Youtube: Warning on PC Financial [Archive]

zoolander

Sep 4th, 2008, 02:50 AM

Guy needs to show his statements blacking out his personal info to show us verification of what he says happened instead of just his rant using his mug and his card.

When he says several companies ask him why he paid when no payments were due AND his utilities did not receive payments, sounds like he was clicking on crack.

I always post date my payments so that I can change my mind after sending them off, otherwise, you cannot reverse a same day payment without fees.

Phoenix88

Sep 4th, 2008, 03:10 AM

I don't believe this guy.

Never happened to me. Plus what utility companies would call you after you missed one payment. Must have already been delinquent on his accounts. Look after your own money don't expect computers to magically balance all yoru finances for you. If there was an error then there was an error. That is what man made things are prone to.

Nice story, no proof = only a story.

joe1487

Sep 4th, 2008, 03:17 AM

Frankie3s

Sep 4th, 2008, 03:17 AM

Never had a problem with PC Financial yet. This guy probably works for ICICI Bank or something.

spf1971

Sep 4th, 2008, 05:01 AM

My question is how many times has a company called you and said "You don't owe us money, why are you paying us?". I've received statements showing a credit but never a phone call.

angiek

Sep 4th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Why is it always the utilities bills get messed up---

Sorry but can't believe him either.

The only time my bills got messed up is when codgeco turned into shaw cable. I kept paying the invoices but nothing was coming off. The second time it happened i called them and had to give the reference numbers I got when I paid my bill online. They matched them up and never had a problem again.

YYZFA

Sep 4th, 2008, 11:28 AM

Honestly, are you guys really so dogmatically loyal to PC Financial that you believe that it couldn't have ever made a mistake with one customer's account? I love the banks I use, but it isn't a huge leap of faith for me to believe that a multi-billion dollar corporation, with thousands of customers executing millions of transactions monthly, had a computer glitch for one customer's transactions. Further, I have difficulty believing that this guy leapt on Youtube to deceive people with no conceivable motive.

Rather than implicitly accusing him of lying, perhaps we should be considering what this story actually means in the greater scheme of things. All banks make mistakes and have technical errors occasionally. I don't see why RBC or Scotiabank would have done any better.

It's not "dogmatic loyalty" speaking when I write this. I'm skeptical of the guy's story. I don't believe he's telling us the whole story. It's true that that there can be an error with the computerized banking system, but he doesn't seem credible to me. Like others have already said, utility companies don't go around phoning customers if one payment is late/missed, or an account was overpaid. Yesterday, I paid my Mastercard bill. I wasn't paying attention, and I almost paid the wrong one. Then I realized what I was doing just before I confirmed the transaction.

I tend to believe that this individual paid the wrong accounts. It's very easy to do, and I've done it in the past.

Barayolayosa

Sep 4th, 2008, 11:36 AM

PCF FTW

There. That's my contribution to this thread.

:D

Cheap Cat

Sep 4th, 2008, 11:47 AM

I once had PC Financial process an online bill payment twice. They were good about acknowledging the mistake but this was many years ago and eventually I got my money back.

Phoenix88

Sep 4th, 2008, 12:24 PM

Honestly, are you guys really so dogmatically loyal to PC Financial that you believe that it couldn't have ever made a mistake with one customer's account? I love the banks I use, but it isn't a huge leap of faith for me to believe that a multi-billion dollar corporation, with thousands of customers executing millions of transactions monthly, had a computer glitch for one customer's transactions. Further, I have difficulty believing that this guy leapt on Youtube to deceive people with no conceivable motive.

Rather than implicitly accusing him of lying, perhaps we should be considering what this story actually means in the greater scheme of things. All banks make mistakes and have technical errors occasionally. I don't see why RBC or Scotiabank would have done any better.

I never said he was lying, I said I don't believe him. There must be truth in his story but there are missing pieces and things are not adding up. In order to believe someone that you don't know I am pretty sure you want to establish some sort of credibility to the viewers. Whether he is lying or not is irrelevant to me since I can form my own opinions of PC Bank. They are what they are cheap banking.

I've worked for some banks before and yes they do make mistakes. They are corrected and everything is fine and dandy. Simple lesson, don't rely on the banks to track all your finances and the utility bill companies to call you when you are 3 payments behind. Grand scheme of things this guy might have been gotten screwed but so far nothing bad has happened to me so why should my opinions change. An error could easily occur with any other the other banks I deal with.

Do you believe everything you hear on TV? CBC said it so it must be true. Even they are wrong sometimes. Maybe he didn't leap on Youtube to spread rumors but something is not adding up.

joe1487

Sep 5th, 2008, 01:55 AM

It's not "dogmatic loyalty" speaking when I write this. I'm skeptical of the guy's story. I don't believe he's telling us the whole story. It's true that that there can be an error with the computerized banking system, but he doesn't seem credible to me. Like others have already said, utility companies don't go around phoning customers if one payment is late/missed, or an account was overpaid. Yesterday, I paid my Mastercard bill. I wasn't paying attention, and I almost paid the wrong one. Then I realized what I was doing just before I confirmed the transaction.

I don't know about you, but I've only personally dealt with a few utility companies in my lifetime. The fact is that none of our experiences are a great enough sample size to extrapolate the conclusion that no utility company offers courtesy calls. I used to work in an Accounts Payable department, and different companies had very different billing processes and notification procedures. Even my billers have different processes regarding missed payments. The idea that one of his utility companies contacted him about a missed payment or overpayment doesn't seem that extraordinary to me. At least, not to an extent where I would doubt his legitimacy. I am even less doubtful of his story given that I have heard a few others (even here on RFD) regarding PCF messing up bill payments.

Besides, none of his story adds up if he'd simply paid the wrong one. Why would the PCF agents not have been able to simply tell him whom he paid, rather than offering him the "error" explanation he cites?

Do you believe everything you hear on TV? CBC said it so it must be true. Even they are wrong sometimes. Maybe he didn't leap on Youtube to spread rumors but something is not adding up.

Sure, I bear an intellectual skepticism toward everything I hear. But I'm not skeptical to the point of obsessively doubting everything. What were the holes in his story that make you doubt his honesty? What didn't "add up" - the fact that his story contradicted your experiences? This doesn't seem surprising to me. If the story had aligned with commonplace experiences, it wouldn't be much of a story.

YYZFA

Sep 5th, 2008, 02:13 AM

I still remain skeptical. I've never had a utility company or any creditor ever call me about a missed payment or extra payment. Granted that doesn't mean it can't happen. My experience is that they contact the customer by letter.

However, it seems to me that the guy in the video just has an axe to grind. If he is making a claim, then he'd be smart to present the evidence (statements, bank records, letters from the creditors, etc.) Oh, I forgot, the creditors didn't mail him letters. They contacted him by phone call, so therefore he wouldn't have any evidence. That's pretty convenient. Honestly, if you're not paying attention, it's easy to make a mistake while paying bills online. I've forgotten to transfer money into the right account or paid the company before. I've been under the impression that a transaction went through, only to realize that I didn't hit the "Confirm" button.

Anyway, I think he's leaving something out about human error for whatever reason he has. I don't really care though. I'm just saying that if I were ever making a claim like his, I'd back up my claims, because without proof, it means nothing.

Phoenix88

Sep 5th, 2008, 05:31 AM

Sure, I bear an intellectual skepticism toward everything I hear. But I'm not skeptical to the point of obsessively doubting everything. What were the holes in his story that make you doubt his honesty? What didn't "add up" - the fact that his story contradicted your experiences? This doesn't seem surprising to me. If the story had aligned with commonplace experiences, it wouldn't be much of a story.

I didn't analyze the his video much but when I was listening a couple things came into mind. First, why did the utility company call him, second there is something weird about his timeline and third the story sounds too scripted with a convenience of no evidence. Not caring too much about his situation I listened to the whole thing and thought could have happened to him but I don't think that he needs to slander PCF therefore I didn't believe him. Just sounds like a bias bitter story which I took in what I wanted and left out what I didn't care about. The thought came into my mind that I do need to monitor if my payments are going through alright but I do that anyways and believe everyone should as well.

You are correct that when I said I don't believe him I sounded like I am calling him a liar but I did not mean it that way. I understand your viewpoint and you sound like a intelligent person. I just didn't take into heart what the video was trying to say. He should have caught it before he recieved a phone call. Monitor your money.

If I were him I would not call PCF my bank after that happened since I have other banks I deal with and would have probably closed down my PCF broken account.

You aren't the guy in the video are you? :lol: J/K

zoolander

Sep 5th, 2008, 05:32 AM

Before I used to post date payments, I once paid Union Energy instead of Union Gas. Did I get a call from UE? No way.

I was told I had to wait a year before getting my initial $250 Union Gas deposit back. 14 months in, did I ever get a call? You guessed it.
In fact, if I hadn't remembered, I wonder if anyone would have mentioned it, and whether I would have gotten it back with interest if I ever cancelled (yeah right).

Who else wants to donate to this test?

Not trying to give any props for PC but the youtube guy needs to show proof. What utility calls you when you have a credit showing on your account???

Once I got a Rogers bill for 2x the amount and thought what the youtube guy did.
Turns out Ted is a jerk that payment due is later than "payments made after xxxx will not be reflected in this invoice" or something to that affect.
So to prevent this, pay earlier than when its due before the next bill is sent out?... yeah, whatever.

peterpatch

Sep 5th, 2008, 07:12 AM

If I were this guy I would state my full name at the outset of the youtube video and link back to the documents/ evidence on my personal website. This would eliminate any suspicion of him being a fake or distorting information.

If you are going to put your face up for the world to see and make these types of statements then you had better do it in a way that fully discloses who you are and what your facts are. He is probably afraid of identity theft but if he is going to get into a conflict with a big corporation then he will have to take reasonable risks. Unfortunately he has left the possibility that he is a fake on the table and has thus ruined the manifest intention of his video.

myapple

Sep 5th, 2008, 02:43 PM

I had a similar problem before with PCF's online payments. maybe I was just part of a small number of unlucky people affected by their buggy system, but really....it shouldn't have happened at all. That is why I don't use PCF anymore.

tmms

Sep 5th, 2008, 11:07 PM

I still remain skeptical. I've never had a utility company or any creditor ever call me about a missed payment or extra payment. Granted that doesn't mean it can't happen. My experience is that they contact the customer by letter.

Live experiences here:

Several years ago I mistakenly paid my hydro bill twice.

A few days later my hydro company did =call= me, informed me about the two payments, and asked if I prefer to get money back in the form of a cheque, or get it credited towards my next hydro bill.

So, yes, calls do happen.

On the other hand, at another time the same hydro company changed something in their billing system, and the resulting due date was 2 weeks before usual date. I didn't notice the change (my oversight) and didn't sent them a payment on time.

At that time, they sent me a =letter=, 7 days after my due date.

So, different method here :)

YMMV :)

.tmms

Caillo

Sep 6th, 2008, 01:57 AM

Live experiences here:

Several years ago I mistakenly paid my hydro bill twice.

A few days later my hydro company did =call= me, informed me about the two payments, and asked if I prefer to get money back in the form of a cheque, or get it credited towards my next hydro bill.

So, yes, calls do happen.

On the other hand, at another time the same hydro company changed something in their billing system, and the resulting due date was 2 weeks before usual date. I didn't notice the change (my oversight) and didn't sent them a payment on time.

At that time, they sent me a =letter=, 7 days after my due date.

So, different method here :)

YMMV :)

.tmms

While I don't deny your story, it is probably the exception and not the norm for ANY company to do this.

I too am very skeptical about the video since the individual claims he was getting all kinds of calls due to over payments. While possible, this is VERY unlikely to occur. If you over pay any bill, companies will be happy that they have secured a future payment early on and will simply credit your account (credit cards do this all the time). There's little incentive for them to contact you and give you a refund (in fact, this would actually cost them money, both in time and transaction fees).

This guy is probably just another RBC, TD or Scotia employee bitter that his branch is going down the tubes because too many people are switching over to virtual banks, such as PC. This seems like a more probable explanation then mysterious overpayments being sent out to companies who are actually going out of their way to let you know you are giving them too much money. :rolleyes:

brunes

Sep 6th, 2008, 06:44 AM

Not trying to give any props for PC but the youtube guy needs to show proof. What utility calls you when you have a credit showing on your account???

+1. In fact many people pay their accounts into credit on purpose, there is nothing at all wrong with this, just not the smartest practice since you don't get interest on that credit.

Back in the days before EMT and before everyone had paypal, this is how I electronically used to "send money" to people. I would just use PCF online banking to pay their power bill or some other utility into a credit position.

Pavel

Sep 8th, 2008, 12:49 AM

angiek

Sep 8th, 2008, 01:02 AM

There's a problem this weekend about transfers not being reflected in your account. Right now, I am in the minus. I am glad I have overdraft.

The PC rep said (hopefully) the situation will be rectified by morning. However, they've been busy with angry customers calling about their accounts not having the funds properly transferred.

I am glad I did my transfer early Friday. No problems.

Phoenix88

Sep 8th, 2008, 02:13 AM

mymeowcat

Sep 8th, 2008, 02:21 AM

There's a problem this weekend about transfers not being reflected in your account. Right now, I am in the minus. I am glad I have overdraft.

The PC rep said (hopefully) the situation will be rectified by morning. However, they've been busy with angry customers calling about their accounts not having the funds properly transferred.

You mean to say the system is not automated:confused:

This means you have to proof-read for a data-entry operator's work and mak sure they don't make any typos??

myapple

Sep 8th, 2008, 10:25 AM

God that sucks. Time for a new bank?
Definitely. No free chequing account is worth this kind of hassle.

Jacklad

Sep 8th, 2008, 12:42 PM

I am glad I did my transfer early Friday. No problems.

Paid bills on Friday and Saturday; no problem. Transferred funds from chequing account #1 to chequing account #2 on Saturday; no problems. Transferred money from chequing account #1 to high-interest savings on Sunday; no problems.

I download the transactions after every session, so I know they were recorded and available for download at the time. Whatever the problem was, it must have been short-lived or transient.

Jacklad

Sep 8th, 2008, 12:44 PM

Definitely. No free chequing account is worth this kind of hassle.

<Laugh> I'll keep the thousands I've saved/made on PCF, thanks.

Only ever had problems once - couldn't log on at all (so I did it by phone). Mind you, I've had the same trouble with most of my financial accounts at one time or another.

myapple

Sep 8th, 2008, 02:58 PM

<Laugh> I'll keep the thousands I've saved/made on PCF, thanks.

Only ever had problems once - couldn't log on at all (so I did it by phone). Mind you, I've had the same trouble with most of my financial accounts at one time or another.
Since you're someone that doesn't value service/quality and is only concerned with the bottom line, perhaps you should consider ICICI bank and their amazing rates on their no fee accounts. I hear they're great! <LAUGH>

mornhavon

Sep 8th, 2008, 04:24 PM

Since you're someone that doesn't value service/quality and is only concerned with the bottom line, perhaps you should consider ICICI bank and their amazing rates on their no fee accounts. I hear they're great! <LAUGH>

Why do you assume he doesn't value service/quality? He just said he'd never had problems (apart from one minor setback), wouldn't that imply GOOD service & quality from PCF? I've been with PCF for a few years and have absolutely no complaints. I've actually had fewer issues with PCF than I've had with my B&M bank.

That being said, there was one instance that I had forgotten to click OK on a payment confirmation page, and once that I nearly paid the wrong company because I wasn't paying attention. I caught both before they were an issue, but I suspect that's what happens for a number of those complaining (not all, any bank will have SOME issues)

As for ICICI, that's not a fair comparison by any stretch of the imagination.

Jacklad

Sep 8th, 2008, 04:25 PM

Since you're someone that doesn't value service/quality and is only concerned with the bottom line, perhaps you should consider ICICI bank and their amazing rates on their no fee accounts. I hear they're great! <LAUGH>

Oooh, a little ad hominem? I absolutely value service/quality. That's why I'm no longer with BMO, for example. :cheesygri

And if PCF ever screws me over, I'll walk. Not only haven't they done that, but they've made a difference of thousands of dollars to my bottom line. I do value that.

As for ICICI? The rates are actually better on the PC chequing accounts for the amount that I keep liquid. For savings? I generally only keep my immediate emergency fund in a savings account, and it's easier to keep it where I can transfer easily to chequing if the roof caves in (literally).

Pavel

Sep 8th, 2008, 07:36 PM

Paid bills on Friday and Saturday; no problem. Transferred funds from chequing account #1 to chequing account #2 on Saturday; no problems. Transferred money from chequing account #1 to high-interest savings on Sunday; no problems.
The issue has been when you post date your transactions. The only way to check is to log into your account a few days before your expected transfer date and see if the transfer is pending.

Pavel

Dec 7th, 2008, 03:24 PM

I just had ANOTHER problem with PC Financial.

I went and closed an old never used Chequing account. I went today to check the status of one of my post dated transfers/bill payments. I found that it was not there (not unusual with PC). I then redid the entire setup to Amex.

I then decided to check my other post dated transactions that I had setup. I found that ALL my post dated transactions on my other accounts (savings and chequing) was also wiped out. One of the transactions was my car payment that I set up many years ago.

I went on the phone with PC Financial. The CSR there said she's heard of this happening. She's not sure why as they have never been given a good explanation, but she said that the transactions are not based on account number per se, but the sequence of accounts. When the other account was deleted, the sequence for the other accounts had changed and wiped all my future dated transactions. Nice job PC!

CSIFan29

Dec 7th, 2008, 03:36 PM

I never had a problem with PC, but I am switching to Citizen's with the $50 bonus offer + free ABM fees in savings account (in case I need to take out cash somewhere) + drive thru BMO near my house (the CIBC parking lot is brutal too).

I also got a higher limit for deposit holds (can deposit $2500 without a hold), but by no means was PC messy in anyway.

potato

Dec 7th, 2008, 04:02 PM

Jucius Maximus

Dec 7th, 2008, 04:51 PM

Been using PC since 2001 paying dozens of bills every year and I have never had a problem with a payment disappearing.

angel_wing0

Dec 7th, 2008, 07:03 PM

I never had a problem with PC, but I am switching to Citizen's with the $50 bonus offer + free ABM fees in savings account (in case I need to take out cash somewhere) + drive thru BMO near my house (the CIBC parking lot is brutal too).

only hsbc can use bmo atms for free + unlimited, not citizens.

chris103610

Dec 7th, 2008, 07:20 PM

Never had a problem with PC Financial yet. This guy probably works for ICICI Bank or something.

he isn't brown?

Pavel

Dec 7th, 2008, 09:19 PM

Since Dec. 2000.
10+ bills a month.
That is 850 bill payments, not ever a problem.

I would say if you have issues, at least 50% your fault.
Mistakes happen when you do things out of the ordinary, or rush it.
It is easy to blame others for your inadequacies.

Yeah, I guess PC acknowledging that there's a problem with their system constitutes a 50% blame on part of the customer's. Nice logic.
Some people like to live in denial. You must work in customer service where you're trained in blaming the customer. ;)

potato

Dec 7th, 2008, 09:42 PM

Yep, we take some of the blame because we realized most of our loser customers can never admit they are wrong.

So we pretend to take some blame and make them happy.;)

angel_wing0

Dec 7th, 2008, 09:59 PM

Yep, we take some of the blame because we realized most of our loser customers can never admit they are wrong.

So we pretend to take some blame and make them happy.;)

well the customers are "ALWAYS RIGHT" after all...:lol:

To pavel, i think they really screwed up your account. Close it and open another one there. That's what i did before when the rep used my middle name and gave me lousy hold limits...

Pavel

Dec 7th, 2008, 11:35 PM

To pavel, i think they really screwed up your account. Close it and open another one there. That's what i did before when the rep used my middle name and gave me lousy hold limits...
I agree, I think the account is messed up. I had PC financial for more than 8 years. It'll take a lot of rebuilding especially since I have a lot of preauthorized debits and credits going in there.

I've started documenting everything and if I have any more issues, I'll have no choice but to close the account. What a pain. However, it's somehwhat comforting to know that even though most people's accounts are fine, I was told that some people have the problems I've experienced, including non posted transfers and payments. They (PC) know this happens because the customers have the transaction codes and when doing a trace, the customer did everything properly. They end up reversing the charges and encourage everyone to have overdraft protection.

Phoenix88

Dec 8th, 2008, 02:47 AM

Yeah, I guess PC acknowledging that there's a problem with their system constitutes a 50% blame on part of the customer's. Nice logic.
Some people like to live in denial. You must work in customer service where you're trained in blaming the customer. ;)

It sounds like something did happen to your account. Hard for someone that hasn't had anything bad happen to their account think it could be the banks error. Even so... free account = minimal service... and reps that are not empowered to do much... free does have a real cost.

I make sure to monitor my account daily if I can. I have always had good things... other than hard to get credit from these guys. I have a bit... but not as much as I would like. Good thing, no holds on - use to be 10k deposits but now only 5k which seems to be their max. The lack of customer service does make me want to switch but free is just such a great deal!

bluedcfive

Dec 8th, 2008, 12:03 PM

You get what you pay for. PC financial is a sub standard operation. Yes, there are no bank fees but the second you need something out of the ordinary, you pay a high user fee, or wait a long time for their poor and incompetent customer service people to come through. I personally will not take those risks with my financial services.

tng11

Dec 8th, 2008, 12:08 PM

You can't just PCF alone and you do need a backup brick and mortar bank account just in case anything goes haywire with PCF. PCF's a great solution for people who have to pay tens of dollars a month for transactions and all they do are some ATM withdrawals, debit and write a few cheques- it won't cost you a dime. But if you need to use a teller for money orders, large cash withdrawals then you do need a brick and mortar bank account for activities like that. Hook it up to PCF and you've got the best of both worlds. Not to mention PCF has a good rate on their savings account. Their customer service sucks but if you're only using automated channels, you're calling them maybe once or twice a year. They also have a habit of being Scrooge when it comes to ATM hold limits and overdraft limits.

It's not for everyone, but for your average person it's a great way to bank. Mind you it's not my main account (CIBC and RBC take priority over PCF)