TD Canada Trust fees going up again - new staff position will help convince the public it's a good thing!

Before I begin, I was driving home yesterday thinking about what I have recently written. Most recent posts are attacking a multi-billion dollar industry or another. Others seem to be addressing one political issue or another. I wondered if I was being too negative and whether I should look at "happier" things to write about.

Then this morning I got my monthly TD Canada Trust bank statement at work. Attached to the statement was a "Notice of Changes to Fees and Hold Funds Policy". If TDCT is doing something effective May 1, chances are extremely good that all other banks are following suit or have already implemented the same changes.

Before I get into the details, you must be reminded that the major Canadian banks earned in excess of $19 billion dollars in profits last year. Also, I learned last year that when these same banks announce changes to "remain competitive" they don't mean from the client's perspective, they mean for the shareholders. Their profits must be bigger than the others'.

Now... what wonderful changes are TD Canada Trust clients able to look forward to? A 16.6 to 25% increase in stop payment fees. PLUS system ABM foreign exchange fees going to skyrocket by 2 1/2 times!! Safety deposit box fees will increase by 20, 21.4, 22.4 or 33.3%, depending on the size of box. I guess $19 billion in profits this year won't do so these banks are doing their darndest to come up with "new and innovative ways" to earn even higher revenues. I guess they figured they can't raise day-to-day fees until next year for fear of really aggravating people after what they did in 2006. Oh, they're also making changes to ATM/ABM deposit holds as well, of course not to the customer's benefit.

Now, as if this all wasn't enough to really tick me off, I am once again invited to speak with someone. That didn't get me anywhere last year - nobody cared. Sure, the branch manager looked like she did, but even she invited me to go elsewhere and find a better deal. Of course, she knew that wouldn't be possible. Anyway, I'm told in this notice that if I have questions I can contact my Relationship Manager in my branch.

Huh!?

What the heck is a Relationship Manager? The clowns that run these banks really have to stop believing the crap that is fed to them by image consultants or whoever it is who gives them tips and tricks to make customers believe that change is "good" and that they will "like" paying higher fees, because after all, the Canadian banks need to stay competitive and services improve with the additional investments.

Right. And I'm Napoleon.