They're all the same in many ways.
Royal Bank (where I have my mortgage) was fucking me around at one time.
Initially, when I split with my ex, they wouldn't give me a line of credit. They wouldn't renogotiate the mortgage when I put it solo in my name (I figured, new name, new mortgage.)
They figured same guy, same deal, you want out, you owe us 4 grand.
When it came up for renewal 2 years later, Royal was much much nicer to me.
This time, they would give me a line of credit.
I was so happy, I never did much thinking. They offered me an unsecured line of credit at prime + 2.5%.
Later I found out that everyone I knew who had an unsecured line of credit had theirs at prime + 2%.
One day they called me out of the blue to ask if I wanted to roll my variable open mortgage into a a fixed closed.
Which I didn't.
But while I have you on the phone, let's talk about that line of credit.
"I want a secured line of credit at PRIME"
Them, "Ok, we can look into that."
Couple of days later, "Ok, we can do the secured at prime, but we need to register the lean, blah blah blah, 500 bucks from you"
Me, "No, everyone I know who has a secured line of credit has it at prime and their institutions all waved the fee" (true, I had spoken to my 30 something friends who were by now up to their eyeballs in debt and they all had secured lines of credit at prime waived the fee)
Them, "We'll call you back"
Next day, them, "how bout you pay half the fee"
Me, "No, how bout you waive the fee"
Them, "We'll call you back"
Next Day, "Ok, we'll eat the fee"
Me, great, I'll come in to sign the papers"
I go to the bank and actually start to read the papers they put in front of me.
The Fuckers waived the fee, but bumped the interest rate to prime + 0.5%.
Me, "What's this?"
Them, "Well, we waived the fee, so you have to pay more interest"
Well, if you have ever heard the sound of the whistle on a train, you have a feel for what was pounding through my head right about then"
I just started to get a wee bit agitated, and said something to the effect of, "Why are you guys always fucking me around (seriously, that's what I said). You are always trying to dig that extra half point out of me. I am not asking for anything else than what I KNOW other institutions are giving their clients"
Them, "We'll call you back"
Next day, "Ok, at prime, no fee"
I signed. But not before I had walked right across Bloor Stree to the TD to talk to them about moving all my mortgage and line of credit, accounts, etc. there.
Fucking banks, they are all the same.
BTW, BNS shares are up 20% over the last 12 months.....
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