EQ and POA | EQ Bank | Discussion forum

Think it would be too complicated (number of scenarios) to have a step-by-step checklist. Is it an Enduring POA, General POA, which jurisdiction, etc.?

But FI's could have a FAQ of some basics, e.g. Letter of Direction and what to put in it, copy (true copy or certified copy) of the POA document, copy of ID of the Attorney, etc. There are probably 3-5 basic pieces of paper required by the FI to allow Attorney access to accounts.

in2deep97 said
Similarly they don't allow beneficiaries to be set up on accounts.

Beneficiaries/successor holders only applies to RRSP and TFSA accounts.

EQ Bank has so far only offered the Savings Plus Account, a regular non-registered account. It is not offered as in an RRSP or TFSA form.

I phoned eq bank and heard the same story. We don't accept poas and we never have. I pointed out it was in the user agreement and she couldn't even find the user agreement. I read the section on poas out to her and she still didn't believe me. They are supposed to phone tomorrow so i'll provide an update if they do. I'm afraid i got angry as i am sick of banks saying they don't accept poas.

christinad said
I phoned eq bank and heard the same story. We don't accept poas and we never have. I pointed out it was in the user agreement and she couldn't even find the user agreement. I read the section on poas out to her and she still didn't believe me. …  

I read the section of the terms & conditions that Loonie quoted. It doesn't say they will accept POA's. The terms allow them to accept POA's perhaps in the future should they decide to do so. But, there's no requirement for them to do so

"Third party access" is described. Perhaps that can be set up in place of a POA?

Account holder access

We will accept Instructions for the Account directly from the account holder only. We are not obligated to recognize anyone other than the account holder as having any interest in an Account nor are we required to gain permission from another person unless third party access has been expressly authorized by you. However, we may act in accordance with instructions from your legal representative(s) (such as a Power of Attorney or Executor), if such person demonstrates legal authority to act on your behalf.

Third party access allows another person (i.e. your legal representative) to provide us with instructions related to your Account which we will in turn act upon. Third party access is given to clients who need assistance with managing their Accounts, or are physically unable to access their Accounts. In order to allow a third party to access your Account(s), you will need to provide the appropriate authorization.

In the event that we are served with a court order which directs us to place a hold on funds in, or to be deposited to, an Account, or which otherwise extends to or deals with such funds or the Account, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, we will comply.

When I talked to them again, they said they absolutely do not accept power of attorneys. They claimed they were changing their agreement terms, but I haven't checked if that has been done yet.

Who wants to get into a fight wth a bank over whether your poa would be accepted at a difficult time? I've decided to make a complaint to the federal bank ombudsperson abou this. I'll post when i get a response.

Actually according to a globe and mail article, the banks aren't required to do what the ombudsperson says so it seems pretty useless. Best to just share passwords.

In my last post, I mentioned that EQ might successfully argue that their agreement terms (when modified) may preclude day-to-day operation of an account by an Attorney. It is possible this is a grey area in provincial law, but they at least have to allow a POA to transfer out the account to another institution. It would be interesting to have a lawyer comment on this. Surely there is a lawyer or two in our forum membership??

P.S. At least some banks allow POA operation of an account online (not just bricks and mortar). The Attorney is given access through a bank card of his/her own so that the bank knows if it is the account holder or the Attorney accessing the account. Makes sense.

Good News. Apparently EQ Bank is creating a process to accept power of attorneys. I heard this from the csr manager and he apologized that the customer service reps didn't know about it. No word about when the new process will be implemented. It sounds like if you need to use the poa now you will have to get past the csrs. I escalated my complaint through the complaint process so you could do this. I'm trying to find out when the new process will be in place and will update when I do.

I was chatting with EQ bank and asked about power of attorney process again. He said it was still being finalized but then he said what is needed is the form from your lawyer and a certified copy of id. I don't know why it is taking so long to finalize it and he wouldn't give me a date. In any event, at least we know it is still in process. The fact that the chat person knew about it shows it is coming along.

christinad said
I phoned eq bank again and it looks like they have a process in place. What they sent me is an identity verification form which i assume means the poa has to go to a lawyer to verify their identity. Perhaps someone else can phone eq to get the form to confirm this. Amazingly there was no phone wait-there never has been when i phoned eq. I think i plan to leave 5000 at td (which i already have in chequing) and 5000 in tangerine as i'm hoping my poa could access money there with minimal of hassle before they have to deal with these other banks.  

Ontario has a standard PA kit and just print out a copy and make an appointment with your MPP and have it signed in front of them with a copy of your ID certified there also. You don’t need to pay any fee or use any bank form, because it is provincial law. My parents have these all the times.