This is really a review directed at CIBC corporate, but since reviews apparently needed to be…read morelocalized, this CIBC address will have to serve as proxy.
Got a letter in the mail that a CD had matured a few weeks prior and had already renewed for another 13 months at 3.63% APY. This was the first notification I had gotten, and therefore I had missed the standard 10 days to decide if I wanted to redirect that money. Obviously, I would have. At a minimum, I could've bought a 1-year CD at CIBC for 4.0% APY, but I also could have gotten 4%+ at Vanguard or Raisin. The difference in interest would've been ~$760.
A critic might say I should have been proactive in tracking the CD's maturation date. However, anybody who buys CD's regularly tend to expect proper notifications. Anything else would not be competent, and CIBC is a very big company. Also, I knew CIBC's 1-year rate was 4.0%, which I was fine with. I had forgotten my CD was technically 13 months. Why would anyone want their CD renewed 13 months at 3.63% when they could get 12 months for 4.00%?
I complain immediately. CIBC refuses to do anything. I respond with a long email detailing all the things that I was prepared to do, i.e. permanently exile all my money from CIBC (3.5x the amount of the CD) as well as review on Trustpilot, Yelp, Smart Customer. CIBC then responds with a message that was, word for word, the exact same nondescript message that I had just responded to. CIBC's response was written in such a generic fashion that it reeked of some AI slop response. If it was written by a human, they've become a soulless bureaucrat. If CIBC thinks I will not act on my threats because they have some sort of leverage with their interest rates or they think I will be too lazy, they are in for a rude surprise. I am above the FDIC insurance limits, and I can get a better rate at Raisin or Vanguard. Also, I always follow up on my reviews.
There are other reasons to avoid CIBC. Their messaging system is buggy. Seems like anytime you use any special character, even a common one, or any of a gazillion reserved words, the system will spit out some ridiculous, vague Java Script error like {Result #0002} with inadequate diagnostics. Also, look at the other reviews. I am hardly the only one who couldn't get an ounce of useful help from a human being on an important situation.
I wrote a review on Trustpilot, and they did not bother to respond. Instead, a month later, I find a FedEx on my side steps (which I rarely use) which had inside a divestiture letter and $560,382 in cashier's checks. It had been sitting there for days. CIBC hadn't bothered to utter one sentence that they had done such a thing. The divestiture letter stated no reason for the action and provided one avenue for communication - an invalid email address. CIBC provided none of my account information and had locked off access to my online account. Historically, CIBC rendered interest payments only once a month. CIBC never stated whether my balances were properly updated with interest at the date of divestiture and never confirmed my CD APY's so I could tell if I was getting screwed on interest rate fluctuations. Immediately, I send a detailed email and call in. I get told the email was flagged as high priority. Two days later and no response. Call again and get told a response was imminent. A day later I get an email that addressed nothing. Didn't get a negative answer - just nothing. Contact back and three days later - still nothing.
All this time I had not cashed the checks, because the issue was still under dispute. Once it was clear CIBC was going to string me along indefinitely, I cash them. 7-day hold because of the size... something that could've been avoided with a common-sense ACH or wire. 18 days of lost interest on $560,382 at 4% is $1105. Screwed $1105 plus hours of fighting, a needless trip to the bank, and the amount from my original complaint. How does this bank stay in business?
I issued a complaint at the CFPB. That process has been completed, and the situation seems destined to remain unresolved indefinitely. CIBC did respond but showed a continued pattern of giving distorted information and/or completely not responding to critical components of the complaint. There was no response to my response. Sensing, I suspect, that any observer of the situation would see CIBC's culpability, they sent me a token and unsolicited check (wasting more money via FedEx) as a "goodwill gesture". That is code for the fact that they knew they were culpable and were making a settlement offer without bothering to check if I was interested. The check they sent was an insult. It will remain forever uncashed. I will seek prosecution of my complaint elsewhere.