RBC agent pushes unnecessary chequing account on customer, comments on his accent

Hardik Patel knew one thing wasn’t proper when a Royal Financial institution customer support agent instructed him there was just one method he might entry his on-line RRSP account — he’d must open a chequing account, with month-to-month charges.

He knew that wasn’t true. Patel, who immigrated to Toronto from India 4 years in the past, had already accessed his RRSP many occasions.

Annoyed that he was being bought a product he did not want, he requested to talk with a supervisor.

Patel needed assurances that RBC employees would not attempt to upsell another person, and in addition objected to a comment the agent had made about his accent. 

“They have been pushing me to purchase one thing I did not want,” he instructed Go Public. 

WATCH | Canada’s massive banks extra prone to upsell racialized clients, report suggests: 

Canada’s massive banks extra prone to upsell racialized clients, report suggests | Go Public

A Royal Financial institution buyer says he was pressured into signing up for a chequing account he didn’t want. His expertise mirrors the findings of a report on Canada’s massive six banks after Go Public uncovered high-pressure environments resulting in inappropriate gross sales.

Patel’s expertise mirrors some findings of a recent report, years within the making, from the Monetary Client Company of Canada (FCAC) which suggests racialized financial institution clients are extra usually pitched inappropriate monetary merchandise.

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The report was prompted partly by a Go Public investigation into high-pressure gross sales ways inside the massive banks.

5 years in the past, within the wake of a narrative that includes three TD Financial institution workers who spoke about what they felt was unethical sales pressure, greater than 3,000 present and former workers at Canada’s largest banks instructed Go Public they, too, were under immense pressure to promote services that folks did not want and infrequently could not afford.

They described feeling determined to satisfy ever-increasing gross sales targets and being beneath stress to extend clients’ strains of credit score, push bank cards with excessive annual charges and secretly open chequing accounts for purchasers, amongst different issues.

The FCAC carried out a nationwide evaluate in 2018, which discovered a give attention to gross sales targets was growing the danger of banks inserting gross sales forward of the pursuits of consumers.

It then employed a personal firm to ship thriller customers into 712 branches of the massive six banks in each province on the finish of 2019.

The ensuing report says they examined how frontline workers at Financial institution of Montreal, CIBC, Scotiabank, Nationwide, TD Financial institution and RBC promote services, and located “regarding” experiences involving inappropriate suggestions, pointless product pitches and complicated communication. 

“The thriller procuring train revealed gross sales experiences that increase issues,” mentioned Judith Robertson, commissioner of the FCAC in a information launch. 

An professional in enterprise and economics says she’s heartened the banking watchdog detected these purple flags.

“They’ve each proper to be involved about this sort of gross sales tradition,” mentioned Caroline Shenaz Hossein, an affiliate professor of worldwide growth on the College of Toronto Scarborough.

The report additionally says undercover customers who recognized as racialized or Indigenous have been extra usually pitched monetary merchandise that have been inappropriate and skilled unsolicited product pitches.

“This isn’t a surprising shock to anybody who has been following the information,” mentioned Shenaz Hossein. 

“There may be … systemic racism occurring in Canada’s business banking system.”

Pushed ‘premium’ bank cards

Throughout Go Public’s investigation in 2017, all the massive banks repeatedly denied they used high-pressure gross sales ways and mentioned that clients at all times got here first.

However the thriller shopper investigation discovered that just about a 3rd of all bank card suggestions have been for “premium” bank cards — which regularly have hefty annual charges and sometimes require a minimal particular person or family revenue.

But in 80 per cent of instances, financial institution employees selling them by no means requested customers about their revenue.

Questions on spending habits have been few and much between, too. Solely 16 per cent of workers who really helpful a premium card requested a few shopper’s spending habits, mentioned the report.

In response to Shenaz Hossein, that is as a result of these particulars would have an effect on an worker’s means to push a sale, ought to they uncover the person is not candidate for the product.

“As soon as they go down that line, then they’ve the duty to not supply these product strains,” she mentioned.

FCAC says within the report banks “have a duty to make sure frontline employees … make suggestions that meet shoppers’ wants.”

Gross sales targets and incentives “shouldn’t battle with these targets,” it mentioned. 

‘Promote, promote, promote’

Undercover customers who recognized as racialized or Indigenous have been provided overdraft safety, which entails month-to-month charges and accrues curiosity, at almost twice the speed as different customers.

They have been additionally greater than 3 times as prone to be provided steadiness safety insurance coverage — which covers the minimal month-to-month cost on a card’s excellent steadiness, however which comes with high fees and so many exclusions it is usually tough to make a declare. 

Financial institution workers are “making this assumption that Black, racialized and Indigenous individuals are extra prone to default or overextend themselves,” mentioned Shenaz Hossein.

The regulator thought-about the findings troublesome, too, saying within the report that “extra might be completed by banks to make sure that the demographic teams at greater threat are shielded from experiencing regarding gross sales practices.” 

The report additionally says banks have a duty “to make sure frontline employees are successfully educated,” citing cases when workers lacked the correct data to cope with customers.

Shenaz Hossein says that wrongly places the blame on the employees.

“What [the FCAC] ought to be occupied with is … why is it that there’s a lot stress for them to promote, promote, promote, that it really compromises the financial institution’s integrity and dedication to taking good care of the monetary well being of Canadians?” mentioned Shenaz Hossein. 

She research and advocates for banking alternate options equivalent to credit score unions, which might be member-owned and never mandated to make a revenue. 

WATCH | Economics professional discusses various banking choices: 

An alternate banking possibility

Caroline Shenaz Hossein, an professional in enterprise and economics, on why she says business financial institution tradition will probably be onerous to alter — and the place Canadians might flip as a substitute.

The findings additionally didn’t shock Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, a non-profit citizen advocacy group that focuses on authorities and company accountability.

“The FCAC might have found [racial discrimination] 20 years in the past if they’d completed a thriller shopper survey,” he mentioned.

He notes U.S. banks have tracked racial discrimination for years.

“For 40 years they’ve required banks to trace and disclose their service lending and funding data by race, gender, revenue stage and neighbourhood, and disclose the information, which proves discrimination many times,” he mentioned.

“They’re required to take corrective motion. And we [Canada] are a long time behind.”

The Canadian Bankers Affiliation didn’t reply to Go Public’s questions in regards to the survey’s findings, however in a statement mentioned banks have “a deep dedication to excessive moral requirements” and have labored onerous to earn the arrogance of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

Agent’s comment ‘inappropriate’

Patel escalated his grievance at RBC which confirmed, in a letter, he shouldn’t have been instructed he needed to open a brand new chequing account and that “acceptable teaching” had since taken place.

“I believe they need to have mentioned extra about what they’re going to do to stop this from taking place to another person,” mentioned Patel.

The letter additionally mentioned that administration had reviewed his name with customer support and decided that the agent’s remark relating to Patel’s accent “was inappropriate.”

RBC mentioned it regretted the incident and that “correct measures” had been taken to stop something related sooner or later — however did not spell out these measures.

“What [the RBC agent] mentioned was racist,” mentioned Patel. “I would like this to cease. So inform me what actions you are going to take to ensure extra individuals do not get handled this manner.”

Dissatisfied, Patel filed a grievance with the Human Rights Fee. Final month, he and RBC reached a settlement earlier than his case was heard.

He isn’t permitted to debate the main points or touch upon what occurred, as a result of the financial institution required that he signal a non-disclosure settlement.

In a latest statement to Go Public, an RBC spokesperson mentioned, “Discrimination — in any kind — is towards all the pieces we stand for and isn’t tolerated.”

It additionally mentioned that the financial institution continues to offer worker coaching “to deepen consciousness of the ideas of variety, bias and racism.”