This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2009.
ATM Use Fee
withdrawing cash from an ATM machine that belongs to a bank other your own bank costs $1.5. Reviewing my monthly bank statement, I noticed that the Bank took an extra $1.5 (i.e., the total cost of using an ATM is $3). That is total rip off!
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This is a worthy Bitch…One of the Best in a Long Time.This has been grinding my gears for years…I thought the Government was going to legislate these fees. One of the times we want the Government to stick their nose in other peoples business and they don’t. It is a Rip-off. Corporations own our Country they set the rules, they tell the Government how things should be run.This is part of the reason I am slowly leaving the RBC, because of these fees. Also, they just went ahead and made changes to my banking plan and send me a new Insurance contract. No ‘Godfather’ clause there. They do whatever they like and there is really nothing you can do about it. The Banks are there to get RICH not to help us in any way shape or form. Do not forget that.$3.00 to take out $20, thieving pricks. Banks are one step above those who rob people/stores at gun point, or home invasion. Fuck You Banks/Financial Institutions. Fuck .!.. every one of you. Pricks !
get a presidents choice account. You just get dinged for the first $1.50 and not the second.
The Largest Criminal Organization in Canada is the “Federal Government”.THe Second biggest Criminal Organization are the “Banks”.The the Third is the “Insurance Companies”Nobodies bigger than these 3.Not the Triads, Not the Bikers, nor any Mafia clan.What really sucks is the Big 3…have their own private & well paid Police Services, & they control the Judicial System….. to keep us from doing anything about it. Irony is that none of the people who work for the different Police services realise it .lolNow you know.
Hey, as a former banker, I’ve gotta chime in on this one. I want you all to know that the fee is not a BANK fee. It is an INTERAC fee. Interac is a service provider that the banks use to allow you withdraw from a machine that does not belong to your FI. They also allow us to have a top-notch debit service across Canada that allows a point of sale purchase. Every merchant passes along the costs of any value-added service they offer and this is no different. They DO NOT have to provide this service to you. Thus, there is a cost associated. Don’t like the cost, walk to your nearest ATM that displays you bank’s logo or make changes to your habits in terms of withdrawing your cash (make larger cash withdrawals, so the fees are less frequent if you like to use cash) and if you don’t like how the banks operate, you can always go down to your local payday advance store/cheque cashing service and pay the 1.50 per 10 dollars or whatever unreasonable amount they charge you to use their service. The banks sound better and better don’t they? So, as a consumer, you must make a choice. You however need to realize that they days of getting something for nothing is gone.
Banks will do whatever they can get away with. But what gets me is why my credit union seems to follow course. High fees for what should be basic services, etc. And, while I can understand why a for-profit bank won’t put a branch in the north end, non-profit, cooperative credit unions are supposed to serve a social purpose, and a north end branch exactly fits that social mandate.
Banks will do whatever they can get away with. But what gets me is why my credit union seems to follow course. High fees for what should be basic services, etc. And, while I can understand why a for-profit bank won’t put a branch in the north end, non-profit, cooperative credit unions are supposed to serve a social purpose, and a north end branch exactly fits that social mandate.
You can leave RBC, Scott, but let me tell you this: all other banks are pretty much the same.Dr Fever’s right: find your own institution’s bank machine or take out larger sums of cash. The fees suck, but the machines DO notify you of the fees before the transaction is complete (along with stating that your institution may charge you a fee on top of that $1.50 fee). It’s not the banks, it’s the interac service. Bank machines of all institutions are everywhere these days so you shouldn’t have a problem finding one of your own institution too far out of the way.
PC Financial!! (You’d think they pay me to advertise for them) I gave up my secondary RBC bank account years ago, as everything was much cheaper (and often free) with PC. I don’t miss the old banks at all.
PC financial won’t give you a bank account if your credit isn’t great. They’re also owned by CIBC and I’d rather sell my ass on the street than deal with CIBC. Just puttin’ that out there :PSeriously though, I’m kinda sketchy on having a bank do a credit check just to open a bank account……the PC points are awesome though (one women I served once at superstore had 1.3 million PC points saved!!!)
Dr. Fever; Apparently, you missed my point. I approved paying the cost of the service which was $1.5. but what is annoying me is the additional $1.5 that BMO took without informing me.
I decided a few years ago that I didn’t want to pay $8-12 just for having a bank account (after I was no longer a student, when it was free). So I went with the lowest possible account fee, which I think is $4 with RBC. So I only get 5 free debits even from their own machines a month before they charge me. So I just pay for everything with my credit card. They don’t charge you no matter how many times you use it, and as long as you pay it off online (and on time!) you don’t get charged by your bank, or for interest on the card. Works perfectly, I get points for using the card, I pay practically nothing for the bank account, and nothing extra for the credit card. Everyone should do this. Screw the banks, and debit fees, and interac. And if you need some actual cash, you can use one of the 5 debits, which I hardly even use anymore, or offer to pay for your collegues/friends/familys purchase on your card and have them give you the cash they were going to use, then you get the points for their purchase, plus some cash.
1. There is a credit union in the north end, on Lady Hammond.2. It costs your bank money to provide you with service (both to external service providers and internally), why can’t they charge for it?3. I think the Coast should give ads away for free! What a mean corporation to drive bars and car companies into financial ruin!
Definition problem: I don’t consider Lady Hammond the north end. I want a place within walking distance of Gottingen Street. Seems reasonable as a maybe ten thousand people live and work in the area.As for the Coast giving away ads, if you read my comment, I said I understand that for-profit banks have other ways of making decisions, but not-for-profit credit unions with a supposed social purpose should act on that social mandate. A not-for-profit newspaper with a mandate to help businesses that can’t afford ads in for profit newspapers is free to give away free ads. The Coast, however, is in it for the dough. Haven’t you noticed?
I can see your point Tim, on both issues. Being from that part of the north end however, i would consider it the north end. If I were you I would have asked for a bank/CU/FI in the gottingen area. Interesting though, I never considered that I might not be in the north end. You got me there.As for the Credit Union thingy, I agree that they should be seen as having a social conscience, although we probably disagree on the definition again. I think their social responsibilities should be about treating people fairly, maybe some micro-finance stuff, contributions to community groups, fair hiring practices, etc. even when these are not necessarily the best thing for the bottom line.I would argue that having a location in any given neighbourhood may not fit this description for many reasons, mostly for things like the number of customers in the area, ability to break-even, ability to retain customers, etc.Unfortunately Credit Unions must compete with Banks for business, and in order to be relevant to their members/owners/customers. This means they must offer online banking, ATMs, membership in INTERAC, investment/retirement people, commercial loans, etc, etc. This all costs money, and to keep customers, they invest in these things instead of new locations.As Credit Union Atlantic pretty much owns the HALIFAX credit union market, a good solution would be to try to create a new Credit Union in that area, that could meet those particular customers specific needs.And yes, I’ve noticed that The Coast is a capitalist operation. 😉
GP– the bank would have advised you of the fees that would be applicable. They’re required to by The Bank Act in writing. It would have been in your account open package. Also, you can read about fees and service fee structures thru online banking, telephone banking, branches, your account statement (which you’ve already stated that you read) at your leisure. You just didn’t read the fine print (which, by the way, is your legal responsibility and by signing that piece of paper you fulfilled that responsibility). It’s not that the bank hasn’t attempted to advise you of these fees, it’s that you’re too lazy to read about them. Pretty Kitty- Banks do credit checks because they need to protect themselves from fraud. Sadly, people still feel it necessary to deposit empty envelopes into ATMs and think it’s okay (which, by the way is reason why there are holds on accounts) because they need money. Credit checks also protect you from identity fraud because the credit bureaus report such things and protect you from that happening. Banks are not allowed to decline you for an account open unless you have a history of committing fraud.
people still use cash…how quaint, except for bar hopping i don’t see the point.
Jamie…when I hold my debit card in my hand and caress it ever so gently, it’s just not the same.
RBC doesn’t offer the $4 account anymore. They just willy-nilly more than DOUBLED the fee and left their customers without a choice.
I saw that, and it cheesed me so bad. As soon as my loans are paid, bye bye RBC. Even the unholy hellspawn that is Rogers leaves my account and plan alone until I decide to change it.
This is still on their websites as an option when you create a new account:RBC Day to Day Banking® account – Monthly Fee $4.00 – Free monthly debits 15 $4.00 is my monthly service fee. At this point I am paying that fee for nothing, really. A few more transactions with those Pricks and that account will be closed as well. Fuck RBC !!One of the huge piss-offs with RBC, they just change things as they see fit, Fuckers.