I just recently discovered Scotiabank quietly changed the fee schedule for my Powerchequing account. I learned this the expensive way and this really pissed me off. I haven’t been a heavy debit user until recently as I want to change my spending habit. Originally their powerchequing account is a great choice because they waive all your banking fee if you maintain a $2000 balance or you pay a flat fee. I have been running this assumption for many years because I have been a loyal customer for this account ever since university days. Not only they removed the unlimited transaction feature to a paltry 15 free self-service transaction a month, their additional transaction fee is a ridiculous 65cents – and they don’t grandfather my existing plan. I learned this the hard way by buying McDonalds with debit and you can imagine how many 65cents I paid to Scotia for each meal I had. I understand that convenience come with a price, but I just didn’t even know about this change as I do not receive any monthly statements. The mails or phone calls I get from Scotia are all marketing related. If they were to call me about this fee change and upsell me an upgraded banking account (ScotiaOne?) then I wouldn’t be so mad about this; rather they choose to use my contact to sell me insurance products.
Even though phone/internet/cable companies (they are really all the same) are getting bad rap for expensive pricing, at least they won’t increase fees in stealth mode and will always grandfather your existing plans. If there is something CRTC ask them to increase price, they always make it clear in their letters. I do get marketing calls once in a while but they are actually quite reasonable.
I really don’t get why banks require your phone number and verify with your actual address – they just use it to sell you stuff and not to help you with customer service.
I’m a goner now – just opened a no-fee PC Financial account. I’ll see if PC is going to ruin my banking experience.
