Consider Wealth One | Wealth One Bank of Canada | Discussion forum

They have or had a branch in Markham Ontario as well, maybe others. The Markham one was in a strip mall, with parking. I drove past it once, just to see where it was located.
I have no experience with them.

At one point the North York location was closed. Perhaps they re-opened or re-located. I recall that the info on the website at that time was confusing re: that location.

I have nothing against them but I wouldn't hold my breath on their current HISA rate!

The current login options are shown..

I've checked out the Richmond, BC, office of Wealth One.

I can confirm it is the only one operating in BC at the moment.

Now, the outfit is CDIC insured and their offers are pretty competitive. At the moment their saving account pays 1.5% (no guarantee for the future) but UNTIL OCTOBER 31st they have a 1-year GIC at 1.88%. Act fast!

Otherwise, the firm seems rather minimal and small, one might even say dinky. Their office is at the far end of a snaky corridor on the second floor of a building by the Bridgeport crossing to the airport. Research before you try to find it. The man I met said I was the only person who'd ever found it on their own - he usually had to go down to the corner and lead people in!

They have three small offices adjacent but not seeming connected, and he was the only staffer I saw; they do use another financial institution to hold funds and process services to them sometimes. He offered that most of his work was lending, not taking deposits, but he was willing to use paper forms and avoid any web reliance.

Their head office back east closes at 5pm PST M-F and 1PM Saturday, and they aren't quick to answer the phone. They didn't seem to have any queuing system and just said to leave a message and they'd call back. For a non-on-line-banking client like me, that would be a deal-breaker, but when they called back they gave me the mobile number for a rep in BC. I don't know if he is the only employee, but there are not many, and he said he's sometimes out of the office but I can use his mobile.

Since I only want to have GIC, savings account and money-moving PAD/PAD functions, that's okay for me. What might happen if staff changes I can't say, but as a last resort CDIC stands ready.

Their office brochures were dated 2016 and show outdated contact info. I can't say anything about their web presence because I don't use it; others have pointed out that it, too, is often outdated, but I never trust anything on the web anyway without talking to someone and getting their name. The staff member I met did seem bright, understanding of my needs and preferences and empowered with plenty of flexibility. I went for it.
RetirEd

A month later, I can report only disappointment with Wealth One, and while I will let the 1-year 1.88% GIC play out, I have removed all other funds from them.

The local representative, working in this pandemic time, has been helpful and co-operative in every way, but Corporate has not.

Their brochures and web info are out-dated and contradictory. They don't always answer their phone at the Customer Service Line (CSL) during business hours. (I can accept that the local Vancouver office is being handled by a pandemic-housebound agent using a mobile phone and sometimes has to get back to me, but not their CSL!)

I went to Wealth One for two things:
-no need to go on-line
-free monthly statements

Weeks after creating the GIC, when I had opened and linked my savings account, I asked them to mail me a link form to open a link on the other institution (where business hours are longer). The Customer Service Rep (always the same one, and very polite and helpful - despite probably using a headset because I often have to ask them to repeat things) told me there was a $5.00 fee for ANYTHING mailed to me, and I had to go to E-mail or on-line.

Citing the local agent's promise, I was passed to a manager who played bad cop and acted as if I was a Problem Client. That person said there was a full list of fees on their web site, though I pointed out I was not an on-line user and had been briefed directly by the local agent, who had answered my detailed questions satisfactorily. I added that their web site contradicted itself in many places, as well as being outdated in others. The brochures I received had not mentioned that fee either, and the local agent had already mailed me numerous items without fees - application forms, GIC registration and even a very nice hand-written welcoming letter.

The manager offered only to cancel and refund my GIC without interest, saying their business model was necessary to provide me their "high" interest rates (1.88% GIC and 1.5% HISA) despite having close to the CDIC limit on deposit. Thus I'd lose the advantage of the bonus offer after all the time and effort I'd put into setting up the GIC, accounts and links, including a visit to their office in Richmond. I guess that helpful local agent will be getting an earful from Corporate. Oh - and they put a 10-day hold on transferring out from the savings account despite my already having many times that in the GIC!

I'd also read their Terms&Conditions document - and it's laughably one-sided! It reads like something from Apple or Facebook!

As usual with on-line banking, they specifically warn (page 9 of 12) that E-mail is not secure and confidentiality and reliability is Not Their Problem. But they go on to note that:

-They use third-party service providers which they do not control, some of which will store and process data outside Canada. (The US? The People's Republic of China?!) (Page 2/12)

-Their web site will collect information about our computers, operating systems, browsers, browsing history(!), IP address, last web page visited, time on pages, search terms, device details including device settings(!) "and other statistics." (page 4/12)

-Their web site will use cookies, web bugs (AKA web beacons, trackers or invisible pixel icons) (page 5/12)

-Wealth One will collect a great deal of personal information, though we can refuse some of it. Get this, though: "age, weight, height, medical history, physical exams, vital signs, RACE(!!), laboratory results, drug levels, adverse events/reactions to medication and insurance claim history including instances of decline, termination, complaints and/or litigation." (page 7/12) Some of this is appropriate for customers getting loans or insurance, but not everyone.

A couple of other sloppy practices:
-They MAILED my on-line password (which I'd asked not to have) in a letter with considerable other information (though not my actual account number, thankfully)
(They did change it and not tell me the new one, and disable the on-line access, when I asked the Corporate agent to.) Fortunately, I have through-the-door mail delivery. Tough on victims of Supermailboxes, though.

-When verifying a caller, they habitually ask my Social Insurance Number, though they don't insist when I refuse to say it on the phone (all calls are of course recorded, and the logs are available to bank staff).

Okay, I supposed that I was not affected by those on-line intrusions because I'm not a web customer, and wasn't trying to borrow money or get insurance, but on page 3/12 they say they may revise their agreement at any time, INCLUDING RETROACTIVE CHANGES, and will only notify clients by E-mail or posted on the (sloppy, outdated and inaccurate) web site! It's the client's responsibility to constantly check for web site changes.

I know many other businesses are starting to include language like this in their T&Cs, but I don't do business with them. Sayonara, Wealth One - after I get my 1.88%.

Maybe we should start a forum or thread for comparing onerous Terms & Conditions?
RetirEd

RetirEd said
Does anyone think that last message meant anything?
There's certainly no effort to correct anything.
-ReitrEd  

It does mean something! I completely get it!
Hilarious! Lmfao

Please confirm it was a spoof/hack/joke.

Well, then...