Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Archive for September 4th, 2008

As my regular readers know, I complain about TD very often, since they are my bank of choice (for now), and I am also a shareholder, and I must again pull out this topic.

Today I received confirmation from TD Waterhouse that my new RRSP account had in fact been created (I actually did this last week in a TD Branch). The documentation included with the confirmation package said, I needed to send in proof of identification, if I hadn’t already  to activate the account (I had to re-read that to figure it out), which annoyed me, but I let that one slide (I had my license copied enough times in the branch). So I am assuming my account has been set up (this might bite me later).

I then had an epipheny that I had not seen the account appear on my TD Web Access page, but figured, maybe I hadn’t noticed, so I logged in, but NO the account was not on my account list, and that is when the bottom dropped out of my patience.

I had spent over an hour setting up accounts and now they don’t show up on the web access page? I had actually asked to ensure I had access to the E-Funds (that the Canadian Capitalist uses in his Sleepy Portfolio) that are ONLY available through the web, yet no sign of the account, on the Web Portal.

I then had to call into TD Waterhouse and spend another 25 minutes getting this 1 account added to my web access. At the end of it I was livid that I had to spend that much more time to get access to an account that was obviously set up to be web viewable.

The problem seems to be that TD’s “computer systems” for building accounts between their various “parts” (TD, TD Waterhouse, TD Mutual Funds, TD Credit, TD Visa, etc.,) don’t seem to talk much, and they all use their own darn forms and ways to build new vehicles for their clients. In this day and age, this is ludicrous, but I have heard that TD is looking at revamping this in the next 10 years. 

If anyone from TD is reading this, please feel free to pass on to your leaders that as a Shareholder I am appauled at this cavalier attitude toward your account holders and worse still it is bad business, so as a shareholder I am even more sickened.

A more streamlined system that allows for customers with all of the various TD vehicles integrated create new vehicles and services, needs LESS human help to do things and the more automated it is, the less you have employees that must interface with IRATE customers like me! Less employees, means more profits. Ease of use is simply good business practices.

TD please clean up this mess, soon!

No wonder I don’t like paying bank fees.