CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR THE LOYAL CUSTOMER – THE TD/CANADA TRUST WAY
My story is a simple one. I went to my local branch of the TD/Canada Trust where I have banked for eight years and my husband for over twenty years. I went to make a deposit of a check that I received from the United States for income from a small farm I hold jointly with my siblings. I receive this income once a year. I have been getting this check for the past eight years. The first year I lived in Canada, the check I received was drawn from our small business account in the US and since I had just recently got married and moved to Canada and opened an account with what was then Canada Trust, this check was held for 30 days. Frustrating, but not totally unexpected either.
At that time I discussed with the bank how I could best handle this money transaction for the following years in order to avoid a hold being placed on the money. The bank recommended I get the money sent to me in the form of a bank check drawn from the USbank where our farm account was held. So that’s what I did. No more problems with holds being placed on the check for the next six years.
Then suddenly this year, January2006, when I stop in at my bank to deposit my check, I get questioned. Now in all fairness, I was also questioned last year about the check, what it was for, where it came from etc., but when I explained the situation, had the teller go back into my account and showed them where I had received a similar payment the previous year, the check was deposited, no questions. So I did the same this year. But the teller said she needed to run it past her manager. When she came back out, she told me the best they could offer me was a five day hold on the check since there was not a “code” attached to the deposit last year which showed it was made yearly. Now this hold was of course for five “business” days meaning that the current day (Thursday) didn’t count so I wouldn’t be able to access the money until the following Friday. I was upset. I informed the teller that I’ve banked with TD/Canada Trust for eight years and my husband for over twenty. We have our mortgage through this bank. I even asked for the manager to come over to speak with me. Well when the manager came over, he really didn’t look old enough to even be working, let alone be in a management position. He took one look at the check, NEVER made eye contact with me and said, “Nope, that’s the best we can do.” and walked away. I was livid! I told the teller I would take my check and my business elsewhere and walked out the door.
Well of course, the threat of me taking my business elsewhere did nothing for them. I’m sure they were secretly applauding that it was one less paltry account for them to deal with, but it felt good for the whole of the five seconds it took me to walk out the doors of the bank. So after a small rant with my husband, I told him to take the check back into the bank and deposit it into my account, as I knew taking it to another bank would not be a plausible solution. I knew I would not be able to get my husband to follow me in my trek to find a new bank to do business with. So the check was deposited with the five day hold. My husband later told me that another teller had come over and told him that we were lucky with just a five day hold as most of the time it was a thirty day hold. Well….let’s just say it was a good thing my husband didn’t tell me this until a LONG time after.
Now my story doesn’t end here. An hour or so after returning from the bank, I calmed down enough to have a rational thought. I decided I was not going to allow the bank to treat a loyal customer this way. So after digging and searching on the internet, I found the phone number to call and lodge a complaint with TD/Canada Trust. The gentlemen I got when I finally was connected to a live person had obviously been well trained in the art of diplomacy, as he had just the right amount of care and concern without giving away anything he could be held accountable for later. He said he would take my information down and someone would get back to me….. Now are you ready for this??? Wait…it’s a good one!! Someone would get back to me in three to five business days!! Well I told the guy that wouldn’t solve my problem of not being able to get my money now would it! But in his best well-trained concerned voice, he thought they might get back to me the next day if they weren’t busy. (Good comeback don’t you think to keep the angry lady appeased?)
Well I ended by telling him all over again what I thought of TD/Canada Trust and their customer service. I summed it up at the end by saying. If going through my banking history of the past few years plus the long history that my husband has had with this bank, isn’t a clue that we have never committed bank fraud or theft during this time, the likelihood that my New Year’s resolution for 2006 is to turn to a life of crime, show up at my bank with a bogus fraudulent US bank check….is pretty remote.
I’m still waiting to receive the call from someone about my complaint. I don’t hold out much hope that it will happen before the hold runs out on my money. But I do know that I’m going to make a comment to them about how busy their complaint department must be if it takes three to five business days to get back to me about my small complaint…ha! I might also discuss with them about how TD/Canada Trust gets to use “my money” during these five days of the hold. (But that’s another topic for another day.) And then I will also share with them what I’m going to do for TD/Canada Trust in the future. I’m going to make sure I tell anyone and everyone about my experience at TD/Canada Trust. I’m going to write about it as often as I can, and maybe….just maybe with my small ripple in this big pond, I can make a difference for all of us who have been loyal bank customers for many years and for any new customers that might be thinking of banking at TD/Canada Trust.
Lynnette J. Thorne
Calgary Alberta
Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.
January 9th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
I had the EXACT samme problem with TD . For years my aunt would send me a cheque for five thousand, twice a year. I am a 20+ year customer, and they always wanted to place a 30 day hold on it. Finally, one bright light suggested that they just call the bank that the cheque was issued from. ( I am in Ontario, and the issuing bank was a Royal bank in Quebec ) They charged me the cost of the long distance phone call, and the cheque was cleared immediately. Perhaps this might help.
January 10th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
I had the same problem with CIBC. I receive a monthly paycheck from the US. It is currently not feasible for the employer to direct deposit the funds so I have to get a check cut to me once a month. But, with the hold time I have to wait an additional month every single month to have it clear. Checks clear very quickly these days. It does not take 30 business days to clear funds. I don’t care what they say. In the meantime they are holding funds and not paying any interest on the money. This really ought to be regulated. Frankly, I even understand a five day hold on the funds, but 30 is just wrong. By the way I tried to bring this up with customer service and it was useless.
March 21st, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I fee for ya, Lynette. I recently opened my account with TD. I had opened a joint account with my spouse and we set everything all the same, the same accounts, the same access. I have always deposited my spouse’s check for him and taken out the balance through the machine no problem with my card. This being over the 200.00$ normal limit. well, I deposited a check one day, and long behold it would only allow me to take out 200.00$ I am 22 years old, and I believed (even at the time of my setting up my new accounts with them) that I am responsible enough to handle a higher release ammount than 200.00 I have never commited bank fraud, and that was not the agreement when I set up my card. So I waited in line spoke to a rep, and she directed me to another desk the lady told me that my card had been set up this way. I explained to her that this is a joint account, and there is no reason why my spouse and I would want different access to “our” money, in all honesty, I was not rude, I never raised my voice, All I was looking for was an “I’m sorry, that this inconieneces you”, or “lets resolve this issue for you.” Common customer service respect. But to no avail, she told me I would have to wait to see if someone could help me. I understood banks are busy places, after about 5 minutes a lady was ready to see me in her office, so that is where I went. When I arrived she had my account up and a printed peice of paper with a whole bunch of documents that I signed when I opened my account with them, She had one circled and underlined. She then proceeded to tell me what date my account was created and that it was always set up this way, I explained that I have taken my spouses checks and taken out money before and never had any problem taking out more than the 200.00$ she slammed her hands on the table and yelle”what do you want me to do for you today.” I replied quite surprised with this uncalled for burst of frustration or what ever you call that, with “Excuse me?” and she repeated herself again. I then asked, “do you always treat your customers this way? all I ‘m looking for is maybe an apology, or a reason for why the change occured, because I will come back here with my bank statements and prove that I have always been able to do this,” she repeated again that I signed some document, pointing to it with her pen. I said, “that doesn’t mean anything to me, can you pull up that document and show me exactly where I signed my release ammount to 200.00$ then she said “there is nothing I can do” with that I took her card, and said I think I would like to close off my account, she replied with ” we need your signature for that” So with that I left. Feeling that I could escalate this and maybe it was just a really bad day for her or something. I have had held bank accounts since the age of 7 and all these years even as a child I have nevre been treated so poorly in my life by someone who I am supposed to intrusdt my money with. But logging into there website, I found it also very much like a brick wall, there is no direct number to a supervisor, no direct line to a manager, just e-mail and a phone number for general inquiries or personal accounts. This is a very poor way to treat a new customer let alone a person who has delt with a bank for 8 years. Banks are turning into businesses, people value their money and wanted to be treated with respect when addressing an issue about their money. How can I trust my bank to handle any problems I have in the future?
April 9th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
When was a bank anything other than a business?
April 18th, 2006 at 4:28 am
Since I am the one who initially wrote this complaint, I thought I’d write an update. I did finally receive a call 3 days later from someone in customer service at TD/Canada Trust. The woman was very professional and well trained in the art of diplomacy. After explaining my situation again, she took care of the hold that had been placed on my account even though the hold would be up in 2 days. She also indicated that I should now have a “code” on my account that should prevent this from happening next year when I go to deposit this US bank check. I should have no holds placed on it as long as it’s a bank check from the same US bank. I have no problem with this arrangement.
Surprisingly, about 3 weeks later, I recieved a call from the local manager of this branch. He wanted to know what had happened and my experience etc. During the course of our conversation, he seemed to believe it was the fault of the teller to which I corrected him and stated I was most frustrated with the response I received from the “manager” that came over. He thanked me for bringing the matter to his attention and in the end offered me a gift certificate to a restaurant of our family choosing.
I honestly wished I would have told this manager that while the gift certificate was a wonderful gesture, I appreciated more the response of the phone call from TD/Canada Trust and taking my concern seriously. Hopefully by calling these things to their attention, they will see that getting their staff to spend a few extra minutes sorting out customers concerns at the time they happen will benefit everyone.
Dee, in response to your comment, I agree that a bank is a business, but there is no excuse for not taking the time to help customers and provide excellent customer service right from the start. Managers especially should be held to a higher standard of practice.
May 16th, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Hello Lynnette. My name is John, and I used to work for TD as a teller and I must say that your story is very shocking to me. A simple look back on your account history would have showed this cheque being deposited each year and could have prevented this whole thing.
I would however like to point out a few things. First, cheque clearing does take a very long time when the cheque is not drawn on a bank within your province. Inside canada can take upto 5 business days, and (I know it seems like a long time) it can take 30 business days for a cheque to clear from the US (their clearing system is VERY slow).
Secondly, I hope this behaviour that you received fromt the “manager” is only an isolated incident. This is by no means the manner in which TD personel are taught to speak to a customer. Like the one response said, it may have just been a really bad day. I am also glad that you did get resolution to your problem in the end and that an attempt was made to make you happy. This is the type of service TD normally stirves to deliver.
Finally, for anyone reading this, there are steps that you can take if you are not happy with the service you receive.
Step 1 - Ask to speak to the manager. He/she will speak to you. Maybe not right then and there, but they will.
Step 2 - Speak to the TD cares department. This is the people that you commented were very adept at diplomacy.
Step 3 - If the “cares” department does not resolve you problem, you can speak witht the TD ombudsman. This is an impartial TD employee (that may be an oxymoron) that investiages unresolved complaints and tires to find resolutions.
Step 4 - If the TD ombudsman is of no help, you can file a complaint with the ombudsman of financial institutions. A government official that will investigate your complaints.
All these step, phone numbers, and contacts are in a brochure in every branch called “If you have a problem or concern”. Every branch official must, by law, provide you with this brochure if you ask for. (Every other chartered bank in Canada — RBC, CIBC, etc. — will have a similar brochure and steps). You must follow all the steps in order and not skip any or they will not listen to you until you have.
Anyways… Im glad things worked out in the end.
June 27th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
You think being a customer is bad try having a student loan with them. I am currently paying my loan off for the second time while I try to find someone at the TD corporation who can add well enough to figure out that an enormous error has been made. I’m going on 11 years with this particular battle. I can definitely sympathize and I’ve said that they will NEVER get another penny of my investment money. Jon, (the former TD teller) I hate to break the news to you but I have NEVER had anything but this kind of poor, rude, uniformed service. I am in the process of approaching the TD ombudsman after having exhausted all regular channels. Wish me luck, lord knows with TD I’ll need it!
July 12th, 2006 at 9:57 am
It seems that “John” may not be all he seems as he is quoting verbatum the internal manual of TD’s Customer care procedures.
Nice to see that big business keeps it eye on the little guy.
–M
July 12th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Hi Mark. Thank you for posting. I agree about John. I’m fairly sure that he is part of some kind of damage control team at TD. I don’t see it so negatively though. He is obviously an employee but at least TD is making the effort to tell people what to do when they have a problem. Now if they could just do their job in the first place, John could get moved to a different department.
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:22 pm
I am a little biased on this situation but I am going to shed some light on what happened…
I work for TD Canada Trust. I started as a teller at 19 and worked my way up to a “sales” position (I am now 22).
As a teller, any cheque brought forth is essentially a credit decision. We do NOT look at YOU and think that YOU’RE defrauding the bank. It’s the people that WRITE the cheque that we need to question. What it is hard for most to understand is that that bank is a business, and is out to make money. Tellers are required to do their “due diligence” when making decision like how long a cheque is on hold for. The standard hold time for a US$ cheque is 30 business days. It seems like an unreasonably long amount of time, but the lack of cooperation between Canada and the US when it comes to banking often results in Canadian banks not receiving funds until up to 45 business days after the cheque was sent through to clearing. Too many times have I ignored my gut feeling about a certain cheque and not placed a hold, and it has placed my customers in a sticky situation. In all honesty, WE don’t want YOU to be stuck with a series of your OWN cheques bouncing due to a cheque that you deposited.
What also needs to be understood is that it is a Teller’s RESPONSIBILITY to ensure they are doing the right thing for the customer AND the bank. Unfortunately the major banks in Canada do not pay their tellers well (starting wage is about $11/hour, and it’s only part time work 95% of the time).
Another factor that has really only come into play in the last 5 years or so is money laundering. September 11th changed the way banks do business. We are trained extensively on warning signs and listening to your gut.
You would be surprised if you knew the statistics on how much a branch could lose in a given month by not placing appropriate holds on cheques. It is a frustrating system, I understand, but usually it just takes a phone call to book an appointment with a manager to discuss your situation with a manager BEFORE you present your cheque to a teller. Having a discussion at a teller wicket regarding issues like this is not something we’re encouraged to do. Privacy laws are incredibly strict, and we like to ensure that no one else in the branch can hear what’s going on with your affairs.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are two sides to every story. I don’t think that the situation was handled correctly at the branch you visited and “John” is just letting you know what your best steps would be to get this resolved. But PLEASE don’t take it personally! As I said before, banks are BUSINESSES! If our business was LOSING money, you would not be banking with TD. TD stocks are absolutely SKYROCKETING! One of our guiding principles is “to increse shareholder value.” This means making the RIGHT decisions at the right times. “KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER” is our number one rule, and unfortunately with virtual banking, it’s difficult, we realize. A teller’s job can depend on making the right decision when it comes to placing holds on cheques… A girl I work with a year and a half ago accepted a $5500 US dollar “money order” that turned out to be fraudulent. Our customer did NOT know that it was fake, and not only does it affect her performance appraisal, but the client went into serious overdraft and didn’t have good enough credit to obtain overdraft protection or a line of credit to cover the loss. The average working person can not come up with $5000 cash in a short period of time (it would take 6 WHOLE paycheques for me, and I WORK there).
Please be patient, always talk to a “Manager Customer Service,” who specializes in the service side (teller related) issues.
Honestly, TD Canada Trust is a great bank, there is a REASON they are on of the top banks in Canada. I have faith and I BELIEVE in where I work, and I KNOW that we rise above the rest of the banks.
On that note, TD is really focusing on the “customer experience” now. They have developed a whole new strategy in customer relations that will change the way we do business. In the next year you will notice a change in the way we handle any day to day enquiries. In all honesty, we know that HELPING THE CUSTOMER is key in retaining business… It’s just a matter of getting EVERYONE employed on board!!!
August 24th, 2006 at 3:08 am
Hello Stephanie,
As a customer of TD Canada trust for many years I can honestly say you simply do not get it. One of the reasons TD Canada Trust is one of the top banks is there are only a few banks in Canada. Your banks price fixing schemes and high service charges make every Canadian hate you. Your call centers and staff are always rude and do not act like they need or want us as customers. We would all switch if there was an alternative, but where else can we put our RSPs? An other bad Canadian bank?
The controller at my company deals with TD and Royal Bank and says although they both have unreasonable fees the Royal Bank is a pleasure to deal with, as opposed to the rudeness of TD.
.
I have some money I wanted to invest at TD as my other accounts are there as well as my visa and RSP. After dealing with someone at the help desk the other day over an issue with my Visa I am moving everything to another institution. I have had nothing but bad dealings for years, and this is the last straw. As I paid off my mortgage completely now is the easiest time to switch banks. I will end all business with TD in the next couple of months.
While surfing the web for people with bad experiences with TD I found the following website, quite funny:
http://www.ihatetdbank.com/
August 24th, 2006 at 3:17 am
Well we could all do something radical like switch to PC Financial. No fees and a savings account that now pays 4%. Or how about taking our money to ING? Not quite as good but also no fees for savings.
Yup. We could all do it but most people will keep taking it where it hurts. Laziness is a wonderful thing for big business. They can always count on people to do nothing much.
(Royal bank is also crap in my opinion. I closed my account there years ago due to unsavoury practices on their part.)
August 24th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
Hi Editor,
I had a whole rant about switching to PC Financial, but took it out as I did not want to look like I work for them or something. Also PC does have some service fees even though they promised they would never do it. For example overdraft has a fee each time you use it. I never use overdraft anymore anyway, and have enough cash now that I could put my cash into TD and never pay fees, but I hate TD.
I moved my bank account to PC years ago, but I can’t move my RSP there because I want to pick my own stocks so I am stuck with TD Waterhouse or something like it. I also can’t move my business accounts to PC as they don’t do business.
I have loans with TD and a TD GM visa. Basically I was using TD and not paying any fees for anything, except now the figured out a way to screw us by charging some bogus fees on my Visa OVER LIMIT FEES. What the hell is that!!! Some of my over limit fees are just fees paid because I went over my limit because they charged me over limit fees from the month before!!
I have sent in the cash to completely pay off my Visa through PC financial. It is funny every other bill I pay from PC Financial gets there in two days, but for some reason TD takes forever. I made the payment August 21, and today is August 24, and it is still not showing up at TD. I know they get the money sooner, I am sure they just like to collect an extra two days interest, or make it difficult to transfer money so you open an account with them. For now I will keep a zero balance on my credit card and never use it, just hold on to it for 7 years or until I use up the GM points, IF I decide to buy a GM car in the future.
Since now I am moving my money (and have some investment cash to invest besides). What bank is best? They all suck, but is BOM or Royal, or CIBC better? How about HSBC? Actually HSBC sounds good. Anyone have any comments or is TD the best out of a crappy evil bad industry?
August 24th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
Donald
I DO get it, but as I said, I was shedding some light on the situation. It’s obvious that you just don’t like TD. That’s fine. That’s why there are other banks out there. I’m sure you have had unpleasant experiences with other banks as well though, as you sound like the type that hates banks in general. Maybe keeping your money under your mattress and borrowing money from your parents is the way to go.
VISA charges the over-limit fee - and ALWAYS has. With EVERY bank. If you’re getting overlimit fees because of your overlimit fees, there seems to be a problem. On YOUR end.
HSBC is not a major chartered bank, and can’t accept other institution credit card payments, so have fun…
September 3rd, 2006 at 3:09 pm
Hello all,
I just wanted to state that, when you treat bank staff (or call centre staff, etc) rudely, do you expect them to go out of their way to kiss your butt? People are human and you’d be surprised at how far a smile and/or a bit of kindness will take you. They work to earn a living just like the rest of us. They don’t do it for masochistic purposes.
September 4th, 2006 at 12:35 am
You’re completely right Jaybee. I’ve seen some people be extremely rude to bank staff. However, just because a customer is a total asshole does not mean that they should respond in kind. But forget that. I don’t even mind when people are rude back to assholes. I think it’s right. The problem is when you do give them a smile and polite words. What about the staff that are nothing but rude without provocation? I’ve met more than my share so I don’t think it’s all the customers’ fault.
September 4th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
It’s true that there are miserable tellers/clerks/etc. out there also. I think maybe it’s a societal problem these days. Everyone needs to calm down, take a deep breath, and put the Golden Rule into practice.
September 7th, 2006 at 2:21 am
I was also surfing the Net for information on TD-Canada Trust because of an encounter which I perceive as a violation of my rights as an individual. I was not depositing any foreign cheques. I been dealing with the bank for over 25 years. Here is my story: Went to the bank to make deposit only, first 1500 cash, cheque for 1000, and return of unused travellers cheques amounting to a fraction of the money I deposited, which were also purchased from TD-Canada Trust.
I keyed my PIN before the teller and she deposited the cash and cheque. When it came to the unused travellers cheques, I proceeded to sign them so they can be redeposited. Well the teller had to consult with her supervisor. She came back and said to me she needed picture ID from me to know who I was. Remember she has all my whole profile before her and I am not new to the bank and neither is she. I pointed that out to her. To appease the situation, I showed her my passport and placed it back in my purse. She insisted that she has to look at my passport while I sign the cheques before her.
By this time everyone in line must have thought that I was a suspected thief.
Later that eveinign I had an encounter with the manager. He defended his staff and that it is the policy of the bank.
I feel violated, humilated and harassed. I do an aweful lot of business with that bank.
We are putting up with a lot of crappy behaviour with banks.
September 8th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Mary:
You state that you do a lot of business with the bank but did this particular teller actually know you? If she didn’t, then she was following the rules laid out to her and shouldn’t be blamed.
Society has changed (for the worse, I believe) from a time when everyone knew you down at the local bank to one where no one knows anyone anymore. To the bank as a whole (and I mean any of the big 5 banks) you and I are merely numbers on a screen. It’s unfortunate but it’s the reality of the day.
September 11th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
A violation of my rights as an individual? Wouldn’t the bigger violation be if we cashed your cheques for someone else? The only reason anyone in the line would think you’re a theif was if you argued… THAT’S why she got the manager… You created a situation! JEEZ - If anything, be happy that the bank is PROTECTING YOU!
September 25th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
i applied for a SECURED line of credit that totaled less than half of what I have for equity in my house. the remainder of my mortgage is with TD.I get paid in cash and haven’t yet done my 04 and 05 taxes however I have been at the same job for 9 years and provided a letter of employment verifying my income as well as a phone number for the bank to call my employer and verify everything. the branch manager told the loans person to deny the line of credit because he said that this didn’t verify my income. then when I complained about it he started asking me all these questions like why I get paid cash and how my company does their cpp and and income tax deductions etc. a bank’s job on this sort of thing is simply to exercise due diligence in verifying that I make the money I say I do and that I am employed where I say I am.I provided all of this information. the rest is none of their business! this is a SECURED line of credit for god’s sake. they are guaranteed their money. they have forgotten their place as a business and now seem to think they are the government.
October 6th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Obviously more to the story… That wouldn’t happen… If the MANAGER had to get involved, you obviously gave them a reason to doubt you…
October 6th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
ALSO… If you oew back taxes, legally banks are not allowed to lend you money… SO if you get paid cash there is an assumption that YOU OWE!
October 15th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
TD bank has gone downhill since merging with Canada Trust. EVERYONE I know that had an account with them has left and I’m the last one in my family to finally give up.
Treating people like they can’t be trusted with ATM deposits after 13+ years with a perfect record is unacceptable. I hope this bank goes bankrupt and all the snobby young people that work for them end up at McDonalds!
November 30th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Stephanie, that attitude of “that obviously wouldnt happen.. what did you do give the manager herpes so he would doubt you?” attitude is exactly why people dont like YOU or TD Trust Customer Service. You think youre effing fox mulder from the x-files and everyone is out to get you. how dare you tell that lady she MUST have done something to make the manager doubt her. the first rule of customer service is the customer is always right. if she says she did everything legitimately you should be kissing her ass and apologizing and trying to find out why she was treated unfairly.
December 7th, 2006 at 5:38 am
Wow!! Lots of posts since I first wrote about my TD banking experience. It’s coming up on a year and I’ll be depositing another yearly check again from the US bank. So we’ll see how well the “code” works on my account in getting it deposited.
Yes, I still bank with TD. I couldn’t convince my husband to move our accounts. Although we’ve moved some money to another financial institution.
I wanted to comment after reading posts on how others have been treated as a customer at TD. I believe for those of us who live on a budget, how we are treated at our banks becomes very important. If you read my story again…..I was most upset by how the on-duty manager dismissed my dilemma without bothering to find out what my concerns were. Had he taken a few minutes to talk to me, I might have walked out of the bank frustrated by the 5-day hold, but nevertheless feeling that at least he had listened.
The irony of my story is that if I was an independently wealthy person, it wouldn’t have mattered to me if my check was put on hold for 5 days or 30 days. However, we are a one-income household since I have chosen to be a stay-at-home parent. So my yearly income check is important to us. It was the reason I worked with the bank eight years ago when I first moved to Canada and received the check. I worked with them to make sure my check wasn’t held. And for seven years, I was able to deposit the check, no problem.
I do understand the dilemma that the tellers are forced to deal with. Crooks are getting better and better at defrauding banks. So I have no problems with tellers questioning me. Although it is annoying sometimes, I understand. It’s the managers where I place a higher level of responsibility for customer service. I know that with the technology today, it isn’t rocket science to review a customers banking practice and account, in order to help out their regular customers. Especially when a customer has been banking at the bank for many years.
So what I’m trying to say is this. No matter how wonderful TD’s customer service plan is to resolve issues…..it takes time to go through all those chains of command for the assistance. In my case, I wasn’t called for 3 days. Some of us don’t have the luxury of lots of time when it comes to our money. We need it quickly for our day to day living.
My theory is that banking today is not for those of us with limited income. Just take a look at all the fees that accounts are charged. Banks really don’t want the business of the “average joe.” It’s not a money making deal for them.
So….this is the crux of the problem. We need the banks, but they don’t need us.
December 28th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
That is the reason people are leaving banks and joining Credit Unions like Libro in SW Ontario. There banking is made better, you are an owner and not a number.
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:28 pm
i need a telephone number to contact Td Canada Trust the reason is we sent in 2 checks for collection and I need to know a status on these checks.
Debbie McHugh thanks
January 27th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Stephanie, your comment about the bank not being able to look after their client if they owe taxes is ridiculous! A bank does not know the personal goings on of their client, unless the government has tried to freeze their bank account.
The problem with customer service at a bank, is that sometimes they do not understand the concept. They have so many rules to protect themselves, which is their right.
My daughter just bought a house, has been at canada trust since she was 8 years old, has a visa (10,000 limit) and a line of credit($15,000), and she provided a letter of employment, and a hand written payslip, and she was denied a mortgage.Hand written does not work fot tdcanada trust.
She went to a mortgage broker and the mortgage was approved with very little fuss.
The tdcanada trust “mortgage broker” had her in tears, telling her that no bank would approve a mortgage with a handwritten payslip. She suggested that the company go out and buy a typewriter so that the mortgagae could be approved. Stupid, Dumb, terrifying, scary, nonsense!!
Did I mention that my daughter had $16,000 in her savings account??
February 2nd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
In response to Mr. Phillip Rosen’s reply regarding “..a bank does not know the personal goings on of their client..”, Mr. Rosen you are 100% mistaken. I have several filing cabinets that are filed with breech of client confidentity and information disclosure files where Canadian Banking Institutions were at fault. I would suggest not continuing your spread erroneous information since an Canadian Banking Institution can access any of their client’s taxation records at a moment’s notice.
February 8th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
The comment was “if you owe back taxes the bank is legally not allowed to loan you money”.
That comment is incorrect.What law are you saying is in place??? There is no such law!
A bank cannot access Revenue Canada information!
They can access the credit bureau information!
I would suggest that you stop spreading erroneous information, or tell us what you are talking about a little clearer! This is supposed to be about td canada trust. They do make mistakes, and the key is whether they try to correct the mistakes and make an improvement in their service!
I sent in a complaint, regarding my daughter, and she was contacted the next day by ct agent whose job was to find out what the complaint was, and to get someone to contact my daughter. This was done very promptly!
February 17th, 2007 at 2:01 am
I will be honest here and come right out and say that I am an employee of TD Canada Trust. I have worked there for over 2 years and am now in a sales position. I would like to comment on a few of the postings.
First of all I agree that there is no excuse for poor customer service. If that has happened to any of you it was wrong, no matter how you treated the employee. But there is a difference between poor customer service and following procedure.
Secondly, I feel that it is important for me to stress to you just how much we believe in a good customer experience. Every branch is rated on their customer experience by surveying people who have visited the branch recently. TD Canada Trust has been rated number ONE amoung the top 5 banks in Canada. It has received this rating in customer service, best internet banking, and best telephone banking. (For all of you thinking this is biased, these studies are conducted by an impartial company). We truly do appreciate your business, afterall you are the reason we have jobs!
Thirdly, I feel that everyone has to remember that banks are companies! They have shareholders and need to be accountable to their shareholders. With this comes the need for service charges and due diligence. Would we expect to not pay for other services, such as telephone, internet or cable? We are providing a service with physical locations, staffing, and therefore operating costs that need to be covered. It is similar to how everyone complains about taxes, but expects optimum service from every crown corporation and public sector.
In regards to holding cheques… Yes it is a huge inconvenience. No one is more aware of that than us! Believe me we will look for every reason possible to justify not holding your cheque, but there is not always an out. Although I know many of you still do not agree this is what we base our decision on:
- Do we know you?
- Are we familiar with this company
- Is this transacation unusual for you
- have you had these before? (If so it would need to be of similar amount and noted with a comment in your
account history)
- what else do you have with us
- would we be able to recover this money if it were lost?
There are other conditions as well… But the main point is that in many cases we cannot see whether there is money in the other account. In these situations we are forced to base our decision on your relationship with TDCT… And although your tenure with us does have an impact, alone, it does not provide sufficient justification for taking on the risk. I describe cheques as this: if we do not hold them we are loaning you the money until it clears. If we do hold it we are simply saying, we are not comfortable of the source and need to protect not only ourselves, but you as well… ( also, we CANNOT obtain information from other banks regarding these cheques by calling. They cannot guarantee that the money is in the account due to privacy regulations).
I would also like to respond to complaints about ID. Lets be honest here, if you noticed money missing from your account you would be the first to complain! It is our responsibility to obtain photo or government identification for large withdrawals (many times for greater than 1,000). It is for YOUR PROTECTION!!! Also, do not feel upset just because a teller needs to go speak to a supervisor. Every teller has a signing limit depending on their experience…. Which means they may simply need to obtain permission to perform the transaction, not that they think you are a criminal mastermind!
Lastly, bear with us! I think we all become a bit uptight when it comes to our finances. We are there to help you, but you need to let us! We do not want to give you a hard time, but unfortunately we are dealing with money so there are strict guidelines. TDCT loses millions and millions of dollars due to fraud, so you must understand why we need to be so careful. Keep in mind with PC you must deposit at the bank machine, so this could mean that every one of your deposits are held! If you have questions about hold limits at the ABM Ask! (they are based on credit bureau, so we are somewhat limited to what these can be set to).
(P.S. the comments about owing taxes. Martin is correct. If you are behind on your taxes and you are attempting to obtain credit from TDCT that requires you to provide income confirmation, you will most likely be required to provide confirmation your taxes are in order as well.. I’m not even going to go into explaining to Philip why we would not accept a written paystub).
Hope this helps to explain the method to the madness.. I know things can seem ridiculous at times but if you simply ask why, there is a logical answer for every policy.
Ryan
March 4th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Attention Philip, perhaps reading before you insert your foot into your mouth a second time might help…
Banks certainly do know their clients credit histories, anyone doubting that statement is a fool, which you indicate that you certainly are in your opening statements. You certainly have little knowledge of Canadian law, corporate or otherwise.
Any financial institution that didn’t know their clients previous credit histories would be out of business in a hurry. Whatever information you are raving about regarding how great TD Canada Trust is, was likely something you have been previously spoonfed. TD Canda Trust’s mistakes are numerous and many, and rarely do they admit them. Incidentally, your extreme and excessive use of exclamation marks at the end of each of your statements makes said statements read like the rantings of a lunatic. This entire office has been laughing up a storm since your previous post.
March 5th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
To all you readers. I work for a bank, and the problem is not with you, its that haveing the cheque bounce for whatever particular reason causes the company harm. I work for a bank not TD, but we all follow the same procedures.
I get frustrated dealing with people like that. IF you knew there was a hold on the cheque then take note if there was a hold last time, there will be a hold this time around.
IF you need the money right away, have the cheque certified or in a draft form, or cash. Why you guys still use cheques if you need money immediately boggles me. WIRE the payment if you have to.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Martin Von Beek- I am glad you think my comments are funny!!!!!
I thought this was to advise some of the difficulties one has encountered. I do not know what your problem is, but my daughter arranged her mortgage through a mortgage broker, with very little delay, using a letter from her employee, and a hand printed pay stub! I have found out that no bank will accept a hand written pay stub, but they are entitled to their own special rules, as it is their money.(exclamation point)
Von Beekster- your antagonistic attitude amazes me(exclamation point) What is bugging you(question mark) Why so hostile(question mark)
My daughter owes revenue canada and that is not on any credit report. So my whole office and bridge club are laughing at you and your office- You know it all and are always right (question mark)
Owing taxes has nothing to do with a bank, unless Revenue Canada tried to attach that person’s bank account. Then and probably only then would a Bank be aware of a real problem.
Why so hostile (exclamation point) I just proved that you put both your feet, in your mouth and I accept your apology!!!! There is no one set of rules that cover every situation!!!!!!!!!!!!
TD Canada Trust did not end up with the mortgage, but at least they contacted my daughter and she was satisfied with their response.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:10 am
Dad, you’re an idiot.
April 10th, 2007 at 2:14 am
When a cheque is on hold… it is so that the funds from the chq can be verefied. (SO THEY CANT USE YOUR MONEY!!!)duh… furthermore… have you ever considered why your bank didn’t decide to extend you the credit? (If your financial situation was good eanough they would not have had any reason to hold the cheque). was it for an abnormally large amount? more than what is normally deposited into your account? If you had taken that cheque to any other bank and had been in the same situation they would have not givin you the money right away. (unless you went to western union) Perhaps you should consider weather or not your tiresome rants regarding the length of your loyalty to TDcanada trust had any thing to do with your financial situation? If you dont have eanough money in your account to cover the chq if it comes back, they will not give the money to you right away! understand? no one cares how long you’ve banked with them, that doesnt make your credit outstanding. You are just a fool who expects something for nothing!Any other bank would have treated you the same way, perhaps even worse. Are you aware that scotia bank puts a 7 day hold on any chq that is deposited into the bank regardless of how long you have been a customer. and where did you get the idea that being a customer four 8 years means you get what you want from the bank… and why do u seem to think the bank is ususing your money, you still have it, and some interest! hey not bad! for an ignorant fool who can do no better with their money, if you could you would not be posting on this website. it wouldn’t hurt to just get educated on finance.. maybe it would make you sleep a little better while your money is on hold. The bank doesnt conspire about how to hold you money and use it before you can have it! hahahaha
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Ignorant:
I totally love your rant! People just don’t get it sometimes.
May 26th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
What cracks me up these days is that people are absolutely helpless without credit. Live within your means, people! Other than a mortgage or a car loan, why do you need things like lines of credit, overdraft protection, or credit cards? So many people in this country use credit as an income supplement. That’s a guaranteed recipe for financial disaster!
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:44 pm
There is no one set rule for how abank treats you as a customer.
Ignorant says that Scotia Bank puts a 7 day hold, but my Scotia Bank puts a 1 day hold. I have a commercial account for 7 years and no overdraft protection, but have not been overdrawn except once 6 years ago when I made an error, which was corrected the next day.
I cannot understand the hostility in Martin von Beek!
Every person has different dealings and for him to be so antagonistic about spelling punctuation, I hope he is not married so he does not take that attitude home to anyone.
What a horrible person!
puts a 7 day hold
June 5th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Yes, Each Bank has it’s own set a problems. I personally believe It depends on the staff/ Management more than Anything, and your relationship with them. I personally love my Royal Bank. But I’m sure if there was a major change in Management, it might not be so pretty.
And if anyone is looking for a Freebie from a bank:
http://canadianfreestuff.com/2007/06/05/switch-to-td-canada-trust-bank-and-get-a-free-ipod/
I know you dislike TD Bank, but after reading all the comments, I think Everyone dislikes Banks period, because they look after our money, and can not be trusted.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
This is incredible find for me. 3 of the employees in our office had a very similar experience yesterday and that forced me to perform the search on the internet for similar issues. Here’s our story:
We work for a Software company. The company has an account with TD. We have our personal accounts with TD. We have our personal accounts with TD since we came to Canada 3 years ago.
My company pays my salary in checks, but the salary amount is usually not the same - it’s based on the number of hours we have worked. The first time I went to deposit the check the teller told me that for the local cheque (the payer and the payee both bank at TD Canada Trust) it will be a 5-day hold. At first I couldn’t believe it, but thought that it’s the first time so it’s okay.
The second month, I met a different teller, who didn’t mention anything about the hold. So, I was surprised and I asked her. She told me that your company is also TD, and your account is also in TD so there is no question of a hold. I was so happy and assumed that either the previous teller didn’t know a thing, or maybe one of them is not following the rules. I didn’t say anything because I was happy that there is no hold. The next month was no problem either with a different teller.
Yesterday, when 3 of us went (at different times) to deposit our cheques, we had very similar experiences. The teller spent 10 minutes just tapping on the computer. Then she asked me whether I have ever deposited anything from this employer before. When I mentioned to her the dates, then she said a long “ah..” and realized that maybe she was not seeing the transactions. Anyways, after another 5 minutes, she did clear the cheque. But, by the time there were at least 15 people behind me in the line, and were getting too frustrated. I was frustrated too as I had to wait for 15 minutes to deposit my salary cheque that I have been doing without much issues for last 4 months. This same thing was repeated for all the 3 employees today (maybe they met the same teller).
We are switching to automatic deposits from next month to avoid all hassles.
I have had 5 day holds and once a 20 day hold on US cheques in TD. I thought that maybe that’s normal procedure so didn’t care much. But I always assumed that if the bank is putting a hold they should be paying interest on it for that time because ING Direct pays you interest on their 2-3 days hold-period, so if TD doesn’t that would explain why their tellers love to put the hold. Also, I agree, their managers sometimes are not helpful at all. When I had gone to add over draft protection I was simply told a cold ‘no’ by the manager. The reason was that I have a credit card with them. So, if I cancel my credit card then I can have overdraft protection.
I am switching to PC Financial very soon. I am done with the coldness of TD employees.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Go ahead and switch to PC Financial. When you have your first problem with them, good luck trying to resolve it over the phone to an agent who couldn’t care less.
With PC Financial, you get what you pay for!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Amit,
You rant makes no sense whatsoever. They can’t legally tell you that you have to have a credit card to get overdraft. And the manager wouldn’t be the one giving you overdraft.
Also, you DO get paid interest for the hold periods. The money is IN your account, it’s just not available. Next time, educate yourself a little more before you post something that makes you sound like an idiot.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Stephanie,
I believe you did not read my post correctly. They did not tell me that I need to have a credit card to have overdraft protection. They told me the opposite. They told me that since I have a credit card with them I can’t have the overdraft protection. If I cancel my credit card, then they can provide me with overdraft protection.
Also, I never said that they do or don’t give interest during the hold period. Looks like you have some serious issues while calling others idiots. I only mentioned that I always thought that they provide interest during the hold period, but as mentioned in one of the posts above (by Neil post 2) they don’t pay interest during the holds. I was only expressing my surprise about the no-interest during the hold period after reading that post as I always believed that holds include interest.
Jeez, please get a life before attacking someone else for no reason. Or, are you a TD employee who is out to attack anyone who ever says anything bad about your company?
June 12th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
James R. Gordon,
Can you enlighten us with the kind of problems you have faced with your PC Financial account? It’s good to be warned in advance, so it will be very helpful if you can tell us about your own experiences with PC Financial.
Thanks.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Hi Amit,
There are probably more than one TD employees posting here.
But even if they are not from TD don’t be surprised. The ignorance at the Canadian banking system is surprising. Most people have never banked in another country so they let the banks make billions while they spend time defending the fact that the banks give little to nothing in return. I still want to do a post about this someday but I haven’t had time.
PC Financial. There is no real problem with them for day to day banking. Everything is free and they give a great interest rate on some of their savings accounts compared to the other banks.
The problems arise when you have a problem or need something special. For example when applying for an apartment you may need a letter from your bank. With a local branch you can go in and get it same day. With PC you have to wait a week and there is a service charge for it. Same goes if you ever need to apply for a loan. It’s very impersonal.
I’ve been banking with PC for a number of years with very few problems. There were one or two snags but not enough to make me give some bank a monthly fee for the privilege of them holding on to my money and making a fortune with it.
If you are only going to bank for yourself and you don’t expect to do much specialized stuff, go ahead and get a PC account. I’d get one in addition to the regular bank account anyway because everything is free to use. I really don’t see why people don’t switch to them for day to day banking. It’s much better and the way it should be.
Most banks in the UK don’t charge a service charge and they give a high interest rate. Wonder why the Canadian banks don’t do the same? They’re very profitable so why?
The answer is because Canadians are too lazy or too stupid to vote with their dollars. They allow the banks to mistreat them. I applaud the fact that you’re doing something about switching your bank account. It’s the right thing to do and if more people followed your example, we’d have a much healthier marketplace. I wish you all the best.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:30 am
Editor,
I find it funny you castigate the Canadian banking system but applaud PC Financial. PC Financial is run by CIBC!
Amit,
The problems I’ve had with PC Financial range from minor, like having to pay extra for a monthly statement since I refuse to bank on my computer, to quite annoying like having a deposit not register into my account through one of their machines which resulted in me having to run around and fax proof to them after going through a long conversation on the phone and finally getting access to my money over a week later.
I prefer having a branch to deal with.
June 15th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Thank you for the tip. I know that it’s run by CIBC. It’s the one service they do right when it comes to service fees.
I’ve also had problems with PC financial so I’m not saying they’re perfect. The whole point was that the Canadian banking system rips off customers while making billions. Try looking at the banking websites in the UK and compare the service fees of which there are few to none. Or how about the whole checking system where people can rip off other people, when in places like Japan they not only have no service fees, but they also have instant account transfers making cheques obsolete. How many times have you had someone write you a cheque that bounced? Why can’t we transfer money from account to account through an ATM like in other countries?
Are Canadian banks too stupid? Too greedy to invest in solutions that help the end customer?
These are questions to ask. The fact that one bank is worse or better than the other is irrelevant. The whole system is shit. At least at PC financial you can squeeze the same banking services out of CIBC without paying for them to use your money for their own bottom line. That’s the really insulting part. Banks should be paying their clients for the privilege of storing all that money which they can then further invest. It used to be that way once even in Canada. So instead of pointing out that PC Financial is owned by CIBC, we should all be asking the question of, if they can provide this service for free, and other banks around the world can treat their customers better, why don’t our own banks do the same for us?
June 16th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
To Amit:
To EVERYONE:
Here is a simple solution to all of your problems with ANY major bank:
INVEST in them. You can’t complain about not getting anything back from the banks. They will put you through retirement…
You will appreciate what they do for you as a shareholder, and you will be a happy camper with the returns. Any of the top preforming canadian equity mutual funds ALWAYS include at least 3 of the “Big 5″ banks.
BUT - invest in the MAJOR banks. Investing in PC, or ING will not get you the returns you’re looking for.
Simple solution. The service charges and interest you pay in your lifetime will never amount to the returns you potentially could earn if you invested in the banks. Ask any investment advisor.
Canadian banks will never follow suit with the system they have in Japan, it just doesn’t work for our economy. The financials sector of the market will always dominate…
June 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I opened an account for my son and my name was put on jointly. He added his wife without my consent and then she put cheques through and the account went into overdraft. I have had nothing whatsoever to do with this account ever and it was opened 7 years ago.
She is american and now because nothing has been paid off and it is at its limit the bank is insisting that I pay the overdraft.
I have had nothing ever to do with this account. How can I ever be responsible when she was added without my knowledge? Does anyone have some advice?
This is TD canada trust
June 21st, 2007 at 12:51 pm
New Subject. I have been dealing with the TD Bank for over 30 years. I have never encountered rudeness by any of their staff. However, have any of you heard that their policy has changed regarding joint accounts? A friend’s husband died and they froze the joint account into which her CPP and OAS funds are deposited each month. She can’t pay her bills! If this is indeed true I expect many of us will be looking elsewhere for a bank without this procedure. Oh yes, apparently CIBC has started to do the same thing. Looking forward to your replies.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Zippy…
It’s not a new TD policy… When you open an account, you have a “survivorship” option.
If the account is joint WITH survivorship, anything made payable to the deceased goes to the survivor.
If the account is joint WITHOUT it, the account is frozen.
The deceased person has a right to choose (before they die of course)…
Just make sure that your account is registered for survivorship. Most are.
July 1st, 2007 at 11:28 am
hello, iu have been wiht TD for over 25 years, from Montreal to Calgary.
i never really had a problem till one day, i have my mortgage with the Royal bank and my wife and i split the payments so every month i go and take out 600.00 from the bank machine and take it to the royal, one day thry said there was a limit on the account of 200.00 a day. i got upset with the manager they fixed it right there no problems. I also have NEVER had a hold on my account i was 16 and able to diposite 1000.00 and take out 1000.00 right there, even now i deposited 20,000.00 and started to pay bills and take out money right a way. i dont no what changed that one day but that was the only time i had any hold on my money.
July 1st, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Has anyone been following the TD strike in Sudbury? This exemplifies the greed of the banks. One teller, who has been working for TD for 35 years, makes 9 cents more per hour than some of her colleagues who have been there for 2 years.
Ed Clarke (the CEO of TD Canada Trust) however, gets 12 million dollars!
What a pathetic joke.
July 3rd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
RE: Sudbury Strike
There are only 8 branches in all of TD Canada Trust that are unionized… The employees chose to be unionized and that is what they have to deal with.
The rest of the TD employees are treated fairly within the rest of the bank.
July 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
My situation was similar as I receive US cheques weekly but at my branch they deposit them without a hold. The problems arise when I once took the cheques to another branch that was closer to me and was informed by the teller that there would be a 5 business day hold on them.
I said that was fine as long as the hold was removed with 2 weeks and the teller (i.e. agent of the corporation) assured me that was no problem. 14 days later I returned to get my cash for my vacation that those cheques were for and guess what? The cow of a bank manager at the Burrard and Davie TD Canada Trust branch informed me that there was a 30 day hold on my cheques.
Without losing my temper I reminded her (with verification from the original teller) that an agent of the corporation that she purportedly represents guaranteed me a 5 business day hold.
She said that it didn’t matter and with a look of disgust stated there was nothing she could do, the hold would stay.
The 6 cheques I had deposited were each ~100 USD and were from companies that I had deposited cheques from for over 2 years problem free.
I hope that misserable sow got some satisfaction from screwing up my vacation because I tell ya, when I moved my business account to RBC and got my mortgage with ING I was sure satisfited.
The moral here? According to TD Canada Trust it makes more business sense to screw a customer over a routine deposit and lose out on tens of thousands in mortage interest.
Well done! Bravo!!!
July 7th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Stephanie:
You’re a corporate shill.
How would you know if “the rest of the TD employees are treated fairly within the rest of the bank”?
Methinks I smell a mole.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Martin von Beek is an idiot!
July 20th, 2007 at 2:11 am
[...] I’ve been meaning to do a quick post comparing banking fees in Canada and the UK ever since a reader posted this complaint about TD Bank. [...]
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:41 am
Recently, I cancelled a series of cheques ( 10 to be exact). I called Easyline as my branch is not open convenient hours for my schedule and explained to them that I had written these cheques to a landlord who promised to destroy them when I gave notice of my moving, to protect myself I called and asked the CSR how to go about making these cheques uncashable. He told me ( as best as he could in his dialect ) that he had cancelled those cheques and they would not be cashed. Well low and behold…2 of the cheques were cashed this past week. I immediately called my branch who told me not to worry…(cause it wasnt there drained back account) that if in fact they were cancelled then the cheques would be rejected and go back through the landlords acount. When this didnt happen, I called Easyline, who informed me that the bank had “cashed out” my cheques, meaning that the landlord didnt have an account there, he simply went in and had them cashed. They told me to call the branch, it was there responsibility because someone had overlooked the teller screen where it says these cheques were not to be cashed that they were cancelled. I called my branch…now get this….they don’t have anything on their screen saying these cheques were cancelled, they would look into it and call me back. I waited fro 3 hours and got no call. I call my branch and speak to a lady who tells me she can look into it for me, and yes she sees right there on the screen in front of her that they had been cancelled…and assures me the responsibility is on the bank to refund me the money… she would call me as soon as she got the funds back in my account. No phone call! I call back..and am told that she has taken an extended lunch break and will not be returning today…I ask about my money and I am told that “no…the money is not being refunded..there is no notes on any screens in the bank that say the cheques are cancelled… and Sally Sue said she never told you any such thing.” I call Easyline…and geta supervisor on the phone who assures me that the cheques were in deed cancelled, the bank will be responsible and that they could be in a pile of trouble for cashing a cheque for a customer who does not have an account at that branch, also…she informs me that if it is not taken care of by the end of the business day, the money can’t be given back as the cheques can’t be “revaulted” after 5pm as they are automatically sent for clearing. Said supervisor places me on hold so she can call my branch and straighten it out…she comes back on saying ok the customer service manager for your branch is going to call you to verify your banking information to redeposit your funds..I thank her and wait for the call…the call doesnt happen, I call my branch and speak to this lady who tells me she didnt say anything such thing and that it was impossible due to the fact that the bank doesnt see any note saying these cheques are cancelled. Again, I call Karen…my new friend at Easyline supervisor department….who is as frustrated with my branch as I am now…she puts me on hold and comes back to tell me my branch is accepting no responsibility for the funds therefore she is sending it for investigation. It will take 5-7 business days to pull the call I made to cancel the cheques several weeks ago…( if you can imagine the CSR who took the request works at the call centre in India..hence the dialect issues) All in all, the bank I have trusted with my money for over 16 years, is lying and denying any responsibilty for the mistake that wiped my entire paycheque out of the bank, all because a teller didnt pay attention to her screen on a busy Friday morning…Oh I might mention…when I did manage to reach the branch manager..he was too busy to help me as he was leaving early for vacation…and…the response I got when I asked about the rule they have that says they srent suppose to cash a cheque for someone who doesnt have an account with them I was told ” well we verified the signature on the cheque with your signature card here” …what a laugh… I married and changed my last name and have never been asked to sign a new signature card at the branch.. so if they had verified the signature..they would have seen 2 totally different names which should have been a red flag! I am still waiting for final results…BE AWARE………It has most definately been my experience that the TD Branch I deal with will go to any length including lying to cover up their mistakes… I will never trust them with another cent of my money!!! If I accidentally forgot to make a payment because I didnt see the due date they wouldnt be long expecting me to come good for it….
July 25th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I have previously worked for several financial institutions, and being that we are in a fully electronic age, I almost never entered my TD Canada Trust branch unless I absolutely have no choice. I have a part time position with a well known global retailer and although my pay is electronically deposited for some unknown reason they cannot do this with our vacation pay, I get one cheque per year. I have been apart of this process for 3 years and not once have I had a problem depositing these cheques. Actually I would prefer that my ID was asked for it would mean my protection.
I do not understand humans, we want our security, privacy and protection but when staff tries we become monsters. Take for instance credit cards. These must be signed it is the only way a merchant can verify the card holder, even if we ask for ID we still need something to verify, but no 50% of the credit cards given to us are unsigned or have ID request written in the signature field. When we ask for ID we are screamed at, some very violently. But working on the other side with the credit card companies that would be the first thing out of a cardholders mouth when there is fraudulent purchases on their cards. Why did the merchant not ask for ID.
I have come to the conclusion that no matter what we do in Canada to protect the consumer we are the bad guys.
Oh and by the as an ex-employee of several banks let me tell you the best is TD Canada Trust for security.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:24 am
Amanda:
I worked for TD back in 2005 and I can totally empathize with your story. The problem with the bank, as I see it, is that the call centres are chock full of morons who don’t know anything other than speed, speed, speed (to get you off the phone) because that pleases their supervisors. I’m not saying all call centre employees at TD are like this but the good ones are definitely in the minority and have to swim against the current.
As for the branch staff, once again there are really good, dedicated staff within our ranks but there are also awful, incompetent imbeciles who couldn’t find their way to the bathroom without help.
The problem is that, while the training at the bank is very good, once certain employees get out into their jobs all they do is cut corners and suck up to their boss (and yes, some of the bosses are just as bad — I guess it’s true that incompetence gets you promoted).
I won’t even touch the issues of outsourcing to India and the hiring of unqualified members of visible minorities right here in Canada.
Best of luck to you.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:26 am
Well, update to my sega… after dealing with a wonderful Easyline supervisor, being placed in contact with a Senior Officer at the complaints dept, going on to the TD Ombudsman and threatening to go on to the Ombudsman for Banking Services in Canada.. I am told not to deal with my branch anymore over the issue. The supervisor from Easyline would be the mediator during the rest of the investigation. Today I get a call from this supervisor who tells me that my branch absolutely will not cover the funds even though it was through their error ( I am told the screens Easyline has and the bank have are identical), however, the customer resource centre has deemed that I am entitiled to the funds back. I am being awarded back the funds. What consequences my branch will suffer for such poor customer service, the lying and refusal to omit error or the fact that they cashed cancelled cheques for someone without an account is beyond me. I will not be returning to the branch as I no longer am dealing there. I am greatful for the assistance I received from Easyline and hope that my complaints will be followed up with on an administrative basis.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Amanda,
You are, no doubt, one of those people who badgers EVERYONE with a problem, which confuses the situation. You cause your own confusion. Calling 5 different people makes it hard to deal with a problem.
Idiot.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Amanda:
I worked for TD back in 2005 and I can totally empathize with your story. The problem with the bank, as I see it, is that the call centres are chock full of morons who don’t know anything other than speed, speed, speed (to get you off the phone) because that pleases their supervisors. I’m not saying all call centre employees at TD are like this but the good ones are definitely in the minority and have to swim against the current.
As for the branch staff, once again there are really good, dedicated staff within our ranks but there are also awful, incompetent imbeciles who couldn’t find their way to the bathroom without help.
The problem is that, while the training at the bank is very good, once certain employees get out into their jobs all they do is cut corners and suck up to their boss (and yes, some of the bosses are just as bad — I guess it’s true that incompetence gets you promoted). I won’t even touch the issues of outsourcing to India and the hiring of unqualified members of visible minorities right here in Canada.
Best of luck to you.
August 14th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I had the same exact situation happen to me last night. I deposit the same check in the same bank at the same branch every single week. Last night I went to deposit the check and they said that I could not even deposit it because it was no good. Keep in mind that this is a payroll check. The idiot teller spoke to the manager and said that he was surely going to approve it because I am such a loyal customer. What the hell ever. He would not even come out of the office to meet with me! Then the teller tells me that I can deposit the check but there would be a five day hold on it. I have bills that are due today! I couldn’t afford to wait. I ended up going to a check cashing center and paid $25 to get the check cashed. Are you kidding me? Isn’t the purpose of having a bank account to be able to deposit, withdraw, or cash checks without incident? I have banked with them for over a year. They had no problem accepting a $15,000 check though. I have never had to have a hold placed on any payroll check.That doesn’t even make sense! I would completely understand if it had been a non-payroll check . How the hell can they get away with that crap? Needless to say, I called corporate and they couldn’t help me either. I told them that I am going to not only make them lose business, I am going to post on every website that I can find how completely ignorant they are to loyal customers. It’s sad and pathetic. The name of the nbank is Best Bank. Don’t ever ever ever bank with them they SUCK!!!!!
August 17th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
just because the manager looks old it doesnt mean he is not doing his job right, its called ageism!
August 17th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Customers Burnt by Banks Laziness
I run a small (one man show) business. I just returned from the TD Canada Trust with a returned “Certified Cheque”. On July 03 of this year I deposited a cheque for US$4238 and the teller looked it over as I did. It looked good to us, she deposited the funds and made them available immediately. Apparently one of my customers sent me a counterfeit certified check and on July 25 the funds were removed from my account.
Next day, I go to my bank on the 26th and ask what is going on? The bank tells me that “certified” does not mean they are not guaranteed funds and that I will have a copy of the cheque in 1-2 days. I wait a week and nothing. I call and leave messages with the “Customer Services” manager. Still nothing. Then I go back in on Mon Aug 13 asking for a copy of my check again and am told I will have some kind of word on it by the following day. Just now Aug 17 after leavening more messages on Aug 15 and Aug 16 and receiving no calls back. After 3 weeks of the runaround, now seven weeks have passed since I deposited the cheque, making it even more difficult to track down the perpetrator.
I think someone should have told me at the bank teller when I deposited the funds, that it is possibility the “Certified Cheque” will not clear. While in the bank today I ask why the tellers don’t tell people there is a possibility the funds won’t clear and you will be liable to pay them back. The manager told me that they do sometime but don’t have the time to tell everyone. I said well if the banks were liable for the funds they would be telling people and holding funds. The manager told me that they would be bankrupt if they were liable. So, they think that it is okay for their customers to take the hit and they don’t have to do a thing.
I am learning that cheque fraud is the fastest growing crimes amongst business and consumers and the banks could stop it but are doing nothing. Just letting there customers take the fall. All they have to do is tell there customers that they might want to put a hold on the funds if it is not from a trusted source and they tell me they don’t have the time to be bothered with that type of blanket rule. Or someone from the bank can verify that the cheque is legit with one phone call. If there 4 grand was on the line they would call. You know I will do it myself next time.
Everyone I have spoken to on the matter is shocked that the cheque was returned as they this a certified check is as good as gold. I don’t want it to happen to others.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I agree with one of the previous posters who wrote that after the merger of TD and Canada Trust service has tanked.
I’m currently dealing with a joker at TD CT named Arun who must be about all of 20 years old says that he’s some sort of Service Manager at the Electronic Delivery (call centre/telemarketing).
Again like another poster wrote, much of TD CT staff are part time tellers, and their “managers” are woefully inexperienced.
I was shocked that Arun hadn’t bothered to read the PIPEDA act, and the Access to Banking act.
Know your rights as a consumer, and if you aren’t satisfied with their response, you’re entitled to take the matter up the chain of command, TD CT’s Ombudsmen’s office, and you have to, file a complaint with the Canada’s Financial Ombudsmen, the FCAC, and Canada’s Privacy Commissioner.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
What about depositing cash in the bank atm?? The main branch in Toronto and where I have my account. I deposited $100.00 CASH (this was at CIBC) and it is on hold for 5 working days!!! Not a cheque where it has to be cleared but real cash. I now have to line-up and deposit cash for it to go into my account if I need it to pay a bill within 5 days. Anyone know why??
November 1st, 2007 at 3:26 pm
In trying to extend my Line of Credit using my farm as collateral, I have been told that I must get a Certificate of Survivorship since my dad’s name is still on the title although he died ten year ago and I was told and can find proof that joint tenants do not have to do anything when one dies everything automatically goes to the other.
It will cost $300 for a lawyer to do this certificate.
I cannot even talk to the legal department at TD/CT personlly anymore. It is all e-mail between them and my local bank rep.
What happened to service? They are making more money and giving less personal serivce.
November 1st, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I’m pretty sure any excuse that a bank gives for needing a “hold time” is bull. I used to live in the US and regularly have to explain to American friends what a hold time even is. My current bank (PC) even holds cash deposits for two weeks because I’m a non-citizen.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:50 am
I partially feel sorry for you, and partially hate people that act like you. Everyone thinks that if a business doesn’t provide everything they want, the way they want it, and when the want it, the bank is providing horrilble customer service.
Now I know that you were frustrated about the hold, but why do banks have holds in the first place? Because people take advantage of a system to commit fraud and crimes. Its not the banks, the bank gains nothing from a hold save an unhappy customer. However, they have to be careful because if they aren’t, criminals will take advantage of them. The teller was just doing his/her job in being careful, and as a bank teller myself, I would have done the EXACT SAME THING. The manager response I can understand was frustrating, but that is where you take the role of an adult and instead of pounding your fists on the table, politely as to speak to the Branch Manager, or some one higher.
Your actions, as you described them, did nothing to remedy the situation, and only made things worse. You could have had the issue resolved had you a little more patience for a trying system that is in place because it HAS to be in place.
EDIT: Reading over these comments makes me even more livid. There are rules and regulations that are in place to prevent fraud and criminal activity. The bank doesn’t make anything from most of these rules, and in fact would probably like not to have them so customers would be happier. The reason these exist is because PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM. One bad apple ruins it for the bunch. Again, the common idea is that if a bank/business doesn’t do what I want, how I want, when I want they’re providing bad customer service. Grow up people, this is the real world. Learn to be mature, and know what bad customer service really is.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Yup, we’re in post 9-11 and we’re all going to pay for it, one way or another! After 36 years of banking with TD and a few hundred thousand coming and going, I ended up disabled on a fixed pension. Went into the branch, got everything organized - away I go. Then, TD merged with Canada Trust! I couldn’t believe the changes - employees gone, bank procedures changed even more, some just cut out from under you. Attitude? Heh heh. After being refused cash from 3rd party TD bank customers, (ok bank whiners I already know the deal with these so don’t waste your breath)I went over to the Bank of Montreal, opened accounts, they welcomed me with open arms, took my cheques, held them for 2 days and personally called me when they went through.
TDCanada Trust - get stuffed! The best for last…
My daughter got a student loan via line of credit and has paid it down to $3000. I had co-signed. My daughter is now 28 and working. End of last May, her fiancee was killed by a drunk driver. We called TDCanada Trust and advised there would be a payment delay (time off for funeral etc.) his family is in Kamloops. Well, she fell apart when her boss gave her 3 days off (including the weekend) and he fired her. Again, another call to TDCanada Trust and no problem, etc. etc. 8 week wait for Medical EI. Then she went back to work to 2 jobs just to keep busy.
TDCanada Trust is calling Vancouver BC from London Ontario day and night, Private Name, Private Number and harassing me and her for 2 $45 payments. On the $3000. balance.
They know she gets paid just before Christmas so I have just lost it!!! Diane in London, Ontario at TDCanada Trust, get a little background and humanization before rudely mouthing off over a now trivial balance. There’s no way any intelligent person would harass us like she is given the circumstances. I even offered to go pay it myself but she had to go on and on about how my daughter must live up to her payments. Then who were those other TDCT people we talked to who said no problem?
Merry Christmas as I stick a pin in my voodoo doll.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I just found this blog even though it has been on for a while. MyMunny, a bank machine at TD will automatically put a five day hold on a deposit no matter what is in the envelope. It does it because it is just a machine and cant tell what you are depositing. The tellers and supervisors then check deposits later, but there is no system for releasing those holds currently. I used to work for SCotiabank and the machine would automatically put a six day hold on the deposit,however ,there is a system in place to release the funds on deposits that contain guaranteed funds (Drafts, money orders, certified cheques and government cheques) or cash. I have tried to relay this information to my TD Branch and show them what was done, but there has been no progress.
And that seems to be the major problem with the banks. The degree of centralization in the decision making progress handicaps the banks ability to react quickly to customers needs and the competition in the market. This high degree of centralization is the cornerstone for most financial institutions. It Creates a set hierarchy, creates downward pressure on wages and makes things run smoothly in an industry that contains very few companies (oligopoly) and little need for change. As you may be able to tell I have a fair amount of education in the world of business, which could mean less to the bank in all honesty. I have about as little chance of being paid properly as you have of exerting you will upon these major financial institutions to create change at this point in time. Do you want to know why? Because for decades the Canadian Government kept a tight control on the banking sector creating extremely high barriers to entry. These barriers have been reduced since the mid 90s with more foreign competitors and new competitors allowed into the market. However, the schedule 1 banks still have such a tight hold on the Canadian market and have banded together to cling to the values that made them profitable in the past. Because of this change is slow, difficult and futile mostly. I understand most of you comments with deep compassion but ask only 1 thing. Dont blame the tellers, and sales people (especially if they are young, Ive known a lot of incredible employees that were young and talented and the bank was just too stupid not to pay them enough to keep them or listen to what they had to say.) usually they have no control over your situation and it only causes many sleepless nights for them. Trust me I was there before. I still wonder if the employees were paid more how many would be happier and nicer to the clients? (Many are very customer friendly,many are not). What does everyone else think?
December 31st, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I once deposited five hundred in CASH in the TD atm in my neighbourhood. It took eight days to be released. I called and begged them to release it. They refused. They were rude. End of story.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I have done business with Canada Trust (that’s what it was once called) for nearly 40 years. Today I visited the local branch to have some money withdrawn from my RRSP. They could not help, as it was in a TD Waterhouse self directed account, so the lady at the bank called them and gave me the phone. After explaining what I wanted, the person on the phone told me that there would be a $25 charge for this. I of course balked at this, and said why would I pay you $25 to get MY money. He said that was what the fee was to withdraw from an RRSP. I told him I would withdraw only once, and it would be all of the funds, from my chequing account, savings account, two RRSP’s, my two business accounts, and my business trading account.
The lady whose office I was in said that the local branch would compensate me for the $25, but I said that was not the issue, it was the principle of charging me to get my own money out.
I later called TD Waterhouse, and asked to speak to a manager. When he came on the phone, and I explained the situation to him, his response was essentially “you have to do what you have to do”. So guess what I did? I went across the street, opened up a CIBC account, explained what accounts I had at TD Canada Trust and TD Waterhouse, and they said “leave it with us”. We will have it all transferred into your new CIBC accounts.
So, after nearly 40 years of looking for “the green machine”, in a few days, I will no longer set foot in their esteemed establishments, in which customer service seems to have become obsolete.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Ever heard the saying give a little get a little? Imagine working in a job where you speak with over 100 people a day and most of those people talk to you like you are stupid, uneducated, worthless. The others think they are superior to you or think that if they talk to you like garbage you will somehow fall to your needs and go what they say with little definance? Well that is what it is like to work for a bank and listen to people like you bitch and complain over and over and over and over and over and over and over…you get the point. When you call the bank to complain about something remember that the person on the phone didn’t write the rule, they don’t even probably care about the rule. If there was something they could do they probably would do it, however, most of the time they can’t. The only people who could make “an exception” don’t talk to customers, refuse to work on the front line and perhaps probably wouldn’t know how to complete a financial transaction if you begged them. You people need to relax, settle down, SLOW DOWN. The real problem is this…. people have become lazy, uninformed and expectant of others to do the work for them. The bank is a bank, a business, just because you think something should be done a certain way to appease you, doesn’t mean its the best way to do it for the vast majority of its customers. If there is a policy deal with it. The greatest corralation that I can make is this: If you created a rule in your home for your children to follow and they didn’t agree with it would you change it just to make them happy? Probably not. I will leave with this…the customer is not always right, in fact they are usually wrong, so shut up deal with it, otherwise withdraw your money put it under your pillow sleep with a shotgun and don’t deal with the bank.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
The thing is, whether the bank is right or wrong, whether their policies make sense or not, the fact remains - we’re all human. We deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Respect given, respect returned.
The bank is a business, true. However, the people working for that bank are not. They are people who should accord the customers of the bank (ie: those who pay the high salaries of the CEOs) courtesy and respect.
I work in customer service, and believe me, there’s plenty of times when I would love to tell someone off because they don’t understand policy. But, I’m not allowed to and I wouldn’t want to be treated that way, so I won’t treat someone else that way either.
There are lots of ways to tell someone to go to hell and they enjoy the trip. For those posters who tell everyone to shut up and deal: how’s YOUR level of customer service? Are YOU happy with how you’re being treated? If not, maybe you should look into how YOU’RE dealing with the representative.
If you (the general you) really want change - invest in a Credit Union. Sure, you’ll pay a ‘membership’ fee, but at my CU, I don’t pay any fees, other than withdrawals from non-CU ATMs. Vote with your dollars, don’t just bitch.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hi everyone,
I’ve recently had an issue with fees imposed on a transaction I made. Before entering the transaction I went in to speak with a Financial Services person who assured me there would be no penalties. I made my decision based on her advice and now see that there were fees charged anyway.
Does anyone have contact emails for TD- someone in a position of authority? I’ll be moving everything away from the bank, but would like to send an email to someone to let then know why.
Thanks
February 4th, 2008 at 4:53 am
TD Canada Trust is horrible. Iv’e had an account with them from over 12 years and never had a problem with them. I always deposited my work cheques through the machine because it was faster than waiting in the long line-ups and with a $2000 partial hold it helps because I can take my money if I need to without holds as long as it’s less than $2000. Well my wife wrote me a cheque of hers from her credit union into my name with my bank…I put it into to machine and then it was fine…About 10 days later I go to the bank to withdraw money from my account for rent and it said my account doesn’t exist, so I went to the teller which later directed me to the manager. The bank manager told me that the cheque bounced and they closed my account for bank fraud. I phoned my wife and asked her if the cheque was good…she said yes but she underthrew the money by $130 so it bounced and it was an honest mistake she didn’t keep as good of track….They refused to give me back my money and reopen my account so I took it to the BBB and I’m filing a civil lawsuit against them
February 18th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
me and my husband have a joint bank acc at td(we kive in bc), i am a stay at home wife and my husband works 6 days of the week. we have been td customers for 10yrs and once and a while i would recieve early morning phone calls askin for my husband so they can offer him some bs, as usual i tell them he is at work what is this about and they tell me and i decline the offer. Well a week ago i recieve another call i ask what its about and the lady would not tell me, i told her 1. my husband works unitl at least 7 so calling him wont happen 2. why wont they tell my im his WIFE!!! she continued to be rude and told me to tell him to call a number. when he got home he tried calling and it turned out it was the main bank in ottawa and they arnt open past 1pm our time so he figured he cant get ahold of them it not important. so its comming to payday and he goes to deposit his check at the bank and they inform us his account is temporarily closed and they cant tell him why he has to call, so he tells them hes at work and its closed by the time he can, of course we get a rude response and we leave….how does this make sense they are our main bank???
March 6th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
The problem that lies here is customer education. Customers don’t have a clue about how things work at the bank nor do they want to learn. They just want things fixed when things go wrong right now without hassle. Sorry to burst some bubbles but life doesn’t generally work like that. I work for TD and the obscene amount of ignorance I see on a daily basis really makes me wonder why I continue to work for a bank. The funny thing is it’s customer ignorance not the banks. I have been a firm bank hater for many years, hating the fees I’m charged, slow service at the teller, rude service I’ve received, etc. I’ve been banking with RBC before I started working for TD. Everything people complain about. I got my job with TD kind of on a whim, was a little skeptical about it but heck it paid well. I can’t believe it now but I’m almost up in arms defending the bank against things like this.
4 years later I’m still with TD bank, and it’s the customers that make me want to quit, not the bank itself. All you people complaining and griping about your situations are so ignorant. Educate yourself, the people coming into this blog defending the bank, have posted reasons for what happens generally. There is a REASON for everything done at the bank. EVERY and any bank.
Do people come into YOUR place of work and TELL YOU how to do your job? Do they ask you to break privacy laws? Do they complain to you because you were just the one there to unleash their anger at? Welcome to the world of being on the other side of the counter. The employee.
Before you go into a bank or any place of business in fact to gripe, think to yourself the rationale behind what is happening before you take it out on the person you are going to confront. Society nowadays is taking such a downwards slide to complete and utter ignorance and stupidity it amazes me. People don’t respect anyone, even when they are legitimately trying to help you. Of course there are exceptions, but I deal with on average 80-100 customers a day in my job, and 90% of the problems that arise are due to the customers ignorance. 10% are in fact bank error and are correctable by using the proper channels. These proper channels may sometimes be inconvient but they ARE HOW you need to fix the problem. Why are you fighting with me when I am telling you what needs to be done to fix it?
Do your research when you choose a bank. READ your documents when you open an account. Find out everything there is to know about what you are opening when you go to bank. You don’t go to an insurance company and buy their insurance without knowing what you are getting? It’s the same freaking thing at a bank. There are banks without service charges, if you don’t need teller assistance, go to them. That’s why they are cheaper, they don’t have to pay for open branches and to staff those open branches so YES they can afford to NOT charge you service fees.
Deposit a cheque, needs funds right away? Why do you expect the bank to HONOR a cheque they have no money for at that moment? If I give you an IOU for 1000 dollars, what guarantee do you have I will pay you back? All you’re giving the bank is a I.o.u when you give them a cheque. THEY still have to try and cash it and get the money. Thus the hold, what the heck do you expect. I’ll give you a piece of paper and you give me actual money. OKAY, let’s do that. To expect that money this instant is not rationale at all. Go to money mart, get them to cash it, that’s why they charge you obscene fees to cash cheques, cause essentially a cheque IS NOT a guarantee. It’s an honor to pay.
Privacy laws are a huge issue with clients as well. Let me please break a government law so I can help you. Sorry, spouse, I will not disclose information to you because your married. It’s not worth the jail time for me. Just because you have a joint account with someone doesn’t mean you are that person. Just because you are married to this person doesn’t mean you are that person. Please understand this concept. It’s not rocket science. If you want your spouse to access your personal information, they need a power of attorney. If it doesn’t make sense to you, maybe you should be complaining to the federal government about it not the bank. The bank doesn’t make the laws it abides by them. When your divorced spouse tries to get into your account next time to clean up your account to teach you a lesson claiming shes your spouse and we reject them, you’ll be thanking us that they weren’t able to screw you. It happens all the time. We don’t know your real life situations, your relationsship statuses, and everyday dealings. All we are doing is protecting each individuals private information because the LAW requires us to do so.
One little tidbit I bet a lot of you don’t know is that on a joint account ANY ONE of the joint holders can close the account without the other persons permission. So potentially, your joint holder could drain your account, close the account and you could do absolutely nothing about it. And the bank would do nothing as well. Because they can’t. When you understand the privacy laws, it makes more sense. The law doesn’t care that you are married because heck what if in 10 years you aren’t. This is one thing I don’t understand why people cannot grasp the concept. They constantly insist that I break privacy laws because “I’m the spouse” and then I’m the idiot when I have to refuse them. What a wonderful world we live in.
The bank bases its policies ON LAWS created by your government. They base their policies to protect YOUR money. Why on gods green earth would you want them to NOT DO this? For your convience I understand but we don’t live in a perfect world. To expect that much is retarded. Hate to break it to ya honey but the world doesn’t revolve around you, even though you may like to think it does. Even that next guy with 1 million dollars invested in the bank may run into the same problems as you do. He might just have someone else fixing the problem for him. There is no measure of a client to importance based on money. I’ll treat mr joe shmoe the same way he treats me. And I find most fellow co workers will do the same. Money is not the issue, its a matter of how you treat me trying to help you. Golden rule people. Learn it, live by it when you’re complaining about something.
I really could go on but I’m prob just wasting my time anyways. The amount of ignorance I’ve seen over the past 4 years from our customer base is making me want out. I really don’t expect it to change. People are generally lazy and think they are always right. They expect people to jump through hoops for them at thier every demand or else they’ll switch to another bank. In all honesty if you’re not happy, it’s your perogative, go do it. I bet you won’t cause you’re just as lazy as the next person who made that empty threat to get their way. That’s why there are OTHER banks. that’s the whole concept of competition. Go if you don’t like it where you are. What’s stopping you?
Td is a great bank in comparison to others and they really do stress customer service to insane levels. If you don’t recognize it, you probably do all your banking at machines, never visit the branch or call in. Only call or visit to complain about something that went wrong. In my opinion it’s the customers that need to change not the bank. But the odds of that happening are about slim to none. The bank is making the necessary changes to adapt to customers but I personally don’t think customers will appreciate it at all. They will continue to complain and gripe about the same things because they don’t want to pay, they are always right, etc, etc.
Going back to my initial point, educate yourself about your bank and you’ll find it very worthwhile.
From being an avid bank hater for the majority of my life, once I learned everything about the bank and how to properly manage my accounts, banking has never been so easy. I’m still not a big fan of banks because of the amount of money they make and some of the charges I have to take but even a nice call to Easyline could result in some reversed fees once in awhile. Try it and you’d be surprised.
But there is a reason for everything, the bank isn’t out to screw just you. They are trying to protect your money and at the same time please it’s share holders as it IS STILL a business.
You just think they are out to get you because it’s not working in your favor. Why do you expect them to to kill themselves for you when there are other people that need to be helped