CIBCReviews 4

Got a letter in the mail that a CD had matured a few weeks prior and had already renewed for another 13 months at 3.63% APY. This was the first notification I had gotten, and therefore I had missed the standard 10 days to decide if I wanted to redirect that money. Obviously, I would have. At a minimum, I could've bought a 1-year CD at CIBC for 4.0% APY, but I also could have gotten 4%+ at Vanguard or Raisin. The difference in interest would've been ~$760.

A critic might say I should have been proactive in tracking the CD's maturation date. However, anybody who buys CD's regularly tend to expect proper notifications. Anything else would not be competent, and CIBC is a very big company. Also, I knew CIBC's 1-year rate was 4.0%, which I was fine with. I had forgotten my CD was technically 13 months. Why would anyone want their CD renewed 13 months at 3.63% when they could get 12 months for 4.00%?

I complain immediately. CIBC refuses to do anything. I respond with a long email detailing all the things that I was prepared to do, i. E. permanently exile all my money from CIBC (3.5x the amount of the CD) as well as review on Trustpilot, Yelp, Smart Customer. CIBC then responds with a message that was, word for word, the exact same nondescript message that I had just responded to. CIBC's response was written in such a generic fashion that it reeked of some AI slop response. If it was written by a human, they've become a soulless bureaucrat. If CIBC thinks I will not act on my threats because they have some sort of leverage with their interest rates or they think I will be too lazy, they are in for a rude surprise. I am above the FDIC insurance limits, and I can get a better rate at Raisin or Vanguard. Also, I always follow up on my reviews.

There are other reasons to avoid CIBC. Their messaging system is buggy. Seems like anytime you use any special character, even a common one, or any of a gazillion reserved words, the system will spit out some ridiculous, vague Java Script error like {Result #0002} with inadequate diagnostics. Also, look at the other reviews. I am hardly the only one who couldn't get an ounce of useful help from a human being on an important situation.

I wrote a review on Trustpilot, and they did not bother to respond.

The worst bank I have ever dealt with in my 60+ years of life. I was promised 4.9% for 3 months if I opened a savings account. So I did on Aug 11th. I did a mobile deposit of a cheque from my regular bank. The funds ended up getting deposited to my credit card with them instead of being deposited to my newly opened savings account. No problem, I'll just call them and have it transferred from the credit card to the savings account. After 2.5 hours on the phone, I was told they would hold the funds until Aug 22, I was not impressed, but what could I do. A couple of days later, my credit wouldn't work, so I called again, got through right away. I was informed that not only did they hold the funds, they froze the whole account until the 22nd. But was promised, again, that the funds would be moved to the correct account on the 22nd. On the 22nd, nothing happened! On Saturday the 23rd, after 30 minutes on hold, I decided to visit my local branch at St. Vital Centre in Winnipeg. The teller phoned to get it straighten out, after about 30 minutes of her being on hold, she gave me her phone and I waited. Over an hour later, and about four transfers later, I was told they could do it, but i would have to wait another 3 to 5 business days. So I waited again! The following Friday, Aug 29th, I went down to the branch at St. Vital Centre again. I wanted to talk to someone in the branch that could fix this! I was told that because it was the end of the day, nobody was available to help me. The teller informed me that she would have the manager call me on Saturday morning. No response, AGAIN! I went back to the branch and was informed that the manager was transferred to another branch that day, but she would be requested to call me on Tuesday, Sept 2. On Wed the 3rd, I researched my options to get this resolved through the government agencies. Today, Sept 4, I checked my account, and the funds were finally moved. I can almost guarantee that I will get screwed for ALL of the promised interest. But I'm just happy it's over! NEVER EVER DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS!

Website, app, and customer service is lacking. I am not sure if it is the worst in the industry, but probably comparable. I opened an account because I have always seen CIBCs in every town I've been in, but now I don't understand why.