26 - Wednesday, September 7, 1988 - North Shore News BUSINESS it’s buyer Deware in the banking world From page 24 “Yt had already instructed the branch to renew the GJIC for three years,"’ she said. *'So I was a little surprised when I got a call on Aug. 31. “The lady on the phone said the interest rate on the renewal date had been 10.25 per cent but on Aug. 30 had gone up to 10.5 per cent. If I wanted, she said, they would renew my GIC starting Aug. 30 at the higher rate, and pay me the savings account rale for the two days in between.”” The woman was delighted. ‘‘The difference works out to an extra $25.58 for me,”* she said. ‘I know it’s not a huge amount, but it’s found money — which I would have otherwise missed. “And it’s smart of the trust company. For $25 they have got themselves the kind of advertising money can't buy, because it’s the sort of thing you tell your friends about — especially these days with all the complaints about poor banking service.”” Robyn Prepchuk, First City’s product manager for retail deposits, said most of the com- pany’s 37 savings branches follow this approach, although she said some might do the job more con- scientiously than others. “If a client has a deposit with an automatic renewal and if the branch is expecting rates to rise, the branch will often ‘advise the clients to hold off and perhaps put their money into a high-interest DO YOU ENJOY OUTDOOR WORK? ARE YOU MECHANICALLY AND TECHNICALLY account until they cun renew at the higher rate," she said. Les Holroyd was quick to talk about his experience with the Bank of Montreal. although he certainly wasn’t thrilled. “The bank billed me for two $200.34 items on my MasterCard when | had made only the one purchase,"’ he said. “ft complained about it when J paid my bill at my branch, but two statements later they still hadn't corrected the mistake. I complain- ed again, but sul} no results.” After a third complaint, Holroyd received a form letter to say a credit adjustment had been processed for the ‘‘disputed charge."’ Holroyd wrote to the bank ‘‘but their answer didn’t deal with sev- eral of the questions I had answered,’’ So he wrote again and this time received a more detailed reply. The bank apologized for the problems, admitted the term “‘disputed’’ was incorrect (clearly, said Holroyd, the problem was a bank error), noted the volume of MasterCard enquiries precluded more personal responses, and pointed out the bank relies on cus- tomers to verify all entries on each monthly statement. It’s still ‘buyer beware.’’ Yet as we have just seen, a financial in- stitution can easily do more for its customers if it chooses. To be fair, the bank's size, which provides the financial PART-TIME SOLI stability we want, also produces many of the service problems. However, if management is determined to provide better ser- vice, the larger bank or branch could still have a lower percentage — if not number — of complaints than a smaller place. Randy Bertsch, a Central Guar- anty Trust branch manager, wastes no time confirming that competi- tion thrives in the banking business as he holds up his company’s latest “‘FeeCutter’* account promotion. “We have virtually eliminated all the annoying service charges which Canadians object to,’’ he said. I'm glad to see companies like First City Trust and Central Guar- anty Trust have entered into the spirit of adventure banking. This proves you can also profit from the adventure by shopping around and bargaining for better products and service which financial institu- tions are quite capable of offering. wank Do you have a financial or con- sumer question for Mike? Or a story you think should be in his column? Please write to Mike Grenby, North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale, North Vancouver V7M 2H4. Mike cannot reply in- dividually but will answer many of your letters as possible through The North Shore News. 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