[Kory Yamashita]

Perturbed: Agreed, but what can WE do about it?

[Marcarc]

This is one of those areas where the middle class is partly responsible. No doubt it would be nice to expect a government that 'shares the wealth', but those days are gone. There is no reason that people need to use the big banks though, and I still find it odd that people use them at all, although most of my acquantances of the 'older' generation don't really seem to give much thought to such things and bank there simply because they always have.<br /> <br /> However, credit unions are now so pervasive and there are many other organizations who offer mortgages that there really is no reason to set foot inside one of those terrible places. For seven dollars a month our credit union has unlimited use of services with no fees, and savings accounts can be tailored for 'fee based service' if you use less than that. The only argument would be that up to now credit unions were pretty hard to get into, but now most will take anybody, at least anybody who can get bank account. I'm even thinking of switching credit unions to a local one which hands back its dividends to 'owners' based on how much business they do there.<br /> <br /> So a good question here is, of the people on this website why do you give you money to them (if you do)?

[Kory Yamashita]

Well not all Credit Unions are created equal. My hometown CU is great, but Vancity here in Vancouver is almost impossible to distinguish from a "normal" bank.

[Marcarc]

Thats why we're thinking of switching credit unions, however, the CU may be 'like a bank' but there are still regulations for calling it a credit union and my point is that it isn't one of the big five.

[Dr Caleb]

I've dealt with Canada Trust for many many years. Long before TD bought them. The only time I had to go without them, I was living in a small city without a branch and had to deal with the CIBC criminals.<br /> <br /> Rude, ignorant service, mystery fees, all the BS.<br /> <br /> I pay 9.95 per month in fees at CT, and nothing else. No fees per cheque, no fees per interac transaction, no foreign currency fees, no internet banking fees . . .<br /> <br /> At the time Internet banking became popular, they were the only bank that allowed Mozilla/Netscape (Now Firefox) to do internet banking. They were open weekends and till 8 weekdays. They were always a little more 'progressive' of a bank.<br /> <br /> I have my car and mortgage loans there, at prime -1.5. But, my RRSP's are at another bank and earned over 9% last year. Canada Trust doesn't cost me as much as other banks. That's the reason I stay.<br /> <br />

[Perturbed]

[QUOTE BY= Dr Caleb] I've dealt with Canada Trust for many many years. Long before TD bought them. The only time I had to go without them, I was living in a small city without a branch and had to deal with the CIBC criminals.<br /> <br /> Rude, ignorant service, mystery fees, all the BS.<br /> <br /> I pay 9.95 per month in fees at CT, and nothing else. No fees per cheque, no fees per interac transaction, no foreign currency fees, no internet banking fees . . .<br /> <br /> At the time Internet banking became popular, they were the only bank that allowed Mozilla/Netscape (Now Firefox) to do internet banking. They were open weekends and till 8 weekdays. They were always a little more 'progressive' of a bank.<br /> <br /> I have my car and mortgage loans there, at prime -1.5. But, my RRSP's are at another bank and earned over 9% last year. Canada Trust doesn't cost me as much as other banks. That's the reason I stay.<br /> <br /> [/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> <br /> I'd love to hear your CIBC scare stories...I've heard many people complain that they have literally had money stolen from their account at CIBC.<br /> <br /> They own President's Choice banking, which is MOSTLY online baking, with few employees. PC does have machines and personnel near some Loblwas-owned stores.<br /> <br /> The PC bastards won't give young people an account without running a credit check and without them having had a past bank account. Even if you prove you have never owned a credit card or taken a loan, they will not trust you without a history. So now even decent people are treated as criminals until they prove otherwise.<br /> <br /> Instituations that make 15% interest and give us nothing are now giving people a hard time about their reliability as slaves.<br /> <br />

[Dr Caleb]

[QUOTE BY= Perturbed]<br /> I'd love to hear your CIBC scare stories...I've heard many people complain that they have literally had money stolen from their account at CIBC.<br /> [/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> Absolutely! I know I left a couple hundred in beer money in my account when I left town. I kept it there, because the company I joined required me to go back to Fort McMurray every once in a while. So, one time when I went back, I decided I needed the beer money. The machine wouldn't accept my card, and the branch was one that wasn't open till noon. So I went to another branch in town, and asked them to reset my PIN. They needed my signature card, at the other branch. So I waited for the other branch to open, and they had no record of my account! Theiving bastards! And the teller was right rude to me! I mean, I've got the freaking interac card in my hand, it has my name on it! I must have had an account at some time! B1tch!<br /> <br /> [QUOTE BY= Perturbed]<br /> The PC bastards won't give young people an account without running a credit check and without them having had a past bank account. Even if you prove you have never owned a credit card or taken a loan, they will not trust you without a history. So now even decent people are treated as criminals until they prove otherwise.<br /> <br /> Instituations that make 15% interest and give us nothing are now giving people a hard time about their reliability as slaves.<br /> [/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> It'll be a cooold day in hell when a company that wants ME to lend THEM my money runs my credit! I should run theirs first! (I actually laughed at the slaves comment too!) <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/wink.gif' alt='Wink'><br />

[Marcarc]

I think I mentioned we pay less than that per month for all those services at the credit union, however, that can be explained by the fact that we couldn't get a mortgage for anywhere near the figure you gave, unless its a variable one. We only invest in the canadian ethical funds which actually have paid in the 15-25% over a couple years. The 'free' investment advice was worth exactly that, three out the five mutual funds recommended had lost money in almost every year.

[MadeInCanada]

This is one area where Canada ought to look to Quebec. Quebec's Mouvement Des Caisses Desjardins, a co-operative is the largest financial institution in that province, with over 2 million members. All the profits go to the owners, which are the customers who have to buy in to open an account. <br /> <br /> Imagine actually getting money back from your bank?<br /> <br /> Alternatively, middle class Canadians should really invest their money. A good, diversified portfolio always includes a few bank stocks (or, a mutual fund with bank stocks in there). So if the bank makes money, so do you. Actually, investing wisely is a good way to hedge against a whole host of things such as foreign exchange risk and surging energy prices. Obviously this is not a perfect solution, though, as many Canadians can't even afford to put food on the table.

[oh canada]

I've been a PC (President's Choice) customer since they opened shop. They're owned by Amicus who is the parent company of CIBC. PC Financial is a virtual bank, meaning there is no branch and all banking is done online or by phone. <br /> <br /> To access your money you can use any CIBC or PC bank machine (which are usually located in Loblaws and Zehrs. There's no fees, no minimum balance and unlimited withdrawls either by cheque, debit or online transactions. The only time you will get charged is if you use another bank's ATM or for overdrafts.<br /> <br /> I also have PC savings account which has a pretty good interest rate, much better than the big banks. <br /> <br /> I also havea PC MasterCard which has helped me earned over $400 in groceries or whatever else "rewards" they have available.<br /> <br /> Their customer service is great, on a few occassions they have reversed their service charge fees for me, even though I was completely at fault. <br /> <br /> So I have a hard time understanding why people are not switching over and why they choose to stick to big banks where they treat you like crap and the service is just horrible.<br /> <br /> I had a Royal Bank account since I was a teenager and they closed my account down and charged me $15 just because there were no transactions on my account! I only had $12 in the account and they took it! <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/lol.gif' alt='Laughing Out Loud'>