I just opened my first account with a brick and mortar bank for the first time in a long time. I closed all my account with Royal many years ago after getting irritated with them one too many times. I love my ING for the most part but it is not so convenient when you need to deposit cheques that are more than a couple of bucks. I mean who writes cheques these days right? Anyhow, I opened a US account with Vancity recently because I occasionally get paid with a US cheque. I figured I could get a US visa from another bank (vancity does not offer this) and pay it off from this account for vacations, online purchases etc. Seems pretty simple, I thought.
I just walked in to this branch very close to home and was helped right away from a pretty friendly account manager.
Issue #1-He said I wouldn't have access to my funds for a full month even though my cheque is written by one of the biggest international investment firm. It's lucky that I didn't need the money right away.
Issue #2-even though this is a chequing account, every bundle of 50 costs over $20. They also charge a fee for every cheque written.
Issue #3-they do not give a client card for US account. You can only access funds in person face to face with a teller. More on what this is like later. The only way to pay a bill with it (like for a visa account at another bank) would be by paying for a CERTIFIED cheque EACH time.
Issue #4-I needed a direct deposit form stamped by Vancity in place of a cheque I did not want to pay $20 and wait 2-4 weeks for. Came face to face with the most strangely condescending and unfriendly teller ever. She clearly hated her job and seemed like she could barely stand me. She literally said nothing and looked at me blankly when I asked how she was as people do.
All of this was after I reached out to them by email and got some gibberish back from someone who had very poor command of written English and should not be responding to customer inquiries.
I chose Vancity because I know they do some great work in our community (even though their continued support of sketchy Fresh Roots is concerning). They unfortunately reminded me why I can't stand dealing with banks, even those disguised as something "better".
Update: I just phone the mainline since its been well over a month since I opened this account and the funds are still on hold. the woman on the phone said yes, it's usually three weeks but they may hold up to four for a new account. She also said that it might be because they cannot verify US cheques because they are a Canadian institution! Huh?!? She did say that 5 weeks seemed unreasonable and to call the branch to get the hold lifted.
I called the branch and asked for one of the account managers (everyone there seems to be some sort of a manager) and the person on the phone said she could help and looked up my account. She THEN transferred me to an account manager who asked me to repeat all the information again. He said "oh, yeah, this is just a mistake and I can totally release the hold on this" no apologies, no explanations, just that someone f'ed up! Now I realize this is actually the same guy that opened my account because I still have his card from then! So this is his own mess up? Wtf? I guess this is why people still bank With the big guys through their gritted teeth, these bumpkins are equally hard to bear. read more