Bank customer questions significant fees charged to his business account
Mr. G had been a loyal business customer of his bank for 30 years. He trusted the bank with his business’ financial matters, and they had always maintained a good relationship.
In December 2022, Mr. G discovered charges on his business bank account – $750 in the fall of 2019, and another $800 in the fall of 2020 – that he could not account for. Concerned, Mr. G went to his bank, hoping to resolve the issue.
The bank branch indicated that the reason for the fees related to an annual audit of his file for a commercial mortgage on a small apartment building his business owned.
Mr. G did not think it made sense to pay these additional audit charges. When he had been audited in 2017 and 2018, he had not been charged a fee. Also, there was no fee charged in 2021 and 2022. So he questioned the need for these extra fees in 2019 and 2020.
Additionally, the bank had appraised his property themselves, ensuring that its value could act as collateral for the loan in case a payment was missed. They were well-protected as a secured creditor, and his business had never missed a monthly mortgage payment. In Mr. G’s view, these fees could not be justified. He escalated his complaint at the bank.
The bank’s complaints office reviewed Mr. G’s complaint and after its investigation explained that this kind of charge was applicable to all its business customers. As a result, it would not be able to refund these fees.
Unhappy with the decision, Mr. G brought his complaint to OBSI.
Complaint upheld
After interviewing Mr. G and reviewing his account statements, we reached out to the bank to request the specific schedules related to the years the fees were charged, how these were communicated to Mr. G. and to explain why there were no fees charged in the following years. In the end, the bank was unable to provide the information or to justify the fees it had charged. The bank agreed to reimburse Mr. G fully for the fees and compensate him further for the inconvenience it had caused.