Thursday , March 28 2024

RBC defends Saba services

A representative of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) denied allegations from Saba residents and businesses on Friday, that the bank’s system was overcharging customers and blocking employees’ pay. Patricia Borger, a regional marketing manager for RBC, said bank employees were “working full force to…look after our clients [and] make sure everything is correct.” She responded to allegations levied this week by business leaders on Saba. St. Maarten has had similar problems with its RBC branches. She refuted suggestions that the bank was spiking fees for customers and pledged to fix any problems that might have affected businesses. “If there was anything incorrectly charged to a client’s account, we are reversing these,” said Borger, the bank’s liaison for the Caribbean and Surinam. “We don’t have to do it client by client, we’re doing a mass reversal because it has become transparent to us what has been charged as error and we’ve been able to reverse that.”

On Saba, business leaders condemned what they called the bank’s reckless addition of charges and said other banks, including on St. Maarten, had lost confidence in RBC-Saba customers. “We are really concerned because we have limited financial services on the island and it does seem the RBC customers are duped,” said Saba Business Association President Wolfgang Tooten. “We need answers.” He complained that the island’s sole RBC automated teller machine often malfunctioned; he also lamented the loss of business for his membership. Borger said Tooten was wrong. “Actually our ATM machines have only been down two or three per cent of the time,” Borger said, insisting that the malfunctions were rare and that they did not affect clients’ businesses. She also called complaints about RBC’s net banking system exaggerated. She did, however, acknowledge the bank had noticed “challenges” in its operations since launching the system. She said many were misunderstandings. “Some clients will see different messages on their bank statements,” Borger said. “You might see things look different, but it is very important to know that mathematically the account is correct.” Clients in Saba and St. Maarten said the same online banking problems led to their utilities services being disconnected, after the bank allegedly missed payments to service providers.

Borger was adamant, “Absolutely that is all untrue. If people are stating that their salaries have not been paid, they absolutely have been paid.” Asked for a solution about clients who are unable to gauge the levels of their accounts, Borger said clients can get an accurate printout from a human teller. She again insisted that the bank was operating well, denying claims that other banks and even the same RBC-Saba branch, were refusing cheques. “What you are saying to me is absolutely untrue,” said Borger, guessing that it is possible that “something is wrong with the actual cheque.” The Saba Chamber of Commerce said that business owners were opting to deplete their RBC accounts or leave them inactive in the wake of the problems. “We take these statements very seriously and we do act on them immediately,” said Borger, promising to visit Saba to allay clients’ concerns.

Source: “The Daily Herald” 3013-07-06

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5 comments

  1. I’m not sure where Mrs. Borger lives normally but certainly not in the real world. That’s obviously RBC tactics to call all claims of not functioning online banking and bad service of the bank untrue but that doesn’t make it right. The problems hundreds of RBC customers experience every day can’t be wrong. Instead of calling RBC customers liars she and her team should get back to work and fix the problems of the RBC bank and start servicing their bank customers as they deserve it.

  2. René Caderius van Veen

    Complaints from everywhere:
    Trix van Bennekom
    22 uur geleden via mobiel
    Ik heb FB al de nodige posts gelezen over de problemen met het nieuwe automatiseringssysteem van de RBC bank op Bonaire. Er is inderdaad weinig koninklijks deze dagen aan de Royal Bank of Canada. Vandaag of morgen wordt een Ikea-bank afgeleverd die ik vorige week zaterdag bij Shoppers heb betaald. Gisteravond was het bedrag van het bankje al drie keer afgeschreven, in plaats van dat er een correctie plaatsvindt, is bankje zojuist voor de vierde keer afgeschreven. Bellen met de RBC, eindelijk wordt de telefoon eens opgenomen. ‘U wordt doorverbonden’. Gebeurt dat ook? Nee! Na lang wachten (fijn voor Digicel) heb ik dat maar opgegeven. En de automatische afschrijving, die heeft RBC nog steeds niet afgeschreven. Het is duidelijk dat de RBC met ernstige administratieve problemen kampt. Maar communiceer daar dan over!!
    Trix van Bennekom Aanvulling: de automatische afschrijving voor WEB.

    Martina V Eenennaam Ik moest €11,- overmaken naar een NL bank waar ik bij gezet had adm kosten bet wij ieder de helft. Moet de de ontvanger nog €5.- adm betalen. In principe mag er zonder de klant er op te wijzen wat de kosten zijn bij zo’n kleine overmaking gewaarschuwd worden. Niet gedaan dus als van mij ook de helft adm afgeschreven wordt is dat dus ong 100% op het bedrag whahaha. men is gewaarschuwd !

    Joke Broese we hebben een paar maanden geleden met al onze accounts gestopt bij RBC, is overigens ook een hele toestand voordat dat goed geregeld is. En de reden: vele fouten, slechte communicatie. Wel worden de fouten toegegeven, ook heeft een bankmedewerkster van de RBC een keer gezegd: een fout, ja, maar dat kan toch gebeuren, iedereen maakt wel eens een foutje, dit was overigens na een ernstige fout! We hadden er schoon genoeg van!
    Joke Broese sorry, bedoel natuurlijk: we zijn gestopt met al onze acounts

    Yvonne van Gogh Die bank is vreselijk zou er maar snel weggaan…

    Peter Overman Mogelijk een troost, op Curaçao ondervindt men een zelfde puinhoop met de RBC.

    Bea Dorrestein Voelt iet goed dit. weg daar/

    Peter Groenewoud Drama die bank, snel weg daaro

    Rob Bonke Net begrepen dat de RBC zelfs in Suriname dezelfde problemen heeft.
    Wel consequent in ieder geval

    etc. etc.

  3. Chris Meijvogel

    Ms. Borger is indeed living in another world. Please ms. Borger, get real and don’t act like a child or like a criminal in court. “I did not do it”
    Don’t blame whatever computer system because people made that system, implemented it and are working with that same system. .
    Please get acquainted with the meaning of customer service and train your employee’s in this field.
    By denying what is happening region wide, you only worsens the situation and the way people are thinking and talking about RBC.
    Don’t forget, RBC is not the one and only.

  4. Murray E Archer

    has anyone FAXED this to the TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL as prev suggested ? I dom;t see a fax no but the phone no is 1 416 585 5000 yes my axxount is at is at t RBC maim branch, Head Office. keep my name outa it.

  5. Well…. I agree with the other comments…. What Planet Does The Regional Manager Live ON? Blame the users of the system not the system. I have news for Ms. Borger…. I spent almost 6 months trying to get access to my Online Banking services and no one in St. Mrtn. could help so we eventually had to trash my old online account and set up a new one.

    The interview that I did with the Herald…. she is telling me that the check I gave on an account that was moved to St Mrtn without my knowledge was somehow my misunderstanding….. I don’t think so…. I wrote the check on an account that was opened here and now it has been moved to St. Mrtn….and the check was denied at RBC on Saba…. again…. I think Ms. Borger needs to talk to customers instead of blaming them.

    We had to wait 3 months for a reference letter and now we are waiting since April for a simple approval letter for a transaction…… RBC puts the CUSS in Customer Service…. LOL

    Has anyone tried to call Customer Service in St. Mrtn. lately? You are asked to put in the persons extension if you have it …. otherwise press 0 and someone will assist you… Well guess what….it puts you right back to the greeting and never lets you out. The only way to get anyone is to press a bunch of keys and sometimes you are connected to someones desk and they transfer you.

    Go ahead and blame the customers….. and tell us that the ATM is only down 3% of the time…. tell our tourists and day visitors that….. I think they would have a different story…but who are we???? we are just the dumb customers who do not understand the system…..