Caribou Jones

I looked around at a number of accounts before I arrived in Calgary and in the end went for the Scotiabank newcomer start up account as it had a decent amount of facilities to get your credit history started and you apply from the UK.

The plan is that you can transfer money in advance and hit the ground running.

Perhaps I could have transferred sooner leaving it only a few days before I left, but a couple of days using my UK account in Canada was no hassle, so I didn't mind.

But it's been problem after problem since and my £3000 is being frozen by Scotiabank still some three weeks later.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight to a local branch, they had no idea what this whole process was about. In fact, I was left with the feeling that they thought I might have fallen for a scam. They had no idea about Scotiabank's secure emails that I had either. Nice people though, don't get me wrong.

So I get my new accounts set up and they look into it. After a week or so they finally find the money and it is in an investment account that is now finally associated with my online banking. Great, I thought, so I set up a transfer between accounts and it says it takes two days, which seems a bit of a cheek, but what can I do?

Two business days later, no transfer, so I do it again. Still nothing so into the bank once more.

They look into it and after another two days, they tell me that the main branch in Toronto has frozen the money and they don't know why.

It's now three weeks and still I can't access it.

If I knew this before, I would advise this: don't bother setting up an account in advance. Arrive, open the account at your bank of choosing and when it's set up, transfer internationally between the two then. The cost isn't that great overall and you have your UK bank on your side too.

As for Scotiabank, the woman dealing with it has been incredibly helpful and apologetic, but I couldn't recommend the organisation as a whole based on this bad first experience.

Assuming I get my money when they get around to it, I might have to decide whether to stick or twist, not sure yet.

Souvy

Welcome to the wonderful world of Canadian banking. They are all like that. They rely on customer apathy.

Argue and use threats to move your funds to a different bank. Works wonders. It took me a while to lose my Englishness and learn how to complain.

My banking officer at Scotia knows exactly how much of my money, and my wife's money, he's handling. He also knows what happened when his predecessor annoyed my missus and she shifted her RRSP to a different bank (very easily done).

A couple of weeks ago, the dork told me that I was one of his largest RRSP clients. I'm going to use that against him. He will bend to my will more than he already does.

My monthly salary transfers from the UK get hit with a fee every time, even though the instructions at the other end stipulate that my employer picks up all the fees. It's automatic, apparently.

Antoine gets the same email every month: "It's happened again; sort it".

He does. I get refunded.

bats

We started with Scotia and they froze our money for a few weeks, they said it was standard practice for large amount transfers. We kicked up a fuss and they Let us have some of our money.. Stayed with them for a few years but eventually gave up when they wanted us to make an appointment to see them just to set up a savings account. We're now with TD

Cyan

True that. Scotia are the worst of a very bad bunch. The bank tellers in the GTA are generally an incompetent lot and assume everyone is a naive immigrant.

Caribou Jones

Call from the bank today and it is supposedly sorted out and will transfer it to my chequing account.

Just checked and not happened yet!

Stinkypup

They have always been great with us

BristolUK

evets

Timely post this and helpful as I only posted a question about banks for new immigrants. Thank you

Caribou Jones

Food for thought is all we hope to offer!

evets

So true, it is really hard to imagine how some of you guys and others made the move with forums like these.

Does really help open your eyes a bit about what you are stepping into!

leith

I used to think well of Scotiabank but after the mess they made last year I no longer do.
1. My financial advisor omitted to tell me that the maximum amount I could put in a Tax Free Savings Account in 2015 was $10,000 (increased from $5,500). I found this out myself on the Internet and decided to top mine up a bit before we got a new federal government and it was changed back. I was telling her instead of vice versa.
2. The minimum withdrawal amounts from Registered Income Funds were reduced in April, 2015. Again, not told and when I asked for a minimum withdrawal in December, I was told the bank hadn't had time to change its computer program and that I would have to withdraw the old minimum and redeposit the difference between the old and new. Bizarre, but I did the necessary paperwork.
3. In February, 2016, I received a T4 slip stating that I had withdrawn the older (higher) amount. After a prolonged battle, I was sent another slip stating the amount I had redeposited. I reported all this on my tax return and paid tax accordingly.
4. In early October, I received a demand to pay tax on the whole amount of the older withdrawal, Revenue Canada having been provided by Scotibank with a copy of my T4RIF.

My dispute with Revenue Canada will take at least another 4 months to even be looked at. BTW, do not try calling them - you'll get some babble about how valued you are then you'll be cut off time and again. I don't think they have people working there - just zombies and computers.
After three months,my complaints to Scotiabank are somewhere out in the blue yonder.
My Scotiabank financial advisor retired and my new one there is an arrogant twit. He doesn't listen and seems more concerned trying to prove he's done nothing wrong than providing even adequate service.
Frankly, I think all the banks in Canada are lousy. I used to deal with Toronto Dominion and if anything it was worse than Scotiabank.

Shirtback

With all due respect, I don't see how any of the issues mentioned by Leith in post #11 are the bank's fault, except - possibly - point 4.

withabix

Never had any problems at all with Scotiabank.

Everything is with them except for an Amex (carry-over from having a UK one) and a WestJet credit card.

Everything works just as it should.

International transfers have all gone smoothly - maybe the problem is with the Forex company or your source bank? Or the codes are incorrect maybe?

JonboyE

I have been with Scotiabank for 15 years - personal and business accounts, credit cards, mortgage and HELOC. I have not had a problem that was not resolved with a simple phone call.

Shakyuk

Hahaha this line is classic.