MEINHARDT FINE
Banks in Canada are a little different than in the US, and I'm still getting used to a few of the quirks.
My first shock when moving here and researching various local banks included statements like,"Or try our home-oriented budget chequing account for hte affordable rate of only $20 a month." Ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as free checking in Canada, nor is there anything even close, in some ways.
In a sense, it's as if the cost structure is completely flipped. US banks seem to focus their income generation on loan interest, special services, and fines for misbehavior, whereas around here, it's all about the daily activity.
More than x number of ATM transactions in a month? $.50 each
Want to talk to a teller? Be prepared to wait in line for 20 minutes, and then it'll cost you $1.
You get the idea.
Don't get me wrong — in all fairness there are some pretty cool things about the banks here, or specifically mine:
No deposit slips. I hate filling those things out. My tellers do all the work for me. Granted, that partially explains the 20 minute wait, but it still a nice thing to mention. Late banking hours. There are some branches open until 8pm. Coolest bank idea ever. Because think about it — the people who really need a bank most are the ones who are working all day. Stands to reason. A really stellar online banking website. It has its drawbacks (a finite list of payees for online billpay, and only in Canada, so I still write out a lot of checks to American creditors, but on the positive side I guess it prevents mistyped payment addresses, and it seems to be an immediate transfer).
Anyway, point being, my account statement at any given time generall has at least one banking charge on there, if not several. I'm not even sure how they're calculated sometimes, unless I ant to get out the stack of paperwork that came with the account.
So, the other day, I'm checking on my acocunt balance and paying some bills, and I see this:
Feb 28, 2005 OTHER BANK FEES 7.50
Feb 28, 2005 FULL SERVE FEE 9.95
Feb 28, 2005 MEINHARDT FINE 26.69
What the holy hell is a Meinhardt Fine? I was wracking my brain for possibilities.
Bounced check? No, my balance was positive throughout it.
Bad deposit? No, the checks I put in that week seemed to have caused no problem (some US checks get a practically indefinite hold on them, it seems).
I was trying to come up with any banking rule I could have violated.
Never fear, however, because we live in the 21st century, and we have Google, and what to my Googling eyes should appear but this:
My first shock when moving here and researching various local banks included statements like,"Or try our home-oriented budget chequing account for hte affordable rate of only $20 a month." Ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as free checking in Canada, nor is there anything even close, in some ways.
In a sense, it's as if the cost structure is completely flipped. US banks seem to focus their income generation on loan interest, special services, and fines for misbehavior, whereas around here, it's all about the daily activity.
More than x number of ATM transactions in a month? $.50 each
Want to talk to a teller? Be prepared to wait in line for 20 minutes, and then it'll cost you $1.
You get the idea.
Don't get me wrong — in all fairness there are some pretty cool things about the banks here, or specifically mine:
Anyway, point being, my account statement at any given time generall has at least one banking charge on there, if not several. I'm not even sure how they're calculated sometimes, unless I ant to get out the stack of paperwork that came with the account.
So, the other day, I'm checking on my acocunt balance and paying some bills, and I see this:
Feb 28, 2005 OTHER BANK FEES 7.50
Feb 28, 2005 FULL SERVE FEE 9.95
Feb 28, 2005 MEINHARDT FINE 26.69
What the holy hell is a Meinhardt Fine? I was wracking my brain for possibilities.
Bounced check? No, my balance was positive throughout it.
Bad deposit? No, the checks I put in that week seemed to have caused no problem (some US checks get a practically indefinite hold on them, it seems).
I was trying to come up with any banking rule I could have violated.
Never fear, however, because we live in the 21st century, and we have Google, and what to my Googling eyes should appear but this:
Meinhardt Fine Foods
... If you are interested in Meinhardt Fine Foods Catering services then please contact
the store at 604-732-4405. ... 2003 Meinhardt Fine Foods Ltd. ...
www.meinhardt.com/ – 14k – 3 Mar 2005 –
Figures. Gourmet market I went to Sunday. Meinhardt Fine . . . Foods. I wanted to shoot myself in the foot.
We can't all be smart all the time, unfortunately.
(Oh, and the store is great. You should go there. Lots of yummy things to buy. And they won't fine you.)