Stand outside the branch with a placard telling people how you have been treating. I am pretty sure it won't be long before they are being more sensible.

Have you tried the ombudsman ?

I will look at the link and see if it can be any help - thank you. We just feel so stupid, we had no idea the figures were as high as they are, we just thought well, we know we owe X amount, we'll just pay it when they find it, but it's XXXX amount and now we have to sell our dream home just to ba able to afford to pay them back, we went to the dream home yesterday to get my Spitfire, it made us really sad. We know it will take forever to sell it so we are half hoping we get to use it this summer

Sorry, this makes it sound like you knew that you had been overpaid but choose not to say anything about it until you were found out. I may sound harsh but, in light of this, I have little sympathy for your situation.

We THOUGHT we had been overpaid, we THOUGHT the bank had made a mistake which is WHY we questioned it in the first place and left the money untouched for a year and questioned them again before we dipped into it we also THOUGHT it was a quarter of the amount it realistically is therefore making it unpayabale in our current situation.

I feel we have been scammed into using money we didn't have therefore owing money we wouldn't have owed and having to pay interest over the next ten years we wouldn't have had to pay, we will also be selling our dream home at a loss to try and make payments, we also obtained a mortgage we may not have initially been given due to this money, it's all a effing nightmare but at the end of the day you should be able to trust what a bank and a lawyer tells you especially when you question it more than once. When you keep being told the same answer on something your not sure about and your asking proffessionals what are you supposed to do? My biggest beef about all this is the time it took for the bank to realise their mistake FOUR effing years FOUR!

If the bank or the lawyer had looked into it when we initially asked or when we asked the second and third times,we would have paid off the amount by now and not spent OH's inheritance on buying a second home and building garages and decks on it.:curse:

I don't need sympathy from a cyber probably never will meet ever person, I just want someone out there to remember this story when they have a query about financial matters they are not too sure about.

OK. Has anyone explained the provisions of the Limitations Act to you? Normally, one has to issue proceedings within 2 years of a cause of action failing which the potential action becomes statute barred and the creditor can take no action against the debtor. Before you start winding up your life, it may be worth speaking to a lawyer about this. Don't go for the cheapest "jack of all trades" type. Speak to a litigation specialist.

I would offer to help but you have obviously taken objection to what I stated above. I wish you all the best.

I agree completely.

Going strictly on what you've said, you should make the bank drag you into court, where they can explain exactly why it took them so long to realise their mistake, then see how much responsibility for the mistake the judge puts onto them.

If you have all your queries and their assurances as evidence, the judge would surely consider that their are at least partly responsible.

"Financial services" have become big business in many countries and it is a minefield out there. There are plenty of horror stories coming out of the UK regarding fees eradicating pensions, etc. and financial products being misrepresented.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/pension...5&in_page_id=6

For purchases, I use cash or a credit card and always withdraw the cash from inside the bank. On top of that, I never do business at the door or over the phone. I even get dubious emails, which I promptly delete, that tell me something is to my advantage if I send them certain information. I had my credit card scammed for $5000 but was let off the hook because I just signed an Affidavit stating that I never made the purchase.

Most banks give a guarantee that the money in an account will be refunded if the account is compromised, as long as certain conditions are complied with.

yeah, no offense and I'm sorry you got ripped off but rather than "Canada = Scam Central," you just sound gullible and like they saw you coming a mile off.

exactly...

We have spoken to a lawyer, she said there were two years from when the bank realised there was an error for action and she said that they could just say they had only just realised there was a problem last week so basically we had no chance. But from reading the ombudsmen thing on litigation it says something about 2 years from when the bank OUGHT to have known there was a mistake.

Your right I did take offense earlier, we had a sad weekend after visiting the house and I was probably feeling a little more sensitive than I usually am and feel stupid enough

Well, they probably did see us coming a mile off...

..but the sad thing is I don't doubt they dupe thousands of others too.

Perhaps what you meant to say, instead of your rather ill thought out and frankly, yes - offensive comment, is that these companies take advantage of people who aren't any the wiser. We were new immigrants. It's not a case of being "gullible". You just don't expect to be ripped off in what is supposed to be a developed country.

Mr Lee,

would you care to elaborate on these ridiculous fee's that have so decimated this RESP.

Just from a point of interest....my kids have flown the coop but it may help other with some meat on the bones.

Cheers.

Can I just ask - who are the welcome wagon?

http://www.welcomewagon.ca/en/index.php

Basically a person will come to your house with all sorts of goodies from local businesses when you first move into a new area/have a baby/get married.

We got vouchers for house key cutting, free burgers, free ice cream, free toothbrushes, magnetic calendars, pens, pads, intro letters to local business, money off coupons etc. I beleive it costs the businesses that participate quite a lot of money.

An organization who are supported by local businesses such as shops and restaurants. They "welcome" newcomers with a basket of products. The object of it is to introduce you to these local businesses in the hopes that you will patronize them.