Case Studies - Banking

Ms. D and her common-law spouse of 33 years had a $120,000 investment to which they had both contributed over the years. Both elderly, in 2003, they decided to cash out their investment and received a jointly payable cheque. The couple visited their bank and met with their banking representative. Ms. D's spouse identified the account which the cheque was to be deposited, which the banking representative wrote on the back of the cheque. A teller completed the transaction.

Mr. C brought a complaint to OBSI on behalf of his mother regarding a Power of Attorney (POA) document she signed appointing her three children to act as attorneys on her behalf. Each of her children could act alone.

Mr. S was his late aunt's primary caregiver. For three years, he took care of her by taking her to doctor's appointments, hiring additional support persons, consulting lawyers, making medical decisions and attending to other needs as they arose.

Mr. W had a mortgage with his bank, and wanted to know what penalty he would be charged if he paid out his mortgage early. Mr. W was told that the penalty would be $2,300. He was also made aware that this amount could be significantly higher if five years or less were remaining on his term. At the time of this call, this second clause did not apply.

Mrs. A's husband passed away in 2008 leaving her the sole beneficiary of his estate. After his passing, Mrs. A submitted life insurance claims for $88,000 covering the two lines of credit (LOC) that her late husband had taken out in 2000 at their bank.

Ms. H went on a trip overseas where she claimed she was the victim of a credit card fraud. Ms. H insisted that while she was travelling she never used her credit card or gave her PIN or card to anyone. Several overseas cash advances were recorded during her time abroad. She therefore asserted that she was a victim of fraud and requested that her bank compensate her for her loss of just over $3,000.

In February, 2005, an 80-year-old widowed client decided to sell her house to her daughter-in-law for $100,000, though she would continue to live in the house. As the daughter-in-law was not able to qualify for the $95,000 mortgage on her own, she asked the client to co-sign the mortgage, as well as act as a guarantor on a loan, which the client did. A few months later, the daughter-in-law informed the elderly client that she no longer wished to provide her with accommodation and asked her to move out of the house.

A client applied for a $120,000 personal loan from her local branch in order to purchase a boat costing $140,000. The client was approved for the loan consisting of monthly payments of $615 (principal + interest) for 15 years with a $15,000 down payment. Nine months later, the client received a statement from the bank saying she owed more each month than what was initially agreed.

One year after signing for a five-year term mortgage, the client decided to list her property for sale. At the time of closing, she discovered that a substantial penalty was charged by the bank in order to pay out her mortgage. The client had been under the impression that the mortgage prepayment penalty would equal three months' interest. She was prepared to pay that amount but was surprised to find out later that the actual penalty would be based on an Interest Rate Differential, resulting in a much larger penalty amount.

Due to his impending divorce, a client went to a local bank branch to remove the credit room available on a joint personal line of credit by reducing the limit to an amount just above the outstanding balance. The client was advised that it may take up to five business days for the paperwork to go through but that the changes had been made.