15 Mar

THE TRUTH IS OUT – TRUST LOST WITH LATEST TD BANK FIASCO

Bank Industry News

Posted by: Tracy Luciani Price

The Financial Post reported that TD Bank stock has been downgraded after CBC News reported allegations of aggressive sales tactics and admissions of law-breaking by bank employees last week.

Admissions of high pressure sales tactics and unethical practices including “breaking the law with practices such as increasing lines of credit, overdraft protection and credit card limits without customers’ knowledge.”

If anyone thinks this issue is with one bank only, then they are either kidding themselves or have something to hide. We believe there is little doubt that all our big banks have similar practices. Will they be sued? This remains to be seen suffice to say that this could become “A Wells Fargo moment”.

Wells Fargo was fined US $185 Million on Sept 8, 2016 by U.S. regulators when ‘abusive’ sales practices by the bank were uncovered. That bank was fined for opening hundreds of thousands of retail bank accounts without client approval according to the Associated Press.

One Canadian analyst suggested that the reported revelations could inflict damage that may have a “material impact on the (TD) bank’s reputation” and earnings and valuation.

Is this just the tip of the proverbial iceberg? Only time will tell but this isn’t going away anytime soon and will likely be news for some time. Are other banks involved in the same type of practices? Is there more to the story, meaning other practices not yet uncovered? When will it be deemed more than just unethical? When is it deemed that they’ve crossed the line and broken the law? Canadians deserve to have such questions answered.

On the mortgage front, we have being informing our readership about the perils of bank Collateral Mortgages now for over five years. For example this type of mortgage product gives the banks the ability to secure previously unsecured debt instruments, thus giving them the power to ultimately force the sale of a property without any missed mortgage payments whatsoever, charge higher interest ‘at will’ etc. While the mortgage product itself is legal, they don’t disclose to consumers the general nature of the new product. Isn’t the act of omission, by not mentioning to the customer that they are signing a Collateral Mortgage, in and of itself illegal?

As your trusted mortgage advisors, we suggest that the lack of disclosure practised by our big banks, which has become commonplace, should perhaps be investigated and challenged to establish whether it is in fact breaking the law. If so, then the potential damages could become astronomical.

The value the mortgage brokerage industry brings consumers has never been more clear. We also keep the banks competitive. Without us, Canadians would be paying much more.

Please understand that obtaining a mortgage is much more than about ‘Rate’. It’s about the ‘Terms’ of the mortgage and the ‘Trust’ you have in the supplier. Call us to discuss.

8 Mar

WHY ARE WE CANADIANS, SEEN AS “PREY” TO BANKS?

Bank Industry News

Posted by: Tracy Luciani Price

Finally bank greed has been exposed mainstream. We can only hope this is just the beginning because the pendulum has swung way way too far in the banks’ favour and it’s high time it be stopped. This time it is not just an isolated incident that a bank can sweep under the rug, it’s much much bigger.

CBC investigative news unit this week broke a huge story about TD Bank’s efforts to extract as much as they can from unsuspecting customers. TD bank tellers were interviewed and agreed to cooperate with CBC because they were assured they could do so anonymously.

When customers enter their PIN at a teller counter, a gold star informs the teller of ‘opportunities’ to sell the customer products. (CBC)

It actually all started with three TD bank tellers approaching CBC’s GO PUBLIC unit with their story because they couldn’t take it anymore. Since then retired bank employees, laid off employee and some managers have also joined into the fray.

Here are a few of the quotes. One said “We are under incredible pressure to sign clients up for products they don’t need.” “When I come to work I have to put ethics aside and not do what’s right for the customer.” Another said “Customers are prey to me. I do everything I can to make my (sales) goal.”

Elderly customers who trust the bank the most are the most vulnerable the news article points out. One employee said “Here I am setting them up with all these service fees and they don’t have a clue what’s going on.”

CBC also spoke to branch managers who are under the same pressures. No surprise there because this greed is corporate culture. “We’re told that our job is to make them (the tellers) understand that if they don’t achieve their sales ‘goals’ that they are no longer right for this job. I feel bad what they are making me do.”

When (good) managers expressed concerns to their supervisors, they were asked to consider whether they were still “a good fit” for the job, implying that their job might be in jeopardy.

Dear reader, ever time you put your PIN in you are a target to be upsold. That is sales. It’s not new. The problem is that big bank culture today has become sinister. It is one designed to extract every nickle, dime and dollar (in the thousands) out of you.

No doubt all big banks have similar or same business cultures and practices.

This evil juggernaut must be stopped so that we can trust our banks again because we need them. We need to rely on them to look out for their customers’ interests.

We have a long way to go folks. One can only hope that this is the beginning of the end to the invisible tyranny the banks deliver to Canadians one at a time, every second, minute, hour, week, month of the year.

Our voice as consumer (mortgage) advocate for the little guy and all Canadians for the last 12 years has finally been validated by national news.

We speak the truth. We care about you. We look after your best interests always. We get it. We need banks. When it comes to mortgages, it’s time to check your misguided loyalty and explore your options. We are here to help, guide and protect you.

8 Mar

OUR WHY

Success Stories

Posted by: Tracy Luciani Price

Ron and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary as mortgage professionals, together.

We started in Mount Forest and moved to Fergus/Centre Wellington seven years ago and have never looked back. We love this sweet, safe, simple, lifestyle in this wonderful thriving growing community so close to everything.

We so love the people, the locals who look you in the eye and smile as they say hello. And we love the free parking too.

Our business has grown leaps and bounds each and every year. We have built a presence and reputation for really helping people.

Jim and Laurie our original employees have been with us for over ten years and have grown into the largest mortgage source in the region. We are also so fortunate that our business has evolved into a family business with the addition of two of our daughters Jennifer and Melanie who recently joined us bringing with them three wonderful grandkids.  Our team of seven dedicated and caring professionals are here to help you daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m on Saturdays.

Our national affiliation with Dominion Lending Centres, is now the largest national franchise with a mortgage portfolio bigger than RBC is a plus.

Our reality is a dream come true for us. We now have deep roots here in beautiful Centre Wellington and we are recognized as a business that cares, that helps and that puts people first!

From the beginning we realized that there was a great need to help people solve their financial problems that the banks would not.

Today our we help Canadians from all walks of life. Factory workers, self employed, single parents, first time buyers, separated and divorced couples, investors with property portfolios, teachers, doctors, lawyers, commercial pilots, CEO’s etc. We witnessed first hand how we were changing homeowners lives for the better and it feels so good.

Our business has matured and we have become top brokers in Canada.  Last year, our little mortgage company with heart was lucky #13 out of 2500 mortgage agents.  That means we always get the very best rates and terms.  We are proud of this accomplishment and look forward to serving Centre Wellington for many years to come.

7 Mar

BIG BANK ‘MILKING’ FINALLY EXPOSED!!!

Bank Industry News

Posted by: Tracy Luciani Price

Finally bank greed has been exposed mainstream. We can only hope this is just the beginning because the pendulum has swung way way too far in the banks’ favour and it’s high time it be stopped. This time it is not just an isolated incident that a bank can sweep under the rug, it’s much much bigger.

CBC investigative news unit this week broke a huge story about TD Bank’s efforts to extract as much as they can from unsuspecting customers. TD bank tellers were interviewed and agreed to cooperate with CBC because they were assured they could do so anonymously.

It actually all started with three TD bank tellers approaching CBC’s GO PUBLIC unit with their story because they couldn’t take it anymore. Since then retired bank employees, laid off employee and some managers have also joined into the fray.

Here are a few of the quotes. One said “We are under incredible pressure to sign clients up for products they don’t need.” “When I come to work I have to put ethics aside and not do what’s right for the customer.” Another said “Customers are prey to me. I do everything I can to make my (sales) goal.”

Elderly customers who trust the bank the most are the most vulnerable the news article points out. One employee said “Here I am setting them up with all these service fees and they don’t have a clue what’s going on.”

CBC also spoke to branch managers who are under the same pressures. No surprise there because this greed is corporate culture. “We’re told that our job is to make them (the tellers) understand that if they don’t achieve their sales ‘goals’ that they are no longer right for this job. I feel bad what they are making me do.”

When (good) managers expressed concerns to their supervisors, they were asked to consider whether they were still “a good fit” for the job, implying that their job might be in jeopardy.

Dear reader, ever time you put your PIN in you are a target to be upsold. That is sales. It’s not new. The problem is that big bank culture today has become sinister. It is one designed to extract every nickle, dime and dollar (in the thousands) out of you.

No doubt all big banks have similar or same business cultures and practices.

This evil juggernaut must be stopped so that we can trust our banks again because we need them. We need to rely on them to look out for their customers’ interests.

We have a long way to go folks. One can only hope that this is the beginning of the end to the invisible tyranny the banks deliver to Canadians one at a time, every second, minute, hour, week, month of the year.

Our voice as consumer (mortgage) advocate for the little guy and all Canadians for the last 12 years has finally been validated by national news.

We speak the truth. We care about you. We look after your best interests always.

The choice where to obtain a safe, friendly mortgage has never been so obvious has it? Just saying.