TD does well – great hours and customer service at the teller level
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
95 % – see #9 below
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Never thought about switching – looking into switching services TO BNS as they mature.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
A while ago both TD & Scotiabank sent letters to their customers advising them that rates on lines of credit had increased. I went into both TD & Scotiabank with my original line of credit agreements (helps to hang onto paperwork). I gave both banks the opportunity to honour their original agreements as opposed to “changing the rules of the game” after the fact. The representative at TD said they can’t do anything for me (without even looking at my profile). The answer was that everyone’s rates went up.
Scotiabank was another matter entrirely. The customer service rep. looked at my account, credit history with them and line of credit agreement. She said she would have to get approval to adjust the rate but was sure it wouldn’t be a problem. She asked me to have a seat. I was barely in the chair 10 minutes before she came back to tell me it was done. $40 k UNSECURED at prime + 1% (still at that rate today). What she did established my trust in Scotiabank. All my agreements have been honoured as written. They were potentially losing a lot of money in interest. They didn’t have to adjust my rate but they did. In return they got a loyal customer who refers friends and family to them.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
I went into the bank to inquire about mortgage rates for the house I’m presently living in. My goal is to own 4 rental properties in addition to my home. The rep spent 2 1/2 hours with me working out numbers and various scenarios with me. He suggested I also speak with my accountant to go over the figures with respect to tax brackets and RRSP contributions/benefits. We were trying to get the biggest bang for my buck. I wasn’t pushed into making a decision right away. When all was said and done my banking rep was able to give me my mortgage for the same rate as my mortgage broker and I was able to keep my old home as a rental. Only 1 more to go.
11.What have you learned from your FI?
It never hurts to ASK! The answer has always been “yes” when I’ve gone in PREPARED and offered a WIN-WIN scenario for both the bank and myself.
However, to be able to do this my financial matters and credit rating have to stay clean. I’ve learned that I have to protect my credit rating like it’s platinum because it is. I have saved literally thousands in interest because of this one lesson.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Competitive, Reliable, “User Friendly”, Accessible, Helpful, HUMAN
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
- a major screw up at Scotiabank
- much better rates somewhere else
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 10:36 am
My primary account is with Assiniboine Credit Union, in Winnipeg. I’d rank them at 100.
At ACU, I have a loan (consolidated consumer debt), 2 savings accounts (1 for spending and one for Emergencies only), and a chequing account. At my other bank, Access Credit Union, I have a savings and a chequing account. I also deal with Royal Bank and the Gov’t of Canada for old student loans.
I like Assiniboine Credit Union the best. They’re helpful, friendly, informed, communicative, and they give back to the community.
I pretty much trust them 100%.
I was going to switch to a closer bank (I live 1.5 hours away from Winnipeg now), but the thought of switching all my loans and everything was a pain. I travel to Winnipeg at least once a week and with internet and phone banking, it’s not really a problem.
Did something for me: A couple of weeks ago…I made an appointment to talk about savings, etc. She was very helpful and encouraging!
Helped my achieve my goal by encouraging me to start RRSPs.
What have you learned from your FI?
7 words: see first 2 comments!
No, I would not switch.
I am banking in Canada.
February 8, 2010 at 10:37 am
I’ll have to take some time to fill this out. I’ll send my response by email.
I think this might turn out to be a very indepth survey
regards,
Jason
February 8, 2010 at 10:44 am
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
CIBC, 70/100
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
Chequing Acct, Line of Credit, Visa Card
Other FI – ING has 2 savings accts (emergency fund/savings)
BMO – 1 Mastercard
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING is by far the best, simply for no-fee transactions and a service that lets you know about new accounts and offers with all the details up front.
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
The unknown fees – no one should be restricted in the amount of transactions… My service fee costs range wildly between 18$ per month to 3$… luckily I still have a student discount that waives then, but afterwards I may switch FIs simply because of this practice.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
see point 4
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I wish the focus was on the customer and doing things to help them (Like ING direct), instead of rules, fees and fine print.
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
95/100
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Hassle mainly, and the fact that when looking at others, many seem to be offering the same thing. It’s the devil you know.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
ING when they informed me about Tax free savings accounts as a better fit to my savings pattern. CIBC/BMO haven’t done anything for me lately…. or ever now that I think of it.
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
can’t think of a time.
11.What have you learned from your FI?
To read the fine print, do the research on my own before signing up for anything they offer. Their advice is given in good faith, but you’ve always got to do the due diligence yourself.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
CIBC: traditional, safe, impersonal, available, money-grubbing, old-fashioned
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
In search of no-fee banking I would jump.
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 10:49 am
1. Primary FI – RBC 75
2. RBC – Chequeing, High-Interest Savings (ha! .7%… good for my Planned Spending acct though), Mortgage, Secured Line of Credit, VISA
ING – High-Interest Savings, TFSA
3. I like RBC for the convenience (no ING machines near me), like ING for the high interest
4. I left TD last year because they didn’t make any effort to help me. If I asked a question I got a canned answer and when I needed help with my mortgage they didn’t offer any advice, just ‘this is the best we can do’. Not to mention they forced me to open an account with them from which to pay the mortgage (with a monthly fee of course) or charge a fee to pay the mortgage from another FI. Now I have all my regular services with RBC and am completely happy
5. The phone calls. At least once a month I get a call asking what they can do to help or offering some type of service such as identity theft protection. When I want something I will call them!
6. Offer better rates
7. 75
8. Already did it and no regrets
9. I believe in helping myself. I do all the research first and then ask what they can do. When I looked at switching my mortgage to RBC we came up with the best solution together. It felt great
10. N/A
11. How to help myself and how to use them to my best advantage
12. A business, a tool for me to use (sorry, couldn’t come up with only 7)
13. If ING was more accessable, other than online, I would probably do all my banking there
14. Canada (Nova Scotia)
February 8, 2010 at 11:02 am
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI? CIBC 60
instead of treating customers like cookie cutters.
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one. chequing, mortgage, line of credit
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why? Investors Group- because my rep listens and advises- CIBC doesn’t, We also like ATB financial- Great service and rates
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad. CIBC raised my line of credit 3% without notice, they refused to renegotiate my mortgage and each time we try to transfer hubby’s GICs to out of CIBC it’s a month long ordeal of paperwork and dragging their heels, refuse to negotiate my credit card interest even though we don’t carry a balance
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? have charges for every transaction on savings accounts- preapprove me for Gold cards with huge fees
What don’t they do that you wish they did? reward long term customer service ( I’ve been with CIBC since I was
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?at CIBC 40, at investors group 80, at ATB 80
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? I’d love to switch everything to ATB- but the PAPERWORK of switching all my automatic withdrawals etc… but I will be doing that this year. My mortgage comes due in Jan 2011- I’ll be switching to a line of credit with ATB
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves) HAHA
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? N/A
What have you learned from your FI? Question everything
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? monolithic, institution, conservative, rigid, steady, safe ( unlike US banks)
What would it take to make you switch to another FI? I’ll be switching this year
In what country are you banking? Canada
February 8, 2010 at 11:07 am
To Paul: WOW! Couldn’t process a mortgage in five weeks? Why does it take so long in the States? Thanks.
February 8, 2010 at 11:09 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI? President’s Choice 90
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PCF – daily banking, savings, TFSA, RRSP, LOC (we don’t use), credit card
CIBC – chequeing – hubby’s company can only direct deposit into this bank so the money goes in and then we move it to PCF, savings and overdraft we didn’t ask for and we turned down credit cards and a LOC.
TD – kids’ accounts and RESPs
Bridgewater Bank – mortgage
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why? I LOVE PCF and have been with them for more than a decade. Easy to use online and I don’t need anything fancy so free cheques and no fees is great. We haven’t been with CIBC long but they seem to always be trying to sell us more and offer us more credit. I ordered cheques from them (to make moving money
easier) and they messed them up. I got it straightened out after 4 phone calls! Crazy. I HATE TD – I find every time I go in there is a new person doing RESPs (we don’t do auto payments) and I have to explain things to them again and again. They always disagree with the advice the last CSR gave me. I want to move them but since I am not happy with CIBC either I don’t know where to go. Bridgewater has awesome customer service. I do want to add I used our local credit union for years until they discussed my boyfriend’s financial situation with my parents!!! Too small town – we were all customers there at the time. I won’t use a small credit union because there is no accountability when something like that happens.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad. I answered above for my non-primary ones.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? I would probably like CIBC better if they didn’t try to sell me stuff everytime I asked a question. I really want to like them.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did? For both CIBC and TD I wish there was more consistency.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? not much – say 30. I find I do more of my research online/reading and then tell them what I want.
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? We thought about switching to CIBC until the cheque thing and hassle to get it corrected eventhough it was their mistake. Paying to move our stuff from one bank to another when we don’t think we will get better service is what is keeping us from switching.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves) NEVER
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? Not at all – PCF leaves us alone and CIBC/TD try to sell us stuff or put us into debt.
11. What have you learned from your FI? To not trust them to do their job.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? Convenient, easy….okay that is all I have. I like that I can use the machine at our grocery store for free – I don’t have to make a special trip to the bank. And everything else I can do online.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI? GOOD service and free transfer of everything. Accuracy would be a plus too.
14. In what country are you banking? Canada.
February 8, 2010 at 11:42 am
I have dealt at ATB here in Alberta for the past 11 years (car loan, business accts, personal accts, RRSPs) and have had wonderful service. Great service in the bank as well as ease of their website. I rate them a 95 This is my only beef…the tellers move between branches so much, you don’t get to know them and some of the new ones treat us like first timers, telling us they have to hold our paycheques or deposits because we don’t know you. I went to the manager a few months ago and complained that if they treat good customers like this, I was leaving. We have never had a problem since.
February 8, 2010 at 11:51 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
TD Canada Trust – I would rate them 70
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
TD Canada Trust: Primary/Joint Chequing, Joint Savings Account #1, Husband’s visa
Scotiabank: Personal Chequing Account, Personal Saving Acount, Personal Visa #1, Car Loan
Royal Bank: Joint Savings Account #2 (tax free), RRSP #1, Personal Visa #2
Sunlife Financial: RRSP #2
National Bank: Line of Credit (husband’s school)
MCAP: Mortgage
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like Scotiabank the best, Royalbank second. I really like Scotiabanks online services and everytime I’ve had to go into the branch I’ve had wonderful customer service.
Royal bank has good customer service, but I always feel like they are trying to sell me something I don’t need (ie, more visas, opening another account). But my RRSPs have been doing great, I trust their advice.
I don’t like TD’s account plans and interest rates. I would like to switch to scotiabank for our primary banking. Their customer service has been good.
I don’t like National Bank because there are no branches where we live (it was great when husband was in school because we lived in a major city, but now that we live in a small town, we have to drive 1.5 hours to get to the nearest branch so we have to do everything over the phone/online.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
Nothing related to customer service, just Poor interest rates on savings accounts and other banks offer better account plans.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
I don’t like how Royal bank always tries to push extra products (such as extra visa’s when I obviously don’t need another)
I don’t like how TD makes telemarketing calls to try to push extra products, we have a joint account and they will call to offer me a new visa and then the next week they will call to offer my husband the same offer. I feel like we get calls from them every month and I find it annoying.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
TD: offer better interest rates on their savings account with out requiring a set amount of cash in the account
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
My Royal Bank Rep for RRSPs, I would say 80%
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I want to switch my primary account, but we have everything set up as auto deposit/direct bill pay/automatic savings withdrawals… it would take some time to set up the new account and a new bank and I just haven’t had the time to do that. I’d worry that I would forget about one when making the switch.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
n/a
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
My RRSP rep at royal bank has set me up on a plan for retirement savings that I think has really set me out to achive my retirement goal. They were very good at explaining their RRSP products.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
I’ve learned to love online banking.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
?
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
A better account plan to suit our needs.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 12:02 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Primary account – The Police Credit Union – rate them 100
Secondary – PC financial – not too many issues, I’ll give them an 80
RRSPs & savings – ING – LOVE IT – I’ll give them a 100
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
Credit union – chequing and loan (consumer debt consolidation)
PC – chequing account for day to day stuff – groceries etc
ING – RRSPs and savings incl TFSA
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like the credit union the best. Because I have my whole pay deposited there, I pay no fees at all (I really dislike bank fees!). I wanted to open an LOC to use to consolidate my consumer debt, the rep suggested that with my history of credit card abuse (she’s known me for a long time…and knows that I have a great credit score but had lots of stupid debt!), I should consider a loan that had a definite “finish” and not run the risk of using the LOC over and over and over…smart!
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I’ve had accounts at a lot of banks over the years, and when they make me unhappy, I close everything and move on. I don’t have a lot of payments coming directly out of my account so it’s easy. Our money talks!
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
No issues
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
no issues
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
Credit union 100%
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
No thoughts of switching now – I think I’m where I need to be.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
When I got the loan, rep negotiated a lower rate for me, made sure that payments worked in my life.
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
I love that at ING I can give my accounts nicknames. By being able to have all the accounts and name them, it really has kept me on track for savings. I see how much is in my emergency account, how much is in my Christmas fund, how much is in my car maintenance fund. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me – I need the separate visual.
11.What have you learned from your FI?
From credit union – it’s smarter to have a loan than an easily accessiblee LOC!
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
approachable, safe, great staff, accessible
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Credit union would have to screw up big time to make me switch!
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hi Gail!
1.) Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
RBC – 80
PC Financial – 70
ING Direct – 90
2.) What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
RBC – Chequing Account, Savings Account, VISA, LOC (unused), RRSP, TFSA
PC Financial – Mastercard
ING Direct – Savings Account, TFSA
3.) Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING Direct because I like to do everything online and I find that their system is better than RBC and PC.
4.) If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
While everyone I’ve ever dealt with at RBC has been incredibly friendly, I’ve found that sometimes they can be uninformed. The other day, I called for clarification on one of their policies and the rep told me that this policy did not exist. I told him that I was quite sure that it did so he checked and sure enough it does exist. He was quite helpful after checking it out, but if I didn’t correct him in the first place, I would have walked away with wrong information.
5.) What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
RBC and ING, nothing really. PC Financial’s customer service is extremely annoying and they just don’t take no for an answer when they try to sell you extras on their mastercard (life/job loss insurance, etc.)
6.) What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I wish RBC would show pending transactions on my online banking (like ING does) so it’s perfectly clear how much is actually available in my account. Also, it would be nice if they were open late more often, even till 6 would be fine. Some branches in my area close at 4:30…useless!
I wish ING would offer more products so I could give them more of my business.
7.) On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
80 in the sense that I believe they’re trying to help me, 40 in the sense that they are giving me reliable information.
8.) If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
The main reason I am with RBC is because they are the only Big Bank where you can get a free chequing account with no minimum balance. All you have to do is have a credit card and an investment account with them to waive the monthly fee (just get a VISA and don’t use it and open up a TFSA with a zero balance).
My partner is with PC Financial and I thought about switching but I don’t need unlimited transactions since I make all my purchases on my credit card (and pay it in full) and it takes a day to transfer money between Chequing and Savings accounts, whereas transfers are instantaneous with RBC (even on weekends or the middle of the night).
9.) When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
RBC went out of their way to really make sure I understood the correct process for switching something from them to another FI. It was nice that they were still helpful even when I was taking my business elsewhere.
10.) How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
They haven’t really. All they do is provide the financial products I use. Any advice I take comes from other sources.
11.) What have you learned from your FI?
I’ve learned that I have to do my own research before talking to them.
12.) What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
RBC: Very friendly but reps need better training
13.) What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
If a Big Bank would offer free, unlimited chequing accounts (I like having an account with a Big Bank so that I can easily cash cheques, get certified cheques, etc.)
14.) In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I e-mailed my survey but I wanted to repeat one of my answers here and also make a comment that came to mind as I was working on the survey.
First, my answer to question 12, just for fun.
RBC = My advisor is helpful, personable, and competent.
CIBC polite version (!) = What have they messed up this time?
ING = Our stash is growing without any effort.
Secondly, I think that the banks need to remember that experiences last! One big bad experience can flavor people’s opinions for years as can one big good experience. I have been double-charged for my safety deposit box for three years in a row BUT that small negative is offset by the huge pleasure I get every time I deal with either of my RESPs because I had such a positive experience in getting them set up the way I wanted – thanks entirely to an advisor who listened to me, did what I asked without second-guessing me or trying to talk me into doing something else, and was friendly and super-competent to boot! The safety deposit box issue is a hassle but it has been fixed each year, and will be fixed permanently this year since I intend to close the box (not solely because of the bank’s errors, mind you).
February 8, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI? PC Financial – I am with Jennifer on her comments. I do not need the full service bank. Rating: 90/100
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PC Financial – Joint chequing and savings accounts
CIBC – Mortgage
Scotiabank – Visa, LOC, car loan
TD – car loan
Credit Union – RESP
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
Definitely PC Financial. I was with the big green bank and added up the monthly fees for 3 accounts (my husband and I have a joint account for bills and individual savings accounts). It totaled over $300 for a year! Just to use their accounts! We moved to PC immediately after.
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad. From the other institutions we deal with we are constantly getting phone calls to sell us credit, or insurance we do not need or asked for.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? On their online banking, they said they wanted suggestions to improve my banking experience. I emailed saying I wanted to be able to label my accounts (TFSA, planned spending, etc.), like the big green bank. They emailed back right away saying they do not provide that service. So why did they ask?
What don’t they do that you wish they did? See previous question.
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? 90/100
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? Have not thought of switching. Too time consuming, and the fees elsewhere do not appeal.
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves) Never.
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? N/A
What have you learned from your FI? From all of them I have learned to look after myself and my goals – they are only there to make money for themselves.
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? Convenient, easy, simple, remote
What would it take to make you switch to another FI? No fee chequing, fees and good service
In what country are you banking? Canada.
February 8, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Gail, have you thought about setting this up in an online survey format (like survey monkey?) Might be easier to compile….
February 8, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I have to add to those detractors of the Big Blue Bank in Canada. I also had multiple student loans with them and they’re a big pain in the butt. Fortunately the gov took over the handling of the students and they’re much better.
As for myself, I’ve been with Canada Trust since before they were taken over by TD, and they’re even better now. Great hours, great convenience services like their online banking, they’re very secure as I’ve recently had my card skimmed and they shut it down right away. Fortunately it was a Saturday and there’s a branch a block from my house. Any other bank and I may not have been able to get my card back that day.
They were also willing to give me the type of credit card I wanted when Big Blue refused. Once my final student loan at Big Blue is done I doubt I will ever look at them again, too many good options in Canada like TD and Scotia to even consider them.
February 8, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I used to have two accounts with the big blue bank, one was a savings account that I had opened in the early 90s, and another a savings/chequing that I opened a few years later. At the time I opened it, the savings account had no fees. Soon after I opened this account, the big blue bank got rid of this account and switched it for a similar account but with a lot more fees.
From talking with my friends back then, I had learned that the bank had to keep the terms of my savings account (no fees) for a certain amount of years after they abolished the account (I think 10 years, not sure). It was called a “grandfather claus”. I was happy not to pay fees and used this account to pay all my bills and the like through the bank machine.
One day I happed to be at a branch during their business hours and asked the girl behind the reception counter for a new bankbook for by savings account. She gave it to me, but took a moment to ask me if I wanted to switch to their new accounts since the old accounts like mine were no longer offered. I explained to her how my account had no fees, and all the new ones had fees. She seemed clueless. Her only comeback was that mine was an old account and that I would prefer something new.
Lesson learned. This bank was only out for profit. If I were to get any new services from them, I would do my own investigation first, as their employees know nothing.
February 8, 2010 at 1:57 pm
1. Primary account with a Credit Union Rank them 70/100
2. I have Chequing, savings, TFSA, and a RESP at Credit Union.
RRSP with CIBC, RRSP with BMO, and Line of credit with TD. Mortgage thru a broker because NO BANK would give me the same competitive rate.
3. I like my credit union the best as a “Human” answers the phone when I call the branch and everyone that I have dealt with has been friendly.
4. I switched to my credit union from BMO because their customer service is appaling. A credit card I had with them had been stolen and it took 2 days and 4 hours on hold to finally get through all of the phone robots to reach a human to get the card cancelled. Then when I asked if my other accounts were safe from stollen identity or if there could be a “watch” put on my accounts – the sales rep told me that was not something they did, and “the best way to keep my bank card safe was to not tell anyone my PIN number.” YA Think!?! I drove across the city to my branch with newborn baby in arms, waited in line for 30 minutes and then closed all of my accounts. Forget the airmiles!!!
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? – nothing
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did? – give more competitive rates on loans and mortgages. Years ago I wish that someone at any of the banks I dealt with had sat me down and explained how loans/mortgages/RRSP’s worked, and how to stay out of debt. (This was self taught 15 year course by the school of hard knocks!)
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? 70
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? I really don’t think that there is anything better out there!
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves) – hmmm never
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? I have acheived my financial goals myself.
11.What have you learned from your FI? Nothing really.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? Personable, available, friendly, pleasant, human, small, community.
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI? Amazing interest rates.
14.In what country are you banking? Canada.
February 8, 2010 at 2:23 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
TD. 95%
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
Savings, RESP (waterhouse), RRSP (waterhouse), HELOC, mortgage.
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I’m happy with TD, they seem customer oriented.
3. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Charge less fees!
4. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Not sure. More flexibility on paying back mortgage? Better insurance?
5. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
90%. But then, I don’t ask them questions that I wouldn’t trust them (ie, how to invest money).
6. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Convenience. I would have switched for better mortgage rates or lower fees but the customer service is quite good and moving everything is a hassle.
7. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Every time.
8.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
They helped me organize my financial stuff.
9. What have you learned from your FI?
I’ve learned what they can help me with, and what they can’t. Also I learned that the more money you make, the better they treat you and that’s embarassing. Sigh.
10. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Customer oriented, solid, trustworthy, expensive.
11. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Much better mortgage fixed rates.
.12 In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 2:29 pm
1) 95% HAPPY with my Credit Union
nothing
2) Personal Chequing account, Business Chequing, HI Savings, kid’s accounts and overdraft
3) Credit Union by far has been the best for me. They seem to genuinely care in comparison to the automated big banks I have dealt with.
4) I am happy with the current FI, but I got out of the old one because there were too many mistakes and never apologies. Angry.
5) Service charges on my business chequing.
6) I wish they were compatable with the big banks for tranfers and e-deposits.
7) 95% they haven’t lied to me yet!
9) I won a $500 GIC on my branch’s 10th anniversary! They also phoned me one day when I had forgotten to transfer some funds to cover a bill payment. They gave me enough notice to get it done so I wouldn’t get NSF charges!!!! How nice is that?!
10) They always talk to me annually to tell me about better rates, to maximize my returns on the kid’s bonds/GIC’s when it is time to roll them over.
11) FI’s can still survive with personal service!
12) Fast, Friendly, Secure, Approachable, Accurate, Accessable, Affordable
13) If they closed or screwed up royally on my account or suddenly decided to get automated tellers only.
14) CANADA
February 8, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
we have our daily banking with pcfinancial — i think i’m at about 75 with them.
we have a savings account and our investments with a local credit union (assiniboine) — i think i’m about 80 with th em.
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
pc financial – we have 2 chequing accts, 1 savings, 2 tfsa (one for each of us), and overdraft protection.
assiniboine credit union – 1 savings account, husband has a GIC with them, husband has RRSP ethical mutual fund, i have an RRSP ethical mutual fund, LOC, Consolidation Loand, and our son has some GICs and a savings account.
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like pcfinancial for the no-fee banking and that you can go down to any superstore and speak to someone, and il ike that we can use CIBC bank machines for free. i also really like the PC Points.
I like assiniboine credit union because it feels like a small community. we have a rep that is always there to help us. i can email back and forth with her about setting up appts or questions. i like that their approach to banking/investment includes, ‘what is good for the community’.
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I can’t think of anything offhand in the last couple years. i had many problems with BMO years ago, which resulted in my transferring my business to pc financial/acu.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
the credit union wastes a lot of paper. lots of bank statements for all our different stuff. when we went in to get it changed so we didn’t get paper statements there was much confusion.
What don’t they do that you wish they did?
i wish pc financial had an acutal bank location somewhere in winnipeg (where i live).
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
how much do i ‘trust’ them? depends on what kind of trust?
trust in that they are 100% looking out for me and my family? that’s probably low, like 30. i think we are a cog in the machine and only a number.
trust in that there will be no mistakes or misunderstandings? probably about 50.
trust in that they will not do anything illegal or ‘lose’ our money? that’s probably a little higher, like 65.
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
haven’t thought of switching from these guys. both are good for us.
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
hmmm….our credit union rep has always been very helpful and has steered us away from certain investments based on our situation rather then herself or the cu.
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
hmmm…i don’t think they have? i think we have achieved our own goals.
What have you learned from your FI?
i know husband has learned about GICs, RRSPs, and mutual funds from our credit union. he is not canadian and has always been mystified with RRSPs. our rep helped him understand.
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
pcfinancial – bank from anywhere located where i shop
acu – glad they really think like i do
What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
well, if there was anothe pcfinancial type place that opened up and had an actual bricks and mortar bank i would think about switching. it would need the no fees and the pc points.
In what country are you banking?
i’m in canada.
i answered, without reading anyone elses responses. now i’m eager to go see what others said. :0
February 8, 2010 at 2:36 pm
i also forgot to say that our mortgage is with some company i’d never heard of before. something like merix?
February 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
TD- 70
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
TD- chequing&savings, line of credit
Scotia- mortgage
BMO- no fee CC
RBC- CC (airmiles!)
Quadrus/Freedom 55- RRSP
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
none.
I switched to TD years ago because of the convenient non-bankers hours compared to other big banks, except now I get dinged everytime I speak to a real person for regular banking needs. I now do most of my banking online for that reason, but miss the personal touch.
I use Scotia only because they had the best mortgage rates my broker could find at the time, BMO and RBC only because of they were the best credit card options that I was looking for at the time and Quadrus only because my (excellent)financial advisor happens to work there.
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I keep looking for a cheaper account with TD to lessen (or eliminant) my banking fees, but it just doesn’t seem to exist, even after having numerous meetings with thier advisors. I am considering switching, but haven’t found the place that will fit my needs yet, not to mention the hassel for changing my automatic payments, etc. I was also not impressed when they said they would start charging for unused lines of credit (i havent’ used mine in years but keep it as a safety net) but they have since reveresed that decision so I stayed.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
charge fees for everything!
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
have a more personal touch without charging you for it.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
TD- 70
Quadrus- 100
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
see #4 above
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
never
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
TD set up a savings account for me that I can only access on-line with auto deposits from my other account so I don’t spend it; but they did this after I went in and told them exactly what I wanted.
Quadrus- my financial advisor has been invaluable in helping plan for the future, not just retirement (which is many years away) but investing, RESPs, etc. as well
11.What have you learned from your FI?
TD, scotia – not much
Quadrus financial advisor – loads about RRSPs and other saving methods, (tax free savings accounts, mortgages, etc.)
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
out to make money
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
not much
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada (BC & AB)
February 8, 2010 at 4:45 pm
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
I have my primary accounts with TD Canada Trust. Overall, I’d give them about an 85/100. (My only qualm is the relatively high service fees, but I guess you get what you pay for).
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
TD Canada Trust-2 chequing accounts (one joint with DH)
ING Direct-one savings account (for emergency fund-automatic withdrawals from TD account)
Firstline-mortgage
Solutions Bank/Investor’s Group-line of credit, RRSPs
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I think I like ING best, as they don’t charge fees and have excellent customer service (I made a boo boo last week and they were able to undo it without a big fuss.)
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
The only thing that makes me unhappy about TD is the fees for the accounts-they seem high to me, but they do have good customer service, so I deal with it.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Can’t think of anything beyond charging so much for a plain jane account.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Can’t think of anything actually.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
I don’t use anyone at TD. I have an advisor through Investor’s Group and I trust him, say 90/100.
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
The HUGE pain in the butt to change all my automatic withdrawals-I only pay 3 bills manually, everything else comes out automatically. The headache to change all of this is not worth it.
Also, my work will direct deposit my cheque if I stay at TD, but not if I bank elsewhere. I enjoy the direct deposit, so I’ll keep my account there.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
As noted above, ING undid a boo boo I made last week. They didn’t have to, and I would have paid the price, so I was pleasantly surprised that they did without any fuss.
I also like the free coin counter at my TD branch. I loathe using the Coin Star ones that charge you 9%. I have a big cookie jar that I fill with the change that DH leaves lying around the house in little piles (he’s incorrigble-can’t get him to stop) and when it gets full, I take it there and quickly have an amount to add to the growing emergency fund. I can’t see how they benefit from this directly, so I see it as something they do for the customers.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
ING has the Goal Getter on their online banking. This is motivating to little old me to continue to keep up my automatic savings plan to reach my goals. The automatic savings plan also keeps me moving toward achieving my goal.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
Not a heck of a lot to tell you the truth. My advisor is great for providing helpful articles and info. I learn a lot more from blogs/internet.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
friendly, great hours, helpful customer service,
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Lower fees/no fees, some magical way to contact all my auto withdrawals and ensure a smooth transition without missed payments etc., similar hours and online options
to TD
14. In what country are you banking? Canada
I’m very interested in hearing the results of this survey Gail. Thanks for asking these thought provoking questions.
February 8, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I am mostly happy with my FI, primarily because I already “made the switch”. I banked at the Royal with the rest of my family as a child (70’s and 80’s) until the family switched to the Toronto Dominion because the Royal used the children’s bank accounts (which, as is usual) to pay a late equipment loan (family farm debt). Unsurprisingly my parents were outraged – it was all money we kids had personally earned or received as gifts – and all the accounts got moved.
I stayed with the TD for years but I got increasingly annoyed at all of the service charges, so sometime in my 20’s I switched to a credit union, which is now called Coast Capital Savings after a merger but at the time was called Pacific Coast Savings.
I am generally pleased with the credit union – I have no service fees at all on my savings and chequing accounts, including debits, except for ordering new cheques. I can use any credit union ATM without charge, although like any other FI if I use some other network, I will get dinged. 99.5% of the time that is easily avoided.
They also have a no-fee, high interest savings account that offers as high an interest rate as ING Direct and other web only FIs, although of course right now that is not saying much.
Customer service is great and the online banking works very well. I like that I can also set up transfers to other people’s Coast Capital accounts too. Furthermore, I like that they are very involved with the community, sponsoring events etc.
My only concern is that they have not necessarily given me good rates when I have asked for loans or lines of credit, with one exception – a consolidation loan at PRIME back when they thought they might get my mortgage account. My FA didn’t believe me until I logged into the account to show her. (“No one gets a bank loan at prime!”)
I have not gone to them looking for a Financial Adviser as I already have one.
—————————-
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Coast Capital Savings and Credit Union – 85 [If they could give me more interest on my savings account that would bump them 10 points.]
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one. Savings accounts (multiple but all tied to the same account, so that I can use different “pockets” for saving for different things. Chequing account. Line of credit (unused lo these last 5 years!) Credit card (I only have one. I sold my condo and am now renting, but my mortgage was through First Line. When I bought a (new) car in 2003 I initially used the dealership financing as it was better than what was offered by the bank, but the consolidation loan brought that down to prime and it was all paid off in 3 years. RRSP, RESP through Investors Group.
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why? See paragraphs above survey.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad. n/a
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t? They have no clue when automatic transactions take place in a given day, so advise you to do things a day ahead of time. That’s ridiculous – they should be able to program these things to happen at any time, and you should be able to dictate what order regular repeated automatic transactions take place in. They have programmers and it wouldn’t be that hard.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did? Dip into the credit line instead of bouncing a cheque. This happens very rarely to me and is usually due to someone not cashing a cheque for a long time and I forget that it is out there. However, I can see how not just automatically taking from your credit line would be a good thing for other people. I just wish it was an option I could opt in to.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)? 100
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you? I did.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves) I don’t think I’ve had any FI do anything that I didn’t ask for, although the decision to have a no fee banking policy for personal accounts was great – even if it did benefit them as well (increase in customers).
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? Excellent rate (prime!) on a consolidation loan.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? Community owned and community driven credit union.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI? All the same benefits with much higher interest on savings accounts.
14. In what country are you banking? Canada (BC).
February 8, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Okay, on reading everyone else’s assessments I should bump the score for Coast Capital Savings. I’m very happy to be there, thrilled at the no fees – I’m just a very hard marker.
I would have ranked TD at 60% and it’s getting a whole bunch of 90s! Folks, I think it may be because you haven’t experienced something better!
February 8, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I have primary and only with TD……Learned squat from them cause they are just freaking “kids” in my branch……I swear they are only couple years older than my son and fresh out of high school. I asked one rep what the difference between RRSP & RIF is HE DIDNT KNOW other than the different names but nothing about the meat of the conversation just the bones…..thankfully I knew answer was just proving point to my son that people in banks are there for the money and if you want the real answers find them yourself. Between Gail & another famous female financial wizard I have learned so much and still learning about the yesses and noes of finances……so @ 15 my child has a good basic knowledge of the way the banks work and their outlook (their bottom line NOT yours)……
I have your book Gail and love it so far……..OMG full of info and lots of homework to do to get yourself on track and stay there…….but its all good……without it where to begin……..keep up good work and when are the new episodes of TDDUP start or your Princess show
February 8, 2010 at 5:15 pm
1. Coast Capital Credit Union….TD Bank
Although, I didnt want to because of all the pre-auth payments that i was worries about bouncing.
2. Chequing, Savings Accounts….. LOC
3. Of the 2 I like Coast Cap better, free chequing account, for unlimited transactions. I was spending upwards of $20/month at TD.
4. TD gave my information away, so i was getting phone calls from TD Insurance and quality assurance surveys a couple times a week because i wouldnt answer my phone. They also wouldnt allow me to consolidate my rediculous overdraft into my LOC and change it from revolving to non revolving. It seemed like they would just rather have me paying the enormous interest on my overdraft (nearly 30%) instead of my LOC interest rate (7%) even though i have great credit! Plus they “pre-appoved” me for a huge LOC while I was in school and also had student loans. I clearly didn’t need the credit, but they talked me into taking it because it was a ‘limited time offer’ and i was only 19. Still paying that one off….
5. I answered this one above.
6. Well I did wish TD had free chqing… so I switched!
7. I don’t listen to the banks, I take their advice and ask my boss (a financial advisor) if theyre telling the truth
8. I did switch
9. When I closed my TD account, the teller waived the ‘account closure’ fee. Probably because of the earful I gave him about why i was switching.
10. They didn’t help, so far.
11. Nothing that i didnt already know.
12. User friendly, competent, friendly, affordable (thats all I got so far, I just switched!)
13. If I were offered a lower interest rate on my LOC, I would move it from TD. Other than that though, I have no reason to switch.
14. Canada (BC)
Gail I bought your book, and I LOVE it. Its a love/hate relationship, but I’m only in Ch 2
Thanks for all your help!!!! Seeing the relief on the faces of people you help keeps me on track!
5.
February 8, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Can’t wait to read all the posts and see the results of the survey. I’ll definitely send a full response via e-mail. Generally, have been with TD and PC for years now and am pretty happy with both. Used to be with CIBC and didn’t like them; but hooray I get to use them “for free” now via PC!
[Also, so happy I met Gail at one of the book signings!!
) ]
February 8, 2010 at 5:49 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
I bank with PC Financial.
I would rate my satisfaction with them at a 90 (out of 100).
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
With PC Financial, I have bank accounts (chequing, savings and TFSA), mortgage, overdraft protection, credit card, RRSP’s, and GIC.
They are the only FI I deal with…
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I only deal with PC Financial…
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I am mostly happy with my FI – the only problem I’ve run into in the past was when my banking card and account were frozen, due to identity theft… the FI didn’t notify me to tell me that the account would be frozen, leaving me unable to access any funds for a few days until everything was resolved. That was a frustrating experience.
I also wish it would be easier to deal with someone in person (when necessary), because some things are difficult to explain over the phone (there are no banks or tellers with PC Financial… only “pavillions”).
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Cannot think of anything…
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Offer more services in-person.
Have more “pavillions” available (some areas have closed down all of them!).
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
Probably an 85.
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Does not apply…
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Bonus points every now and then (for anniversary purposes)…
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
Cannot think of anything…
11.What have you learned from your FI?
That banking can (and should!) be FREE!!
Why should I have to PAY someone to have access to my own money?? I find that idea ludicrous…
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
FREE
Reliable
Secure
Helpful
Friendly
Accommodating
Easy-to-switch
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Would not think of switching… I’m quite happy!
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 5:55 pm
I’ve had previous unpleasant banking experiences with Royal Bank, TD and CIBC (bad customer service, lack of communication, sneaky practices). I currently bank with BMO, and I’d give them an 85 due to frequent stupid clerical errors and not being forthcoming about banking fees. Would prefer to use ScotiaBank but they don’t have a convenient branch in my neighborhood of Montreal. I only have chequing with them.
I also have bank accounts with Chase and Bank of America in the USA, no complaints about either of them other than high fees for certain things. I’d give both of them a 95. I only have chequing with both of them.
In France, my account is with Credit Agricole. They have high fees and the customer service isn’t great, I’d give them a 70. Too inconvenient to change banks while I’m not residing in the country so I stick with them anyway. Only have chequing and savings with them.
I wish that all banks offered free chequing with direct deposit and good easy online banking. As for trust, I don’t trust any bank employees – I have no illusion that any of them are looking out for my best interests. Their only loyalty is to their employer. Fortunately I have no credit cards or mortgages currently open, so I don’t need to deal with those aspects of the banking industry.
February 8, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Hi Gail
1.primary account with RBC for savings/chequing accts. 90-95% for their ATM alone and then the tellers and 24 hour telephone service. Love their ATM design and colour versus TD’s ATM (which I absolutely hate to look at). Not too picky about PC’s ATM either.
2.What service(s): RBC -savings accounts, chequing acct.. esavings acct., LOC.
TD – US dollar acct., chequing accts, overdraft protection for one chq. account with my son, emerald Visa card.
PC – investment savings accts
ING – investment saving acct and TFSA
3. I like ING the best. They don’t bother you with silly surveys – trying to outdo each other for customer service.
4. I don’t like it that you have to have a meeting with a rep to get a second free chequing acct. for seniors at RBC if you don’t somehow meet the threshold for a free acct. I told the rep. that TD gave free chequing to seniors and the rep. said “I don’t know about that”. I said – I do – I have 5 accts. I now have a second RBC chequing acct. in my own name. This meeting cost RBC – and I do intent to move accts. eventually.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
BOTHER me with insurance upgrades or requests for surveys or if you have to see a service rep. there is the traditional “how was your experience survey?” Sometimes I just answer that I’m not at home. Unfortunately, they call again to aggravate me.
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Try to listen better to what you have to say and then give you some advice on how to proceed. They only have their own products to push and that’s what they do.
7.do you trust your FI representative(s)?
I don’t know how to answer that question. They work for the FI not me.
8. switching, what’s stopped you?
The inconvenience of moving debited bills from my acct. I am a procrastinator.
9. last time you felt your FI did something for YOU?
NEVER – they only loan money so they can earn interest. Advice – not sure anyone is encouraged to be a good service rep. – to prevent you from spending more than you should.
10. achieve a goal?
ING – suggested when I called that I move my monthly savings money to my TFSA. I was calling about that very thing! ESP or better marketing?
11. What have you learned from your FI?
ONLY that moving a TFSA from PC to another FI – ING costs you $50.00 off your TFSA which can’t be repaid back into it at the other FI. WAS I told about this when I called? NO, NADA, RIEN, thanks alot PC.
12.What seven words:
Looking for business, trying to push unwanted products. They don’t want to hear the word NO!!
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Maybe hearing about the millions of dollars they make each quarter?
It would have to be something important to me which hadn’t been explained up front. I’ve minimized my contact with the bank. I did vow to move my account when I retired to another FI.
RBC has NO foresight – we are important to their continuance. Unfortunately, it’s all about them!
I’ve already started to look to replace RBC. I just haven’t done anything yet because of other things. Too much time involved maybe.
14.In what country are you banking? CANADA
February 8, 2010 at 6:16 pm
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
I’m with TD and I’d give them a 70. They’re ok.
I also use ING and I give them a 90.
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
I have a chequing account, savings account, line of credit and visa with TD.
I have a savings account and mutual funds with ING.
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING because they have no fees! And everything is really easy to do online. Plus they actually pay real interest, unlike TD. It is really easy to transfer money to my main TD account from them also. They are super awesome.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
TD’s interest rates on savings accounts are garbage. I also get charged bank fees if I use debit too much a month..? I have a student account, and I mean, come on, lay off. Also, one time I was late on a line of credit payment, so they just automatically debited my savings account the minimum payment. That wasn’t cool.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Increase my credit limits in an attempt to get me to spend more (I have $20,000 available credit at TD and only $4000 of it is used.. the fact that I can go from $4000 to $20,000 in debt tomorrow is.. well, scary.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
High interest savings accounts, clear information for investments. I want to start an RRSP, but I’m so wary of TD because their interest rates on savings accounts are so poor, I’m afraid they’ll rip me off..
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
50. They’re nice, but I feel like they’re trying to make a sale. The tellers are good.
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I feel all the main banks are relatively equally evil, and the ones that aren’t, are not as accessible. I cannot go without online banking, I would feel so out of touch with my finances.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
TD? Still waiting.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
ING helped me make long-term investments (mutual funds) and set up a savings account that actually earns money.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
Don’t use your debit too much, watch your credit limits, have a backup funding source in case of holds on deposits.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Not bad, but keep working on improvement.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Accessible online banking, high interest rates for savings accounts, good RRSP plan and RESP plans when I have children.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 6:35 pm
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
TD CANADA TRUST 90
STARTED WITH VICTORIA TRUST WHICH CHANGED INTO CANADA TRUST WHICH MORPHED INTO TD CANADA TRUST
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
LINE OF CREDIT, BANK ACCOUNTS, TSFA’S, RRSP’S, FINANCIAL ADVISOR FROM TD WATERHOUSE
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ONLY ONE WE HAVE DEALT WITH FOR OVER 25 YRS.
IN 1972 WAS DEALING WITH CIBC. WHEN HUBBY AND I WENT TO SEE ABOUT A CAR LOAN (HE JUST GOT HIS FIRST TEACHING JOB) THE YOUNGSTER BEHIND THE DESK SAID WE COULDN’T AFFORD A CAR. WE WERE DENIED. WE WENT TO CANADA TRUST AND THE LOAN MANAGER’S DAUGHTER HAPPENED TO BE IN HUBBY’S CLASS. HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE WANTED. JUST ENOUGH FOR A CAR THANKS. NEVER MISSED A PAYMENT. CIBC WAS HISTORY.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
NOT UNHAPPY
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
ONLY THING THAT HAS BOTHERED ME IS THE INSURANCE ON THE LOC. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE DRIVEN BY THE BALANCE..SO MUCH PER THOUSAND. I’VE TALKED TILL I’M BLUE IN THE FACE ABOUT HOW EVERY 3 MONTHS THE INSURANCE OWED GOES UP. HOW CAN THAT BE WITH THE LARGE AMOUNTS I’M PAYING DOWN? HAD TO DEAL WITH TORONTO, NOT MY LOCAL BRANCH.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
SEE ABOVE. I WANT THEM TO READ MY LIPS. AS THE AMOUNT OWED IS LOW, I CANCELED THE INSURANCE. GOT A LETTER LAST WEEK FROM TORONTO SAYING THEY WERE SORRY TO HEAR THIS AND “IF YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS SHOULD CHANGE IN THE FUTURE, WE WOULD BE PLEASED TO CONSIDER A NEW APPLICATION”.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
90
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT IT. WOULDN’T THAT BE A PAIN.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
WHEN WE RECENTLY MET WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH US DECIDING ABOUT RETIREMENT, NAMELY, HOW MUCH WE WOULD NEED TO KEEP THE STATUS QUO, AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT HOW MUCH LIFE INSURANCE WE REALLY NEED AS OPPOSED TO HOW MUCH THE INSURANCE COMPANY WANTED US TO BUY. HE WAS EXCELLENT.
THE GIRL I USUALLY DEAL WITH THERE IS AWESOME AS WELL. SHE’S ON MAT LEAVE RIGHT NOW. I’LL BE GLAD WHEN THE END OF MARCH ARRIVES AND SHE’S BACK. SHE’S MY ‘GO TO’ GIRL.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
NOT SURE I CAN INCLUDE OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR IN THIS QUESTION, BUT, HE HAS ME SEEING THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AS FAR AS OUR LOC IS CONCERNED. THAT IS MY #1 GOAL. LOC – PHFT!
11. What have you learned from your FI?
THROUGH THE YEARS, QUITE A BIT. I’M STILL LEARNING. THEY ARE PRETTY GOOD ABOUT EXPLAINING THINGS (EXCEPT THE LOC INSURANCE INCREASE!). SMALL TOWN THOUGH, SO JUST LIKE IN ‘CHEERS’ THEY GREET YOU BY NAME.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
PROFESSIONAL, FRIENDLY, ACCOMMODATING, HELPFUL, CO-OPERATIVE, SUPPORTIVE, USEFUL
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
AN INFLUX OF A KAZILLION DOLLARS – THEN I’D SUSS OUT AN OFFSHORE ACCOUNT LOL.
14. In what country are you banking?
CANADA…
February 8, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Just spent 1/2 an hour doing this, clicked submit, and it vanished. This is my reader’s digest version.
TD CANADA TRUST….90
LOC, BANK ACCOUNTS, RRSP’S, TFSA’S, RESP, FINANCIAL ADVISOR
ONLY THE ONE. WAS WITH CIBC, BUT IN 1972 WENT FOR A CAR LOAN. HUBBY
JUST GOT HIS FIRST TEACHING JOB. WE WERE DENIED. YOUNGSTER BEHIND
THE DESK SAID WE COULDN’T AFFORD A CAR. WENT TO CANADA TRUST.
TURNED OUT HE WAS THE FATHER OF A CHILD IN HUBBY’S CLASS. ASKED US
HOW MUCH MONEY WE WANTED. JUST ENOUGH FOR A CAR THANKS. NEVER
MISSED ONE PAYMENT. CIBC WAS HISTORY.
NOT UNHAPPY
ONLY BEEF I HAD WAS OVER INSURANCE CALCULATED ON LOC. IT IS
SUPPOSED TO BE DRIVEN BY SO MUCH PER THOUSAND OWED. EVERY 3
MONTHS THE AMOUNT WOULD GO UP. HOW COULD THAT BE WITH THE AMOUNT
I PAY IT DOWN? NOW THAT THE BALANCE IS NEARING ZERO, I CANCELED IT.
IT WOULD BE COVERED WITH OUR LIFE INSURANCE. GOT A LETTER LAST WEEK
FROM TORONTO SAYING ‘IF YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS CHANGE IN THE FUTURE,
WE WILL BE PLEASED TO CONSIDER A NEW APPLICATION’. IT WAS TORONTO
I HAD TO DEAL WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE, NOT OUR LOCAL BRANCH.
CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING.
90
HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT IT. WHAT A PAIN.
RECENTLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. HE WAS
EXCELLENT. WENT OVER OUR RETIREMENT, HOW MUCH WE WOULD NEED TO
KEEP THE STATUS QUO, AND ESPECIALLY HOW MUCH LIFE INSURANCE WE
REALLY NEED INSTEAD OF HOW MUCH THE INSURANCE COMPANY WANTS TO
SELL US.
OUR LOC IS NEARING ZERO WITH THE HELP OF OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR!!
QUITE A BIT OVER THE YEARS. I’M STILL LEARNING. FINANCE
UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT MY FORTE.
HELPFUL, FRIENDLY, COMMUNICATIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE, ACCOMMODATING,
CO-OPERATIVE, SERVICEABLE
A KAZILLION DOLLARS – THEN I’D SUSS OUT AN OFFSHORE ACCOUNT LOL
CANADA…
February 8, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Testing, Testing, Testing ERG! I’ve done this twice and it won’t submit…….
February 8, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I’ve been stung by the local Credit Union. I had taken a small loan, and they had convinced me to add $1000 for an “accelerated” RRSP at their branch. Well 2 years later, I wanted to withdraw when I saw it do any “accelerated” earning. It took me 3 years to get my hands on the amount. Why? Because if I didn’t do the transaction on the precise date, sorry, it’s locked in. So finally I get it out, only to find that after 5 years in the RRSP, there wasn’t enough earned to pay the amount of tax taken off. The principle returned was $960. Could I find anybody to speak with? Not during hours that worked for me and no return calls. Then they wondered why I didn’t have more business with them?
Went through a mortgage broker for that service and am very pleased so far. A very low rate and after getting the initial set up of withdrawal corrected, it has gone smoothly. Not a problem to find somebody to speak with if needed. However the mortgage is up for renewal this summer, so there may be a change with that.
CIBC was somewhat better than Credit Union, though not much. Wouldn’t look at me for any loan, regardless if it was a minimal amount. That’s fine. I got through my circumstances without their help. Then they wondered why I didn’t come to them for a mortgage? My hubby and his bro convinced me to switch to TD.
In our branches, this has been very good. Our main contact is a woman in her 50’s and explains anything and everything as we ask. Will advise options and helped up set up and showed us how to navigate their website. Her co-workers were equally helpful. Especially since this branch is dealing with the mother-in=law’s estate. Our contact is now doing other functions and her replacements have still be very good to us.
Also have additional assistance from a PrimAmerica rep. (we have life insurance here) Another woman in her late 50’s. Have looked at options for debt consolidation with her. In the end, we weren’t in enough debt for their products to really be of help. So she came out with a personal debt reduction plan that worked for us. She’s also a woman who has had hard times (consolidation woes, bankruptcy) in her early adult years and learned from us. She does what she can to help her clients. Again, a very satisfying experience.
We are quite happy with our people that have experience and knows how life will happen and spin out of control some days. Each are good at coaching us through patches. We just need to kick our own butts to get the debt thing and budget set into a regular practice. We have our support.
February 8, 2010 at 9:14 pm
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February 8, 2010 at 9:21 pm
1. My primary account is with President’s Choice Financial, AKA amicus bank, the online arm of CIBC. I am super happy with them – 99/100 for service overall. NO fees (except if you need money orders). I also have an INGdirect savings account, RRSP and TSFA, and our RESP is with CIBC. I have credit cards from Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank.
2. Services used (PC BANK) : chequing account, savings account, TSFA, overdraft on the chequing. I occasionally purchase money orders there, too. I have to go into a CIBC branch to get change, though.
3. I like PC the best – no fees, can do everything online at any time, transactions are updated instantly online, no holding or waiting periods for anything. Excellent service if I do have to phone for some reason. They’ve never violated my privacy or screwed anything up on any of my accounts.
6. I wish PC bank offered RESPs (we have one with CIBC, but you can’t transfer money into it online, and I hate having to phone during business hours).
7. I trust PC and ING completely – never had a bad experience there. I don’t really trust the CIBC rep – he seemed a real ’salesman’, and misled me on several aspects of our RESP purchase on several occasions, and then talked me out of switching by being pathetic and assuring me that the misundersanding was mine.
8. I would like to switch our RESP from CIBC after the bad experience with the salesman. What’s stopping me? I dont know how, and have NO time as a new mom. Maybe in a year or so?
9. I have never felt that an FI did something for ME – they’re in a business to make money, and I recognize that. Though, I do like how PC financial has no fees for anything – I refuse to pay bank fees for any reason now, they’re so nonsensical. You want me to pay You to hold onto my money? Insane! I also like how ING has incorprated whizbank security features onto their site, but that would probably only appeal to nerds like me.
10. Goals. ING direct has a little widget that you can put on your account’s web page display that shows you how close you are to meeting your goal. it will also calculate how much you need to save and for how long, to meet that goal. This widget is dumb but it did help inspire us to save our emergency fund before our daughter was born. This is the money we’re going to live on when my top-up runs out and we’re stuck living on just EI in a few months! I like those interactive features, find them quite useful, even though I could od the same calculations on a spreadsheet or piece of paper – it’s fun to see things graphically displayed for me.
11. I haven’t learned anything from my FI. Though when I went to CIBC to buy the RESP, i learned that the salesmen expect you to know nothing, have done no research, and are put off if you know what you’re talking about. Doesn’t everyone who buys investments know the key terms and concepts? apparently not!
12. 7 words to describe my bank? online, service-oriented, user-friendly, core services.
13. To switch, I would need to find another bank which allowed me to do all transactions and monitoring online anytime, anywhere. It would have to be completely no-fees, and offer something extra that my bank doesn’t (like one of those save-the-change gizmos). We have looked at switching to a local credit union, but our local ones have outrageous (to me) fees, poor web services, and I have a 10 year history with my bank that I don’t want to erase on a whim. If my bank had branches for those few times I do need a teller service, that would be ideal.
February 8, 2010 at 9:59 pm
It has taken CIBC 82 days to realize or notice that there has been no activity on our account other than service charges (stupid to be paying these I know but we have to go into the branch to close our account and haven’t) We moved to ATB months ago and only the last few automatic payments that had to be transferred and took forever was the reason to keep the account open as long as it has been.
We banked with them for 21 years and 13 at the current branch. We had late payments on our credit report and without asking for explanation or caring about that we are long term clients they just said NO when we wanted to renew our mortgage and it took them over 3 weeks to come up with the answer.
We went to ATB, we told them our story, the reason for the late payments and they said – WE UNDERSTAND, LIFE HAPPENS SOMETIMES, we can’t give you premium rates because of the late payments but your credit score is good so this is what we can do for you.
Thanks CIBC for showing me that all we are is a number to you. All of our products are gone from there, never to return – mortgage, chequing, savings, LIRA (2) RRSP and credit card and kids accounts. You’ve lots a lot of business!!
February 8, 2010 at 10:12 pm
1. ANSWER: INGDirect. They are awesome. 90 (they’d get 100 if they made it easier to get a debit card from them); I also use ScotiaBank. They are just okay. They get 60. The other 40 is the fact that they have banking fees, their site isn’t well designed and they don’t ever seem to help me do anything useful.
2. ANSWER: INGDirect – I have an Investment Savings account, TFSA and RRSP. ScotiaBank – I have one savings account and one credit card ($500 limit – I’m 22 and don’t need more).
3. ANSWER: INGDirect is by far the best. Everything is well explained – anything that I may not like – such as the 10 day waiting period for depositing money (even though I earn interest on it from day 1) is well explained. There’s a rational reason and they tell me. I just like the honesty of all of it.
4. ANSWER: ScotiaBank was the bank I was with when I was 6 years old. They’re not spectacular, they don’t have any really good savings accounts or chequing accounts. They’re just so mediocre. Make me feel like I’m a customer, not an account number.
5. ANSWER: ScotiaBank won’t stop sending me paper bills for my credit card. I’ve opted out so many times. Small pet peeve. They just ignore me for the most part.
6. ANSWER: ScotiaBank needs to improve their service. I wish they were more competitive – their rates always suck.
7. ANSWER: I trust ING with my money, not my life (99). I trust Scotia to keep it there (70).
8. ANSWER: I did actually switch to ING but Scotia offers debit cards and they have ATMs everywhere. That’s a huge plus for me. But I needed somewhere to start making my money work for me and ING excels in that department.
9. ANSWER: INGDirect made it extremely easy to donate to the Haiti Relief Fund.
10. ANSWER: INGDirect has an adorable calculator that keeps track of my financial goals. My investment savings account has a goal of $66,000 and whenever I log in, I love to see that I’m 15% there. I can clearly see my progress and it just makes me want to save more!!
11. ANSWER: You have to manage your money. No one else will do it for you.
12. ANSWER: Savings, interest, money, oh my! Awesome bank!
13. ANSWER: Someone would have to make a friendly institution, have an incredibly user friendly web site, offer extremely competitive rates and make me feel like I’m doing the right thing by switching. No gimmicks, no lies.
14. ANSWER: Canada
February 8, 2010 at 10:17 pm
1. TD. 90 out of 100.
2. Chequing, Overdraft Protection, LOC, and Visa.
3. Only deal with TD.
4. N/A. Any time I have a problem, they fix it.
5. Charge me interest. But that is inevitable, haha.
6. I wish they offered better savings accounts. Instead I had to go outside my FI to set up savings (through ING). And I wish that when they offered new clients swag for signing up with them (new iPods, etc), they rewarded long-standing members better. I’ve been banking with you for 8 years…where’s my iPod?
7. 50 out of 100. I never really deal with FI representatives. I make all of my own financial decisions at home by relying on my Mom’s advice, or research from reading this website (or others).
8. Never had a reason to switch FIs.
9. They increased my credit limit on my VISA without me asking them to, but I guess that would be for themselves as well technically? Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you.
10. Gave me the LOC funds to go back to school, and move across the country twice.
11. How not to get charged fees (by trial and error, of being charged too many fees)
12. reliable, easy, quick, friendly, convenient…?
13. Lower rates, which I think is almost impossible. Even with lower rates, I feel like I am pretty loyal to TD. Switching to a new bank would erase my excellent history…not through the credit bureau, but I feel like I might be less likely to keep my great rates/credit increases as a new customer, instead of a customer where they can see my history over time. I feel comfortable and familiar with their policies, and why would I try to fix what isn’t broken?
14. Canada.
February 8, 2010 at 10:21 pm
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
RBC- 75
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
RBC- Chequing account
High intrest online savings
RRSP
ING- High intrest savings account
Tax free savings account
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING- because there are no banking fees and not a constant sales pitch to purchase additional products.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
Situation one: Every time I go to the teller, after my transaction I am asked why I do not have a visa card with their bank and why don’t I apply for one. Even though RBC has declined me for their visa. This not only is upsetting but annoying.
Situation 2: I have gone in twice to my bank to try to negotiate a lower intrest rate car loan instead of the current one with a different company. I have been declined, and not really offered any financial advice in which I can either be deemed more attractive as a credit risk to them, all I have been told is to try again next year. This doesn’t make me feel that I am worth their time as a client.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Charge bank fees unless you have more then three different types of financial products with them.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
80
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I am trying to build a history with this FI so if one day I may be able to get a mortgage.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Unable to think of an instance.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
RBC- No
ING yes- savings goals for christmas spending account.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
That standing up for yourself will get you cheque hold time reduced!
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary
Corporate, pushing, mediocre customer service,
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
reduced fees, improved customer service.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 8, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I answered the survey by email but feel I must post a few comments here too.
I was with Scotiabank since my teens (chequing, student loans, etc) and had wonderful local service. I switched after everything was centralized in the East and they started making changes that could have caused problems. IE: suddenly holding paycheques (from a well established prominent business in town that paid me the same amount every two weeks for years) for 5 days before depositing money and not approving overdraft protection with this completely unexpected change. As soon as the local staff couldn’t assist you on a local level without Ontario’s approval, service declined terribly…in my opinion. Not to mention, offering terribly short banking hours for someone working full time.
I switched to TD Bank and they provided overdraft, deposited paycheques immediately, have great flexible hours, and very friendly staff. I have been happy about the switch ever since, never regretted it for a moment. Six years plus with TD and I don’t anticipate changing any time soon.
February 8, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Oh, and one more thing…these changes at Scotia weren’t in response to poor money management on my part. Even with these changes I never bounced a payment or missed any payments. Must have been a change across the board. Short sighted though…I’m in my 30’s now with many years ahead to use various banking services.
February 8, 2010 at 10:52 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
day to day banking – PC Financial. 70
investing – RBC. 70
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PC Financial – chequing & savings account for day-to-day stuff. Have some RRSP’s that will transfer OUT as soon as I can.
RBC – used to have mortgage (now paid off, but we found it very flexible!); saving account; VISAs; RRSP’s; TFSA’s; taxable investments (GIC’s); unused LOC which we need to kill
BMO MasterCard — ended all other banking with them during the 90’s
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
You have to understand the FI.
PC Financial is great with the no fee accounts — but don’t *ever* expect any service or help — which is why I regret the RRSP’s.
I *love* the Direct Investing with RBC — lots of choices thru the internet! And, it’s nice to have a FI which actually has people — depending upon the branch, the tellers either are helpful or helpless. The “advisor” we have does what we ask of him…he will point out things to us.
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
4 years ago switched to PCF from RBC due to the insane service fees for day-to-day stuff! Why do I need them to pay money for a bank account? And since we do NOT use pre-authorized payments, we only needed to change the direct deposit info from work.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
PCF – pretend to be more than they are. With no branches, and limited people, it’s hard for me to believe they’re a full service bank. They do have great banking features, but pale as a full bank in comparison to RBC in my opinion.
RBC – the amount of respect you receive is proportional to your mortgage amount, or investing amount. It’s amazing how it changes once they look you up on the computer!
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
70 — they are truthful to the questions you ask. However, if you don’t ask the right question, they don’t always lead you to the correct question.
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
Had to pressure husband for switch, as he’s been with RBC since 1985. I had dropped BMO years ago due to service fees.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Depends on the person. Had really great service with an RBC agent who left 4 years ago — she would call to remind us of important dates. Current guy is pretty good too.
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
We achieved our goal by understanding the products the FI have, and that not all FI’s are best at everything. (We loved our RBC mortgage; we love PCF no fee banking)
11.What have you learned from your FI?
You need to do your research and understand the “fine print”.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
PCF – free, internet bank, lack of tellers
RBC – need to read the fine print, helpful
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
crappy service; fees
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 9, 2010 at 12:21 am
Alexandra: it doesn’t take five weeks to process a mortgage in most of the United States, only in the backwater to which I was moving! Part of it is that local banks here still require mortgages to be approved by their boards of directors, but mostly it’s that the rest of the process is controlled by lawyers whose work habits haven’t changed since the 19th century. Because the lawyers are so slow, I needed to go through a national bank that would do its part quickly.
On the other hand, we have four local banks that are top-rated for safety.
February 9, 2010 at 1:03 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
My primary account is with TD, and I would give them a 50.
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
- bank accounts (chequing and savings)
- credit card
- line of credit (unused for 5+ years)
- used to have RRSPs, moved them
- used to have mortgage, moved it
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
- I really like ING, because they are responsive and non-bureaucratic.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
- N/A
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
- The whole ‘home branch’ thing is inconvenient and unnecessary in this day and age. Other FIs I’ve dealt with (credit unions) didn’t do this. Also, the fees they charge are completely ridiculous and arbitrary.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
- Can’t think of anything. I really appreciate the drive-thru teller because I have 2 small kids – more of those would be great.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
- 35
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
- I don’t really believe that there are any truly better options in terms of Canadian banks. Also, switching would be a hassle as all of our bills and pay are tied to the account.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
- Can’t think of when this has happened.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
- Owning a home, when they helped us secure our first mortgage and we did our RRSP flip to make our downpayment.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
- Only I have my own best interests at heart.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
- Cold, impersonal, bureaucratic, big, kid-unfriendly, typical, unconcerned.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
- Serious streamlining in transferring automatic bill payment, direct deposit, and so on. As we keep the minimum balance to pay no fees, that wouldn’t make much of a difference.
14. In what country are you banking?
- Canada
February 9, 2010 at 1:57 am
1. TD Canada Trust. 90/100
2. TD: chequing, credit card
ING: savings, TFSA, LOC
(RRSPs with a not-bank)
3. I like them both fairly equally, which is quite a bit. TD has great customer service and has had for a long time. I like the many options I have for doing my banking, and that I have always been able to walk into any branch anywhere and do business. They’ve always seemed to be ahead of the accessibility curve, starting with Easyline over 15 years ago, which made banking when I was moving around easy. I like that whenever I need to talk to a human, they sound like humans and know my name. I have unlimited transactions with no fees. Yes, I have to keep a $1000 minimum, but I crunched numbers years ago and I wouldn’t earn enough interest to cover the fees, plus it acts like a part emergency fund, part overdraft protection. Also, a few months ago I accidentally dipped below the $1000 but didn’t do any activity until I got paid a few days later and they didn’t charge me anything!
I like that ING pays a pretty good rate on savings accounts with no minimum, and the flexibility. I also like how they give financial incentives to get me to save money with them (like double the interest on early TFSA contributions).
4. The only thing I’m a bit upset about is that I had some money in an RRSP fund with TD that was doing nothing for years and nobody at TD said “Hey, this is awful, we should get rid of it or make it work.” But I can’t be too upset with TD because *I* really should have taken steps to resolve it sooner.
I’m also miffed that I, a very long term customer, can’t get a free iPod when they have those promotions. But that’s not really a TD issue.
5. When I pay a bill, they take the money out of my account immediately, but then don’t transmit the payment until the end of the day. That’s fine, it’s how they make money, but it has occasionally made trouble for me if the payee doesn’t register the payment until the next day. (Which annoys the $#!@ out of me. I don’t really get electronic banking that still holds to “business hours.”)
6. Ummmm… pay me for the use of my money? Figure out a way to let me take cash out through the computer so I don’t have to walk to the bank?
Other than that, I can’t really think of anything. It occurs to me that I don’t use TD for any saving/investing because they don’t give me enough bang for my buck.
7. 70; (90 for everyday banking, 50 for investing)
8. A number of years ago, I thought about switching to PC Financial, but I was quite happy with TD and the PITA factor stopped me. Now I’d be wary of changing to any institution that doesn’t have the accessibility TD has.
9. A few months ago, I got a call about a couple of possible fraudulent charges on my credit card. To be honest, they probably only called because one of the charges took me over the maximum, but my point is that *they* caught it and I didn’t have to deal with it. I didn’t even have to trek all the way to my “home” branch to pick up the new card; they sent it to the closest branch.
10. Hm. TD hasn’t, really, although through phone and web banking, they’ve helped me be more financially responsible by making it easy to pay bills on time. ING has helped me to save lots and lots of money for my grand European adventure.
11. That you don’t have to pay fees or accept credit increases if you don’t want to. I simply asked them to stop raising my credit limit and they did.
12. convenient, accessible, friendly, reliable, human, …
13. They would have to pay me money to do business with them. However, my banking needs are pretty simple. I’ll shop around for my mortgage when the time comes.
14. Canada
February 9, 2010 at 2:18 am
dottiehinson: Hah! I started writing up my answers before you posted yours (then went out and came back) and I just have to say re #6: Great Minds!
Reading some of the unhappy stories here reminded me of The Dough. http://www.xdude.com/thedough/
February 9, 2010 at 2:46 am
PAUL: Thanks for taking the time to answer.
February 9, 2010 at 3:32 am
[...] Survey Says… « gailvazoxlade.com tags: customers, full-doc, loan, may-not, mortgage-or-home, percent-level, scotiabank, [...]
February 9, 2010 at 9:49 am
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
PC Financial – 80% satisfied
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PC – Daily banking, Credit card, Small amount in savings
ING – High interest savings, TFSA, the unmortgage
TD – e series RRSP
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING – good customer service, easy on line use, love the unmortgage flexibility for paying down mortgage – extra payments any month and set up on line
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
PC – had teaser rate last year for TFSA then interest rate dropped – we walked with EF savings and then end of year with TFSA to ING.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
They cut my partners availble credit in half, yet did not touch mine. Could get no reason why. Nothing had changed and neither of us spent near the limit and paid off each month. Why one and not the other. Can’t get answers out of them either – they feed you a bullshit line. It ticked me off – principle of the matter. The teaser rate TFSA left a bad taste in my mouth too and relative high fee to trasfer out of TFSA.
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Wish PC had a good flexible mortgage like ING.
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
70% – Call centre workers limited – they cannot answer the questions asked as to “why” besides feed you the corporate line. Things do get done without hitch though.
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
We switched our savings from PC to ING and continue to use PC for daily banking.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
PC rewards is a good incentive to stay with them for daily stuff and credit card use. No fee banking and free cheques.
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
No – we achieve our own goals. It helps they charge no bank fees and have free cheques.
11.What have you learned from your FI?
They play games with their clients and we play games back.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
convenient, simple, online, rewards points, free banking
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Take away the PC points rewards program or introduce banking fees.
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 9, 2010 at 10:37 am
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Scotiabank. 80% satisfied with my service. Very happy with their online banking system.
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
At Scotiabank: Mortgage, Chequing Account, Lines of Credit
At ING: Savings Account, RRSPs, Mutual Funds
At CIBC: VISA
At BMO: Mastercard
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
I like ING best because of their ease of use and friendly communication. And lower fees.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I’m reasonably happy, but the customer service level has been decreasing lately. My primary banking officer had someone else call me back when I left her a message and the person who returned my call couldn’t answer any of my questions.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Have telemarketers call on their behalf to offer me more credit or insurance.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
Have lower interest rates.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
60%
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
The thought of all the paperwork, and lack of a guarantee that another financial institution will do a better job.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
N/A – though ING is better at making me feel like they did something for me (maybe it’s the little things like a note about my ’savings anniversary’.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
Yes – my automatic savings program has helped me achieve a savings goal.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
To negotiate whenever possible, and do my research. Comparison shop.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Convenient. Familiar. Somewhat bureaucratic.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Better rates, lower fees.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 9, 2010 at 11:35 am
1. First Calgary Financial. 90, but just because no one is perfect.
2. FCF – personal and business chequing
BMO cc – I collect points with my business cc
TD visa – personal card, I’ve had it since I was 16 and I don’t carry a balance so why bother switching.
Firstline mortgage – best rates, we’re at prime minus .75 for a few more months.
ING – TFSA
Discount brokerage RRSP
3. First Calgary, they call me if there is a problem instead of just waiting for me to notice.
4.Switching FI is a nightmare. I was dealing with CIBC and I wanted to make some changes to my accounts, 8 unreturned phone calls, 3 employees telling me they couldn’t help me and I had to talk to so and so at such and such and I was done.
It took a couple of months of research to decide on a new FI. I picked a local credit union, and they have been superb, even advising me to take some of my business elsewhere to get better rates!
Switching all the preauthorized deposits and withdrawls took a long time. The banks must know this, and figure they can do a lot to you before you’ll switch.
The good news out of this is that I pointed out to CIBC the costs I had incurred because they wouldn’t switch my accounts and they gave me back $200.
I also cancelled an MBNA credit card that I was collecting points with. I was disgusted by their “cheques” that you could use to pay off other cards with. I didn’t use them but I felt they were smarmy as they would advertise at one rate for these cheques one month, like 1.99% +fees, and the next month they wouldn’t which meant their rate was 20% +fees. I am sure many people were duped by that. Also, I was scared about id theft with these stupid cheques.
5. Nothing
6. I wish their brokerage was better affiliated so I didn’t have to do all their difficult forms. Also, they didn’t use to charge me for US drafts and now they do $6.
7.80
8.see #4
9. See below.
10. Saved my money by recommending I take some business elsewhere
11. How to research different facets of business banking.
12. Local, helpful, relationship developing, respectful, efficient online.
13. Not going to happen, I have never been treated so nicely by any other FI.
14. Canada
February 9, 2010 at 12:12 pm
1.Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
PC Financial – 100% – NO SERVICE CHARGES
CIBC – 30% – won’t waive any service charges even if you have multiple products with them.
ING – 100% – great savings vehicle.
2.What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PC Financial – chequing, savings, LOC, credit card
CIBC – mortgage, LOC, credit card, mutual funds (would move mortgage if I could I am so disappointed with them)
ING – savings
3.Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
PC Financial – no service charges and access from any CIBC instant teller.
4.If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
CIBC – at my local branch the customer service sucks, their fees are high, they have no discretion (which I would expect from one of the big 5) and they only call you when THEY want to see you something.
5.What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
PC – no problems
CIBC – take forever to deal with requests
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
CIBC – care about their customers, not their bonus or sales targets.
7.On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
about 10 – I have been batter so many times that I don’t trust any bank rep anymore.
8.If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
We can’t switch our mortgage because my husband cannot get life insurance (currently in place with CIBC) with any other institution or insurance company because he has just been cancer free for a year and 1/2.
9.When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
can’t even remember
10.How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
helped to move RRSP’s from London Life to CIBC to start consolidate our holdings.
11.What have you learned from your FI?
That customers need to look out for themselves and never fully trust them.
12.What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
PC Financial – convenient, inexpensive, straight-forward, helpful
CIBC – rigid, slow, inconvient.
13.What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
similar service on the chequing side – but higher saving account interest
14.In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 9, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I don’t have a lot of money to work with, so I don’t have a lot of investments, which means that my answers are mostly based upon everyday banking needs.
I bank mostly with President’s Choice Financial. For everyday banking, they’re the best I’ve found: no fees, good interest rates, free cheques, no limit on how many transactions you can do, and you can call someone 24/7 to resolve your issues over the telephone. They’re also the company I have a credit card with.
However, you pay for this convenience in the fact that you cannot deal with a person face-to-face, and if you want anything done (like replacing your debit card), you have to call them, ask for it, and then wait for it to arrive in the mail (as opposed to walking into the bank and walking out with a new card.)
Out of 100, I’d give them a 90, because every once in a while I’d like to go in and talk to a real, live person and be able to take money from a teller as opposed to an ATM. I’d also like the option to discuss finances and investments with a real live person and not be married to talking only about the products that particular bank has. However, this seems to be a problem with every bank I’ve dealt with.
With PC, I have my chequing, multiple savings accounts, an RRSP, and my only credit card. With Bank of Montreal, I have an RDSP. I’m not as satisfied with BMO (while they are a real bank where you can talk with a real person, they will not talk about RDSP or investment stuff. You have to talk to someone over the phone about that, which annoys me, but not as much as the fact that their investment line advisors are very much married only to the products they sell, and don’t want to talk in generalities or answer my questions unless they know they’re going to sell me something.) Out of 100, I’d give BMO a 10.
For everyday banking, I like PC the best. For my RDSP, I wish I could change banks, but at the time BMO was the only one who offered it and (as far as I know) you’re not allowed to transfer an RDSP from one FI to another.
As for how much I trust the reps at BMO, the answer is “as far as I can throw them.” Because I’m stuck with a telephone, I can’t talk to the same person twice (I’ve tried asking for the name and extension of the person I was talking with last time; it doesn’t work) and I don’t feel like I have a real relationship with anyone. Like I said, I’d switch if I could. Please let me know if you have information that I don’t about RDSPs – they’re so new that most banks (and the reps I talk to) don’t even know the rules yet. I feel like I have to blindly trust that they are taking care of my money, as I don’t have the option to view my balance online nor keep track of my investments with them myself. Plus, with the government, no one knows when their contributions kick in, how often, or by what date I’ll get them. I have to blindly trust on that one too, and I don’t like it.
That said, when it comes to saving accounts, PC is one of the bets banks I’ve found. I feel like they are doing something for me, in terms of giving me one of the best rates around. Since I know I can’t talk with someone in person (if you go into their “branches” you can talk to a person, but they have no power to do anything to your account and will put you on the phone with someone to get anything done), I don’t keep investments with them other than a very small RRSP which, once it gets big enough, I plan on moving to another FI (shopping around) to take care of it.
As for the seven words I’d use for PC, they are: reliable, (mostly) convenient, dependable, accessible, rewarding (PC points are great) and, while slightly inconvenient as well, does an overall good job for everyday banking needs.
To switch to another FI for everyday banking, I’d have to have all the perks of PC (listed above) plus great interest and the ability to walk into a bank and deal with a real, live person. To switch from BMO, I’d need to feel like I could have a real relationship with the reps there (not just switching to another FI that’s exactly like the previous one) and of course, I’d have to have the ability to switch. Right now, you can’t hold more than one RDSP at any time, which means I can’t open up another one and transfer the balance, even if I were going to close the first one right after. Plus, there are rules that say if I take any money out of the RDSP, including transfers, before the age of 60, I have to give back all government contributions for the last ten years. Definitely not worth it. Lastly, I don’t want to make it too complicated for the government to find me and give me my contributions – they might send it to the wrong institution and, due to the lack of information I get, I may not even know about it for a long time. That would leave me with a big mess to sort out, and could conceivably happen with each contribution (this IS the government, after all) from here anon.
February 9, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I forgot to mention three things:
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal? Never.
What have you learned from your FI? That you’d better do the research yoursef and know your stuff; they’re not tehere to educate.
What country are you banking in?
I’m banking in Canada.
February 9, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I guess I’m mostly indifferent about my FI. I don’t credit them with any outstanding advice or treatment, but I also haven’t had any trouble with them. I can’t recall the last time I paid a fee – to be frank I can’t recal if our account requires a minimum balance to ensure that, but that’s likely the reason.
My only gripe with them is that last time our mortage was up for renewal I got the reminder letter in the mail, along with the rate they were offering if we renewed for the same term (5yrs). They claimed it was a special rate for great customers or something along those lines. It was a bit below their advertised rate at the time. I spent 5 minutes on the phone and 3/3 other lenders offered a better rate. I called to find out the procedure for closing our mortage and moving it and then they suddenly became interested in finding a better rate. They matched the best of the lower rates I had found so we ultimately stayed. When we get close to our next renewal in Sept 2012 I plan to contact them and let them know they’re getting one chance to quote us a renewal rate. If I get a better quote elsewhere I won’t be staying this time. Not sure it will have any effect on their policies but it can’t hurt to let them know as least this customer won’t accept there claims of a great rate at face value.
February 9, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Looking forward to seeing the final results!
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
Primary Account is with TD Canada Trust. I rank them around 80.
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
TD Canada Trust – savings/chequing account
ING Direct – savings account
Investors Group Solutions Banking – investment loan, line of credit (no balance owing)
PC Financial – a credit card
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
TD Canada Trust — It’s convenient for me. They have banks and banking machines everywhere, online banking, and telephone banking. The tellers are quick and efficient with services that I need like currency exchange or money transfers.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
I am not unhappy with my primary FI.
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
I wish they didn’t charge such expensive bank fees on the rare occassions that I incur them. It would be nice if they responded favourably to my loyalty (I’ve been with TD Canada Trust for about 20 years) with lower bank fees.
6. What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I wish they’d pay a higher interest on the savings account. Again, it would be nice if they had some sort of loyalty program either lower bank fees and/or higher interest for savings accounts for people who have been customers for over say 5 years.
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
It depends on the reps. Usually with tellers, around 90 (if 100 means very trustworthy). But with “financial advisors” it’s about 25.
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I haven’t thought of switching FIs.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
A rep told me not to close my savings account because my primary FI no longer offered the services and perks I had since it’s such an old account. The rep seemed pretty sincere about the value of keeping my savings account with my primary FI since I didn’t even bring up the topic of closing my account.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
They helped me to begin understanding savings but not so much about understanding investing and how an overall financial plan can help me. So I wouldn’t say they helped me to achieve a goal, rather they helped me get started on my way.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
Trust but verify. Particulary when it came to savings options like GICs.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Ubiquitous! Convenient. Easy. Straight-forward. Friendly people.
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
Serious customer loyalty perks. Lots of convenience. Brick and mortar banks where I can actually talk to a person face-to-face.
14. In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 9, 2010 at 8:40 pm
1. Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
CIBC – 40
RBC – 70
2. What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
CIBC – chequing account with O/D; LOC, car loan, Visa, Student loans (now paid off)
RBC – RRSP
BMO – used to have student LOC, now paid off
3. Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
hard to compare b/c only use RBC for my RRSP, CIBC is only one where I tend to do real banking.
4. If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
CIBC – recently raised LOC rates even though I’m a good long-standing customer; I got quoted one rate for my car loan, then when I sat down to do paperwork (with same person), it was a higher rate (I made a fuss & they changed it); problems with VISA tend to take multiple calls over multiple months to work out; Every time I call CIBC VISA they try to get me to change to a card with fees; My credit line statements got lost in a move and it took 4 months of me calling each month before somone figured out what the problem was
5. What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Ask me if I want to change credit cards every time I’m on the phone with them. Charge fees for normal, low-volume banking.
6.What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I travel a lot, and have had my bank-issued credit card “caught” a couple of times, where the company flags it during a transaction, and the salespeople have to check ID, fill out forms,etc. for fraud prevention & to prove it is me. Once, before a trip, I called them to clear the trip ahead of time so as to prevent that occurrence, and they said there was nothing they could do… I wish there was a way to do that.
I also wish they had a real high-interest savings account.
When I was a student, I got my student LOC from BMO instead of CIBC b/c at the time, they said they “just don’t do that”. Not sure about now… Wished they allowed the “savings sub-categories” on the accounts,
7. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
CIBC – 40
RBC – 80
8. If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
The hassel of changing all the direct deposits and direct payments. I have looked around and don’t see any other options in a brick-and-morta institutions that are really all that better. Thus far I have been nervous about using a strictly on-line bank.
9. When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
CIBC – Can’t think of anything. RBC- the account Mgr. I deal with for my RRSPs is quite good. I realize she is trying to sell something, but she doesn’t push too hard, does listen well, and has been very flexible with me and has helped me do dollar cost averaging on my MFs, even through 5 years of inconsistent contract work.
10. How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
I don’t think that has happened.
11. What have you learned from your FI?
Need to be diligent about what is in my own best interest, b/c they will nickel & dime you all they can.
12. What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI? Monolithic, impersonal, reliable, out to make money
13. What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
I would switch if a) they really peeved me off or b) there was a streamlined way to change everything over AND there was an option worth switching to (that actually ahd a branch, or at least an ATM in a convenient location
14. In what country are you banking? Canada
February 9, 2010 at 11:23 pm
1. RBC:50, ScotiaBank: 95
2. RBC: Checking, Line of Credit, VISA,
ScotiaBank: Checking, VISA, 2 mortgages, business account
3. I’m happy with Scotia as I deal directly with the Branch Manager and get good, prompt advice and competitive rates
4. I’m removing all my accounts from RBC because: they were unbelievably slow at approving my mortgage (they ended up not getting my business), it was not possible to contact their mortgage specialist or assistant in time, I hate receiving their monthly promo calls on my cell, they treated poorly someone else who I had referred to the bank and pestered him to buy their RRSP product when he had to repeat several times he wasn’t interested
5. I wish RBC didn’t bother me with their unsolicited calls
6. N/C
7. I trust Scotia 95 percent, RBC gets 30 percent
8. Switching takes a while. I’m waiting to pay in my line of credit before I close all my accounts with RBC
9. I’m thrilled that Scotia invited me for a “Market Condition Seminar”. It was good to attend and they didn’t lay on the sales at the end of the seminar.
10. Scotia clearly layed out the conditions so that I could get my investment property mortgages approved
11. N/C
12. RBC: slow, greedy, accessible, not dependable, traditional
13. Seeing proof that another FI is better
14. Canada
February 10, 2010 at 1:19 pm
hi Gail
1. I deal with Presidents Choise Financial and ING mainly. PCF would rate at 90% and ING 95%
2.PCF- chequing account ING savings account for myself and my daughter and RRSP’s
3. I am happy with ING because I alsway get clear answers from the reps and they present me my options without pressure. With PCF I am not impressed with the interest rates on savings and RRSP’s. This is why I moved them to ING. I am impressed with the service though. When we were buying our home a few years ago they made an error and processed all the paperwork and then whe we had 24 hours to lift financing they said they were no able to morgage our home. They not only found us a mortgare through CIBC but they also got CIBC to match their interes rate which was slighyl below the CIBC rate.
I do not pay for regular banking transactions sucha s debit card use, cheques, bill payments and transfers but I still get good customer service.
February 10, 2010 at 9:22 pm
I’m sure you know this, but you could use Surveymonkey for this survey to make your life easier. If you aren’t familar with the tool check it out at surveymonkey.com. I use it all the time and really like it.
Who do you have your primary account with.
PC Financial
On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
95
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
PC Financial – Checking, savings, and a couple of very small GICs, credit card
ING Direct – Savings and a couple of registered Streetwise accounts
TD – an RRSP plan connected to my employer, credit card
Questrade – online trading
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
ING because they have a very user friendly, cutting edge product. They cut out the BS and make my life easier. Love the subdivided savings accounts and the ability to easily transfer money around between cash and investments in registered accounts.
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
Am very happy with PC Financial.
I will mention though that I’m a little annoyed with Questrade. They don’t send me my remittance forms and they try to charge me to send “copies” becaus they say that they’ve sent them. I’d close down the accounts but they are registered so it’s a pain in the ass.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
Nothing in particular. PC Financial is great.
What don’t they do that you wish they did?
I wish that PC offered some of the enhancements that ING Direct offers. These include easily and quickly offering multipul savings accounts, the ability to create custom names for savings accounts, the cute goal setting program, and the general awesomeness of the user interface.
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
90. They’ve always been great. I’m just a little bit of an un-trusting person!
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
I don’t beleive there is a better bank account out there for someone with my needs. I have no intenion of changing chequing accounts. I recomend this account to others when they ask.
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
Well, they have not charged me one single fee in the 7 years I’ve had the account. That’s all they really need to do to make me happy. It’s mutually beneficial, just the way I like it.
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
The goal of having a good bank account? Yes. What other goal would they help me achieve?
What have you learned from your FI?
That online banks are better than brick and mortar. I wondered if I’d have some problems because I didn’t have access to tellers (everyone who uses a brick and mortar bank warned me that this would happen) but I’ve never had one. I’d WAY rather do everything by phone or internet than haul my cookies to a branch. I’ve never had a problem.
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
Great value. No bullsh*t. Convenient. Simple. Made for smart people. (And rule breakers who put more than 7 words!)
What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
They’d have to offer a better product and service package. My loyalty is based solely on the value I’m recieving, nothing more. At this point I find it very unlikely that another bank is going to satisfy my needs better than PC Financial does. And really, it’d have to a signifigantly better package, because I have no intention of jumping around from account to account. Too complicated.
Although I will say, when I go on extended trips (several months) I usually open an at a different institution in order to have access to international cash withdrawls at no fee. But that’s temporary.
In what country are you banking?
Canada
February 14, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Who do you have your primary account with. On a scale of 1-100 (100 being I’m thrilled with my service) how would you rank this FI?
- Presidents Choice Financial. 95% satisfied
What service(s) do you use at your primary FI? (mortgage, bank accounts, overdraft protection, line of credit, credit card,, etc.) List them all, or list them by FI if you deal with more than one.
- Presidents Choice Financial: chequing acct, savings account, special interest savings account, rrsp, credit line
- ScotiaBank – Mortgage
- Royal Bank – Visa credit card
Of the different FIs you deal with (if more than one) who do you like the best and why?
- LOVE president’s Choice Financial – love the lack of service fees, 24 hour phone service, great rates, grocery points come in handy for christmas, great advice, not overly hard sell. will be happily taking my mortgage from Scotia Bank to Presidents choice this year when it needs to be renewed.
If you are not happy with your primary FI, give an example of what transpired to make you unhappy, angry, sad.
- Wish their credit card rate was lower so I could get it at decent rate. will keep my royal bank visa until Presidents choice interest rate is better.
What does your FI do that you wish they didn’t?
- nothing
What don’t they do that you wish they did?
- nothing
On a scale of 1-100, how much do you trust your FI representative(s)?
- 70%
If you’ve thought about switching, what’s stopped you?
- haven’t thought about it. very happy with them
When was the last time you felt your FI did something for YOU? (as opposed to for themselves)
- never?
How has your FI helped you achieve a goal?
- they independently suggested I roll my independent credit line into a secured credit line to reduce my interest rate. hadn’t thought of that.
What have you learned from your FI?
- call back repeatedly to ensure you get the same answer from different people
What seven words would you use to describe your primary FI?
- low fees, approachable, available
What would it take to make you switch to another FI?
- really low interest rates is about it
In what country are you banking?
- canada
February 15, 2010 at 5:37 am
1 + 2)
CoastCapital Savings CU = 100% sat. Chequing, direct deposits, online everything and NO FEES. I live 800 km from their nearest branch but can use the local CU for many services on my account.
Then CIBC 5 min from my house for account held with semi-ex (long story), VISA, and safety deposit box (used very often as I travel frequently and stash irreplaceable personals) 70% sat.
Scotiabank with car loan. 80% sat.
PC Financial Mastercard- blah! 60% Only good for the points.
ING for TFSA. 95% good product, but froze my account without telling me because my new address was a PO Box.
Overdraft at CC, CIBC, and Scotia. No mortgage.
3) CC- is the most responsive to changes in my life. Service changes, get quotes, move- whatever. They just seems to handle it all in stride. No delays in account. Great phone hours, not rushed. Fantastic hours in person, always full staff of tellers. Have travelled with no problem (or fees) using other CU bank machine. The only thing they mail me is my voting card for the board of directors. How cool is it to pick your FI directors?
4) CIBC was going to put us through loops to prove our financial standing to get a small car loan/ line of credit. Would have had to wait weeks until our T1s came in, multiple visits, etc (including providing statements proving we paid off our student loans. Really! What are the loan officers doing to earn their keep?)- and we were two professionals. Said they use their “own” credit scoring and when I explained I knew about FICO, and Beacon, etc, and checked my own credit report annually they were not impressed. Ended up buying off the dealership and paying for a snazzier car because we didn’t have the liquidity for more purchase options. Had to prove my identity to Scotiabank (been with them 20 years) when I noticed a name typo on one of my loan documents. Their fault, my grief. Luckily, it was at least handled at the local office after I got the phone run-around.
5)Have the bank hours and the bank attitude.
6) Offer lots of good products together so I wouldn’t have to have so many different FI. I know when I’m being nickel-and-dimed and being offered terrible products within a shiny “package” deal. I’m doing a crazy amount of research trying to figure out where to park my RRSP because the trust isn’t there. Ditto for our explorations into home ownership.
7) 0% They are first, and only, salespersons. Banks are business. No financial training is required for many of the staff positions that present pricey financial decisions. Internal training only teaches what is in the bank’s interest. Find the most experienced staff member, be super nice, and bombard them with question. Figure out what they know and don’t know so you can make an informed decision. My trust goes up if the staff have worked at other FI and can compare products from an insider’s perspective.
9) The CC insisted I take the no fee account. Hard sell.
10) Yes. ING has great goal-setting service. It feels really supportive and positive. CC lets you have unlimited sub-accounts (you can name ‘em too) for whatever. Create, delete, do what you want online. Great for the micro-manager.
11) I have to be pro-actively self defensive with my money. Local matters, community support matters. Buying stocks in banks is a better idea than from them!
12) for the busy mobile community-loving crowd
13) If my local CU offered no fees.
14) Canada