Scotibank - Unit 38, 420 Highway #7 East, Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 3K2.
Transit #: 45922
Branch Manager: Josephine Kessler, phone # (905) 731-2381
Personal banker that assisted me: Yijie Tang, phone # (905) 731-4932

First of all I’d like to mention that I’m not someone who complains and have never submitted a complaint in my entire life, but this case was something else.

I have a mortgage account with Scotiabank. It was end of March when I went over to the nearest Scotiabank branch to switch to a fixed rate mortgage for 5 years from variable that I currently have. The branch was located at 420 Highway #7 east, unit 38, Richmond Hill, Ontario and the personal banker who assisted me was Yijie Tang (Personal Banker, Scotiabank). That was a day before the fixed rates were going up. I was given a 3.68% for 5 years rate by Yijie Tang (Personal Banker, Scotiabank) and she offered me a 30 day rate guarantee, even though I was ready to switch at that point. I am not someone who is familiar with the mortgage products, policies and so on, however I did say: ‘are you sure you can give me 30 day rate guarantee?’ She said yes, that’s not a problem I will put a message on your account stating that until April 30th you can get that rate, I even asked her if I should get something on paper, and she told me I don’t need to worry about it, it's done. Furthermore when I was in the branch a week following our meeting she still reassured me of the same 30 day rate guarantee.

A week later when I went back to the branch to switch my mortgage from variable to fixed Yijie started telling me that she doesn’t know whether she can give me that rate, later she called me and told me that it’s not possible and that she made a mistake, and she is really sorry, while the rate meanwhile has gone up from 3.68% to 4.5%. The next day I had a meeting with the branch manager, her name was Josephine Kessler (Branch Manager, Scotiabank) and she appeared to be a temporary branch manager there as the usual one was on extended leave of absence. 3 of us had a conversation including Yijie who was present and she knew that she promised me that rate at 3.68% for 30 days, however branch manager (Josephine Kessler) started telling me that she didn’t put it on paper and therefore it’s not valid and they can’t give me that rate. I was really shocked to hear her response in particular the way she put it, furthermore them knowing that they made what appears to be a big mistake by guaranteeing me that rate of 3.68% they offered no solutions nor any help, and later after our meeting 2 of them had a 15 minute meeting (Josephine Kessler and Yijie Tang) behind closed doors, Josephine Kessler in the end told me that Yijie Tang never offered me that rate guarantee to begin with. It’s shocking for me to see that there are people that work in a financial institution in Canada where they can collaborate and agree on the plan to deny what they offered me simply because they didn’t put it on paper (I guess I should bring a tape recorder next time I do anything at Scotiabank).

Instead of admitting their fault and mistake in this situation and try to resolve it promptly Josephine Kessler (branch Manager) just went on denying everything all together. I also know this based on the report they submitted to Office of the President where Josephine said that I came in to discuss the rate (not to switch), and therefore they never offered me that rate, nor the guarantee. By teaming up behind closed doors and agreeing to deny it all together as oppose to admitting their fault they know that Scotiabank employees even at the office of the president will stand up in the interest of its employees not its customers, and obviously will believe ‘Branch Manager’ as opposed to ‘some’ customer, especially the one that had NOTHING in writing and no witnesses.There is more to it, but I won’t waste your or my time. I am currently in process of switching my mortgage to TD bank and paying the penalty out of my pocket just to break my mortgage so I never have to deal with Scotiabank again. I will be taking further action with this case, as it simply can’t go unnoticed.

It is unfortunate that there are dishonest people such Josephine Kessler (Branch Manager, Scotiabank) and Yijie Tam (Personal Banker, Scotiabank) that work in this financial institution.