Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Question:

Can my bank force me to open an RRSP account with them or transfer my existing RRSP account as a condition for receiving an RRSP loan (coercive tied selling)?

Answer:

No. Banks are prohibited from imposing undue pressure on, or coercing, a customer into purchasing a product as a condition for obtaining another product from the same institution.

For example, if you apply for a mortgage at a bank, the bank cannot make you buy another product or service as a condition for giving you a mortgage. That is called "coercive tied selling", and is illegal. What a bank (and any of its affiliates) can do is to offer you another product or service on more favourable terms or conditions than would normally be available. This is similar to a company offering a discount to customers if they purchase more than one item.

Banks are required to display and make available, in their branches, a statement (in plain language) that advises customers about the prohibition on coercive tied selling. If you believe that a bank has subjected you to coercive tied selling, you should make use of your financial institution's complaint-handling process and contact FCAC. We can investigate to determine whether your financial institution has complied with its legal obligations.

Federal financial consumer protection legislation requires all federally regulated financial institutions to have a complaint-handling process in place to help resolve disputes between consumers and their financial institutions. This process includes a third-party dispute-resolution body.

FCAC publishes the complaint-handling process for all federally regulated financial institutions on its Web site. To find the complaint-handling process for your financial institution, click here . If you are having difficulty finding this information, call our Consumer Contact Centre at 1-866-461-3222 (toll-free).

Resource(s):

• FCAC’s Consumer Service Centre: 1-866-461-3222 (toll-free)
  
  
• FCAC's Complaint-handling Process Search Tool
  
  

Classification of this FAQ:

Related Question(s):

• What's the difference between coercive tied selling and beneficial tied selling?
• Can my financial institution make me take out insurance when I apply for a loan or a mortgage?
• What happens to my mortgage life insurance when I renew my mortgage?

Date Modified:

2013-01-03