Client Information
Financial Terms
These Financial Services Terms form part of the agreement for financial products and services between you and Dundee Bank of Canada and its affiliates and govern your use of your accounts and the other products and services that you receive from us. Please review them and retain them in a safe place with your records. View Financial Terms
Schedule of Service Charges
Some accounts may have Account Service Packages associated with them whereby some service charges may be waived or included in the account features. View Schedule of Service Charges
Voluntary Codes of Conduct and Public Commitments
Dundee Bank of Canada is committed to the following Voluntary Code of Conduct and Public Commitment which is designed to protect consumers and which reflects the products we are currently offering:
- Principles of Consumer Protection for Electronic Commerce
These principles were developed with input from industry, government and consumer groups for the purpose of protecting consumers in online transactions. Click here to view principles
Client Problem Resolution Process
Dundee Bank of Canada is committed to providing its clients with access to a fair, effective and responsive client inquiry and problem resolution process. If you have any questions, concerns or problems, you can take the following actions:
- Contact Us
- Elevation to Senior Officer
- Dundee Bank of Canada Ombudsman
- Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
Step 1 - Contact Us
Our Client Support Specialists are trained to assist you in resolving your problems or concerns. Contact us in one of the following ways:
- Speak to a Client Support Specialist at 1-866-884-3434 Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday
- E-mail us at: support@dbc.ca
- Fax us at: (416)-849-1700 or toll free at 1-866-723-8728
- Mail us at: Dundee Bank of Canada, 1 Adelaide St. East, 20th floor, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2V9
Step 2 - Elevation to Senior Officer
If your problem or concern is not resolved in Step 1, you can then request that your issue be forwarded to a representative of Senior Management for review and resolution.
Step 3 - Dundee Bank of Canada Ombudsman
If a representative of Senior Management is unable to resolve your problem or concern to your satisfaction, you can request that the Dundee Bank of Canada's Ombudsman carry out an independent review of the issue. This request must be made by you in writing to the address of Dundee Bank of Canada indicated above in Step 1, marking it to the attention of the Dundee Bank of Canada Ombudsman.
Step 4 - Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
If your concern remains unresolved after contact with Dundee Bank of Canada's Ombudsman, you may then, within 6 months of the completion date of the Bank's review, contact the financial services industry Ombudsman, the OBSI, for a further independent review, by:
- Mail: The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, P.O. Box 896 Stn Adelaide, Toronto Ontario M5C 2K3
- Fax - 416-225-4722 or 1-888-422-2865
- E-mail - ombudsman@obsi.ca
- Telephone - 416-287-2877 or 1-888-451-4519
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises federally regulated financial institutions to ensure that they comply with federal consumer protection laws. The FCAC also helps educate consumers, and monitors industry codes of conduct and public commitments designed to protect the interests of consumers.
At Dundee Bank of Canada, we comply with numerous consumer laws that protect you in a number of ways. For example, we will provide you with information about our complaint-handling procedures; and when you open an account, information about interest rates and fees.
If you have a complaint regarding a potential violation of a consumer protection law, a public commitment, or an industry code of conduct, you can contact the FCAC in writing at Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Enterprise Building, 6th Floor, 427 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B9.
The FCAC can also be contacted by telephone at 1-866-461-3222 (en francais 1-866-461-2232). The FCAC will determine whether there is a problem with compliance by Dundee Bank of Canada, and if so what corrective measures are necessary. For more information about the FCAC, visit http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/
Tied Selling
What you need to know about Coercive Tied Selling
- Why Did We Create This Document?
- What is Coercive Tied Selling?
- What is Our Commitment to You?
- What is NOT Coercive Tied Selling?
- What is Preferential Pricing?
- What is Bundling of Products and Services?
- How Do We Manage Our Credit Risk?
Why Did We Create This Document?
The Bank Act requires banks to inform customers in plain language that coercive tied selling is illegal. To comply with the law, Dundee Bank of Canada has created this section to explain:
- What coercive tied selling is
- What coercive tied selling is not, and
- How to contact us if you have any questions, complaints or concerns
What is Coercive Tied Selling?
Section 459.1 of the Bank Act prohibits banks from practicing coercive tied selling. More specifically, it is against the law for a bank to "impose undue pressure on, or coerce a person to obtain a product or service from a particular person, including the bank and any of its affiliates, as a condition for obtaining another product or service from the bank." You cannot be unduly pressured to buy a product or service that you do not want, from a bank or one of its affiliates, to obtain another bank product or service.
The following two examples will help to explain coercive tied selling and what is not allowed.
- Your bank's mortgage specialist tells you that you qualify for a home mortgage. However, you are also told that the bank will approve your mortgage only if you transfer your investments to the bank or its affiliates. You want the mortgage but you do not want to move your investments.
- Your bank's credit officer tells you that you qualify for a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) loan. However, you are also told that the bank will approve the loan only if you use the money to buy the bank's mutual funds. You want the loan, but you want to invest the money somewhere else.
Both of the above practices are against the law. If you qualify for a product, a banking representative is not allowed to unduly pressure you to buy another unwanted product or service as a condition of obtaining the product you want.
What is Our Commitment to You?
We expect all employees at Dundee Bank of Canada to comply with the law by not practicing coercive tied selling. We provide our employees with information and training programs on acceptable sales practices. We urge you to let us know if you believe that you have experienced coercive tied selling in any dealings with us. You can find out how to contact us at the end of this document.
What is NOT Coercive Tied Selling?
Most businesses, including Dundee Bank of Canada, look for tangible ways to show their interest in your business and appreciation for your loyalty. Sales practices, such as preferential pricing and bundling of products and services, offer potential and existing customers better prices or more favorable terms. These practices should not be confused with coercive tied selling, as defined by the Bank Act. Many of these practices will be familiar to you in your dealings with other businesses.
What is Preferential Pricing?
Preferential pricing means offering customers a better price or rate on all or part of their business. For example, a printer offers a lower price for each business card if you buy a thousand cards instead of a hundred. A shoe store offers a second pair of shoes at half price.
Similarly, a bank may be able to offer you preferential pricing - a higher interest rate on investments or a lower interest rate on loans - if you use more of its products or services. The following will help to explain preferential pricing in banks.
- After approving your application for a home mortgage from the bank, your bank's mortgage specialist tells you that this mortgage would be available at a lower interest rate if you transferred your investments to the bank or its affiliates.
- After approving your application for an RRSP loan, your bank's credit officer offers you a lower interest rate if you use the loan to buy the bank's mutual funds.
The above practices are acceptable. The approval of your mortgage and RRSP loan is not conditional on your taking another bank product or service. Rather you are offered preferential pricing to encourage you to give the bank more business.
What is Bundling of Products and Services?
Products or services are often combined to give consumers better prices, incentives, or more favorable terms. By linking or bundling their products or services, businesses are often able to offer them to you at a lower combined price than if you bought each product on its own. For example, a fast-food chain advertises a meal combination that includes a hamburger, fries and a drink. The overall price is lower than if you bought the three items separately.
Similarly, banks may offer you bundled financial services or products so that you can take advantage of package prices that are less than the sum of the individual items.
The following example will help to explain the bundling of bank products and services.
- You plan to open a bank account that charges you for individual transactions. The banking representative offers you a package of services that includes a comparable bank account, a credit card with no annual fee, and a discount on purchasing traveller's cheques. The total price for the package is less than if you purchased each part of the package separately.
Bundling products in this way is permitted because you have the choice of buying the items individually or in a package.
How Do We Manage Our Credit Risk?
To ensure the safety of their depositors, creditors, and shareholders, banks must carefully manage the risk on loans they approve. Therefore, the law allows us to impose certain requirements on borrowers as a condition for granting a loan - but only to the extent necessary for us to manage our risk.
The following example will help to explain how banks manage such risk.
- You apply for a personal line of credit. To manage the risk associated with your loan, your bank requires you to have a chequing account with the bank as a condition for obtaining the loan.
The above example is legal and appropriate. Having your chequing account at the bank allows us to assess possible risks associated with your ability to repay the loan and manage the risk associated with the line of credit.
At Dundee Bank of Canada, our requirements for borrowers will be reasonable and consistent with our level of risk.