# Bank recommendations Please



## cocoalfie (Apr 6, 2009)

Does anyone out there have a particular bank in Canada that they have been impressed with? I opened an account with a very well known bank in Canada about a month ago and I have had one problem after another and I am SO NOT IMPRESSED!. I am seriously thinking of changing to another bank, but would prefer a recommendation if anyone has one. Also, do they have banks in Canada that are purely internet banks with no visible branches? Such as Smile banking in the UK which is purely cyber based and incredibly efficient.
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

cocoalfie said:


> Does anyone out there have a particular bank in Canada that they have been impressed with? I opened an account with a very well known bank in Canada about a month ago and I have had one problem after another and I am SO NOT IMPRESSED!. I am seriously thinking of changing to another bank, but would prefer a recommendation if anyone has one. Also, do they have banks in Canada that are purely internet banks with no visible branches? Such as Smile banking in the UK which is purely cyber based and incredibly efficient.
> Any info would be appreciated. Thanks


I worked in a Canadian bank for 40 years so have some insight into what people/customers experience on a day to day basis. What is it your not impressed with? What sort of problems have you had?
As far as totally online banking the only one I can think of is Ing Bank.


----------



## cocoalfie (Apr 6, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> I worked in a Canadian bank for 40 years so have some insight into what people/customers experience on a day to day basis. What is it your not impressed with? What sort of problems have you had?
> As far as totally online banking the only one I can think of is Ing Bank.


The first problem could have been catastrophic for me. I visited Victoria at the beginning of June to secure a house, look at schools for my sons, open bank account, etc, etc. I opened the account and had the account manager print off 3 or 4 emergency cheques for me as she told me it would take about 7 to 10 days to get my printed cheques made up and delivered and I was only in Canada for 5 days. I then used two of these cheques to pay my new landlord a deposit and first months rent. Only to find out that the cheques she printed off for me had the wrong account number on them. Surprise, surprise the cheques bounced and my new landlord was probably thinking Oh My GOd, w hoam I dealing with here. Of course I am now back in the UK trying to sort it out via email, phone calls, etc with customer service being 8 hours behind me. Then I find out that they were taking a monthly charge out of my account which was double the amount it should be. As they were withdrawing funds from me for a type of account that I didn't have. Then they had the nerve to charge me for the bounced cheques which were their fault. I'm not even living there yet and I have had three things go wrong, one of which was a major error. So needless to say NOT VERY IMPRESSED. I will see how it goes when I arrive at the end of the month, but if things don't get better, I will be switching banks. I will take a look at Ing Bank. Thanks for the interest and the info.


----------



## Raymapleleaf (Nov 1, 2008)

*banks*



cocoalfie said:


> Does anyone out there have a particular bank in Canada that they have been impressed with? I opened an account with a very well known bank in Canada about a month ago and I have had one problem after another and I am SO NOT IMPRESSED!. I am seriously thinking of changing to another bank, but would prefer a recommendation if anyone has one. Also, do they have banks in Canada that are purely internet banks with no visible branches? Such as Smile banking in the UK which is purely cyber based and incredibly efficient.
> Any info would be appreciated. Thanks


hi we are moving to Calgary and we bank with H.S.B.C in U.K so i opened one there and they have been very good at helping uslane:


----------



## cocoalfie (Apr 6, 2009)

Raymapleleaf said:


> hi we are moving to Calgary and we bank with H.S.B.C in U.K so i opened one there and they have been very good at helping uslane:


Yes. I have been looking at HSBC. My son banks with them and they do call themselves the world's local bank. The thing I find frustrating with Canadian banks is that they charge you for everything, I'm not quite used to all these fees and service charges. We just don't have that here.


----------



## jeepboi76 (Jul 14, 2009)

*PC Financial*



cocoalfie said:


> Does anyone out there have a particular bank in Canada that they have been impressed with? I opened an account with a very well known bank in Canada about a month ago and I have had one problem after another and I am SO NOT IMPRESSED!. I am seriously thinking of changing to another bank, but would prefer a recommendation if anyone has one. Also, do they have banks in Canada that are purely internet banks with no visible branches? Such as Smile banking in the UK which is purely cyber based and incredibly efficient.
> Any info would be appreciated. Thanks


Hi Cocoalfie, you may be interested in President Choice Financial. They are an online/telephone banking company with NO FEES. You can get a PC Mastercard, make investments, and get loans such as Mortgages through them. Like I said, they are free, so you don't pay for online transactions, debit card use, cheques, etc etc. You can check out their website at triple w pcfinancial dot ca.
I used them while I was living in Canada, and plan to use them again when I move back next year. I have had no problems with them. 
President Choice Financial is owned by Loblaws (a supermarket). In western canada they are called Great Canadian Superstore, Central canada is Loblaws, and Atlantic canada Atlantic superstore. All being the same company. They are also a direct banking division of CIBC and therefore you can use CIBC bank machines with no fees. You can go to any of the above mentioned supermarkets to set up your account, as they do have agents in small kiosks during certain times of the day.
When I had their mastercard, I received PC points, which could be redeemed for groceries or any other product sold in their stores. You get 10 pc points for every dollar spent. 
If interested, just follow the link I gave you above. You can read up on their services and see if it is something you'd be intersted in. Just to let you know, no, I do not work for them or any company related to them. I just had good service with NO fees. 
Cheers.


----------



## cocoalfie (Apr 6, 2009)

jeepboi76 said:


> Hi Cocoalfie, you may be interested in President Choice Financial. They are an online/telephone banking company with NO FEES. You can get a PC Mastercard, make investments, and get loans such as Mortgages through them. Like I said, they are free, so you don't pay for online transactions, debit card use, cheques, etc etc. You can check out their website at triple w pcfinancial dot ca.
> I used them while I was living in Canada, and plan to use them again when I move back next year. I have had no problems with them.
> President Choice Financial is owned by Loblaws (a supermarket). In western canada they are called Great Canadian Superstore, Central canada is Loblaws, and Atlantic canada Atlantic superstore. All being the same company. They are also a direct banking division of CIBC and therefore you can use CIBC bank machines with no fees. You can go to any of the above mentioned supermarkets to set up your account, as they do have agents in small kiosks during certain times of the day.
> When I had their mastercard, I received PC points, which could be redeemed for groceries or any other product sold in their stores. You get 10 pc points for every dollar spent.
> ...


Thank you very much for all the info. Much appreciated and I will go and check out that website straight away.


----------



## Oggy (Jan 25, 2009)

My husband has an account with President's Choice through Real Canadian Superstore and is very happy with it. He recently had an issue with a PayPal screw up, which resulted in a NSF charge to his account. He spoke with PC's call centre who immediately reversed the charges based on his account being in good standing. No hassle at all, as they said they had previously experienced other issues with the internet company - he was very pleased with their service and approach. He especially likes that there are no monthly fees!


----------



## cocoalfie (Apr 6, 2009)

Oggy said:


> My husband has an account with President's Choice through Real Canadian Superstore and is very happy with it. He recently had an issue with a PayPal screw up, which resulted in a NSF charge to his account. He spoke with PC's call centre who immediately reversed the charges based on his account being in good standing. No hassle at all, as they said they had previously experienced other issues with the internet company - he was very pleased with their service and approach. He especially likes that there are no monthly fees!


Thanks for your comments. It sounds very much like a bank I am currently using in the UK. I will definitely be checking it out. I have been to their website and liked what I saw. Thanks again.


----------



## shazza151 (Jan 10, 2008)

cocoalfie said:


> Does anyone out there have a particular bank in Canada that they have been impressed with? I opened an account with a very well known bank in Canada about a month ago and I have had one problem after another and I am SO NOT IMPRESSED!. I am seriously thinking of changing to another bank, but would prefer a recommendation if anyone has one. Also, do they have banks in Canada that are purely internet banks with no visible branches? Such as Smile banking in the UK which is purely cyber based and incredibly efficient.
> Any info would be appreciated. Thanks


R.B.C do accounts for newcomers to Canada, you will need you passport, visa and any other government/federal I.D

Hope this helps 
Shazza 151


----------

