Welcome to the RBC Financial Group: Office of the Ombudsman

Timely, clear request helps customer make case

The Problem

Case study:

What can be learned - the expert's advice

From the Client's Perspective

When a client needed to transfer assets from a member company of RBC Financial Group to another financial institution, he encountered problems. Worse, he felt the way his concern was being handled was not consistent with the positive treatment he normally received from other members of RBC Financial Group where he had good, ongoing relationships.

The customer believed he had informed RBC about the complex legal circumstances of the transfer in ample time. Yet, the transfer was delayed, costing the customer money. The customer claimed that the delay was RBC's responsibility and that he should be compensated. He tried to reach an agreement with RBC. When that effort failed, he approached the Ombudsman.

From RBC Financial Group's perspective

RBC believed there was no basis for a claim. They felt that much of the delay in transferring the assets arose from the customer's unwillingness to provide the necessary documents in a timely manner.

The Resolution

The Office of the Ombudsman reports

"We discovered that the legal circumstances of this particular transfer did, indeed, require more documentation than usual. However, the client had been diligent in informing RBC Financial Group about his intentions and his requirements in advance. RBC Financial Group could have managed the task of securing the necessary documents in a more proactive way and avoided the delay. For those reasons, we found that the client should be compensated.

We provided both parties with our fact-finding report, and they reached an agreement. RBC Financial Group accepted our recommendation to offer the client compensation, and the client accepted the offer."

What can be learned: the expert's advice

For RBC Financial Group
Customers rely on RBC Financial Group for advice and service. Choose to make a difference for your client by working to understand the request and getting to the heart of the issue as soon as possible. If you foresee problems in fulfilling requests, let the client know right away.

Be proactive in preserving long-term good will and a corporate reputation for good service. Seemingly isolated actions in any one company of RBC Financial Group may have a ripple effect on the rest of the organization. A client may be taking an account out of one company, but still have a relationship with others. Or, a client who takes business elsewhere today, may return later -- if feelings of good will and good service are intact.

For clients
Be diligent, clear and timely in making requests, and keep track of your documentation. An organized approach to resolving issues works best.

Persevere. Try first to resolve your problem at the source - that's where most problems are solved most quickly. If there is no resolution at the source, then move on to senior management of the specific area, the RBC Financial Group Customer Relations Centre, or, finally, the Office of the Ombudsman.

Please note: The above case study was chosen because of the significance of the learning derived from it. It is not an attempt to duplicate the demographics of the case by issue, outcome, RBC Financial Group or any other factors.

Photograph does not depict actual customer.

Case Studies

Timely, clear request helps customer make case

The Problem

The Resolution