Canadian banks now get you coming AND going

Two weeks ago I received notice from TD Canada Trust that they were revamping their line of chequing accounts on May 1, 2006. I casually glanced at the planned changes for my account and there wasn't much to really be concerned about. The greatest change was NSF charges were being increased by a whopping 25% from $30.00 to $37.50, but I have been fortunate to have avoided discovering that the charge somehow went up to $30.00 from whatever it was some time in the past. I therefore dismissed the letter as being relatively insignificant.

I opened up my office mail this morning as I do most days. I found a notice from TD Canada Trust - but this after reading this epistle, I was speechless, enraged and positively apoplectic. I am the associate director of a non-profit, charitable organization. In the good old days, we enjoyed a bank account with few service charges. But that was earlier in this decade where quarterly net earnings for TD Bank were in the $200 million range. I suppose its investors decided that it wasn't enough.

As they were not making any money on the back of my charitable organization, they axed the account type. They did not even offer to grandfather us. We were offered a basic community account that would see us pay $10 per month plus "X" additional charges based on the number of monthly transactions. We could have those charges waived (the additional ones, not the base amount) if we maintained a balance somewhere north of $20,000 throughout a given month. Thanks alot, TD Canada Trust!

That wasn't good enough either. It seems that TD Bank is not competitive enough (according to my branch manager today). While TD Bank reported quarterly net earnings in the $200 million range 4+ years ago, their website reports that in Q1 of 2006, adjusted net income was $835 million dollars. That is in the first quarter of 2006. The first three months of 2006. Total income for 2005 was in excess of $2.5 billion. I guess they're aiming to eclipse that mark this year. How?

My so-called community account now has a monthly maximum cash deposit limit of $2,000. I also can only get 10 cheques deposited to my account for "free". It gets better. For each additional $1,000 in cash I try to deposit to my account, I will be assessed a $2.10 charge. For cheques 11 and up in a given month, I will be charged 16 cents. It's a wonder I don't get GST charged on top of that. CRAP - nobody tell the CRA about this. Oh, I suppose the taxes are included.

It wasn't good enough that we get nailed for every withdrawl we make from an ATM as individuals. It apparently isn't sufficient to skim off another buck or two as a so-called convenience charge when using another bank's machine. Convenience my foot! Now I'm getting penalized FOR DEPOSITING MONEY INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT! Um... isn't that what a bank is for?

The branch manager (who resembled a cabinet minister in Question Period on Parliament Hill) tried to justify this change by explaining that large cash deposits or deposits with many cheques require more effort on the part of bank staff to complete the transaction. IT'S A BANK - PROCESSING CASH AND CHEQUES IS WHAT THEY DO!!!

She continued to explain that the bank had to bring these fees in to remain competitive. She went on to say that TD Canada Trust is the last bank to institute these fees. They apparently need them to remain competitive. My attempts to put that fact in a positive light (and I tried to act out a potential television commercial inviting potential customers to join TD as the last bastion of banking sanity) fell on deaf ears. I then understood that competitive was not in the terms of the customer, but rather in the terms of shareholders. More profits = happy shareholders. The manager invited me to go check out the other banks. I did. She did not tell one lie. Everyone is doing this, and so far, TD Bank is the last bank to join the party. What I'd like to know from everyone who has been paying these fees (in some cases for over a year now at some banks) is why nobody has screamed bloody murder after being sucked into this scam.

Over the next few days I will be going over my 2005-06 bank activity (total receipts for my organization will be in excess of $400,000) and see how much this revised account structure would have cost us. I estimate that it will be between $500 and $1,000.

I guess I'll have to add a clause in the 2006 direct mail letter asking people who choose to make a donation to add 16 cents to their $25 donation to make sure that we get to make full use of their donated dollar while performing our day-to-day duties that the Canada Revenue Agency categorizes as being charitable activity.

Thanks TD Bank - way to be part of the community. As for all you other banks out there, the same goes for you. Shame on you all. Charities from coast to coast are fighting each other more and more for the donated dollar. Apparently the Canadian banks want their piece of the action too. What can I do?! CIBC, BMO, RBC and ScotiaBank all have revised their business bank account lines as well. I guess the one-size-fits-all approach to life now applies to charities and their bank accounts. Now that's progress.