# Don't like bank fees!



## Savingmoney (Dec 28, 2009)

I have a Cibc checking account and they charge 3.90$ for 10 transaction, if you keep 1000$ they waive the 3.90$ a month but if you make more then 10 transaction you still and up paying some fees, so i opened a Ing direct Thrive checking account with no fees ever and they actualy pay you 0.25% in interest.


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

Hmmm... I have a CIBC chequing account and noticed that I no longer get charged anything once I started keeping a few grand in there. The details show that I am charged a service charge which varies from month to month and immediately after that I am refunded that same amount. For January my service charge was over $10 but I was then credited that same amount so I paid nothing.

Looking at their chequing accounts, it seems that the Everyday Chequing Account has a fee of 3.90 which is waived if you keep at least $1000 in there and you get 10 free transactions but you still pay 0.65 per transaction above 10. However I definitely do more than 10 transactions per month and am still refunded the service charge every month so I don't know. I just looked at all their chequing accounts listed on their website and none of them seem to match the behavior of mine, so maybe I have some other type of chequing account which is no longer available (I think I opened my account about 10 years ago).


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

cibc chequing here, haven't paid a penny in over 25 yrs. also use ING savings account, no charges ever.


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## KLR650 (Sep 12, 2010)

I _despise_ bank fees. Always have, always will. Have used PC financial and ING for years, have never paid any fees and couldn't be happier with their service. I have a TD savings acct to transfer funds to TDW but only pay fees if I withdraw more than 2x/month from it.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

The min for my CIBC account is $1500 for no fees.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

FrugalTrader said:


> The min for my CIBC account is $1500 for no fees.


Ditto.


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

It's one of my personal finance failures. I'm with CIBC right now, and if I let balance drop to less than $1500, I have to pay about $5 to $8. This happens quite a few times a year. I have been meaning to switch to PC Financial, but have been procrastinating.


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## Savingmoney (Dec 28, 2009)

FrugalTrader said:


> The min for my CIBC account is $1500 for no fees.


I got the everyday checking account and i think even 1000$ is too much money to be tied up.


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## Franky Jr (Oct 5, 2009)

I don't like bank fee's either so I don't pay them. I have all 4 of my accounts plus tfsa's set up so no fee's are paid. Ing is a no brainer and at td if i keep 500 in my savings it is unlimited, and if i keep 1000 in my checking it is unlimited.
If you look hard and get to the bottom of fee structures there is often a way around fee's.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

One of the few advantages of growing old is that one doesn't have to pay any bank fees!


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## ghostryder (Apr 5, 2009)

KLR650 said:


> I _despise_ bank fees.



I *LOVE* bank fees.


Clarification:

I love other people paying bank fees so I can receive dividends. I don't actually pay any myself.


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## Argonaut (Dec 7, 2010)

Having $1000+ tied up in a chequing account instead of savings or some other investment is criminal. RBC lets your chequing account be free if you open up a TFSA worth at least $100 with them. Bank fees are $4 per month, so your savings return on your $100 is 48% for one year.

I only leave $5 in my RBC chequing account, and have the rest in their high interest savings, ready to transfer when I need it. Pay for everything with a VISA, TD though because it receives cash back instead of points.

All of this is less complicated than it sounds. The only minor problem is that I only had $14900 of TFSA contribution, but at least that $100 is earning some interest and saving some bank fees.


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## frugalmini (Feb 19, 2011)

Savingmoney said:


> I have a Cibc checking account and they charge 3.90$ for 10 transaction, if you keep 1000$ they waive the 3.90$ a month but if you make more then 10 transaction you still and up paying some fees, so i opened a Ing direct Thrive checking account with no fees ever and they actualy pay you 0.25% in interest.


It's funny, but I did the same thing. I only keep my CIBC account until I get my first tax return to ensure that I updated my account info with CRA.


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## cannon_fodder (Apr 3, 2009)

I don't pay fees AND I own many shares in the banks. They pay ME. That's the best way around bank fees IMO.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

It is true that banks charge obscene interest/penalty/transaction fees, however, it is also true that some customers misuse their account, so in that regard, the customer also has a responsibility and should be well versed with the bank's terms and conditions and avoid fees & penalties whenever possible. 

My bank recently announced a $20 charge for going over one's PLC; I could be wrong, but I suspect this charge came about as a result of many going over their limit. It doesn't make sense to me that banks should allow you to go over your limit in the first place as I'm sure programming could take care of that, but the fact remains that if you do and have been made aware of the penalty, then it's your fault.

Best way is to be a shareholder!


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## newfoundlander61 (Feb 6, 2011)

Switched over from the CIBC Unlimited Chequing to the 60 Advantage account and now pay 0 fees instead of the previous $12.95 per month.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

I have a no-fee chequing and savings account for people 25 and younger so no fees for me. 

Plus, I'm with a credit union, so they pay me at the end of the year with dividends and shares. Yes, I get paid to do business with my bank


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## travelgeek (Nov 29, 2009)

I keep $5000 in the TD Select Service account. Yes, it's $5K that's earning nothing, but from what I get, it's more than worth the ~2% ($100 before tax) in lost interest. The main benefits I use are:

-free TD gold elite visa, which has a free auto club for me and a secondary card holder ($100/year savings from not having to get CAA)
-free international PLUS ABM withdrawals (usually costs $5 each). I travel a lot, and use this extensively
-free safety deposit box ($45/year)


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## K-133 (Apr 30, 2010)

Just got to thinking looking at it from another angle. Using the TD Infinity account as an example ($12.95/m fees, $3000 minimum balance).

$12.95/m = $155.40/y

($155.40/y) / $3000 = 5.18%/y.


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## Sustainable PF (Nov 5, 2010)

I had the same CIBC chequing for the better part of the last 2 decades. As long as I kept $1000 in it, no fees. So I kept the account even after switching most of my banking to PCF.

I missed it in January, but noticed in February that I was now paying $3.90 in service fees. The teller told me the new limit was $1500.

Hasta la vista CIBC. Closed the account immediately and basically had to raise my voice to the teller as she wouldn't stop trying to convince me to stay. The amount of money a bank spends to gain a customer, versus retain a customer - quite a gap. The teller didn't offer me anything accept a lousy low interest savings account. Didn't offer to reverse the charges or anything. So over the last 5 years CIBC has lost my: savings, chequing, LOC, Visa, any chance to get our mortgage (even when we renewed). I now maintain $8.44 in my USD account with CIBC. You'd think they'd learn that they could have $500,000 (and growing) of our business if they simply didn't insist on a) charging service fees and b) changing the terms of my account with them.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Interesting, Scotiabank recently lowered the minimum balance required in chequing A/C to $1,000 from $1,500.
I said thanks and moved the $500 surplus into my savings account.
Interesting how two similar banks can behave so differently.


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## cosmica76 (Jan 31, 2011)

Me too. I have some worrisome experiences with bank fees.


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

If the minimum to avoid fees is $1500, does that mean in order to avoid the fee your balance has to be $1500 at a specific time of month and the rest of the time it can be lower, or is it not allowed to dip below $1500 at all during that month?


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## travelgeek (Nov 29, 2009)

it's not allowed to dip below at all during the entire month


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Like others, we have bank shares.

We never pay bank services fees, interest charges, or mortgage renewal fees (when we had mortgages) at CIBC. We maintain the balance, we pay Visa on time, and our mortgage officer knew that we would pull the mortgage to another firm who paid the expenses if he/she insisted on that huge ripoff that is referred to a mortgage renewal fee (do they still have this charge??). All savings goe to Ally or ING. I guess we are not really on their best customer list.


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## Larry6417 (Jan 27, 2010)

Like others, I love bank fees...when others pay them. RedFlagDeals has a comparison of low-cost chequing accounts. It's a couple of years old, but the info is still valuable. See www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/articles/chequing3/


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