I normally have a private chuckle when I do a lot of analysis for a client and they turn around and say “I am going to take this to my bank and see what they can do.”
One most people don’t half 51% ownership and two well I will let a quote from the bank’s lawyers tell the story…
“For the banks, the biggest concern is not the award, but the judge’s refusal to accept their argument that they shouldn’t be subject to provincial consumer protection legislation because they operate under federal law.
All provinces have consumer protection legislation and other acts, but the banks historically have not felt the need to abide by them, said lawyers for the banks who declined to be identified.”
This quote is a result of a major defeat of the big bank’s in a class action suit. They have been found by the Supreme Court to be in violation of provincal consumer protection laws because they felt that those laws did not apply to them. Guess again…
Think about this, the banks have operated for years under the assumption the laws that bind mortgage brokers like me…don’t apply. Think about it. Really think about it…the protections you assumed were in place were ignored by the friendly banker across the table.
Vancouver mortgage insight is provided by Duncan Seward a registered Vancouver mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Liberty Financial He helps clients in North Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Burnaby and Langley with their mortgage questions. He is an expert in BC mortgage matters. You can check out regular mortgage updates at his blog page Vancouver Mortgage Rates.
