Royal Bank of Canada Reviews

They do Not look out for the best interest for the client. The home line was not transferred and there was a shortfall of $15,000.00 and the account manager open a separate credit loan to help me out. I have waited over 9 months for my new home line to be activated, still has not happen looking at BMO, my advice when make stink they tell another day you will have an answer, this never happens. My favorite is that they tell before you make a complaint to the ombudsman you have to get a resolution answerer from client care, I have waited 9 weeks, "How long do You have to wait". My advice, go with BMO - they do not have mobile mortgage specialist, other words "subcontracted paid on commission".

Here are banks you should use TD, Scotia Bank, CIBC and Bank of Montreal! Notice I gave these banks capitals because they deserve it! Royal bank, I will make sure everyone I know and everyone I ever meet I will tell them NEVER, EVER to use your crooked banking system. And not to brag we know A LOT of people and in a small city that matters. I pray GOD enters your hearts and bank one day this way you can stop screwing over your clients. If I could give negative stars I would but it won't allow me on review.

I asked if she could speak English, German, Portuguese, or Spanish, and without a word she transferred me to another random guy. This guy picks up again rudely in French, and I ask if he can please speak English. I then explain that I'm sorry about calling him because I don't think I'm in the customer service area, and ask if he can give me a functioning number or transfer me. He said that he doesn't deal with customer service questions because he's running a proper bank, and says to hold and proceeds to hang up on my face! Who does that? THIS ISN'T EVEN MY BANK, AND THANK THE HEAVENS FOR THAT.

The next month, I received a letter saying the bank want a full payment of my credit card. They don't want my monthly payment. They want 6000 together. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money to pay right away so they try to intimidate me saying they will sell the house. But now they went in to my job and garnish my payment. No, I don't have money. I have to support my 3 kids and still they going to get payment not the full amount. My situation is really bad because I ask for a loan and other banks refuse to help me because Royal Bank give the worst credit and my debt 10000 because I now I have to pay the lawyer that Royal Bank hire to go after me. They are so cruel, Unprofessional. Never deal with this bank please.

No idea what is going out of our accounts. Basically almost impossible to run a business like this and being treated like some criminal when nothing out of the ordinary has gone on, that hasn't gone on for the last 15 years. If there is a problem, why not call us in and have us meet with someone to explain. I am furious right now and shopping for a new bank. This type of service could have you bankrupt in no time!! NO THANK YOU!!

What a shame? I held them personally responsible in emotional and psychological abuse towards my father. There was also financial and exploitation abuse including the disappearance of $40,000.00 in my father's account. Since my brother was his POA with this bank our bad experience after two years is still unsolved and I am unable to find a decent lawyer to take our case to sue them. So please beware of RBC because they are not ROYAL at all.

One day, I put some money in via interact, which I hardly use which I was talked into signing up for. I made only two interact transactions in about two years. When I checked my account, I noticed a lot of money missing. I later found out that there were 79 transactions made within a short period of time even though RBC assured me that they monitor interact banking. Really now? Turns out that my estranged daughter somehow got a hold of my card, thinking her father provided it to her as he is the only one that had my card info as he was making child support payments to me. I am now out almost 10,000 because of it and the fraud department refused my claim, because it was my daughter. If my accounts were monitored as they said that they are, then why was I not alerted? My friends who have a high income were called after two suspicious activities on their account. After what happened to me, they are changing banks.

My sister called today and told me that she is pulling out as well. She also told me that when she worked at a bank there were three classes of clients: A, B and C. I used to be an A and will be again as I am going to go for retraining and supplement my pension. Now that I am a C, I am not taken care of at all - Just ignored. I really don't feel safe having my money in RBC, nervous about what else is going to happen. I have three complaints against them in house as I feel that because I am low income, I do not get the same service anymore. If RBC doesn't give all my money back including fees, then unfortunately I will be going to the media with this one. How dare they treat me different because of my income change. I will not give up until I get all my money back, will complain to whoever wants to listen. When I get my money back, then I will be pulling out all my investments and money.

3. Final straw; I checked my bank account and saw I was overdrawn so went to an ATM at RBC to deposit a cheque ($500) from another bank line of credit to cover. A few days later after payday I went online to pay bills. I was able to see money in my account but not pay bills. I phoned helpdesk who said there was an issue with my card and I had to visit the branch to resolve . I left work and visited my local branch customer service desk. The staff looked up my account and said she would find a bank agent to help me. Within minutes a bank agent stepped out and in the waiting area of the bank, told me my online privileges were cancelled because of ** I don't recall the term but because I had bounced a cheque from my own account into another!

I was highly embarrassed for this to be broadcast to all and sundry in the bank! I left. I realized upon checking that the line of credit cheque had bounced but did not know this before. At no point did RBC call or email me to ask or discuss this. I wrote a cheque from my rbc account to another bank and have used them since then. After many years as a customer it seems that I was no longer welcome at RBC .

They would not accept anything from me unless it was back pay or interest. There were no other options for me and each time I would ask about the closing of the acct so that I could pay the 25% the collections dept would not have any of it. I had contacted other loan officers from other institutions and they did not understand why I was being treated in the manner I was because at their banks the situation would have been handled easily. I was contacted by a lawyer who works on their behalf and the $28,000 I was supposed to pay turned into a lien on my house and me paying $45,000. This institution goes against everything this country stands for. The impact of this situation almost made me homeless. Downright and utterly despicable.

The next day I visited the branch where the account was opened and saw the account specialist that had opened the account. This person did acknowledge that no overdraft was requested, and was in writing right in front of her. She then went on to say how she had no idea how this could happen. After she went to see her supervisor (bank manager). Upon her return she informs me that since I was a long term R.B.C. customer with a great credit rating, the bank automatically provides me with an overdraft availability. The joint account person somehow discovered this and took advantage of it. They, however did not check out the credit history or worthiness of the other account person, which would tell them that this person has stiffed 4 other banks by overdrawing and never seeing a repayment.

Now R.B.C. is telling me that if this is not repaid in a timely manner that it will affect my credit rating. When I opened this account at no risk to me (no overdraft allowed {in writing}) according to the specialist that opened the account. Because of their generosity and stupidity I am in a bit of a pickle. Where do I go from here??

My parents have been a customer for 23 years or more. They purchase even GIC, RRSP for min of $75000 which my father cashed them to expand the restaurant. Now from Nov 18 2015 to today's date my mom has no credit cards and they gave a loan line for $10,000 to pay back. She has great credit, a homeowner. Her net worth is over $650,000 and the Royal Bank treated her after 23 yrs doing business with no respect on her loss. And to top it off the have a collateral mortgage which they did not lead any money to her. She to pay off the balance of $10,000, and they hold a home of $390,000.

I understand that today there is no personal banking with banks. The Royal Bank should not argue with my mom but help her. They should left the line and her credit cards. They were secured on her home which was worth 390,000. Thank you Royal Bank Of Canada in Barrie Ontario 128 Wellington St West 705 725 - 7800 for not helping my mom at 78 yrs old and having a lost of my father after 60 years and she has assets taking away her credit cards and Line, and treating her so poorly that she speaks of it once a week. She has a great business which today is still operating, so they even see the income going in the Royal account. What is their reasoning for taking everything away from her?

They do what they want to do! The Bank should be Held Responsible. It's a crime they can do these things to honest people, trying to make a living, instead of helping, they destroy lives! So far I still have the House, but living in this nightmare for two months keeping my head above water! If we are suppose to be consumers and purchasing products from them and trying to follow guidelines, but what are RBC's? They make up their own Rules.... Nothing Can stop that, unless everyone pulled out!!! Miserable in Ontario!

We had to pay them a large sum, more than we could have possibly owed in that time frame, as well as their legal cost or they would foreclose. We filed a complaint with the ombudsman. After more than a year, we get a report that is full of errors, contradictions and inconsistencies. We still have not found out where our missing payments are. I found some information regarding a class action since this is a regular practice of RBC.

The woman on the phone said her hands were tied and I would have to visit the branch in person to speak with a manager if I had questions. I have several bills being deducted from my account this coming week, all of which will go NSF. And I was told that those fees are not the bank's responsibility, but mine, and they will not be waived. Needless to say, I am closing my accounts and making every effort to drag their name through the mud.

On 9 Mar 15 I went to the branch to find out where our money had gone and the manager would tell me nothing citing unspecified "privacy concerns". Our daughter understood that a new account had been set up but was not aware that the bank was now in control of it. On 16 Mar 15 I met with the manager and one of the account managers to provide Power of Attorney documents and return our accounts to their original state. They would still not give me any details and said the POA document had to be approved by their legal department which would take about 1 week, then everything could be rearranged. On 26 Mar 15 the manager called to say a doctor's note for my wife would be required, which I provided.

We then went to the Dawson Creek branch of the bank where our accounts originated to find out what was happening and it was here that we learned all of the details and it could not be reversed there but had to be done in Spirit River. On 9 April 15 our daughter had a conversation with the manager and learned the details of what had been done. She was not happy with the arrangement and told the manager it would have to be returned as it was. On Monday 13 April 15 my wife and I met with the manager and everything was returned to it's original state. BUT THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!

On 22 April 15 I received a registered letter from Spirit River branch informing me that the bank has determined that my wife may not have had the mental capacity to understand the POA or the joint account. As such the bank has removed all access to all of her accounts. In their words, quote "THE BANK WILL CONTINUE, AT ITS OWN DISCRETION AND ON A BEST EFFORTS BASIS ONLY, TO ALLOW TRANSACTIONS TO BE MADE ON THE ACCOUNT THAT PAY HER LIVING EXPENSES..... YOU MAY PRESENT ANY BILLS IN HER NAME THAT REQUIRE PAYMENT IN HER NAME AND WE WILL PAY THEM FROM THE ACCOUNT." The manager was given what amounts to POA powers over my wife's affairs without her knowledge or approval!!!

We have now managed to retrieve all of the funds in all of our accounts and moved our business to the bank across the street. If I had been asked 2 months ago if such a scenario was possible I would have considered it extremely humorous because it couldn't happen. Shows you how little I knew. Recommendation: STAY AWAY FROM ROYAL BANK, ESPECIALLY SPIRIT RIVER BRANCH. IT IS PURE POISON!!

I phoned the mortgage center to renew my mortgage to make sure I will get a decent interest rate and the documents that they sent me in April 20015 had again 53 years of amortization this is after many telephone calls and discussions on this problem. They were only negotiating the interest they own me as if this was a gift from them. They also asked me to signed a document "the interest that they owe me" is the settlement on this matter. In my view this is far from settlement, it is the normal adjustment of interest that should be made to correct their mistake. Also they pressuring me to sign a fix mortgage at 2.69, only then they will give me the first year of interest. This is because they know that interest rates are predicted to fall again. So that if I take this "good deal" they will continue to profit from me.

Right now, I'm working with mortgage broker right who can give me Rate-Capper at 2.15 interest rate. The problem is that to leave the RBC will cost too $$ since the mortgage is attached to a home line of credit. The big losers is the public when it come to renew their mortgages there is not such as thing as freedom of choice! PLEASE DON'T TRUST RBC.

Right above my head was a camera. I said ‘go look at the cam”, they said they could not do that..and she looked fast for the check but said 5 pm the checks were took and sent to Halifax...would not call the guy who picks them up to look or look at the camera. The checks were my rent and food for the week, now I got to wait for a week or two to make sure the check was not cashed before I can get a new one. So only part of my rent was paid, and hardly any food.

The bank person once I handed her the checks it's her main duty to make sure the check goes into my account. That day she was too excited about going home she misplaced it and never put it into my account. This is just so so awful...the bank lost my money...and said they could not do anything about it unless it shows up. I'm changing banks and going to news reporter to do new report on it. It's just awful...can't even trust bank anymore due to stupid people working in the Riverview nb rbc bank.....

I work in U of T system, and get paid once a month. I repay my credit card immediately. In December each year I get paid 2 weeks earlier (we get 2 weeks off for Christmas). According to my credit card statement I missed January payment (paid twice in December though) because my next payment came on January 28, right after I got paid. It concerns me that I'm treated as a bad payee, even though I make regular payments. I had an appointment at the bank to sort it out, but they wouldn't even listen - you missed the payment, that's it.

Avoid ** at Dundas/University and ** at Bay/Dundas by any means. Horrible customer service. They treat their loyal customers (I was with them for more than 5 years) very poorly. RBC fees are higher than in other banks, and their customers are stuck with poor customer service. Switching banks, I had enough of RBC "experiences". ** was very straightforward: "If you think other bank will take better care of you, go ahead". I guess I have nothing to add.

When they froze our account we did not even get a call from RBC to inform us and ask us what the problem was. We were pissed off. At least I was and to add I phoned RBC many times through the last couple of days to try and find some answers to fix this problem and phoned and it was a call center. Need I say more I talked to 6 people and all different people and 6 different answers which almost drove me to the point of driving to the branch and talking with some one the branch was in Trenton Ontario Canada on Dundas Street.

I am now in the process of totally closing out all of my accounts with RBC and going to my local credit union which I have dealt with in the past and really wish I stayed there with all of my banking needs. Online complaints with RBC are overwhelming. With our experiences with RBC my advice would be don't go there!! We are now talking with lawyers with this bad, bad service and will advise here on how things turn out.

To make a long story short, they "hot-carded" my card...meaning, there was a message on my card that it was stolen or being fraudulent. Teller calls to take this message off because it's obvious I wasn't up to any funny business because they know me and I spoke to them immediately. They can't get the message off until someone views my account...It could to take 2 or 3 days! Not only do I not have access to my cheque but they will not release ANY funds from my account. It happened Thursday and today is Monday. All my money is in that account. I had to pay for a birthday party for my daughter that weekend and feed my children. How do you do that when the Royal Bank has all of my money? Once they have released my funds I will no longer be banking at RBC.

I live in Nova Scotia. It was still January and we only had a regular winter in Nova Scotia, nothing extreme. I was told if I called her back and said tree fell on my pool they would cover it. I explained to her the deck wasn't even touching it. She said once again, "Call me back and say it was hit by a tree or have a contractor write a note saying it was damaged from a tree and they would pay. After hearing the conversation was recorded and all the talk of insurance fraud, I figure I am better off changing companies in the spring and paying for my own pool. Unbelievable how bad the service is. I felt the RBC license insurance agent was asking me to commit insurance fraud; I felt like I was being set up. I still believe my policy state the pool is cover, but without taking legal action it impossible to fight a big bank and the cost would out weight the $8500 the pool cost.

Tip: DO NOT get your insurance through the bank. Go with an outside source governed by FSCO (Financial Services Commission of Ontario) or whomever governs insurance companies in your area.

Somehow the bank renewed the mortgage for 300,000.00. I made very complaints. However on December 20, 2013 the bank froze my account taking my 500.00 overdraft away as well as my Visa stating I was a risk. I saw the bank Manager at the mall. She gave me a hug wishing me all the best in the new year. When I went to use my card for Christmas presents, food, etc. my account was frozen. In Jan. 2014 the bank started foreclosure actions. I have filed a complaint with ADR in October 2014 waiting for a response. On Jan 3, 2015 the bank is going to take my home. I need this stopped. The bank will not help me or tell me where the difference of 300,000.00 and 233,000.00 went to. I need this action. Please contact me at ** or contact me at **.. The bank has totally wrecked my credit.

Then a few months later. When I look at my bank accounts, they have started to increase my loan and my credit card without my permission. BUT hound me to have my credit card bill paperless. (NOT HAPPENING). After the second attempt to increase them I have to call again to say NO!! I am then told that I should keep as is as I would have to call back and wait 6 months before I could be approved again. STOP APPROVING ME WITHOUT MY APPROVAL FIRST. IF I WANT IT, I WILL CALL AND ASK LIKE I DID.

Now the month of Oct 2014 I need emergency renos done and need some money. I call and ask for the line of credit increase to be added back on. I was told it has been a year so should not be a problem. I am put on hold for 20 minutes to have the rep come back on the phone and tell me I would need to remortgage my house to do this. She could set up an appointment for me. I said, "Nope, I will take my business elsewhere," and hung up. I call back to ask about my credit card and ask for an extra $1,000.00 and told "oh we can increase it more." I say NO and they say but better to have more. I said I only want $1,000.00 and trying to get out of debt and not more in debt. After arguing and saying NO 2 more times I then state AGAIN LEAVE as is, I will take my business elsewhere and I hang up.

I go to another bank and get approved for more than enough to cover all my renos. I just need to call RBC to find out the mortgage switch out cost. I then speak to someone and mentioned the issues, they then advise they will look into things for me to see on an increase. I state what I was offered by the other bank. I spend time answering all required questions. Then told they will call me back by Friday. BUT The rep I spoke to was out of the office Friday and will leave it for another person to look after. I am sorry BUT IF YOU WANT MY BUSINESS YOU THAT TAKES THE CALL IS THE ONE TO START AND FINISH THE TASK AND NOT FOB IT OFF ON SOMEONE ELSE. So the next day I get a call to say I am pre approved for a set amount BUT I would need to go into a branch to sign papers. NO further details, NOTHING. The other branch still offers more than RBC so I call RBC back to speak to someone and ask the questions left unanswered by the mortgage rep. After questions answered with his frustrated voice to me, rushing me off the phone. I then stated to put a note on my file. I will call back after checking one other bank. He said that was the max they could offer and that was it end of story I had 10 days to decide.

YET AGAIN making me realize they really don't want my business, let alone VALUE MY BUSINESS. A few hours later I go online and see that the IDIOT I spoke to before about my credit card did increase it WITHOUT my approval. I call and speak to another rep to log a complaint. I mention about them not using the Loyalty statement and they say NO cause it sounds ROBOTIC. ALL CALL CENTERS HAVE SCRIPTS THAT ARE ROBOTIC. A good rep knows how to NOT make it sound robotic. DUE to the credit card increase if it is trying to screw up my credit rating. I told the rep I will be more angry then I am. All I get is sorry for your frustration. IT IS NOT FRUSTRATION, IT IS ANGER at the way they have been messing me around. It is bad enough they want my business BUT I have to pay a monthly fee to have accounts with them. They should pay me for the crap I have been through. Or reimburse me the 37 years of fees I paid as a loyal customer. Tangerine does not charge a fee, why should other banks. I recommend Tangerine over RBC any time someone asks me about banking.

This process of centralization is supposed to increase their efficiency. They have taken all the powers away from the management in the banks where we can't even request this removal with a letter from the local manager. How in the world is this good customer service??? We have been customers in this RBC bank for over 40 years, have a high credit rating, pay our Visa off every month in full, do not owe them a penny and deposit a goodly amount every month in our account. And there I sit begging to have something done so I can continue with my transaction that has been put on hold for a longer period of time because of inefficiencies in the banking system!!! I will guarantee that they will NEVER be able to do this to me again. If you are reading this - take my advise and take your business to a credit union which would have had this done in a matter of days. If you have a mortgage that you paid off or want a caveat removed, the same thing will happen to you. I feel like I have lost control over what is mine. I am beginning to appreciate my local credit unions more and more. They look after the little guys and care.

I am outraged because I already paid for a service so that this doesn't happen. So essentially you're paying extra money for a service that you really can't use. Originally I thought the stop payment fees were included in my account and when I asked to have those reverses I was told no. So I left it alone. The branch teller I was dealing with said everything was okay and that the stop payments were all in place. It shouldn't happen anymore. Now everything is bouncing out of my account and it seems they are blaming me for it.

I said I was fine with it going trough my account and that wasn't the issue. It was all the NSF fees the bank would be charging me. The customer care manager Alicia refused to reverse any NSF fees back to me. She says I will reverse the stop payment fees but the NSF still stands. I have other bank accounts before and when I had to place a stop payment, I never had an issue and if the system didn't catch something the bank would make sure I wasn't being charged for it, as really it isn't my fault that the system didn't catch it.

The Royal Bank tells me that if a company changes their name or amounts, basically the stop payment would no longer count. However some companies can be sneaky. How is that my fault? So my local so-called client care manager didn't care about me whatsoever. More like wanted the money. $180 in NSF fees was more important to a million dollar company. After not liking her response I called the 800 number and voiced my complaint to them. They basically said the same thing that they cannot guarantee a stop payment working. So they take my money to place the stop payment and now are charging me a ton on NSF fees for something that isn't my fault.

In case anyone would be wondering why I just don't contact the company themselves and get them to stop their payments from going through, I tried this. They refuse until they have received the bankruptcy papers. That is completely beyond my control. So basically nothing can be done and every 2 weeks I just have to be stuck paying NSF fees. That is ridiculous. I have never in my life been treated so poorly from a bank. I feel like they don't care about me and that I am just being ripped off.

For the first little while, the people at RBC were seemingly helpful, offering apologies and promises that they'd rush the cheques out right away. After many phone calls, we learned that there was an issue with our address for delivery, as whoever had entered the information had the proper address listed, but neglected to add the Apartment #. This was only for the cheques though, as a letter sent from the very same office arrived in our mailbox just fine.

After contacting RBC again and giving them the proper, full address again, they sent the package by registered courier. Without a tracking number. Unsurprisingly, it never showed up, and with no tracking information, there was nothing we could do. Around this time, the RBC employee handling the claim started dodging our phone calls, picking up only rarely.

We contacted them again, and once again they had the package shipped out by courier, namely Purolator (who will also be getting a "lovely" review). And once again, RBC failed to put our apartment number on the package, so it was sent back to the sender as "address incomplete." After finally contacting RBC again, they agreed that as soon as they got the cheques back from Purolator, that the money owed would be directly deposited into my girlfriend's bank account.

They got the package on Monday, July 21, 2014 9:21 a.m. It's now Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Still nothing. And to make it even better, we live in Alberta, while RBC's 1-800 "Customer Care" numbers are all based in Ontario, running Eastern Standard Time, and only available from 8-5. That being 3 in the afternoon where we live.

Oh, did I mention that the insurance money for short term disability claims is to help people with their bills *during* the time that they are off work? Things like rent, power, and phone bills? I feel that would be important to note, as through the utter incompetence of RBC Insurance, we've already received one eviction notice that we avoided by 1 day. And if they can't get this sorted out, we're facing another one in a week's time.

To sum it all up, RBC is useless, their help lines are useless, and I would urge people to bury their money (preferably the old papery kind) in a paper bag at the bottom of a river before I would ever suggest being a customer of RBC in any of their guises.

Had very little concerns up until about 7 years ago when they made the move from the small personal centered banks to erecting their Financial Institution and the onset of the 1-800 call centers. In hindsight I look back now and see that this was a judicious move away from that very slogan "Personal Touch Banking" to an aloof, indifferent and incredibly uncaring institution. Moved from my home town of Toronto out to Alberta with my only child Shannon 7 years and set up an account in Wetaskiwin (while retaining my original account in Mississauga). Two years into the move she became very ill and over the course of the next 6 years was hospitalized over 70 times.

When she arrived here AB she was a strong, smart, funny, accomplished young women of 27, had 5 years of Law under her belt, went to work for the Department of Justice, Alberta in the Court System, also had about 6K remaining on her student loan for her law career. She suffered 3 miscarriages due to her undiagnosed illness during those years. The geniuses out here said it "severe, uncontrolled environmental asthma" (Alberta is not a healthy place), one out of two people will contract cancer during their lifetime here. They were wrong, much as the RBC was and remains so today.

Her medications and treatment regime skyrocketed in a very short timeframe. I went to the Royal and took out a $9K line of credit to help pay for medications that skyrocketed to almost $70K at her death. I kept the Royal completely informed with telephone calls and personal visits to my account executive. People, I have to tell you, the things that took place, the decisions made by the banking institution despite the fact that the credit line was completely insured (and I paid for that), were hair raising. There were times when things were so tight, so incredibly hard, so frighteningly tenuous with no reprieve anywhere in sight from the government here in AB with respect to help, to my banking institution when looking for a reprieve from the incredibly crushing interest rates imposed, I thought I would lose my mind.

Despite numerous calls and visits to them, they continued to persevere without a single iota of concern for the personal situation our family was in. This was not a derelict account. Payments were made and food was not bought in order for prescriptions to be purchased. I had every intent to continue to meet my financial obligations as I had done for 5 decades before. Not once during any of those exceedingly difficult and terrifying years did the Royal ever once opt to lower the interest rate to give our family the much needed room to provide for my only child, much needed medical help. Past financial history and business relationship with them meant nothing, nothing at all.

If I couldn't meet the payment date by a day or two dependent upon my payroll at work, I would be hit with a $43 NSF for the withdrawal from my account that was a day or two late. This happened over and over on top of the crushing interest rate. It almost took me out. I would call 3 days in advance to let them know the date of my automatic deposit from my payroll, ask them to give me stay of grace for 48 hours, it was never, ever taken into account. They absolutely 100% wanted to make certain I was on the hook for that insured amount of $9K and that I would never ever get out from under the responsibility of that line of credit. Was never my intent to shirk that commitment I had with my bank; however, my commitment to my ailing child was tantamount. They could have given a rat's **. They are so all about the money it's frightening.

To make a long story short, my only child succumbed to her illness and died at 35 unexpectedly (we thought she was rallying and may be turning a corner, she was not). She had taken out an insurance policy through Alberta Justice unbeknownst to me, I believe now in retrospect that she knew she was not going to make it. I did not at the time think this. I was able to pay off the $6K owing in a lump sum which RBC balked at (seeing as they were making money hand over fist from the gouging) but it was finally completed nonetheless following her passing. I removed all of my finances from them (have left both my checking accounts and line of credit still standing as a reminder to them of "what you had and what you lost).

I took my business to the TD and have been pleased with both the attentiveness given me (because they are indeed using my money along with countless others to run their banking institution) and so they should give me this consideration and care. I took the time on the phone to tell RBC exactly the reasoning for this move, I felt my parents with me (they have passed) on that day I undertook that hard decision. They have had none of my business this past year since Shannon's passing. None. And here's the kicker of all.

After all this time has passed, I found myself in a position where I had to put $5000 on my line of credit for less than a couple of weeks. June 6 the money was taken out, June 26 it was paid back in full. I called the Royal prior to making the payment to enquire if there had been any interest accrued, they said no. I went and obtained a $5000 bank draft from my home bank TD and went to the teller that very day at the Royal. I confirmed with the teller, no interest had been incurred and double checked online. None. Paid the amount owing in full after much ado, they for some bizarre reason could not apply the money directly on the credit line, it had to go into my account first and then an order to withdraw and apply needed to be done. I asked for a call from the teller before the close of business that day (because I so know exactly how they operate after many, many years of being filleted and deboned by them). She called me at 4 to say the payment had been applied.

On the 30th of June I received a letter in the mail from RBC Collections computer stating that I had not only missed my payment, but that I owed $27. I called them and spent 40 minutes on the phone with Veronica and got absolutely nowhere. She had to refer the case to her higher ups. I know they will find the answer but she told me I would continue to incur interest on that $27 till the matter could be settled with her higher ups. RBC long ago removed themselves from the scrutiny of the Banking Ombudsman; it appears TD has as well. I believe they have done this due to the penalties imposed for impropriety and questionable business practice. I know this will be remedied as have many of the other instances of gauging and blatant gluttony.

Please believe this writer when I tell you up front and honestly, do not give this bank your business. They are undeserving all around. They will not be there for you (as your money is for them). Their word means nothing. They assume no responsibility whatsoever for banking mistakes but they will be all over you like white on rice if you are a day late in a payment or you cannot provide proof positive of an exchange either at the teller level or on the phone with the 1-800 number. They will discourage you, give you the most incredible run around and make you do all the homework for their mistakes with the hope you will throw your hands up in the air and give up. This is how they make their money.

Never, ever give them one cent of your hard earned money, nor give them an opportunity to latch onto you. They will drain you dry. Have nothing but the worst to say about the present day institution and their impersonal and greedy practices. Steer clear.

In the mean time, after trying at least half a dozen times for the Royal Bank to take the check from TD bank, I was laid off at work and to make a long story short I absorbed the money that was to pay off the car loan over the next 3 months just to live. I have never seen the branch manager ever again at the Royal Bank branch. So what my father said to me must be true, you don't become the biggest bank in Canada by being nice, so screw you Royal Bank. What I owe you now I take to the grave, I wish you nothing but ill will.

The second lady we spoke to was very helpful and have us several suggestions that we could use to build our credit and save for a down payment. So we did what she recommended and we started putting $250 a month into a "spousal RSP" to build my wife's credit. Another $500 a month went into a "tax free savings" in my name for my credit. In about six months we were able to purchase a home. THANKS RBC.

Things were moving along nicely. We had a family, a home, life was good. Then I became ill and was unable to fulfill my contract at work (self-employed truck drive) and lost and was let go. Immediately, my wife and I called the bank to let them know about our situation and if there was anything we could do to weather the financial storm that was sure to come. Somehow the insurance I requested for "death and or disability" was missing! If I died, it was covered but if I got sick... Too bad! So we asked for advice. "Sorry! There's nothing we can do!" was the response we received!

My wife and I own a second home and had loads of equity so we suggested to the bank that we do a refinance. Denied! We asked if we could defer payments and put them on at the end of the term. Denied! What about extended amortization period? Denied! These are all things made possible by CMHC yet we were denied the use of them even in our situation. So magically, no insurance! Funny how that slipped through the cracks!!

I'm working again, and exactly when I told the bank I would be, but it's too late! They are foreclosing on my mortgage and we're gonna lose our home! My 7-yr old boy and 3-yr old daughter will become homeless. Our other property is in Foreclosure as well. We only have $2,400 worth of mortgage payments in arrears! That's it!! I can make that up in a second once a pay cheque arrives. RBC doesn't care! Find someone else to take the mortgage or we're gonna sell your home they told us! Unbelievable!! 15yrs for what! To get ** over $2,400! What a joke!

RBC... Your greed disgusts me beyond belief! I will make sure that if anyone ever mentions a bank in front of me, they will hear this story! This all took ace at the branch in Hinton Alberta! I will not however do lose the names of the individuals who are obviously greedy idiots with nothing better to do than out us out on the streets!

In January 2014, I emailed Yang regarding the release of the GIC, but he never replied. I called him and left voice messages, but again no response. I was frustrated and walked into a branch closer to me to see if there's any account manager that can rectify this for me because at that time, I didn't want to deal with Yang anymore. The account manager was not sure why the GIC was on hold, and was a bit hesitant to release it. She left a message for Yang to contact me. Again, I never heard from him.

Two months ago, I stopped operating the franchised store and was planning on selling it. My business account doesn't have much money left, but I was still keeping my rent and loan payment up to date. The head office of the Franchise agreed to help me to find a new franchisee to take over the store and the lease. So they contacted the bank regarding the loan. That was on Apr 23, 2014. We called Yang and the CEO of the franchise left him a voice message to call us back. I never received any call back from Yang. At that point, my account didn't have much money left, but my loan payment and rent are still current. Since I couldn't get anyone at RBC to release my GIC that was secured for something that's closed over a year ago. I got a hold of the Assistant Manager, Neil **. During our first conversation, he promised me that he's going to release the GIC and transfer the amount into my RBC Business Savings account. I was satisfied, until I realized that the GIC was still on hold and nothing was done.

I tried to call Neil and left him several messages few days following our conversation. Never heard back from him again. I got a hold of the branch manager, Fred, and he promised that he will ask Yang to get back to me. On that day, Yang called me, but I was busy, so he left me voice messages and emailed me. The answer I got from him was not to my satisfaction. In his email, he mentioned that because the head office of the franchise told him that the store is not in operation, my loan has been sent to collection and he could not release the GIC anymore. He basically told me that this loan has nothing to do with the branch and I should contact the Collections Department. I was in shock! My loan payment was up to date, why should it be sent to the Collections?! The only reason I needed to release that GIC was to make sure that my loan payment is not behind during the transition.

After I received his email, I called the collections department, and found out that they didn't have my file. I was transferred back to the customer service at the call center. At that point, I was frustrated and confused. The representative on the phone gave me the name of Yang's direct supervisor, Shameer **, and she transferred my call to him. It was around 6 or 7 pm on Apr 30, 2014. I didn't expect him to answer the phone, and I left him a message to call me back. On the same day, I left a voice message for Fred, the branch manager, to call me, but he never did. I left Shameer another message the next day during business hour, but I never heard back from him.

Here I am, frustrated and furious. No one calls back or tries to help a customer to solve a problem or clarify the situation. I thought the first contact should rectify the problem. I felt like I was being pushed around and always ended up where I started. This morning, I called the collections department again. I asked her why my file was sent to collections when my payments are up to date. I wanted to arrange payment as I have someone buying the store, and the franchise head office is going to arrange the payment to be paid to the bank directly. Whatever is left on the loan after the sales will be paid out of my pocket, and I understand that. Then Ramona (I think that's the representative's name) told me that I cannot sell the store now, because it's in collections. She kept on asking me if I'm ready to pay my 25% of the loan. Why would the bank want to take the equipment in the store (which is worth $10k at max) plus my 25% when they can take a full payment on the loan?! Whats the rationale? 100% vs <50%, it's a simple math.

I would never recommend this bank to anyone I know. In fact, I would tell all my friends and family to stay away from it. I don't think what they did was legal. Holding the client's money over a year for no legit reason.

Trying to do the right thing, I finally capitulated, gave up pride, and began to ask banks for consideration. Yes, I made them aware of what I was going through. TD Canada Trust actually offered to help, and I took them up on it. But the Royal Bank of Canada would hear nothing of it. When I told them TD CT had offered to help, and asked them if they could do something for me (reduced payments, interest reduced, etc.) I was told flat out "no". They do not do such things. Their recommendation, and it was one I was definitely willing to consider, was to look at a loan to restructure my debt. That failed, and it was also a "no".

This is what I was told in e-mail, verbatim: "Your application has been reviewed and unfortunately we're unable to approve loan or restructure your debt at this time. This is based on your current credit facilities and lack of personal assets." Ah, yeah. What was I thinking? Obviously if I had assets I would have bartered to use them to help myself. My response to RBC, in part: "Not a reflection on you, but my two cents worth on the bank is that it's not willing to work with people through hardship. How content would or will RBC be if I'm unable to make payments?" How content indeed... as I'm finding out, they won't stop, even for a monthly payment that is at this point, 10-12 days late. (I checked my account online. I owe an overdue payment, plus a current one whose due date is coming up.)

This bank rakes in huge profit every year, and I know some of it is on my back. So be it. I got myself into this. But I'd like to know how they help the little guy. I'm wondering out loud how the few hundred dollars I owe is going to break them. So I'll make my late monthly payment (no, not the first time I've been late) in the next day or so, feeling that above all other financial considerations I might have, if I don't come through for them, even when they won't do anything for me, I will be 'pursued'. Regardless of whether my feelings are warranted, I now feel I have to go into stealth mode to keep this bank at bay. Whether wise or foolish, I have stopped answering the phone. (Tired of the typical delay you get from automated call centers anyway)

I'd be happy --mildly thrilled-- to think the RBC might actually have compassionate people on board somewhere. Instead of that, I had a response in social media, asking me what number I was being called from. That response was totally ... unhelpful.

The two missed payments were registered against my credit history resulting in my credit rating dropping from 'excellent' to 'fair'. On May 2nd, I contacted RBC via telephone requesting they reverse the information. They have declined my request. They state they tried to contact me twice via telephone regarding the missed payments. However I never spoke with them. After investigating my call history, it appears that RBC's computerized call system does not allow time for my answering system to start recording, so no message was left. There is an Alert Center Inbox on their online banking site, and they sent no messages to me.

In RBC's response to me they state, "I can assure you that this one time late payment scenario will not severely impact your credit history, and within some time of managing your accounts well, the effect will be negligible on your credit score." According to Equifax, this is false. The drop from "excellent" to "fair" has already severely impacted me it and will remain in effect for 3-6 years. RBC's assurances are as empty as their advertised commitment to customer service and "Values".

Pre-history:

My wife has migrated to Canada from Iran and at the time of her accounts being suddenly closed has been in the process of waiting to receive her Canadian citizenship. The sanctions against Iran have come in effect shortly prior to the above mentioned letter being received. One month prior to being informed of RBC closing all of her accounts, she has opened a joint account with her twin-sister, who was visiting from Iran and planning on moving to Canada as well (hence, the need for a Canadian bank account). One year prior to this incident with RBC, my wife has ran into a dispute with her employer (documented and processed by the Ontario Ministry of Labor), who owed her one full year worth of wages, been accused by US Security Exchange Commission of a stock fraud and escaped from Canada two days prior to FBI agents arriving to his doorsteps at PEI.

This entire development with SEC and FBI was sort of an eye-opener for her, a complete surprise, something completely(!) unexpected. To make long story short, she has was threatened by the [former] employer and his accomplices that if she were to aid SEC, FBI, or RCMP in releasing any sort of information on whereabouts of the guy and his family or on the nature of their mutual business interactions, either the guy himself or his "colleagues" had promised to make her life in Canada unbearable and one of the first things they were going to do was to contact RBC and tell them that she has been lying to the bank about all the employment-related information.

All of these threats were sent over the Skype and properly documented. I have to mention that she has been working full-time as a web-designer for the same employer for six years, since she moved to Canada, had no idea about the details of the business her employer was involved in the past and etc. Anyway, the SEC and FBI had indeed contacted her and told her the truth about the guy she has been working for, how many people have been ripped off by him and so on - after hearing all of which she has told them everything she knew. By the way, the guy has just recently turned himself in, served 6 months jail sentence and has been released due to his poor health - overall not bad of a punishment for living a luxurious life and having millions of dollars kept in the offshore accounts for a rainy day.

As I have found out later, this individual has been on the run from the time he was 22 and has finally been apprehended by the authorities at the age of 69(!!!). He has been wanted in 7 different countries and even has a website dedicated to himself: **. Now, frankly, I have no doubts about the reason for the closure of my wife's accounts. Naturally, we were trying our best to force RBC to talk to us, which would hopefully allow us to show all the evidence we have in our possession, proving that they should not have listened to a criminal lying about a decent person. All we have achieved: RBC has filed a lawsuit against my wife. We have no money to hire a lawyer and file a discrimination lawsuit against RBC, neither we were able to have in writing the reasons behind the closure of my wife's accounts.

I have contacted the government, but RBC and TD banks are self-regulated financial institutions. The government can only help if we can prove that my wife's account was closed because of sanctions against Iran, which we can't prove due to the bank absolutely refusing to say why the accounts were closed. The best part was when we have contacted the RBC's attorney and tried to talk to them: not only they were absolutely oblivious of the entire history of my wife's "relationships" with RBC, but also have told us that we should talk to RBC's representative (which we have done many times!) or RBC's ombudsman (done as well!). The bank, whenever we manage to contact a representative with some signs of having a bit of common sense, sends us to the lawyers, saying that we should discuss everything we have to say with the firm that represents them in this particular case. Nicely done, don't you find?!

So I exercise my option to complain and I learn two interesting facts: 1) the customer care complaints office and 2) the Ombudsman's office will defer back to the original decision maker. The same fellow who does not seem to have his info straight. So why have a complaints process or Ombudsman. Our only hope is the external Ombudsman who might be able to help us bridge the time between moving his business account to another institution who is looking to actually be a bank to us and not a marionette master. In any case what a sorry lot of people with no conscience. One can only wonder what their home life is like. I never thought I would equate organized crime with my bank.

Deciding after 3 years to look at purchasing a property in Vancouver within my price range, I decided to take out a car loan to build my credit rating. I applied for $10,000. At the time, I earned $59,000 per year, and had a lot of benefits with my job. My disposable income (money I had that I didn't need to pay anything else) was approximately $800 per month.

RBC refused me the loan. They refused me the loan based on the Rogers listing. RBC had no interest in the dispute between Rogers and myself, and had no interest in entertaining anything that I said in my defense against the listing. I subsequently wrote to both TransUnion and Equifax to ask them to provide me with my legal entitlement to have 100 words published in my defense in respect of the listing, TransUnion have not yet done this. Nor have they sent me the updated credit report I requested from them to prove they had published my defense against the listing.

For information, the amount that Rogers claimed is owing is $500 for the cancellation fees on the contract (Rogers breached their contract with me three times, and refused to deal with my situation, so having over-paid $35 per month, I wrote to them several times and when they didn't respond to my complaints, I cancelled my contract). There were a number of other issues with the contract (such as I was told I could reduce my cost amount whenever I wanted, which turned out not to be true). The breaches of their own contract decided me to cancel it - all my bills were paid up to date and on time, and no money was withheld from them. I had continued to pay all monthly bills even though they had absolutely lied to me about the amount that I needed to pay. Rogers is a disgusting entity and I have no idea how they are still in business in Canada.

I have now come to the following conclusion: Although the credit bureaus were set up in North America under the pretense that they were designed to defend the financial institutions from giving loans to people who don't pay their bills, the system is used today by the large corporations (such as Rogers) to list as many people as possible. This facilitates the financial institutions in increasing the interest rate to people who have a bad credit listing, and from what I believe, this is most people. I would have to hazard a guess that working hand in hand in this manner allows the large corporations to obtain very favorable interest rates and other benefits from the financial institutions (although I suspect there may be a problem finding proof of this).

I have decided to leave the financial institutions completely and do only use them when I need to. Because they take my money every month and lend it to others to make a profit for themselves, I now visit RBC every pay day and withdraw my funds in cash. I now leave my hard cash in an easily accessible security deposit box, which costs me $40 a month, plus the pleasure of not making my money available to the financial institutions.

I leave a small amount of money in my account to pay my household bills, but because I don't want to continue transferring money through internet banking therefore allowing the banks to hold my funds for three days before they pass it to the people I am paying and gain the interest, I now pay my household debts using my credit card (the payment goes through immediately). I put the money onto my credit card before I do this or pay it before the end of the month. That way, there are no fees.

I pay my rent in cash, don't use plastic cards (including debit cards) any more and therefore don't allow the banks to make any money through any financial transaction between me and anyone I pay money to (I have removed their charge of 3% from the company I buy from). I maintain and continue to pay useless RBC an amount of $9.95 per month for one bank account, and they can swing for the rest of the money they were making from me. When I decide to purchase a property here, I will not take a mortgage for more than 50%. This means that I will liquidate assets and prevent myself from having to pay the huge amount of interest on the mortgage therefore enabling the financial institutions from making any more profit off me than I can help. I am standing firm on this. I refuse to support the financial institutions any more, given that they are refusing to support me. Because I refuse to support them, I am no longer willing to enable them to abuse their authority.

They consistently try to hijack money from me automatically. I have made complaints. Just recently, I got raked over the coals by a CLIENT CARE CENTER representative because I didn't understand how the program works after he so pleasantly "understood" my concerns previously. I have automatic withdrawals for investments elsewhere. They don't like that and again for .12 cents, they let the payment go through (and I KNOW that if they just left it alone, my investment transaction would have gone through a different day) and charged me $45.00 NSF. He told me that I should have investments with the RBC, and this would be taken care of. He told me that I should speak with my investment company and tell them to take it out a different day or write them a cheque.

I told him, I had been burnt by the RBC before and have not since invested. They want to sell me products. THIS IS MY MONEY and I HAVE TAKEN CARE OF MY ACCOUNTS and they want to highjack my online account for anything they can and I am fed up. They are rude and ignorant. I pay more than my share of interest, and all their hidden little fees. I will be talking to my investment people, because I think this is illegal.

My spouse's only income was his pension. I, myself, have been on long-term disability for over a decade. I immediately contacted the Royal Bank and verbally cancelled the life insurance and home insurance policies. I sought credit counseling advice from a bankruptcy trustee and was told that with only our pensions as income, my spouse and I would not be able to pay the bankruptcy fees and was told to ignore the harassing telephone calls and letters. We were advised that our pensions could not be touched by our creditors. Contrary to my request to cancel our property insurance and life insurance, the automatic payments were still being withdrawn from our account.

One month later, I again contacted the bank with the specific request to cancel all insurance policies effectively retroactively. It was confirmed that all insurance policies would be cancelled. In August, two months after cancelling our insurance policies, withdrawals were still being taken from our bank account which no longer had a credit balance. By this time, the automatic payments were now being taken from our overdraft. I was dealing with urgent health matters on my behalf and pressing concerns behalf of my spouse. Stressed and unwell, I called the bank and was told that my account had been referred to "Collections" because our credit card was over-limit (no purchases had been made; the charges were all interest) and our bank account was overdrawn.

The CSR (customer service representative) was rude and unhelpful and did not listen to my request to cancel our insurance policies. The bank was putting me into debt and there was nothing I could do about it. The only financial resource I have is a "Locked In" RRSP (LIF) from another institution. Annually in January, a withdrawal is made from this fund to my bank. Last June, I notified my financial advisor of a change in banking information and filled out the appropriate forms; however, when the payment was processed this month, it was inadvertently transferred to my Royal Bank account in error. My financial advisor realized the error and request that the funds be transferred back to him. They were transferred but then the Royal Bank recalled the funds, amounting to just over $5,000.00.

I went to the Royal Bank to obtain the funds and was told my account was "frozen" and no withdrawals could be made, only deposits. I asked to speak to a manager, who gave me a number to call to speak to someone about my account. I was told in the bank that they could do nothing about it, because RBC Visa had frozen my account. I called the number I was given and spoke to a Collections Recovery person named Marla **. She was absolutely horrid to me. She was verbally abusive, sarcastic, bullying and utterly obnoxious. She told me the funds belonged to the bank and I would never get them back. She said she was going to recommend the bank sue me.

She told me she was going to do a property search and confiscate any property I owned (I don't own any property). When I informed her of this, she mimicked me sarcastically. I asked to speak to her supervisor. She said, "Do you think my supervisor wants to talk to you about how you are refusing to pay back the money you owe us?" I asked her why she was being so sarcastic and she replied, "I'm not." I told her I had seen a bankruptcy trustee to get advice and she interrupted me and said, "So you're declaring bankruptcy. I have nothing else to say to you," and hung up on me. I called her back and she said she wasn't going to listen to me or hear any explanations -- she wanted me to pay my credit card balance in full and she got verbally abusive again.

I will never ever recommend this bank to anyone and advise anyone reading this to stay well away from the Royal Bank. I admit I owe them money but am unable to repay it, and did not set out to defraud the bank - I am a victim of circumstance. Their attitude and policies are inhuman and vile. I am distraught, depressed and extremely upset, and am going to write a letter complaining about their total lack of service and the verbal abuse directed at me by Marla **.

It was around 7 pm central time when I decided to book my flight using the RBC travel tool. I entered the dates and made payment to book only a flight. Once the flight was purchased, an email was sent to me from RBC Travel. As always, I double checked the flight details to ensure the flight was booked correctly. I then noticed my flight days were off by exactly one month. The confirmation email was showing my dates as Feb 20-27, when it should be March 20-27. I IMMEDIATELY called the RBC Travel line, (at 7:07 pm central time) and was placed on hold. This is where my horrendous nightmare began. While on hold for 20 minutes, I decided to be proactive and call the airline of which my ticket was registered too. I dialed the number of that airline from another phone line (while still on hold with RBC Travel), and reached the customer service representative of the actual airline within a matter of second.

While still on hold with RBC, the airline rep suggested it would be best that I talk with RBC Travel to change the ticket, as I would experience a $250 fee to change. I hung up with the airline personnel and continued to hold with RBC. A full hour had passed by and still the RBC Customer Service representative had NOT answered my call. I was becoming more and more frustrated as the elapsed call time flashed on my phone. In order to try and ease my frustration I began looking on RBC's website for another number I could call since the customer care department was logging in call wait times. At that point, I then noticed the times of which the RBC Travel customer service center. The hours of operation for the RBC Travel center are: 6 am to 8 pm central time. My time was now 8:20 pm central time. I was now 20 minutes into the close time' of RBC customer service call center. I looked down at my phone to show the total call time of 1 hour 20 minutes. In absolute dissatisfaction, I hung up the call.

The next morning I instantaneously called as soon as RBC Travel opened (6:15 am central time) and waited on hold for approximately 10 mins - surprisingly. The call was then taken by a 'Charlene'. I mentioned the situation to her and at that point, she then told me I was now subject to the change fee because I didn't call in right away to notify the change. I then began to run through my events stated above, and this RBC customer relations person had the audacity to tell me I should have continued to wait on hold when I originally called in the night before. I explained to her that I am not familiar with the mechanics of the RBC call systems and that knowledge is not a requirement to book an airline ticket through Royal Bank of Canada. Thus far, they have continued to tell me I am subject to the change fee of $250(USD). This is worst instance of customer relations I have ever experienced- thanks to Royal Bank of Canada Travel. I am disappointed by the lack of customer care knowledge throughout the Royal Bank Team.

At some point in the transaction, or some odd reason, the teller asked to see my client card. Without thinking why she needed this, the teller swiped my card. I actually thought she just wanted to validate that I was who I said I was. However, two days later, I went to purchase some groceries and the transaction was declined. The message indicated that there were insufficient funds in my account. Knowing I had over $5000 in my account, I quickly checked online to confirm there were funds in my account. When I checked I in fact had the correct balance. I then contacted the customer service line and was told the reason my transaction was declined was because the bank had put a hold on a check. I explained to the rep that the check was going into my Dad's account not "MINE". Why would my account be frozen?

Anyway, the representative recognized that there was a mistake, but I would need to go into that branch to correct the problem. My Dad is 90 and is very fragile. Due to a mistake that the branch made, I am now without funds and cannot get groceries until this mess is straightened out. The worst part is that my poor Dad has to go out in this weather to fix a mistake that has been caused due to negligence. I would hope that we will be compensated fairly for this.

They claimed I asked them to empty my savings account and take out three months of payments. I explained that leaving me with 64 cents would leave me with no money for gas, food, bus fare, etc. and could possibly affect my new employment contract. Rather than work with me, they went through my account debits and asked me to explain why I bought food at a grocery store instead of paying them. I asked for a manager at that point and was told I would get a call. I am still waiting and have NOT a dime to my name. Unfortunately, after 25 years of loyalty to RBC - I didn't think about not having funds with the bank that is collecting. I assumed there is a level of compassion in business and loyal clients. I assumed very wrong.

Please spread the word that if anyone is looking for a bank that is compassionate about supporting their clients in good times and bad - RBC is the last choice for consideration. They are within their rights to have taken all of my money without notice - as per the client agreement when you first sign up. However, asking a human to not eat to pay the 24.9% interest on the never ever program so VP's and senior level management can award themselves bonuses while their loyal clients starve - is ridiculous. You RBC - need our money to make money. When Visa destroys your banking client base, the well will run dry.

I was at the RBC in Exeter Ontario and I had a good experience. Everyone was kind and attentive unlike Scotia bank in Exeter Ontario. Krista (who was helping me) did an amazing job of helping me understand things. But at Scotia Bank, I have had people be rude to me, treat me like a complete idiot and they wouldn't give me a credit card because I didn't have credit, but the $14,000.00 of assets didn't mean anything.

I went to RBC and they were very understanding. They said that it does not matter because they don't expect you to have credit if you don't have credit, DUH. Anyway, what I am getting at is that you shouldn't give an entire company a bad wrap just because of one person’s stupid mistake or because of one branch. I suggest asking your friends and family about a specific branch.

If this were a matter of my cards actually being compromised and RBC catching unauthorized charges to my accounts (which they have done in the past), my reaction would be entirely different. However, I point to the following as examples of proof that it is RBC's complete and total incompetence and inability to create and adhere to proper policy which has led me to be a solo female traveler in a foreign country without access to money three times in the past year:

Most recently, I was in South East Asia and as initially told that the reason my card was thought to be compromised was that I had attempted to withdraw $20,003 in a single transaction. When I pointed out that the number they were looking at was $2,000,003 Vietnamese Dong ($97 CAD, being a $2,000,000 withdrawal + a standard ATM fee) they changed their story and said it was compromised some other way.

When I returned to Vancouver, I made an appointment to see someone at the main branch to discuss the issue. I ended up seeing the assistant branch manager (after the person I was originally scheduled to see cancelled the appointment 20 minutes after it was scheduled to start) who told me that each of the 3 times I've traveled this year, my card has been compromised between the time I advised RBC of my travel plans and the time I left the country. She stood by this story even after I told her that I always call RBC the day I leave and, mostly recently, called them from the departure gate at the airport and did not use my card between that call and when I boarded the plane. She went so far as to suggest that all 3 times I've traveled, my card has been coincidentally "compromised" in Vancouver, while I am in flight.

When I asked what I could do to avoid my cards being compromised in the future, I was told by two different RBC employees to stop going to the places I frequent most often. There was no acknowledgement that asking me to stop going to the grocery store by my house, my favorite restaurant, my local movie theater, etc. was unreasonable in any way. I have been an RBC customer for over 10 years and will be taking my accounts elsewhere before the end of the month.

Well, a month and many phone calls later, I am informed that my application is not complete and that I will need to go back into a branch for an hour long mtg. to sort this out again. If I was a 16-year-old applying for their first credit card, I'd expect them to have to visit a branch and sort things out but considering my banking history, the fact is that I had already spent over an hour of my time sorting this out in person and an additional hour+ on the phone trying to muddle through their b/s and still be treated like crap. My next visit to the branch this week certainly won't be to allow this institution to sort through this. It will be to pull my funds from RBC and shut down all my accounts. Who seriously wants to deal with a bank that will treat you like crap after many years of dedicated support?

Your kind and fair consideration is highly appreciated.

The "or else" part is interesting... When I asked him what "or else..." means, he explained that a further review of my relationship with RBC will be conducted if I do nothing, and possibly they will raise the rate on my mortgage or make me pay it off too. I did not give my permission to close down the credit cards, but he did it anyway and gave me 30 days to book an appointment with an RBC branch to talk through paying off the credit cards or refinancing the debt. The scary part is that I was given no notice. More scary though is that he threatened me to review my other business with RBC and affect my mortgage rate. This is very alarming... I am planning on taking action. Please advise what can be done.

This just adds to the already ridiculous change they made a couple of years ago to the interest rate applied to credit lines. They suddenly changed to a prime +5% a couple of years ago, with no notice. How can they make these changes to personal accounts that were signed up under agreements? I will be moving all banking away from Royal Bank and will never deal with them again. I am also considering legal action against them for these changes.

They refused to return it, and didn't care; they took over $400 when I owed them $100. They then told me that everything was back to normal so I said, "Fine, I will use my credit card to pay for my medications." It turns out that NOPE, they LIED (!) and refuse to reactivate it. Yes, I understand that it was a few months but I wasn't over my limit, not even close. I had $100 on it; I didn't even owe much. They also stole money out of my account that was put there by my coverage. I will be canceling all my accounts and so will my spouse. NEVER get this card. They don't care about anyone but themselves.

When I spoke with the rep at my branch to obtain the mortgage, I was declined and was referred to a third party lender. I was approved by this third party but would have to pay a fee of $22K to get the funds required. Needless to say, I was in shock. In speaking with the builder of our home, he advised me to go to CIBC and speak with them. I have never done business with CIBC but arranged an appointment. I met with the rep at CIBC, completed the necessary paperwork and was approved for $900K. The fee of the application was $600.00 which was waived by CIBC.

I can only imagine that while you are reading this, you're probably saying, how could this happen? I am still asking this question. Nonetheless, I will be closing all accounts, cards, etc. with RBC and giving my business to CIBC. When I questioned the poor decision by RBC, I was told, "Sorry, we are bound by the new regulations brought in last year". Well, so is CIBC and I had no problem. I do not have any financial issues, my company is very profitable, all bills, etc. are paid well before due dates and I was doubling up my mortgage payments every month with RBC. It is quite simple; RBC does not care. I was thinking about contacting the CEO of RBC to see if he would be willing to loan me the money from his $28 million per year salary.

THREE MONTHS later, it's the same thing. Every time I call back or go in person to a branch, there is something different and they won't give me my much needed cash. I even got my sister and we opened a joint account to transfer the thing over, which they then assured me they could pay us out of there separately, but what now...two further mistakes on forms we already filled out in person, and they send me my cheque...with HER name on it!!!! I can't cash that! They won’t give me my money. My credit rating is taking hits while I've got $30,000 in an account that RBC won't let me have. If I were actually retired, I'd have lost my house and car and had all my utilities cut off because these people are too disorganized to write me a cheque!

DO NOT sign up with them for anything.

Just today, I found that there is a negative cash balance in one of the accounts and upon inquiry, I was told that RBC changed their policy to charge fee on an individual account activities basis rather than under the household rule when the accounts were setup. The fee would not easily be detected if you have a cash balance as Investment Direct would just reduce your cash. My complaint to their client service agent did not go anywhere and they would not care about your other dealings with the RBC Group. I think it is time to start moving my business somewhere after my loss of $200 in the last two quarters.

I asked them not to call on Shabbat, as I am religious. They would call at 7:45 in the morning. I would pick it up, and there would be nobody there. Then, they would call again and again when I told them the same story the same day. I had been on phone interviews, and they would call harassing me. They would tell me to write the number down, and I couldn’t because I was on a conference call, and the people would get annoyed because of that. They harassed my kids as well. They never put any notes in their system. On August 6, I talked to someone saying that this account was going to a third-party collection agency. Then, I get a lawyer’s letter saying they are suing me. These people only like to mess with people’s credit.

I am dealing with a brain aneurysm and stroke like symptoms, under severe emotional and financial stress and this bank has been horrific. I went to a credit counselor only to be told that the Royal Bank is known as being the greediest bank. The latest assault on me by this bank has been to take all of my disability tax credit check out of my account without my permission or knowledge. I need this money desperately and am about to confront the bank on this letter I later received stating that the Royal Bank had taken the "initiative" to remove my money and apply it to money owed. It has been a nightmare and I cannot believe how this bank works. They were not willing to negotiate my amount owing with a credit counselor even knowing I only have $700 per month from CPP disability to live on. When I did receive a settlement last week, it had been negotiable. However, my payments for the insurance and the time frame for the payments were not negotiable.

I'm now in the process of switching my RBC mortgage to another institution. RBC will lose almost $40,000.00 in interest once I leave. I can't believe RBC would not wave the mystery fee that has no backup on my knowledge of this fee, but would rather lose almost $40,000.00 of interest on my mortgage along with whatever fees the banks would have charged for the duration of the mortgage. Unfortunately, my wife paid the fee this Friday because she was afraid of ruining her credit score. I want my money back! I would like to see someone lose their job for this screw up. I can send you all the email conversations in which RBC couldn't provide proof of any kind for this fee.

So when I noticed, I went right down to see if I would be charged for them putting me in the red, they said no, but when I asked if I could get a lower exchange rate due to the fact that this was the bank's fault in the first place, I was told no and that the rate they charged me was a mistake as it was the rate of that day, not the day the transaction was done on and that I was saving a little.

So I pushed the matter further and asked to speak to the manager. Several days later, she called me and was very rough on the phone, saying the same thing the other lady had said, only very rude, and added insult to injury by threatening to hold any check I would bring in the future which she kept on repeating herself on, never once offering an apology for error in the first place. I called RBC customer service and the woman I spoke with looked into my account and could not find any notes regarding this matter, leaving me wondering if they wanted to keep this hush hush.

I do realize that the Friday I had done the transaction on was late in the day and that the mistake was not only the cashier's fault but mine as well, for not noticing the error on paper before signing it and regardless of the USD check being mistaken for Canadian. I was unaware that when wiring a check, it must first go in your account and I do not have USD account, so if either of us had noticed these important points, this could have been avoided altogether. I have been with RBC for a long time and this is the first time I've ever been treated so unimportant, and like my business wasn't important to them.

In March of 2011, I got a call from RBC collections saying you owe us $10,000.00, when can you pay it? I was shocked and dumbfounded by this and said, no, there has to be some mistake. There was no mistake; my account was debited the $10,000.00. When they called back, I told them it was in fact fraud. After several phone calls where I kept explaining the same thing over and over and months later I find out that they never investigated the fraud they just kept calling for money.

I got the checks back that were written and found out that RBC had in fact deposited 9, 3rd party checks through my account. Can you believe that they put 9, 3rd party checks through my account? 9, I still can't believe it. This all happened over a 3 week period, so that means that checks #1, #2, #3 ,#4 had all come back NSF and they still allowed checks #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 go through my account. They debited me $8,500.00, now over $10,000.00 with service charges and interest. Also, I don't have an overdraft... they refused to give me one months before.

I have had an account with that RBC branch for 22 years without a blemish on my record. They never stopped any of them, they never froze my account, they never once questioned the 9, 3rd party checks that were deposited into my account, they never questioned the continual debiting of my account when I had no over draft, they never questioned the fact that none of the checks were even made out to me but to someone else.

After I brought in the checks they confirmed that I never signed or wrote them, they confirmed the checks were fraudulent. Here is where is gets all ** up. They said that because I knew the person who did this and she was my girlfriend, they are going to assume that I had given her my PIN code and put me on the hook for everything. Even though there is no proof I gave her the PIN, they say they find it hard to believe that I would not give her the info.

Never mind the fact that no one ever called me or notified me after the first 5 checks went through my account, or that they were not made out to me, or that I never had anything wrong in 22 years with my account. I am not in breach of the cardholder agreement. They can't assume anything. That’s not the law.

I'm upset that after I notified collections that I was in fact defrauded there was no investigation; I basically had to force them to investigate. The bank manager was a total jerk to me as well. Where is the bank's responsibility in all of this? Where was my fraud protection? I am being forced to pay this all back or it will affect my credit. I'm not dumb though I'm lodging complaints with everyone and even contacted the local newspaper and a lawyer. I'm not being forced to pay anything based on an assumption of a bank manager who is trying to cover his and his employees' butts for their obvious idiocy.

It was refused. In January, I wanted to take money to pay for my cleaning supplies. I had been saving money in this account to be able to pay for my law examination coming up in August 2012, the deadline for the payments is May 2012.. The total owing for the exam is about $1,200. I later found out that the business account had been blocked by one Ms Joyce ** from the collection department of the Bank. She called me all kinds of unprintable names and accused me that I had refused to make contact with the Bank about my outstanding balance. I couldn't believe my ears. I gave her an explanation of my current economic crisis that I am going through. She would not give a hoot. She then froze the whole amount of $1900 in my account. After this, I became depressed immediately.

Then she asked me if I needed any cash. I told her that I needed this money for my business and to pay for my law examination. I also told her that I am prepared to enter into any arrangements to settle the funds. She would not have any of it. She gave back $1000 later, withholding $900.00. I spoke to her today when she said that she was going to take the 180 dollars in the business account leaving me with zero. Let me state that I take responsibility on the debt, but I cannot be choked to the point where the funds that I am using to make little life would be taken away from me. It's going to be tough. I did mention to Ms. Joyce that if she takes this money, I would have a bitter fight with Royal Bank. I want the Bank to work with me in order to find a way to settle this debt. I do wish that a lawyer contact me. It's been a nightmare within these few days.

I was told that I would be issued a new card, and I was put on hold. Shortly thereafter I was denied because I suddenly didn't qualify anymore. I was extremely disappointed with that decision. I have had a Visa card with RBC for about 6 years, always keeping it at the $2,000.00-limit by choice. My account may have been outstanding by a couple of days. I think the problem is they never made enough interest on my account, because I always paid on time, or put extra money on my card, before even using it.

On Nov 9 I had a balance owing of $1.32, so I put in an additional $120.00 to cover an expense, that was pending for a weekend getaway. So now that the account is closed, how can I retrieve my money. I threw away my Visa card, and have the receipt for the amount $120.00 that they owe me. I called them and they said a check is on the way. I still have not received it. I went into the local branch, and they state they can't refund the money without the card. Suggestions.

This bank thinks they are aware of my accounts. I have two other banks that I deal with. In early October 2011, my daughter and I entered the local RBC branch in our city. We asked to speak with an adviser. We were informed everybody was booked, and we could schedule an appointment for next week. After sharing we wanted to deposit $35,000.00, we were immediately whisked in. I was so disgusted with that behaviour and attitude, that we walked out of RBC and decided we would take our business elsewhere. What a great decision I'm only $118.00 out, as opposed to possibly a lot more. I'm still expecting my money to be returned to me now.

I transferred money to cover the 2 insurance payments and one $100 payment. I had to wait to deposit another $100 until after 6pm as I was waiting for it to come in. That is also why I made the second phone company payment after 10pm that night.

My current complaint is this: I have a line of credit that they turned into a loan payment. I have been paying faithfully for a couple years now along with other debt. I recently (Oct 20th) was short on the payment by 20 cents and they bounced the payment. I deposited money into my account on Oct 21 but it didn't stop them from sending my payment back NSF. I have been over drawn on my account by a few cents on many occasions and they have allowed the payments to go through, I assumed it was because I deposited money right away but apparently not. So for 20 cents they charged me $42.50 NSF and extra interest on the loan payment.

To me, they did this not only to make extra money but because they are trying to punish me for not being able to pay my payments as full as they would like. This has been a night mare since my accident and has destroyed my credit rating. I understand business is business but it's not like I just refused to pay. I was in an auto accident that wiped out my whole right side and still is a problem today. I have not worked since Nov 18, 2008 because of my injuries. This bank just doesn't care and refuses to assist.

I went back in and the teller that told me that had left and I told a new teller the problem. She called the manager and she overrode the hold and got me 200 bucks.

I decided later on that day to check my online banking and it said my password was incorrect, so I called the support and asked for a password reset. He told me my account was flagged and he couldn’t access anything at all.

I was on my way back to Nanaimo the next day, so I went to the branch in Nanaimo the day after that. They told me that my account will be frozen until the check clears, which will be on a Tuesday. I have to move to Regina on the Friday before and I can’t pay my bills or rent because they locked my whole account. I also start a new job on the following Monday and this has really screwed me over.

A couple of months ago, I decided to try to begin to build my credit rating as I found a decent full-time job. I discovered that RBC sent that $80.00 charge to a collections agency. As far as a I understand, this debt has gone to three different collections agencies and I currently owe over $800.00 with the interest continuing to accumulate. I went to the bank manager, Scott ** and gave him my story. He looked up my closed account (didn't even listened to my story) and told me that it's my word against the bank's. At that point, I understood that not only did they rob me once, but they have continued to rob me through declaring my bill as unpaid and having collections agencies; just keep on rolling up the amount I owe without any effort to contact. It is really disgusting.

I recently discovered that a co-worker, who I just met, had the same thing happened to him. Paid cash and they just kept the money and continued to charge interest. It's really disgusting that this bank is allowed to do this to poor people.

Even though I have not bounced a cheque since and deposited 90% of my cheques from the same reliable client, RBC still holds my cheques for five business days. As a result, they collect NSF fees from me even though I have adequate funds, and charge overdraft fees even though I have money in the account. I believe this is an illegal strategy to charge more fees and collect interest on money I've earned.

And here is a story how I became a "suspicious" customer for RBC and what kind of nightmare I am going through. Two years ago, President Choice MasterCard had a promotion offer to use its card for a very low interest. I decided to accept this offer. I wrote a check for $17K and deposited it into my RBC account. The check was rejected. It was 100% my fault, I forgot to sign it. So I quickly wrote another check for the same amount, this time, no errors. RBC has a system to catch "suspicious" activity. This system flagged my activity as suspicious, which is OK. But the bureaucratic machine at RBC to clear it up, it is terrible! Two years ago, my checking account was locked for a week. I took vacation time and spent one and a half days in the banks and on the phone to explain how it happened. My bill payments were not processed, I had no access to cash. It was so humiliating, degrading. For RBC, you are guilty till you prove you are innocent. After a week, they unlocked my account but nobody ever apologized or explained what has happened.

Recently, the same system clicked again. This time, my two RBC line of credits are locked. The reason is the same, the system flagged me as "suspicious". I had to call RBC and beg that I would be allowed to pay back my balance, because I was not able to do it online. Like before, they "only" wanted to interview me. I explained (with details) to many people what has happened. But it is like talking to a picture. One month ago, I was told that "within a week" I will be contacted to answer some questions. Nobody called me back. I sent RBC feedback about what has happened, no response. My accounts are still locked.

Now, I am doing what I should do 2 years ago. I have closed my RBC Direct Investing account and I have started using different bank for my wages deposits and monthly bill payments. I am writing here about my experience to warn others, what can happen to them. If you care about your finances, as I do, be aware that any day your home finances can be completely sabotaged by your very own bank, in the name of the fight with "suspicious" activities. And you will be guilty till. I am sorry, I have no answer for you of how much time is needed for bullies from RBC to discover their own mistake. Do not expect any apology from them.

There was another person in the office with the 3 of us and we were treated like common criminals. Even after I paid the money I owe, they would still not lift the restriction on my account until they speak with the branch manager and the fraud department. What is their problem? We are repaying the money. It is not as if we are avoiding them. Because of them, my name is going to be sent to collections because I have a direct debit coming out of there every month for a bill payment and the direct debit can't go through. My friend has car insurance through them and that couldn't go through. Even if the restriction gets lifted, we are not allowed to use the ATM to withdraw our direct deposits.

My friend borrowed $1000.00 to help pay some of it back and it was sent to us through an email money transfer. I then deposited it into the account. They are going to check to see where the money came from. That is an invasion of privacy. Where do they think it came from? You can't deposit a personal check through online banking. Many years ago, my father’s EI check was stolen from our mailbox and forged. They cashed it at a teller at RBC. It was reported and RBC had them on camera. My father gave them their names, but somehow, they got away with it. And here we are, made a mistake and are being treated like common criminals. I am under doctor’s care and my blood pressure has been up all week because of this. We are leaving RBC, but I just don't know what I can do right now about my automatic debits for bill payments. As a matter of fact, that Mrs. ** was working as one of the tellers at RBC at the time my father’s check was forged and cashed. I really hope you can look into this and help us out.

I deposited these two checks to my bank account via the ATM and withdrew that money as well as other room I had on my overdraft to pay my landlord. I have (or had) the RBC VIP Service account which offered free overdraft service as well as a bundle of other services for $30 per month. I had left enough room to cover my automated VISA payment. I didn't notice anything was wrong until Friday. I went to the bank machine to check if I still had a little bit of room left on my account. I entered my PIN, and before I could do a transaction, the machine would spit my card back out telling me to contact the branch or the 800 number. I figured it was something with the network, until I tried at two different machines over the course of an hour.

I called the RBC client care center to inquire what was happening. They told me that part of my VIP service was to monitor my account for nonstandard transactions and that I'd just need to go into the branch with ID and show that I had in fact made the transactions. I was guessing it was the two checks but they wouldn't say which ones over the phone. I went into the New West branch on Saturday to get it cleared up. They said they couldn't help me, because the RBC Risk Management center was closed for the weekend. A bit upset that nobody would call me to tell me, but figuring it was just for my own protection, I just came back the following Monday.

I talked with a CSR (teller) there who looked up my account. She was confused as to why they'd lock my account as with my VIP I have $999 cash back at the ATM and I had withdrawn less than that on cash back. She called Risk Management and they said they refused to unlock the accounts until the checks cleared. The helpful lady then realized that a 5 day hold should have passed by this time. She called them back to confirm if the checks had in fact cleared - and they said they had - but told me that they wanted the branch to remove the lock.

The New West branch isn't my home branch - the downtown main branch is. I switched my accounts to downtown banks since I lived in Surrey, and in Surrey they treat everyone like a criminal. I even got the treatment, and I was flagged as staff at the time. So the helpful lady called the branch for me and got this idiot on the phone, the topic of this note, Mr. Mark **. I was happy to speak to someone who could get this sorted out. Or so I thought. In 5 minutes of talking to this guy, my situation went from inconvenient to downright horrible. He said, I'm taking away your overdraft facility. I'm locking all of your accounts to deposit only, and only through the teller. I'm locking your client card, restricting your VISA. The only way you can get this lock removed is to pay off your overdraft and come into the branch and request in person to have the lock removed. I asked him, "Why are you doing this to me?! I just deposited two checks that cleared! "

He instructed me that as I had missed my most recent Visa payment I was a risk to the bank. I tried to inform him, I had a $500 overdraft facility on my account, and I left the account at -$380 so there would be enough to clear the automatic Visa payment - and the only reason it was missed was because my account was locked two days before and nobody told me. Mark ** just said, "Oh, well I guess I will remove that automatic payment then for your VISA. " I told him not to, but evidently he did anyway.

He wasn't about to listen to that, and meandered off in another direction, equally hostile. He said that I was paying credit with credit and the bank frowns upon that and therefore he was removing my overdraft and locking my accounts. I told him, Ive done this hundreds of times before. Gone into overdraft, covered the overdraft and then some, held a positive balance, that's what an overdraft is for, especially considering I get it free with my banking package, of course I'm going to use it.

He told me overdrafts are for emergencies only and short term and that he was not going to remove the lock. Even despite that I told him I intended to cycle the account within 7 days of the time I deposited the checks (I had another tenant moving in, the guy who was at the bank was about to pay me $533 - that's why he was there opening an account in the first place). The guy eventually said that was that and there was nothing further to discuss, and closed the call. I left the branch dumbfounded. My bank accounts were useless. I have dealt with this bank for 10 years; since I was staff at RBC Dominion Securities. I have rarely if ever missed an automatic Visa payment, this is why I made it automatic. Actually its been automatic since 2000 - when I worked at RBC and got paid on the 1st and 15th of the month - it was slated to come out on the 15th since then. I have the platinum VIP most expensive banking package that they offer; if I was screwing them somehow then how could I have ever paid my banking fees?

The only thing I was allowed to do at that point was make a complaint. Fearing I'd get nowhere within client care, I sent my complaint straight to the ombudsman for RBC. The Ombudsman's office forwarded it to a guy named Miles ** at RBC Client Care in Montreal. At this time I was just trying to get my banking package restored and my overdraft facility back, so I was sitting in financial limbo land.In the meantime, my Visa payment was returned as well as my phone bill payment because of this lock. $120 in NSF charges right there (the bank and Visa charged me - one NSF charge on both accounts). Plus because he removed my overdraft, I was now charged a $5.00 overdraft fee pretty well immediately.

Waiting eagerly for a response back from Miles ** in Client Care because I was in limbo land without a bank account, I called him. He was on vacation for the rest of the week. I guess he left at some point after he got my case. I left him a couple messages, one when I found out he was on vacation and one a few days after he returned. A few days later I got a call back from him (this fiasco started July 14th - it was now August 17th! ), he said he had mailed a letter in response to my complaint. I received the letter that same day.

The letter infuriated me. My main concern was to know why my accounts were locked up in the first place. My suspicion of course is that some idiot somewhere saw two welfare checks deposited to my account - and immediately assumed that I was no longer self employed, but on welfare instead, so they had to yank all my credit. I mean I know the economy is bad these days, but I still do better than being on welfare (trust me, in these times, I've considered it and done the math). Instead of addressing why my accounts were frozen in the first place, he basically made out in the letter that on the 14th when the checks were deposited they decided to do all of this at that time... even making reference to the missed visa payment (due to the lock) which didn't take place until 2 days later! (Visa takes the money on the 15th-but it comes out of my acct on the 16th).

Miles' letter was useless to me. He basically just said everything that Mark ** said, but treated it like this had all happened on the 14th. This is when I called the 800 number on the Friday the 17th and they told me it was just out-of-pattern transactions, or on the 18th when the branch said the same thing, or on the 20th when they said they wanted to wait for the checks to clear.. and so on and so on... Only way to go was up. Back to the RBC Ombudsman. I faxed in my complaint again, attaching everything previous. August 25th passed. I called to follow up. They said they would return messages within 5 business days. September 10th passed. Called again, no return phone call. September 16th, I finally receive a bland letter; "We have reviewed your complaint and feel that RBC Client Care treated you fairly. Furthermore it appears you are using your account for both business and personal purposes, and suggest that you contact someone at the branch to consider opening a business account. "

Nope. You can put it all against the overdraft or all against the VISA. That's it. I say screw this. I called VISA and told them to take it.

Of course, you see, because my accounts were locked and dip !@#$ took my automatic visa payment away, now for the first time probably ever I had missed two visa payments and was about to miss a third. With no bank account and no client card and locked accounts, there was no way for me to realistically pay it. I told Visa this; they were understanding but warning me that I may need to find another option. They said that they were about to call my Visa card because thats policy after four months. Bad, to worse, to even worse, to banking hell. I finally managed to get access to my accounts back, $145 in fees and NSF charges and interest later, before I could access any of my money they robbed me of about $650 in all; in part the overdraft being paid of and in part by forcing me to pay my Visa up to current. I mean; I had just gotten my bank accounts back... I have responsibilities other than RBC - and since they put me in this mess in the first place; I wanted to get other things sorted out first, like my phone bill and landlord.

Now that my accounts are back to current (less my overdraft), my credit rating has been trashed and I'm going to make it my mission to have that Mark guy fired one way or the other. During weak economic times, almost everyone is feeling the pinch. There are better ways of dealing with people other than unloading and destroying every banking service and package that they have in a five minute phone call. I even tried to describe to this jerk; that what started this all was that I got a bunch of tenants into the house to lower my fixed expenses in tough times so I could make faster headway on my Visa - and I had told Visa that on the 8th of July; only 7 days before this fiasco started. The fiasco cascaded and caused me all sorts of troubles over nearly three months.

On March 2, I sent my wife to an RBC bank branch to find out if the pre-authorization had been set up for us and the woman behind the counter said not yet. She then suggested that my wife write a check to cover the payment due to avoid interest charge. My wife did it as the bank employee advised. Two days later, I noticed that not only did the bank cash the check but also took money from our Vancity business account for the same amount, which is over $12,000, per pre-authorized payment arrangement.

I immediately phoned RBC Visa to point it out and complained that my wife was misinformed at the branch. The Visa centre woman said she'd send a notice to the bank branch asking the manager to issue me a bank draft the next day because she could not reverse the pre-authorized payment. I showed up at the branch the next day, March 4, only to be told by the manager that he couldn't do it despite the notice from Visa centre and that I have been a customer of the bank for over 15 years. I brought with me all my IDs and RBC Visa card.

In addition, I showed him my Vancity business account online so that he could see RBC indeed charged us twice for the same statement. He first said I should call Visa centre to have the pre-authorized payment reversed and when I refused, the manager said the best he could do is to mail a check to my address on file and he'd make sure it'd be mailed in a couple of days. He said the check would be mailed in a couple of days and that was March 4 when he told me that. One week later I phoned Visa centre telling them what I went through at the branch.

The guy was sympathetic and said he'd follow up on that. And then nothing happened. Last Friday, I phoned again asking Visa centre where my check was. The lady, like her colleague, first apologized for the bank's mistake and then told me she'd put in a rush order so that the check would get sent out ASAP. Another week passed and I am still waiting. Considering it was the bank's own mistake (misinforming customer) that caused me this problem, you'd think it would work promptly to rectify this situation. But no!

This is truly disgusting and unacceptable. In case the bank has PR staff monitoring online complaints about it, they should contact the male manager at their branch on West Broadway at Granville in Vancouver to verify the validity of my complaint. The bank is abusing my trust and using my money interest-free against my will. I guess this is how it makes its millions, taking advantage of "One Customer at a Time". Having trouble paying bills to US suppliers.

After a trip to the RCMP who offered no help, I, as a mother, and my boyfriend who worked with City of Calgary police sought out a business loan with RBC which should be paid back by the two partners. Ray ** with RBC loans, said he was breaking rules but would do the loan. Not once was it mentioned my boyfriend and I would be personally responsible for the business loan if it failed. Well, the business failed two years later with $33,000 owing.

I have tried since July 2007 to pay the $670 a month payment, but with a job loss finally couldn't do it from November 2009. I called a person named Perry who was now in charge who said he would work with me to repay the outstanding balance. He then said we should deal with a person in Amherst NS, Heather **, as he was in Kelowna BC. We did that and she suggested we apply for a new loan, which we did.

Just before signing, I contacted a local trustee in Halifax for some advise or options. It was suggested due to my financial debt load I may consider filing for personal bankruptcy. I was honest with advising Heather I may have no choice. She advised if I were to file then I couldn't sign the loan papers. She also advised she would then be done with this problem and couldn't help us. She advised it was turned over to Thomas ** in collections.

A letter was sent on March 3 2010 advising we were in default of the loan and demanding we pay $1828.77 in arrears and we are in default of our loan obligations. This is bogus because Heather waived the January payment, proceeded with a new loan which took until March and never advised us to keep paying the monthly loan amount, even when we asked.

I can only come up with $400 per month since I just started a new job. This seems to be unacceptable to RBC and I will now have to go through with bankruptcy, because they are threatening my boyfriend by putting an order against his house, not mine. I guess I am wondering how this can happen when I have worked and requested three RCB loans people for help to just make a monthly payment over time. Please help with any advise you can on what we may be able to do.

Demand loan agreements signed by other fishermen around the same time disclosed monthly interest payment dates and interest amounts payable per month.The lending policy for fishermen did change at RBC from one payment (principal + interest) per year for fishing loans to principal paid yearly with interest paid monthly. This lending practice was in place when I approached RBC. Only problem is the loans officer was a replacement who wasn't familiar with these type of loans. She never informed me verbally or in writing about this new criteria. Help me fight the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC Bank) by closing your account. "Fighting the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC Bank) one customer at a time."

So, instead of paying my actual bills that is allotted on the amount, the bills came back as NSF and I’m being charged with so many late payments and my credit has been damaged. I have asked customer service, “What happened and why did they clear my stop payment?” All they said is that stop payment is not a guarantee that they can stop the payment unless all details are given. It is contradicting to their service, because it thus allows us to stop payment on a cheque especially if you have the correct amount.

It seems to me that since the RBC had already paid out the pre-authorized, it was unjust and unethical to change the posting date so that they could collect their fees and also charge me for the NSF they themselves generated. It would have been no problem to wait for the two days when they would have gotten their fees and I would have (should have) been spared the excessive and unjust NSF fees they generated. When I called my account rep, I was told (more or less) too bad for me, the bank has to be paid and they have the right to deduct and collect in whatever manner they see fit. They are only interested in their own bottom line and how they can generate greater revenue by raping the accounts of their customers.

This month, Aug 09, again the pre-authorized have come in for payment. Again the bank paid the money out. Again the next day they returned the items for non-payment. This time however, there were sufficient funds to cover the payments and the bank fees. For my part, I will be closing all my accounts with RBC and moving onto another bank where I hope they have a better sense of customer care, fairness, justice and loyalty to their customers. They are guardians of our money and in my opinion, are negligent in their duty. There is no fairness in dealing with the RBC.

I urge all Canadians to join me in boycotting the royal bank of Canada. They don't give a thought to us, their customers. We are the only reason they exist and it is time to show them the reality of free enterprise.

I’m customer of RBC for over 25 years. I’m a citizen of Canada and Poland. For family reasons, we have to stay for some time in Poland, but I can’t get any help from RBC. So if there is any way, please help me. We need badly in Poland. Thank you for a help.

I owed my money, but that's not the end of the problems associated RBC. You see a number of the remaining sum of money on our account in RBC. This time, the bank is doing the same problems and ignores me. I sent back the list required by the RBC with my wife and my signatures and the required sum of money.

I know the world is in crisis and banks are in deep problems and huge financial losses but the banks can’t blame their customers for banks errors and blame someone else. I read from among the G-7 countries, Canada has the best banking system on a day. Interesting, but how many people services Canadian banks have the same or similar as I am problems.

Please help me one more time with this problem. RBC bank knows well about but looks like they did it for purpose. I just want keep maximum time our money in Canada so they can do what they want, including to borrow to others!

Yesterday, my work paycheque was direct deposited into the account. I went to the Ellice branch after talking to a manager at the Westwood branch, who told me I could get my paycheque out regardless. Linda told me no, it's out of her hands and told me to call the fraud dept, which told me they will continue to take my paycheques until the entire amount is paid. They are only giving me 15 days to pay the entire amount, which is impossible as I have no other money or income. Then it will be sent to collections. They also told me no matter what bank account I deposit into, they can take it all until it is paid off. I have bad credit now, no access to credit cards as they are maxed out and now in collections as well. I told her I might have to quit my job, sell my car, get evicted out of my townhouse, all because I have no money now, thanks to them.

The whole time I had a $500 limit restriction on what I could take out, so how can they give me more than that with an unsecure cheque the same day? I will go to the local newspapers and online to tell my story and how the Royal Bank screwed me! I am a victim of fraud and I was treated like a criminal. I also made a police report and the police said there was nothing they could do since it's only a few thousand dollars. They did file the report anyways. I called the First Bank which I usually deal with on Portage avenue and he listened and then called Linda at Ellice. When he called me back, he said it's out of the branch's hands as the RBC Fraud Department now has control of my account. I have no money to get by for the next two weeks, no food and no options. I am at the end of my rope with RBC. I tried to close my account over the phone and they said I can't until this issue is dealt with, and then they will most likely close my account anyways.

I advise all people to stay far away from the Royal Bank. They have no concern for the little people, just their money. As I sat in Linda's office yesterday and cried my heart out to her, she calmly sat there and handed me Kleenex and sent me on my way. I have also reported this scam to the United Kingdom as well. I am at the point of almost declaring bankruptcy because of them. Help! What do I do now?

In March of this year, I finally advised them that I was going to take legal action, which I thought had prompted a response that would resolve the issue. I was asked to again submit new updated forms as they had no record of them. I did so on April 20th (additional cost to me of $120). Meanwhile on April 1st, the Royal Bank locked my account again seizing $3,000. I battled back and forth with numerous people in customer service, none of whom could tell me what was going on until on May 6th, I stumbled upon a woman named Brenda in Royal Bank Collections. She advised me that it was her that locked down my account because apparently, she believed that I still owed $843 on this same line of credit issue that I have been dealing with. After threatening to go to the Ombudsman, she released my account but held the $843.

I have just been advised today that they have not received my paperwork for my claim and I told them that I will be resending it tomorrow, this time double registered. I have also been advised that as they have no record of my initial paperwork, that I may be denied. At this point though, to add insult to injury, I have applied for a mortgage and been advised that because the Royal Bank has listed me as an R9 and unlocatable, that I would have to pay an additional 3% on my new mortgage. I haven't gone or moved anywhere in the last three years. My phone number hasn't changed and my email is the same. I've been fighting with their people on a weekly basis. How the hell can I be unlocatable?

Okay so I want to clarify, I understand they have a job to do. She said bank was losing money because of us. So I called back later, once again very nice, had explained what happened. I said she did not have to be so mean. I asked if they could empty account any time. The woman responded yup, pay your bills and she’s just doing her job, and then asked when I would have next payment. My mortgage and line of credit is with RBC, never have missed a payment, but it won't be much longer, and it seems to me they will lose more money by us taking those to another bank.

Am I a naive Cape Breton girl, or do people really need to be treated like garbage? Economic hard times everywhere is not a secret. When you are doing what you need to do with this bank, they're your best friend. When your life shifts and you fall behind, they are the wolf at the door. Thanks for listening!

So I calculated the amount of interest I had spent from the time I had the Visa card and had an ex-RBC accountant figure out based on their investment strategy for checking account holders and income bracket clients a median as to what they made off me. I was shocked. It was obvious they had profited far and beyond with no consideration for my position knowing that I would be able to pay down the debt if they were to lower the interest rate to its original percentage. I was shocked even more to find out that Visa goes to collection within Visa, so you are always paying interest. There has to be some kind of civility here. We are entering an era where we need to shift our consciousness about the world around us. Needless to say, I am out of food because I need it for gas to go to work to be able to make money to pay my bills. Yes, this includes Visa. Things are slowly getting better, but this sort of ruthless, inconsiderate customer service is not civil. What happened to the banker you could sit down, talk to and negotiate with?

It seems as though the people really on the pulse are those like Richard Branson, The Ted Awards, Credit Unions, ING and others who look at individuality and the future of human sustainability and consciousness. If banks continue operating on an old financial world economic structure, we will see ourselves fold in on itself. I could go on and mention what the customer service rep for RBC said to me but what is the point? They are just trying to follow policies and procedures of what to say when, and how to respond if, etc. I just find that being a consumer these days has no validity to it anymore. What would you do?

When I brought it to there attention, the manager said, your problem is with the company, not the bank... Well I think it is the banks fault for allowing the company to do so... It also happened with another company another 4 or 5 times... That is nice, you have to pay all these fees to the bank to hold your money, but then they charge you like this... I am very angry...

with all these transactions not going through, it has cost me about 400.00 in charges... which the bank won't pay back...