Sutori - Stories Tagged With 'Banks'

Big Banks - Stop With the Credit Card Offers!

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 12:35:29 -0700

I do not want any more credit cards. Nor do I want the half a dozen credit card offers a month via mail. When will this end?!!

It comprimises my securing (by including too much info about me);
Its an environmental nightmare (tons of wasted paper);
AND It's annoying

Please support this post and let the big banks know that the community has had enough.

Its time for them to market their business in a way that respects us and is engaging and useful. Not the largest SPAM campaign in history.

Brian

For the love of the smalltown Scotiabank

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 05:47:47 -0800

I finally did it. I've defected from the faceless, arrogant, blind-as-a-bat monster-giant (Royal Bank) in favour of Scotiabank - chosen initially because there's a lovely, old branch in the village near where we live.

It's amazing. I walk in and the tellers all say hello, and ask how my son is doing like they really mean it. They all know our names. My account manager and financial consultant comes out of his office to shake my hand and chat, every time. Even the tellers call me at home, to let me know that they took the liberty of fast-tracking an American-funds cheque (usually held for three weeks) that I deposited the day before.

Is it Scotiabank? Or is it small-town living? My guess is 30-70. But I like the Scotia brand, how they seem to talk to me as an equal and not from an elevated stature. I was tired of the arrogance and assumptions of the Royal Bank, who after more than twenty years had no idea (and no care) of who I was or what I might need. All they ever did was raise my credit card and credit line limits without telling me, time and time again, after me requesting that they don't, time and time again. And send me enough irrelevant junk mail to keep the home fires burning for a freaking century.

It's just so refreshing to have a bank that knows who I am, and that cares about me and my life, and that steps in and offers to help make it easier in ways I hadn't even considered. It's a great feeling, the sense that someone who knows what they're doing is looking out for you financially.

Hats of to Scotiabank - at the very least, for hiring such gosh-darned nice people.

CIBC – Who is in charge of customer service over there?

Sat, 12 May 2007 09:41:08 -0700

Here’s another nice customer service story about banks (not).

I had a credit card with CIBC for 16 years, during which I had a good credit rating (3 late payments in that time).

I stopped using the card in 2005, because I got other cards with better point systems.

The card expired in fall 2006. A new one was sent to my mother’s address then (I had been living overseas until 2006 and was using her address).

I never re-activated the card sent to my mother’s house in Sept 2006.

However, CIBC put on a 30$ annual fee on a card that had not been used for close to 2 years, and had not been activated.

Therefore, I got a bill with the annual fee that was 3 months overdue at Xmas at my mother’s house.

Despite explaining this story to CIBC, and escalating it to more than one manager, they refused to revert the fee. Plus, they made it affect my credit rating which they refuse to do anything about.

After talking to at least 4 people, I was told (pretty much in these words), “Sure, no problem, we can write off the $30 if you’re willing to have an R9 credit rating” (the worst that you can have).

And just to add insult to injury, I’ve also paid off a large student loan with them.

I find it pretty astounding they can’t give me a break over a 30$ annual fee on an un-activated credit card not used for almost 2 years after 16 years of good credit with them, and paying off a large student loan with them.

I feel like I’ve been forced to donate money to an inhumane and unreasonable organisation with no principles of treating people fairly.

One caveat is that I found the front line people on the phone very reasonable, helpful and understanding. They seemed to think the charge would get taken off. It was the people that actually had the power to remove the fee that were unreasonable.

And a question: Why should banks have so much power over people’s credit ratings? Why is it assumed they have been the reasonable one and the customer is the one who has been unreasonable?