So folks, earlier this week, I got a letter from Royal Bank telling me that it was going to cost me $14 a month to keep my money in their bank and be able to access it when I want. I have been a customer at that bank since the 1980’s. Hell, my account got opened when the Mountain Rd branch was where “Miss Cue” is today. That’s how long I’ve been a customer. More than 20 years. But the fact is, Tamara has her accounts at PC Financial and they don’t charge fees. Same services, no fees. At $14 a pop, I’m done with RBC.
I decided that even though I know the bank won’t care, I’m sending both the head office, as well as the local branch, a letter to talk about how a long time customer has just had enough with being gouged with fees. Click on to read my letter.
To whom it may concern,
My name is Matthew Klem and I have been a loyal customer of Royal Bank since before I was even a teenager. As I recall, sometime in junior high school (late 1980’s) my parents opened up a bank account for me at the local Royal Bank here in Moncton. I have since been a loyal customer of that branch ever since then. For more than twenty years, I have put my money into Royal Bank, and even used a Royal Bank Visa for awhile. I have never taken out any loans or mortgages with you but just used your bank like many people do; a place to safely store my money. My pay gets put in there, and like everyone else, I withdraw money, and do a bunch of debit transactions every month. I’m no investor. I’m just a regular working guy like most people.
I always stuck with Royal Bank because I liked the service, and for the longest time, your ATM machines were the only ones that gave out $5 bills which was very convenient. When the internet came along, you were one of the first ones to do online bill payments, and I really loved the interface you had on the web. All of these great things kept me a customer of yours all these years. However, over the last few years, things have changed.
Several years ago, your ATM machines stopped carrying $5 bills. This was a major disappointment to me as I really do not like taking out $20 when I only need a little cash for a snack. But, I sort of expected that this would happen since most other ATM’s did the same thing and I suspect that the machines are harder to maintain or something like that. Also, I saw my fees gradually grow and grow and grow. When I got married a few years ago, my wife asked me why I kept my money in a bank that charged fees to hold it. I told her that I was fine paying the fees because I got great service, and had very few issues with the bank.
However, that has now ended. Tomorrow (February 29th) I will be going into the local Royal Bank in Moncton (the same one I had my account opened at 20 some odd years ago) and I will be withdrawing all of my money, closing the account, and will never look back. I received a letter this week that told me my fees for my bank account were going to be raised to $13.95 a month. Fourteen dollars a month, just to hold my money, and let me take it out when I want to. I am moving all of my funds to PC Financial where there are no fees for anything. My wife and I also have a mortgage with them.
I understand that banks feel the need to charge this “fee” for usage, but the fact is, a bank like PC Financial doesn’t charge anything and they do fine. There are plenty of banks out there that have no fees and they do so as well. I know that RBC would likely justify the fees to “cover the increasing costs of services we provide our customers”. The fact is, RBC doesn’t make money on deposits and holding money in an account. They make money from loans, mortgages, investments, etc. Those major pieces could easily cover the costs of extra services. Besides, a lot of no-fee banks have the same services but they can easily afford to not charge fees. Why is that? They have staff, buildings, services, and most of what you have, and they do just fine.
For me, the moment I saw that it was going to cost me $14 a month just to let my money be deposited and then withdrawn later, I knew that the time had come when RBC had become just a little too greedy. There is absolutely no reason why the fees should be that high. I would have no problem paying out $5 a month to access my money, but not $14.
It truly saddens me that I must close my account as I really love the fact that RBC has so many branches around and I never have a problem finding a banking machine. Heck, I even like the way your ATM’s work, and I already miss the “nicknames” feature for bill paying online. However, all of those little things are a small price to pay when I know that if I were to keep paying you this $14/month for the next 20 years, you’d be making $4800 off of me, just because I put my money with your bank, instead of someone else.
If a time ever comes where RBC changes its policy and decides to completely eliminate the need for banking fees, I would love to return as a customer. But until then, I’m afraid this 20 year relationship we have had, is over. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Matthew Klem
