Your experience with Presidents Choice Financial

[Newbieinvestor]

Anyone have any experiences to share?

They seem to have a good repuation.

[angel_wing0]

...been nothing but great.

[tng11]

Some days I'll say great and some days I think it sucks. My biggest peeve is the holds on deposits and random Mastercard denials. Customer service can also take ages to pick up. It's a great option if you don't want to get raped by bank fees and aren't as lucky as me to be a student. :D None of those options up there fit my choice- I wouldn't say "Excellent" but "Good" as I disagree with "Nothing Special".

[Hairball]

It's been decent so far, I have a Mastercard and the savings account with them. One time my bank card died, and I got a new one without too much problem at the nearest Pavilion.

However I keep another bank account (at TD Canada Trust) around just so I can have some teller services if need be. I rarely need it, but sometimes you just do, and it's good to have that option.

[angiek]

I have been with them for 10 years and they have worked through each problem with me. I haven't needed customer service for years so I can't say how they are now in that area.
In the last few years they haven't held the highest savings rate,(or at least I thought their rate was the highest and never looked anywhere else) but I found a bank that does.
As for new clients, it is alot harder to get the limits up. If I started to use PC today as a new client I don't think I would stay them. A $200.00 limit would just be too little for my needs.
I have 2 kids and one is with PC and they other one found it too restrictive on the limits-- so she went with CIBC.

[83_gemini]

Fine for everyday banking, and other basic services (I use them for tenant's insurance too, for instance) but I'd be hesitant to use them as my bankers, if you get my drift. You ultimately get what you pay for in terms for substantive service.

[Jucius Maximus]

It's for cheapskates... :lol:

Been using PCF since 2001. The main thing that bothers me is that if you set up an automatic payment to be pushed out to some other payee, and then your account does not have enough money, it generates a $35.00 NSF.

Now if it was pre-authorized and some payee was not able to pull money from the account, that's a different story. But my own efforts to push or transfer money should not result in NSF.

I would not use PCF alone, I also have an RBC acct so I can use teller services.

[Newbieinvestor]

What type of offers/perks have they offered to those in a 'relationship' with them?

[Hairball]

What type of offers/perks have they offered to those in a 'relationship' with them?

Not really anything. That's what you get by not paying any fees. It's great until you have a need to use a service that their ATMs can't provide.

However probably for 95% of my banking it's adequate which is why I have an account with them.

[divx]

PC Debit card is good, free chequeing is also nice

[UrbanPoet]

I hate PCF.
All other banks have instant transfers. B/c of their 1 day delay I had a NSF...
Because of that NSF they wouldnt let me raise my measily $200/day withdrawl limit...
For some reason all my deposits (including cash) would be held for 7 business days.

[spintheblackcircle]

I've been with PCF for 3 months, no issues. I opened 4 products with them all on the same day (chequing, savings, LOC, and MC). I was given a $500 daily limit and I think they held my initial deposit ($5k from TD as "starter money") for 5 days. Beyond that I have never deposited a cheque or if I have there was no issue with needing that money right away.

Auto deposit pay cheque, bill payments, linked accounts with TD, no issues.

Maybe it has something to do with your income/credit rating for holds on funds/limits initially. When I opened my account, the rep. said they like to look at your activity for 6 months before "negotiating" any account details (holds and limits I guess). It doesn't matter, I doubt I would be changing it anyway. I believe the LOC doesn't have a daily limit, and even if it does and I really need thousands of dollars in cash at a moments notice (not from a CC), I have a LOC with TD.

I finally closed my chequing account with TD today. There has been no activity on it for 2 months (besides the $8.95 fee). I use PC exclusively for banking now (keeping some credit products with TD) for day to day banking. I have no need for "non-standard" banking.

[nuberific]

I've been with them for about 2 years now. The customer service is pretty helpful, but the biggest issue I have with then is the 1 day hold from transferring money from the savings to chequeing accounts (12:00am is the cutoff). Then when the money does transfer, it usually happens between 8:00am-10:00am. This sometimes causes problems with my bill payments and I've been hit with NSF for this - although the reps will likely reverse it, it's a hassle and delays your ability to increase your deposit hold period.

I had no credit history when I opened my account so they have me a 5 business day hold on all my deposits. After 6 months of continuous use (direct deposit, or some other measure) and no NSFs (even if it's reversed, your 6 month period resets) then they bumped me up to the next level where only $100 of my deposit goes through right away and the rest is held for 5 business days. It slowly moves up like this and it's quite frustrating to be honest. I think I'm at $200 right now and the next level is $500 but it got butched from another stupid transfer NSF.

I applied for Citizen's bank account and they gave me $5000 instant deposit with the rest held for 5 days. They also have instant transfers from saving to chequeing accounts. I haven't completed opening my account yet but I have hgher expectations from them.

[azn-trini]

It's for cheapskates... :lol:

Been using PCF since 2001. The main thing that bothers me is that if you set up an automatic payment to be pushed out to some other payee, and then your account does not have enough money, it generates a $35.00 NSF.

Now if it was pre-authorized and some payee was not able to pull money from the account, that's a different story. But my own efforts to push or transfer money should not result in NSF.

I would not use PCF alone, I also have an RBC acct so I can use teller services.

NSF fee is $40.00 now. Got hit with one.. so stupid

[angel_wing0]

It's for cheapskates... :lol:

why is free banking for cheapskates? i think its only right for us to be able to use no fee banking since we are the ones providing the bank with money to play around with.

[larian]

I hate PCF.
All other banks have instant transfers. B/c of their 1 day delay I had a NSF...
Because of that NSF they wouldnt let me raise my measily $200/day withdrawl limit...
For some reason all my deposits (including cash) would be held for 7 business days.

are you serious? when i signed up, the withdrawal limit was at $500

and ive never had the 7 day problem.

you really need to call them up and ask.

[Jucius Maximus]

I hate PCF.
All other banks have instant transfers. B/c of their 1 day delay I had a NSF...
Because of that NSF they wouldnt let me raise my measily $200/day withdrawl limit...
For some reason all my deposits (including cash) would be held for 7 business days.

You can phone them up and do an instant transfer if you really need it...

[UrbanPoet]

are you serious? when i signed up, the withdrawal limit was at $500

and ive never had the 7 day problem.

you really need to call them up and ask.

Too late... I stopped banking with them a long time ago.
Free banking isnt worth those types of head aches...
They wouldnt let me raise my limit b/c of the NSF's... so I was gonna be stuck @ $200/day for a LONG time...

You can phone them up and do an instant transfer if you really need it...

They shoulda told me that when I complained about the NSF fees...

[OnceAThief]

I have a chequing, a savings, a line of credit and a mortgage with PCF. I love them. Never had any problems with customer service and i saved so much money on fees. Absolutely love banking with them.

I'll be getting a TFSA with them too.

[spintheblackcircle]

Opening a LOC basically dissolves any of the issues that people seem to have with PCF (i.e. NSF and initial daily limit issues).

The interest accrued will be negligible as long as payments are made soon after. The convenience and "safety net" a LOC provides is well worth it.

All of my automatic regular major monthly expenses are never paid and managed through my chequing account.

Rogers is PCMC.
Rent, car, and insurance are paid through LOC.

I know roughly when they are taken out (within a day or 2) and simply manually transfer over the funds when it's on the account. The interest is basically nil, and none of this transferring money in and out of chequing/savings accounts and worrying about potential NSF. You can also set it up to pay the LOC automatically from your high interest savings account. I don't because I like looking at my accounts several times a month.

Meh, this whole pay management in/out of savings to chequing to pay bills and stressing over NSF isn't worth it. LOC all the way.

[i6s1]

NSF sucks but all banks have them.

PC's been fine for me. If I've saved $10/month on fees since 2003... $600. That's almost as good as switching to a Mac.

[Newbieinvestor]

Opening a LOC basically dissolves any of the issues that people seem to have with PCF (i.e. NSF and initial daily limit issues).

The interest accrued will be negligible as long as payments are made soon after. The convenience and "safety net" a LOC provides is well worth it.

All of my automatic regular major monthly expenses are never paid and managed through my chequing account.

Rogers is PCMC.
Rent, car, and insurance are paid through LOC.

I know roughly when they are taken out (within a day or 2) and simply manually transfer over the funds when it's on the account. The interest is basically nil, and none of this transferring money in and out of chequing/savings accounts and worrying about potential NSF. You can also set it up to pay the LOC automatically from your high interest savings account. I don't because I like looking at my accounts several times a month.

Meh, this whole pay management in/out of savings to chequing to pay bills and stressing over NSF isn't worth it. LOC all the way.
How do you set up an LOC with them? All online?

[spintheblackcircle]

How do you set up an LOC with them? All online?

No idea, I set up all my initial stuff with PCF in person. I believe to open an account initially (regardless of how you do it or type of account) requires you to show proof of ID at a pavilion. After you have an account/history I assume you can open certain accounts online only. Again for the LOC generally they require proof of income (recent pay stub or whatever).

Setting it up in person also makes it available to you essentially that day. I would just go in person since you will have to go eventually anyway. My PCMC I set up online and did not have to do anything in person.

Honestly I was with TD for 25 years (and still have some credit accounts with them). I had no issues with them, but for day to day, uncomplicated banking, I like PCF.

EDIT - Before it is asked, the process for the 3 accounts took ~30 mins or so at the pavilion. I deposited $5k that same day, had access to $500 and full access to the LOC.

[screwdriver223]

I've also been very happy with them. I was one of their first customers, so my withdrawal and hold limits have always been quite generous. Definitely would recommend them.

[Jucius Maximus]

How do you set up an LOC with them? All online?

I did my PCF LOC over the phone.

[tng11]

Remember you always get what you pay for. PCF still refuses to raise my withdrawal/deposit hold limits after 2 years with absolutely no NSFs and a consistent $1X,XXX balance, while CIBC has removed all deposit holds and RBC over $3,000 gets held (but the branch will release 10K cheques for me). What I don't get is why PCF holds cash too as some banks will release it right away when its verified (TD releases cash instantly when verified). It's not really a substitute for full-service banking and needs to be backed up with a Big 5 account.

[svelten]

I do a lot of banking and I'd like to think I'm quite organized with my money in terms of moving money from one place to another. My experience with PCF has been "lukewarm" because of their upsides and downsides.

Worst of which has already been mentioned - their slow transfers have costed me 4 NSFs (over $120!) due to the erratic timing of some of the pre-authorized withdrawals from my accounts over the past couple of years - all of them happening on the same day that the money was transferred back into the account. I've since learned to just leave a bunch of money there for protection because I can't rely on their timing. I do the same amount of transactions at other banks and I've NEVER been hit with these. I rationalize it's their way of making money to cover for their other conveniences.

On the pros side, the best thing are their free cheques. With the amount of cheques I write that saves me a couple of books of them already - around $60. Next is the relatively high interest rate, which doesn't matter much but might amount to another $20 a year for me. Finally is the convenience of the bill payee list - they seem to have more than my RBC or HSBC accounts do.

Aggregate the pros and the cons together and I'll say it's a okay bank, but nothing for me to write home about. There are probably better alternatives but I haven't looked around.

[angel_wing0]

Remember you always get what you pay for. PCF still refuses to raise my withdrawal/deposit hold limits after 2 years with absolutely no NSFs and a consistent $1X,XXX balance, while CIBC has removed all deposit holds and RBC over $3,000 gets held (but the branch will release 10K cheques for me). What I don't get is why PCF holds cash too as some banks will release it right away when its verified (TD releases cash instantly when verified). It's not really a substitute for full-service banking and needs to be backed up with a Big 5 account.

pcf's max hold limit is $5000...they cant give u anything beyond that no matter how good u are...or so the supervisor told me.

[tng11]

pcf's max hold limit is $5000...they cant give u anything beyond that no matter how good u are...or so the supervisor told me.

I wouldn't mind if they gave me even $500. They are giving me a very generous $0 release limit and I just tried again with no luck. :evil: My credit isn't that bad!

[Newbieinvestor]

I did my PCF LOC over the phone.

How? Did they already have your credit score? How did you get them proof of income?

[Jucius Maximus]

How? Did they already have your credit score? How did you get them proof of income?

They did run the credit score while I was on the phone. I think I had already sent them proof of income a while back due to a mortgage application so they probably still had it on file.

[Newbieinvestor]

They did run the credit score while I was on the phone. I think I had already sent them proof of income a while back due to a mortgage application so they probably still had it on file.
What did they need for proof of income? A pay stub, or were they willing to look at other types?

[Jucius Maximus]

What did they need for proof of income? A pay stub, or were they willing to look at other types?
Earlier on I had faxed in an ADP stub.

[AllWheelDrift]

You can phone them up and do an instant transfer if you really need it...
I tried that, the CSR told me he couldn't do that. He then put me on hold and talked to his supervisor and said even he couldn't do that but they could temporarily raise my overdraft.

[Jucius Maximus]

I tried that, the CSR told me he couldn't do that. He then put me on hold and talked to his supervisor and said even he couldn't do that but they could temporarily raise my overdraft.

I guess their policy has changed. Other people on this forum have reported that they did it.