Urgent! Please help me out here. I have been a PC account holder for some 15 years, never had a problem when I was in Canada.
Now I am abroad, issued a check and they bounced it and charged me NSF $45.00...

I have tried numerous times phoning 416-223-0263, tried 1-888-872-4724, 1-888-723-8881.....only got automated service, dialed 0 to reach representatives, message said wait time less than a minute, but always disconnected after 14 rings.

Does this bank still exist?? I asked them to call back (out of good will) since I could not reach them.
Talktous said they cannot make outbound call, I cannot reach you, no collect call line....!!! What kind of service are they providing here.

Wonder if anyone knows the following info:

1. If I transfer money out to another bank (account under my own name), how much is the charges?
2. Do I need to keep a minimum balance to avoid charges?
3. Can I close the account all together when I am out of the country?
Thanks for you help.

I have been banking with PC Financials for several years and had no complaints until came accross their cheque rejection policy, particularly in weekends

On Saturday 29OCT11 a cheque was returned as NSF, EFFECTIVE Monday 31OCT11, this is a future-dated rejection, with the consequent $40 NSF Fee.

The explanation from their call centre was that on weekends they process their cheques ahead of time. They offered to reverse the $40 NSF fee, but the cheque had already been returned. I have worked in the banking industry for more than 25years and this is the first time I see a future-dated cheque rejection and NSF fee applied to an account.

Was there enough balance on the account as of 29OCT11? Well, that is the source of the rejection. The money was transferred from the Savings account to the Chequing account on 28OCT11, but at PC Financial the transfers to chequing are effective the next day. So in financial terms and from the customer's point of view, YES there was enough balance to cover the cheque as of 29OCT11, but in real times, the cheque must have been processed earlier than the transfer, even if it was just a second earlier their computer system seems to ignore scheduled INTERNAL transfers before rejecting a cheque. Saddly, this is a defect at PC Financial that creates some serious grief on the customers.

NOTE TO PC FINANCIAL: Please consider reviewing your calculation of available balance before rejecting a cheque, by taking into account the internal 1-day delay on the internal transfers between Savings and Chequing, which is a restricion of your own busines rather than a delay on the customer's side

For this alone I would not bank with them....but add in all the limitations and the fees if you do need something other than a bank card are outrageous.
Like the other guy said, keep your other accounts and use this for shopping - maybe....

https://www.txn.banking.pcfinancial.ca/a/legal/legalBankingPopup.page

if losses occur by telephone or online banking

You will be responsible for all losses regardless of whether or not you authorize someone else to access your account by these means. You will not be responsible for losses which occur after you advise us that:

an unauthorized person may be using your card;

your card has been lost or stolen;

due to circumstances beyond your control, someone else knows or may know your password.

Under this Section, losses from your account may not be limited to your account balance if the account has overdraft protection or a credit limit. You may be liable for the entire amount borrowed, plus interest and charges. Similarly, if you are held responsible for transactions such as fraudulent or worthless deposits, your liability will include (but not be limited to)the amount of the transaction.

I have been banking with PC Financial for 9 of the last 10 years (I moved to Scotiabank for one year in 2008 and then moved back to PC Financial in 2009). I originally moved my chequing account to PC Financial back in 2001 after TD bank merged with Canada Trust and my $5.00 unlimited banking monthly fee climbed to $12.95 and I was not willing to pay that amount of money just to access my money.

To put it into perspective, PC Financial (PCF) is a good choice if prefer to do most of your banking electronically via the internet, Interac and via ATM bank machines. You have access to all of CIBC's bank machines free of charge to deposit and withdraw money and PCF also allows you to hook up other bank accounts in your name to transfer money to and from other Canadian bank accounts (think of how ING Direct does business). You have access to the same types of bill payments that any CIBC customer has and of course free Interac, and free paper unlimited paper cheques.

As you have provided with paper cheques, you can of course setup direct withdrawals and direct deposits as you would with any of the traditional banks (etc. payroll deposit and automatic car payment withdrawal).

Having said the above, one huge electronic glitch with PCF is that they currently do not offer Interac Email money transfer. With many credit unions now offering Interac Email, it is starting to show as a glaring point in PCF's portfolio of services. I have called PCF about this (their main telephone service centre is in New Brunswick and not in India) and they continue to say that they are looking into it, however I personally I believe that CIBC, the bank that PCF piggy backs off of, will not allow PCF to use their Interac Email money transfer service for fear that CIBC customers may leave CIBC to go to PCF, but that is just my personal opinion.

Where PCF shines in in rates. They offer a low standardized borrowing rate for their lines of credits and loans and offer relatively high interest rates on their savings account products, or at least close to par with ING Direct, one of PCF's main internet savings competitors.

I do also have the PCF Mastercard, however have found that I like MBNA's new Smart Cash Mastercard better because you get a full 3% cashback spent in all grocery stores you visit and not just 1% cashback that is offered by the PCF Mastercard.

I had no problem opening up a line of credit with PCF, which you have easy access either via paper cheques, online, or through your Interac card, but it took me almost 2 months to finally secure and receive a draft cheque for a car loan I took out back in 2002. I was told that the delay was due high demand for PCF financial loan products, but I think it was more due to lack of staff.

Although I am renting and do not have a mortgage, I do agree with a previous comment made on this blog that you should also have a pay as you go type account with one of the traditional banks in case of emergencies. I have a Scotiabank savings account hooked up to my PCF account and I can transfer money quickly between the two accounts in about two business days. Although PCF does not offer certified cheques, for a fee they will create and courier to you (at your cost) money orders or send wire transfers.

I am rather surprised to read some of the comments on this blog about people having difficulty with PCF's customer service representatives as I have found PCF's representatives to me much more helpful and knowledgeable then those I have dealt with at Scotiabank.

If you demand face to face contact with people to conduct your banking, then PCF is certainty not the bank for you. Although PCF will say that you can visit a kiosk to talk to a banking representative, don't be fooled, these people are not bank tellers, but rather are sales people with limited banking skills who are there specifically just to open up new accounts and getting existing customers new bank cards as ATM machines eat them up.

One positive change PCF has made recently is that if your Interac debit card is compromised, PCF now will make a phone call to your main phone to inform you that your card has been compromised and that you need to visit a Loblaws kisok to get a new card. This is much better than the embarrassment of trying to use your Interac card in the store to later find out that your card has been locked and you cannot access your money until you visit a Loblaws kiosk.

Now, if only PCF could somehow introduce Interac Email Money Transfers and I would be completely satisfied with their portfolio of services.

I've an account with them and have had no complaints. They did pull my credit when I signed up and granted me fairly reasonable releases on manual deposits.

I still get better service through my credit union, but I like to have a couple different bank accounts just in case.

I bank with them and they have always been good to me. No fees, free checks, and PC points are a winning combo for me!

I bank with them and they're great as long as everything you have is direct deposited I wouldn't want to have to deposit a check as everything gets held. But for basic everyday banking for free you can't beat em.

I have my child tax and GST payments deposited cause that's all I get and when I was working my paycheck was also direct deposited. I've never once had a problem.

I bank with them and they're great as long as everything you have is direct deposited I wouldn't want to have to deposit a check as everything gets held. But for basic everyday banking for free you can't beat em.

I have my child tax and GST payments deposited cause that's all I get and when I was working my paycheck was also direct deposited. I've never once had a problem.

I bank with them and they're great as long as everything you have is direct deposited I wouldn't want to have to deposit a check as everything gets held. But for basic everyday banking for free you can't beat em.

I have my child tax and GST payments deposited cause that's all I get and when I was working my paycheck was also direct deposited. I've never once had a problem.

I bank with them and they're great as long as everything you have is direct deposited I wouldn't want to have to deposit a check as everything gets held. But for basic everyday banking for free you can't beat em.

I have my child tax and GST payments deposited cause that's all I get and when I was working my paycheck was also direct deposited. I've never once had a problem.