Royal Bank

[lecale]

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[iceblueraven]

I got a bunch of scene points just for joining scotia. I have something like 6 free movies in scene points available between the bonus and the debit transactions.

I don't know if it 's still available.

As far as banks go, Scotia has been the most palatable customer service wise.

[CrazyQT]

I opened up an account at RBC without any problems at all and received 50,000 Optimum points. If you read the find print on the application from Shoppers Drug Mart stores, it gives you a few options on how to get the points. a) direct deposit a payroll and b) make 2 online payments or
a) set up 2 direct debit payments and b) make 2 online payments. Since I already had an RBC account I did not switch my payroll into the new account. I just had it stay deposited into the old account and did an online transfer to deposit the funds to cover payments and any debit payments I planned on making. I have earned SO MANY optimum points since opening the new account.

I live in a small community where the people at my bank are so friendly and helpful. I wish everyone could have the same level of service that my branch provides.

OP, sorry you had such a rough time. Hopefully the points will make up for the snafu that occurred.

[misstarbender]

ya I was going to do it because they are offering a bunch of scene points for opening the account. but now that I know it takes $5000 to get 1 movie Im not going to bother LOL

[Gazpache]

I was with BMO for about 18 years and recently cancelled my account to switch to PC. I was shocked that after 18 years they didn't do a thing to try to retain my business. they just shrugged and closed my accounts. They did the same thing to my mom after she was with them for over 30 years and switched to TD.
They all just make so much money these days they just don't care anymore about the lil guy.

[matrix82]

I am not happy with RBC right now. I made the mistake of entering the wrong pin and locked my visa account. So I go to the closest branch, which is an hour walk away. I get there, and I am told there is nothing they can do at the branch level. I need to call the 1-800 number on the back of the card. Of course there are not any pay phones in the area of the bank. So I walk back home, and what do I find out, they can't do it over the phone, it needs to be done at the branch. Grrr. I wish they could train their staff properly.

[angel_2011]

Hubby & I are with Scotibank - been with them for nearly 8yrs now. Anyways, hubby has the habit of always using debit - he hates carrying cash. A couple of years ago, his debit card was compromised 3 times! The first time they took $1000, second time $500, third time $100 - we got our money back all three times with no hassle at all. In fact, whenever the card was compromised, we would get a call right away (e.g., if it was used in the morning, we'd get a call late evening - or in the evening, we'd get a call the next morning). Their call centre is also really helpful and they are so easy to deal with.

[ashokia]

Wow! Sorry you had such a terrible experience.

I don't even have an account, and they drive me nuts!! My landlord (who is my dad) lives out of the country so every month my husband and I take in a cheque for our rent. At first we would just take in cash. BIG MISTAKE. They couldn't understand why I was putting money into an account that wasn't mine and would have to have a supervisor come over (which wasn't always quick) to clear the transaction every time . So then we got cheques, thinking that the large sum of cash we would bring in was the problem. Another mistake. So I go in one month with cheque, ask her to deposit it into MY FATHER's account. The teller asks for my ID, which I show her, then I give her all my Dad's acct info and she looks at the screen puzzled and goes to talk to a supervisor. Then comes back to tell me that she cannot cash the cheque b/c my DH's signature isn't on it and it is from a different bank, and we don't have an account with RBC.That is not what I want to do. I repeat exactly what I said to her not even five mins ago. "I would like to deposit this cheque (added 'which I wrote') into my FATHER's account, here is the number." She looks like I just spoke a foreign language. I also mention that the cheque is from MY joint acct. with my husband and nothing on the cheque says 'both signatures needed'. Supervisor comes over to ask if there are any problems. I take another deep breath, bite tongue and say the same thing to her that I just told the teller. "Oh, you don't have an account here, well no problem. we just need to know a bit of info (my id again, and a bit about my father's account and his address) This is how it's done." Now I feel bad for the teller as maybe she was new and didn't understand, but not anymore. DH and I have gone in there EVERY month for 6 years and we STILL have this issue (with almost all the tellers there)!! and Every month we go through something similar and the kicker is that every month they ask us if we would like to open up an account with them. ROTFL!!!! Umm, No.

Wow. As a teller at one of the major banks (not RBC!) I am boggled by some of these stories! Anyone can make a deposit into another person's account as long as they have the account number. We never ask for ID or play 20 questions. If you are bringing in cash that is better than a cheque because some people don't have access to the personal cheques deposited into their account for five business days. I could see if it was an insane amount like ten thousand or more, but for rent?

As for the Scotia account, I had it and it really didn't earn me very many points. The Scene Visa is much better! I use it for everything. I had a lot of dental work done after my son was born and I earned enough points just using my Visa for ten free movies, and I got the money reimbursed by our benefit company.

[ashokia]

I am not happy with RBC right now. I made the mistake of entering the wrong pin and locked my visa account. So I go to the closest branch, which is an hour walk away. I get there, and I am told there is nothing they can do at the branch level. I need to call the 1-800 number on the back of the card. Of course there are not any pay phones in the area of the bank. So I walk back home, and what do I find out, they can't do it over the phone, it needs to be done at the branch. Grrr. I wish they could train their staff properly.

If RBC works like my bank does - if you have an account with RBC they can reset your PIN at the branch level because they have your information on file and can verify your signature and identification. If you do not have an account with RBC then they have no way of verifying you are who you say you are and it must be done over the phone. A lot of people think just because there is a bank name on your Visa or Mastercard, we have unlimited access to all of your information but that is not the case. They are an entirely separate entity from the bank.

I am a little shocked that you weren't offered the use of a phone so that you could call from the bank. You need to use the ABM machine to enter a new PIN after they reset your card for you anyway.

[Shwa Girl]

OP sorry to hear about your experience with RBC. We are not loyal to any one bank, because they do not care about us. Maybe it is better to use more than one bank when taking advantage of their incentive programs.

I guess the issue is you will have to pay two bank fees...is an extra $11.95 x 6 months till Xmas = $71.70 worth it? (that is their unlimited debit package price) Even 25 transactions a month will cost you $53.70 in 6 months.

In 2012, there is no reason why anyone should be paying bank fees when you have options of ING or President's Choice Financial or Canadian Tire. Some of these offer free chequing. There are more banks without fees too.

[Marteli]

wow thats terriblee, so far i haven't had any problem with RBC .. but I defenilty will NOT ge thte optimour points !...too much drama lol and AS A MATTER OF FACT .. the bank does ot have much knowladge regarding this account ... I try to go to the bank and ask info about it and they said "you have to do that on your own through Shoppers, not with us" and after htat answer I was like .. "this is a NO NO"

[matrix82]

If RBC works like my bank does - if you have an account with RBC they can reset your PIN at the branch level because they have your information on file and can verify your signature and identification. If you do not have an account with RBC then they have no way of verifying you are who you say you are and it must be done over the phone. A lot of people think just because there is a bank name on your Visa or Mastercard, we have unlimited access to all of your information but that is not the case. They are an entirely separate entity from the bank.

I am a little shocked that you weren't offered the use of a phone so that you could call from the bank. You need to use the ABM machine to enter a new PIN after they reset your card for you anyway.

I had my royalbank debit and id etc with me, so they had a way to verify who I was. I have about four accounts with RBC. I went to a different branch yesterday and they were able to reset my pin in under a minute. I don't know what was wrong with the first branch. I know I won't go there again even though it's the closer branch to where I live.

[alicia]

This doesn't make me feel too good about my options. I am with BMO, have been since I was six. I have my chequing and saving accounts, LOC, TFSA, credit cards with them, and yet I have mess-ups every few months with double transfers etc (transfer of $500 to my TFSA at the end of the month times two meaning I had no cash to access for a few days because it takes so long for transfers from chequing to investments. Then they didn't reverse the extra transfer but withdrew it meaning I lost that contribution room until next year!)

Then there was the time they amalgamated someone else's credit card (with the same name yes) onto my online banking. It was maxed out and I could see all their transaction info. I got 200 airmiles for that, but both of our privacy was compromised.

I was intending on moving banks once I got a "real" job (still a student paid by the university) so I tested out PC Financial, but boy I wasn't happy. I just started using it as a small savings vehicle where I would write myself a cheque every week for $25 and deposit it - it got held for five days for TWENTY-FIVE dollars! Not like it was for $2500. I need my money to be there when I deposit it if it was my real bank account.

So, I am not quite sure where I will end up going but apparently RBC is not on the short list.

[lecale]

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[Ciel]

@lecale-how long did the debit Visa take to post to the account? A long lag time is worrisome sign.
Good to know about the prepaid Mastercard. I have seen a couple of articles on enhanced debit cards (TD has tested one and will roll it out and I understand CIBC has one too). I do like the prospect of being able to use a debit card for online shopping...