Case Studies

Investor accepts low settlement offer by firm despite significant losses from unsuitable investments

Mr. G, a conservative investor with a modest income and limited investment knowledge, wanted to see growth on his retirement savings. His investments were initially held at Bank ABC where Mr. G thought the fees were too high and the returns were too low. When Mr. G met Mr. U socially, Mr. U said he was an advisor at Firm XYZ, and convinced Mr. G to switch to his firm by promising lower fees and the potential for better returns. Mr. G trusted Mr. U because he was an advisor at a credible firm....

Transfer delays lead to additional costs when settling father’s estate

Ms. W was the executor of her father’s estate and was required to file his final tax return. After filing the return in late May, Ms. W received the Notice of Assessment which indicated that her father’s estate owed taxes to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). The estate included several investment accounts at Firm A and Firm B, both of which held securities and cash. After withdrawing the full amount of cash available in the accounts, Ms. W needed to sell more securities to cover the remaining...

Consumer a victim of fraud but bank not responsible for loss

Mr. E had a personal chequing and savings account at Bank Y. He enjoyed the convenience of online banking on his laptop and cell phone, and often accessed his bank accounts using Bank Y’s mobile application. Through e-mail, he received notifications from the bank about his account activity and liked being able to confirm account balances online. Mr. E had been a Bank Y customer for over 40 years.

One day, Mr. E received a notification that his chequing account balance was low. He logged in to...

Bank customer questions significant fees charged to his business account

Mr. G had been a loyal business customer of his bank for 30 years. He trusted the bank with his business’ financial matters, and they had always maintained a good relationship.

In December 2022, Mr. G discovered charges on his business bank account – $750 in the fall of 2019, and another $800 in the fall of 2020 – that he could not account for. Concerned, Mr. G went to his bank, hoping to resolve the issue.

The bank branch indicated that the reason for the fees related to an annual audit of his...

Parent frustrated investment firm won’t pay out daughter’s remaining RESP grants

Ms. L had set up Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) for her two daughters, Ms. J and Ms. K. These accounts were set up as a family RESP with their investment firm with the understanding that if one child did not go to or complete post-secondary education, the other child would be entitled to the full amounts of the plans.

Over the span of a number of years, Ms. L contributed a total of $19,000 to Ms. J’s RESP and $31,500 to Ms. K’s RESP. During that time, she believed that each daughter...