Case Studies

In late 2014, Mr. and Ms. J inquired about a non-arm’s length mortgage (NALM) at their bank. A NALM is where you lend money from your registered savings plans or locked-in savings plans to yourself as an individual or as a co-borrower with someone who is related by blood or marriage. 

Mr. and Ms. S invested in an exempt market fund.  The fund was comprised of a pool of mortgages.  The fund experienced financial and management difficulties.  As a result a large number of investors tried to sell their shares causing the value of the fund to plummet. 

Ms. L opened both a chequing account and a savings account with her bank. During a call with the customer contact centre, she asked whether the savings account interest rate of 1.25% was monthly or annual. 

In January of 2014, Mr. G signed a Credit Agreement when he obtained a mortgage of $122,000 and a Line of Credit (LOC) of $39,600, both secured by a property he owned and planned to rent out. The monthly payments were $1,255 for his mortgage, which he had automatically debited from his bank account, and $43 for the LOC.

Mr. A’s small business filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after several years of financial difficulties. At the time, there was a $15,000 balance on the company credit card. 

Ms. B and her friends attended a presentation for real estate investment opportunities in the Caribbean. The salesperson explained that the investment was for a condominium timeshare located on a desirable waterfront location frequented by tourists.

Mr. H agreed to purchase a restaurant-size smoker from a private seller on Kijiji. He transferred $8,000 to the seller, via multiple authorized Interac e-Transfers. The seller had promised to ship the smoker to Mr. H upon receipt of the full payment.

Mr. C owned an automotive parts store where he employed an administrative assistant with responsibility for payroll, bank statement reconciliations, and other accounting functions. Over a period of four years, she embezzled $80,000 by writing company cheques to herself or fictitious third parties, depositing them into her personal account using her bank's automated bank machine (ABM).

Mrs. P had a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and several other accounts with her investment firm, but was a relatively unsophisticated investor. Her husband, on the other hand, did have a good understanding of investment concepts and strategy, and regularly traded stocks in a self-directed account.

OBSI received multiple complaints over a short period about an investment firm and Mr. V, an investment advisor and branch manager. The complainants had no connection to one another other than having Mr. V as their advisor.