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On the suggestion of his advisor, Mr. V had purchased special “synthetic" preferred shares of a complex structured investment product offering a principal guarantee at maturity. Its returns depended on the number of future credit defaults, or in other words, the level of net losses within the underlying portfolio. 

When Mrs. K, a 51-year-old life insurance advisor, opened an investment account at Firm ABC, she signed a Know-Your-Client (KYC) form indicating 100% medium risk tolerance and an objective of 100% long-term capital gains. Soon after this, her investment advisor began to purchase higher-risk securities. While Mrs. K was privately concerned, she chose not to complain.

In 2002, Mrs. E, then 71-years-old, began investing at Firm ABC with the help of an investment advisor. As her financial knowledge was limited, she let her advisor manage her registered account. The Know-Your-Client (KYC) form she signed indicated she was a conservative investor seeking to preserve her capital.

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.

OBSI Invites Public Comment on Revisions to Terms of Reference

OBSI is the national independent dispute resolution service for consumers and small businesses with a complaint they can't resolve with their banking services or investment firm.