My complaint:
We are long-standing clients of RBC. We have all our bank accounts and online investment accounts at RBC, with the exception of a savings account at Tangerine. Until a recent incident we have been perfectly satisfied with the service received over many years and this is the first complaint we have ever lodged.
We received a cheque for $400 as a refund of our motor vehicle permit. This cheque was deposited via the RBC app. The picture was accepted without any repeats being necessary and the deposit was noted. We kept the cheque as advised. Upon checking our bank statement about two weeks later, we were astonished to see that the cheque had been debited back with a note on the statement that it was a poor image. This was our first experience of a cheque being rejected, although we have used this method of deposit many times. We called 800-769-2511 and spoke to an agent who advised us to take the cheque back to a teller at the local branch. We did this, but the teller did not seem to have any protocol to guide her in handling this situation, nor did she ask another staff member for advice. After some discussion, she went ahead and deposited the original cheque.
Two weeks later we received a letter by mail advising us that the $400 had been debited back because it was a duplicate deposit. We should mention that no such letter was received when the first poor image debit was made.
Thereupon we returned to the Trenton branch and spoke to an administrator there. She advised us that we would have to get the Ministry of Transport to issue another cheque. Frankly we could not believe what we were hearing. This was our second trip to the Bank with this problem and we were being told they had no way of rectifying this.!! As a couple in our late eighties, we greatly appreciate the benefits of online banking and investing, but there is big flaw here. We asked What is the protocol for handling a cheque returned as a poor image.? She was unable to answer, other than to say we have to get another cheque issued. If you are to encourage clients to use the RBC App, then surely there has to be a protocol for redepositing a cheque rejected for its poor image?
Following this very unsatisfactory meeting, we did contact MOT and were ably assisted by their agent, who was familiar with this problem. We have been promised another cheque, but were told it could take until September to be issued. It is nothing short of ridiculous that an Ontario government department should be having to replace valid cheques rejected by the RBC system.
To say that we were annoyed and irritated by this incident is putting it mildly. Does every Bank have this flaw in its remote deposit system? Surely not. Maybe the time has come to check out another Bank.
Suggested solution:
There has to be protocol whereby a cheque deposited by use of the bank's app and then rejected for a poor image can be deposited