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Email this9:32 am
December 2, 2022
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I just opened a new chequing + savings account at Meridian to replace my HSBC account (soon to be RBC, yikes). It was about two weeks ago. Today, I received a generic letter telling me that as 05Jan2023 all my accounts with them will be closed due to unsatisfactory operations". "Contact the writer, should you have any questions", but it is not signed by anyone. I called the call centre and the agent has no clue why, she asked someone else why and the reply was: "Financial institutions can close your accounts with giving you any explanation. They have no obligation to explain you anything.". I am sure that's they noticed after the fact that my home address is in Quebec (the only reasonable explanation), but they don't want to tell me that straight forward or they noticed that they should have not accepted my application and they don't want to acknowledge their bad. It doesn't really matter that they're closing my accounts as I can go elsewhere and it will be just too bad for them. The point why I share that story is to illustrate how they worked in my case and be warned.
10:17 am
March 30, 2017
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Johnny2023 said
I just opened a new chequing + savings account at Meridian to replace my HSBC account (soon to be RBC, yikes). It was about two weeks ago. Today, I received a generic letter telling me that as 05Jan2023 all my accounts with them will be closed due to unsatisfactory operations". "Contact the writer, should you have any questions", but it is not signed by anyone. I called the call centre and the agent has no clue why, she asked someone else why and the reply was: "Financial institutions can close your accounts with giving you any explanation. They have no obligation to explain you anything.". I am sure that's they noticed after the fact that my home address is in Quebec (the only reasonable explanation), but they don't want to tell me that straight forward or they noticed that they should have not accepted my application and they don't want to acknowledge their bad. It doesn't really matter that they're closing my accounts as I can go elsewhere and it will be just too bad for them. The point why I share that story is to illustrate how they worked in my case and be warned.
is it possible cuz you already have a relation with Meridian via a GIC broker ?
Just speculating.
10:23 am
October 21, 2013
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Yes, that was my question too.
I was under the impression that Meridian DOES accept members from QC, but perhaps that's wrong.
I find it strange that they would say your membership is terminated at a future date.
Did you in fact buy a Meridian GIC from a deposit broker?
11:06 am
February 7, 2019
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The Meridian Profile (https://www.highinterestsavings.ca/profile/meridian-credit-union/) says Meridian for QC is just fine.
| CGO |
11:38 am
December 2, 2022
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Nope. Just a good old saving + chequing account.
What I find weird is they seem afraid or stubbornly refuse to tell me the reason why they act that way. It doesn't give a very professional or serious feel to their operations. The good part is if they were to stab me in the back, I am glad that they did it right away at the very beginning and not in the future at the worst time.
11:46 am
October 27, 2013
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FIs generally have the right to close an account at any time (other than discriminatory purposes) but normally an FI would point to a specific T&C that has been violated without necessarily getting more specific. The term "unsatisfactory operations" is as vague as saying "not a member in good standing" or similar. Perhaps it was something in the 'soft' credit score query with Equifax or Transunion.
As you suggest, it is still best to know now so that you can move on.
12:06 pm
January 13, 2022
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To me, this sounds like a credit check problem. I've had similar experiences with Motive. Johnny, I'm not suggesting you have a credit issue. What I've found is that FIs do a credit bureau check, and if one little thing doesn't match up, such as an outdated address or something like that, they will refuse you without researching the problem, etc. And they won't tell you what the problem is -- they'll just ditch you.
12:50 pm
March 30, 2017
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lifeonanisland said
To me, this sounds like a credit check problem. I've had similar experiences with Motive. Johnny, I'm not suggesting you have a credit issue. What I've found is that FIs do a credit bureau check, and if one little thing doesn't match up, such as an outdated address or something like that, they will refuse you without researching the problem, etc. And they won't tell you what the problem is -- they'll just ditch you.
but that is usually the case when one tries to open an account, cuz thats when the credit check will fail and they cut it short right there.
First time I hear something like this AFTER the new customer successfully open a new account. Or Meridian does it different from other FIs maybe. Sounds like Meridian's audit somehow caught something and took the action to protect themselves. Not saying the OP is criminal or in violation of anything either, just saying sometimes FIs are at the extreme.
If OP never ever had any GIC relationship with Meridian via brokers and first time savings and chequing acct customer, its perplexing for sure.
I was unable to open any type of account at another CU due to the broker protection issue mentioned.
12:53 pm
October 27, 2013
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Agreed. Everyone should get a copy of their credit reports once a year or so, especially if there have been any changes to one's profile in the past year, such as change of address, opening/closing an account, or getting/terminating a credit card, etc.
1:11 pm
December 2, 2022
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AltaRed said
Agreed. Everyone should get a copy of their credit reports once a year or so, especially if there have been any changes to one's profile in the past year, such as change of address, opening/closing an account, or getting/terminating a credit card, etc.
I just reviewed my credit report, my score is still excellent and Meridian never made an interrogation to Equifax. I don't know about TransUnion.
1:44 pm
October 27, 2013
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Johnny2023 said
I just reviewed my credit report, my score is still excellent and Meridian never made an interrogation to Equifax. I don't know about TransUnion.
It is not the 'numerical' score we were talking about. It is about disconnects between things like spelling of name or postal address, etc. Those things can derail the 'digital' nature of checks.
6:04 pm
July 30, 2022
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Did you also try to link an external account? I once opened a Motus account and they locked me out after I submitted a void cheque from another bank. Support staff were rude about it and wouldn't provide any details, once it was resolved I closed the account as well as one I had with Meridian.
6:43 pm
October 21, 2013
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Check both Equifax and TransUnion, check that every detail of your personal identifying info is correct.
If there is an error, get it corrected or it may mess you up again.
If there isn't, maybe try applying again. Perhaps their computer hiccupped.
Let us know if they ACTUALLY close it in January. Is there any money in the account?
Another thought: they said they were closing the account(s), not the membership? Wording might matter; membership might still be valid?
6:49 pm
December 12, 2021
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Sometime deposit a large amount as a new client or move large amount in and out within few days with Meridian or HSBC would trigger red flag
7:50 pm
December 2, 2022
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AltaRed said
It is not the 'numerical' score we were talking about. It is about disconnects between things like spelling of name or postal address, etc. Those things can derail the 'digital' nature of checks.
I know. I mentioned the 'numerical' score just to eliminate that variable from the equation. The info mismatches are not impossible.
I funded the accounts by using Interac transfers on the first day and today the agent over the phone made move the money out the same way. The accounts are now empty and I won't use them anymore.
As I said earlier, if they don't want my business, that's too bad for them. I will just go elsewhere. Anyway, I was evaluating their services and hadn't decided if I wanted to do business with them long term. It is just rude and non-professional to drop customers that way, but it seems not to be an unique case from what I read.
8:47 pm
April 6, 2013
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agit said
Sometime deposit a large amount as a new client or move large amount in and out within few days with Meridian or HSBC would trigger red flag
Transferring large amounts in and out repeatedly will trigger money laundering red flags.
That will especially be the case if funds were being moved from a small credit union, for example, to a large reputable bank and then out. Those could be attempts to hide the fact that the funds entered the banking system via a small institution that did not have as rigorous money laundering detection as one of the Big Banks.
One person reported that his accounts at a bank were closed without explanation. He now suspects those frequent in-and-out transfers he did were the cause.
10:27 pm
October 21, 2013
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I do think people are entitled to an explanation.
If a bank refuses to open an account for you, they are required to give a reason that justifies it. The same may not be true for CUs (I don't know).
It stands to reason therefore that if a bank closes your account, it should also be required to give a reason for that.
If indeed an FI "suspects" fraud or money laundering, then they have an obligation to report it; and the customer has a right to a fair hearing. FIs shouldn't be able to get rid of a customer just because their algorithms dictate that you move your money around too much. If there is going to be a limit on how much you move and how often, then that needs to be stated in the T&C - and as we often observe, to our annoyance, this is often the case. I'm pretty sure Meridian itself has online transfer limits.
FIs are all regulated, either provincially or federally. It's up to those regulators to ensure that Canadians are treated fairly, There are alternatives to hitting the panic button.
I'm sure many of us on this forum transfer relatively large amounts, high five to six figures, regularly, and use intermediary banks or "hubs" to do so. To judge by number of complaints on this forum, we rarely have a problem. Moving your own money around ain't a crime!
I do sense though that there is increasing concern among FIs over fraud and "unusual" behaviour etc, so there could be more issues in future.
I am reminded that perhaps ten years ago or more, I had an issue with a major drug store chain. Perhaps I was trying to straightening out reward points but can't remember the specifics. What I do remember is that the person I spoke to was quite annoyed that I had not shopped at what they considered to be my "usual" store. Such activity was considered almost perverse, as if I were trying to mess up their system! I didn't take kindly to the insinuation that my shopping habits were theirs to object to - any more than I would if an FI took exception to my transfers.
8:41 am
December 12, 2021
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it is much easier for FI to just close an account then to monitor "a bad apple"
HSBC is very bad on profiling customers and Meridian is not any better. I wont be surprise that the reason Meridian is closing his\her account is because of HSBC forwarded the Red Flag to Meridian and Meridian dont want to deal with it.
OP funded his\her account with Interac e-Transferand "Interac max is $3,000 per 24-hour period" that wont trigger money laundering red flags (if it does million of US will be redflag lol) unless was doing it daily since account opened.
5:44 pm
September 11, 2013
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Exactly, agit, more regulation leads to less choice as some fi's (probably especially the smaller ones) might have no interest in absorbing more regulatory costs so just cut out (in their eyes) potential bad apples or even highly regulated product offerings. In short, the more regulation the less freely money is apt to be able to be moved around. In my view.
When I think about it, since I started with ebanks way back with Ing I've moved a ton of money via countless transactions through my TD accounts to/from dozens of e-accounts over the years and never once has TD asked anything. I can see with endlessly increased regulation (now they're even required to tell you when your balance is low, etc, I think, no?) these days of big banks happily facilitating large money flows in and out of their accounts might be coming to an end.
5:59 pm
October 27, 2013
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Alerts are services for the customer's convenience, not mandatory (at least for most). A lot of people need their hand held with respect to balances et al. Just set it to zero if one does not like alerts. Personally, I want alerts for transactions over a certain size and for ATM withdrawals just in case of fraudulent activity but the rest of the alerts can take a hike.
The computers don't care how many kinds of alerts there are. It is one line of programming code for each alert type, so let customers decide which ones they want, or not.
Please write your comments in the forum.