Employees say they feel pressured to upsell customer to meet quotas
Staff at several of Canada’s major banks, including TD, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, and CIBC, have admitted to engaging in unethical practices to meet aggressive sales targets.
These bank employees told CBC in a recent investigation that they’ve had mislead clients due to the “enormous sales pressure” associated with their roles.
Someone who recently worked at BMO described having to push customers into getting products that they didn’t need.
Similarly, a TD Bank employee expressed distress over selling products that were not in customers’ best interests, driven by the fear of losing her job.
“It's weighing on me,” the TD employee said. “And it doesn't feel good.”
Through its investigative consumer program Marketplace, CBC utilized hidden cameras to further probe the issue.
It uncovered instances of bank employees offering expensive financial products, dispensing questionable debt advice, and providing misleading information about investment products.
Consumer advocate Duff Conacher said these practices are illegal and go against regulations within the Bank Act.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Bankers Association said the incidents uncovered by CBC are outliers and are not representative of the experiences that “millions of Canadians” have when interacting with bank employees.
CBC published a previous investigation into sales pressure inside Canada’s big banks back in 2017.
This report involved three TD Bank employees who shared similar stories of being under “incredible pressure” to sell customers on products that they do not need.
“I'm in survival mode now,” said one of the employees. “It’s a choice between keeping my job and feeding my family… or doing what's right for the customer.”
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