spring2009
新手上路
- 注册
- 2008-11-30
- 消息
- 123
- 荣誉分数
- 1
- 声望点数
- 28
Recently I received the "new" Momentum Visa Card that Scotiabank has recently been heavily promoting in TV and media ads. As a long time holder of a "regular" Visa card, I was expecting it and normally I don't read all the stuffing that usually accompanies these things. This time I did. The first thing I learned in the "Disclosure Statement" was that the Momentum Visa has an annual fee of $39.00. My regular card DID NOT have this fee. Secondly, the 2% cashback on the card applies only to groceries, gas and recurring payments. While I am not certain, I don't believe this is mentioned specifically in the media ads.
I called the 1-800 number to tell the agent that I did not want this card since I only used it a couple of times per year and I would send it back in small pieces. I was hastily assured that I did not have to accept the Momentum card and I would be issued a new regular card with no annual fee and which still included the new enhanced security chip.
Since I have received this, I have also learned that 2 of my close friends received the Momentum Visa as well and were completely unaware of the fact that the new card, once activated, would result in a $39.00 annual fee. I believe this marketing campaign was devised to deliberately take advantage of the vulnerabilty of trusting, elderly clients, new Canadians or immigrants who don't understand complex English documentation very well or other people who, because of their busy schedule, do not always read the documentation and will learn about the fee later.
While I am certain that the Momentum Visa marketing campaign complies with the appropriate legal requirements, I would say that it is ethically and morally WRONG when they send it to clients as a replacement for regular Visa cards without indicating in LARGE BOLD LETTERS that it has a fee structure different than their existing card. I won't go into the spreads for credit card interest rates compared to their cost of funds from deposits or the Bank of Canada but it would appear that in these difficult times, the bank policies are quickly approaching the standards of payday lending companies.
I called the 1-800 number to tell the agent that I did not want this card since I only used it a couple of times per year and I would send it back in small pieces. I was hastily assured that I did not have to accept the Momentum card and I would be issued a new regular card with no annual fee and which still included the new enhanced security chip.
Since I have received this, I have also learned that 2 of my close friends received the Momentum Visa as well and were completely unaware of the fact that the new card, once activated, would result in a $39.00 annual fee. I believe this marketing campaign was devised to deliberately take advantage of the vulnerabilty of trusting, elderly clients, new Canadians or immigrants who don't understand complex English documentation very well or other people who, because of their busy schedule, do not always read the documentation and will learn about the fee later.
While I am certain that the Momentum Visa marketing campaign complies with the appropriate legal requirements, I would say that it is ethically and morally WRONG when they send it to clients as a replacement for regular Visa cards without indicating in LARGE BOLD LETTERS that it has a fee structure different than their existing card. I won't go into the spreads for credit card interest rates compared to their cost of funds from deposits or the Bank of Canada but it would appear that in these difficult times, the bank policies are quickly approaching the standards of payday lending companies.
