Never forget that the big banks are in business to make money for their shareholders. Serving customers is always going to be a lower priority than boosting the bottom line, despite what their ads say.

No matter what kind of help you seek from a bank, you can be tricked and deceived if you start with the idea that the bank is your friend. It’s not on your side. The overriding goal is to make profits for shareholders.

Canadians trust the banks too much. We think we will get objective help, not tainted by bias or financial incentives. That’s far from the case.

For example, banks push you to buy expensive insurance that covers minimum payments on your credit card if you’re sick or injured. They may enroll you in a plan without authorization when you get a credit card, then put the onus on you to opt out.

When you take out a mortgage, banks often link their life insurance to the application. They don’t tell you that life insurance is optional and is available at much better terms outside the bank.

And why are banks always keen to extend credit so you can contribute to an RRSP or catch up on previous RRSP contributions? If they had your best interests at heart, wouldn’t they tell you that the best investment is to cut down your debt, especially in the early years of a mortgage when interest costs are highest?

Last year, I got more complaints about banks than in the previous five years. They came from people surprised to find the base rate on their lines of credit going up at a time when the Bank of Canada rate was coming down — and from those shocked at the size of their penalties when they renegotiated a mortgage.

Check the complaint from Sarah below, who renewed her mortgage when the bank approached her and had no idea that she’d be zapped with a huge fee. The friendly banker never mentioned it. In fact, she was assured that she could do this transaction without any consequences.

That’s what the company wants you to believe. It’s put together a slick campaign online to show it’s committed to better service.

I like the extended call centre hours. Finally! What took so long? And I like the testimonials. But why do they come only from Bell employees? Where are the customers?

Bell talks about having 11,000 representatives right here. It’s trying to fight the perception that your calls always go overseas. But is it moving away from foreign call centres? Apparently so, according to Bell spokeswoman Julie Smithers. (See her response below.)

Let’s not forget Bad Bell. CBC Marketplace last night announced it was the winner of a contest for Canada’s Worst Cellphone Bill.

Julie Smithers tried to smooth things over by refunding all the charges. But host Wendy Mesley asked, as I do all the time, what about the customers who don’t have the power of the media behind them?

So, here’s my question to Bell customers: Are things improving? How are you doing with technical support, hidden charges, billing errors and unwritten contracts? And when you call or email the company, are you getting quicker, better service?

I did a column yesterday about those in-your-face bank commercials and why they’re getting so weird.

You know, the two grumpy old men (TD Canada Trust) and the dysfunctional couples (Scotiabank). I couldn’t find the real Scotiabank ad on YouTube, so I’ve linked to a parody.

But there’s one I missed that’s pretty offensive, BMO and the worry doll. A reader mentioned it and I think it’s a mystery why any advertising exec approved it.

Here are some nasty comments I found online about these North Americans griping about their “investmentitos” while shopping at a third world market:

I hate this commercial. Spoilt first world people with enough money to invest (and travel) condescending to the local vendor (who probably lives on a few dollars a week) about their mucho grande worries. The female tourist is particularly obnoxious.

Because, y’know, us white North Americans have bigger worries than these 3rd world, rural peasants even with their contaminated water supplies, their drought-ridden farms, their starving children… our worries are still so much more… important.

This couple can afford to travel abroad, have “investmentitos” and they are complaining to some 90 year old woman who is trying to feed herself by selling stupid dolls to foreigners about their money issues. Doesn’t BMO think this is a bit insensitive?

Okay, the first time I saw this funny-looking blonde woman trying to translate investments as “investmentitos” and matching market fluctuations to the tone of her voice – “sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down,” – I kinda chuckled. But after the tenth time it was just annoying. Hm, maybe if I yell louder and put an O on the end of my words she’ll understand me.

On the plus side, Ally Bank is doing great ads with its use of humour and kids. My husband laughs every time he sees this commercial, every single time.

So, what do you think of the ads by BMO, Ally, TD and Scotia? Any other financial ads you like or dislike?

After a week in the Mexican sun, I’m back connecting customers to corporations, trying to open lines of communication and relieve frustration.

Two days later, I have a bunch of victories to report. You’ll find stories posted below about a 12-year-old boy’s savings at TD Canada Trust, a new mother’s concern about nursery furniture bought at Stork Craft and a student’s battle with defective hinges on an HP laptop computer.

I’m not alone in this fight. Last July, musician Dave Carroll released a video, United Breaks Guitars, that went viral on YouTube. When denied compensation because he didn’t file his claim within a 24-hour period, he decided to write and record a bluegrass lament about how badly customers are treated.

The airline finally did agree to pay for repairs, but only in response to negative publicity. Carroll nixed the offer and recorded two more videos.

The latest, released tonight, thanks United for helping to relaunch his career. He knows that the 9 million YouTube views of his videos were worth much more than the $1,200 he put out to fix his Taylor guitar.

Along the way, he’s done media interviews and he’s been adopted by business schools as a case study in poor customer service. Well done, Dave.

Here’s his final comment as he touches down on the landing strip:

I had hoped that creating these videos might make a big corporation rethink how they think of each and every customer, but could never have imagined the potential hidden inside a music video and a few social media tools.

Corporations of all kinds around the world now feel compelled, in part because of United Breaks Guitars, to build in a better model for customer care into their businesses. I’m proud to have been a part of it but the real credit goes to the millions of people around the world who took the time to laugh and tell a friend.

Taking a short break, which I’m going to do now.

Fulfilling my personal blog challenge to write more often. Not quite every two days, but pretty close.

Reading a book called The Happiness Project, which came out of a blog.

Being a “satisficer” and not a “maximizer” (see tip #7 in the above blog post, 10 tips for being happier).

Breaking down barriers to help customers get heard in corporate Canada.

See you in March.

There are so many things. Where to begin?

– Companies that make recurring billing errors. Instead of straightening out the mess, they crack down on customers who don’t pay.

– Investment professionals who push risky portfolios on clients, based on false information on their account application forms. Later, they deny blame when the client complains about unsuitable investment recommendations.

– Lawyers who try to collect money by harassing someone with the same name as the person they’re chasing.

You want to get angry too? Just read the stories posted here.

I often hear from people who are owed thousands of dollars because of corporate errors and malfeasance. But I’ve come to conclude that the dollar value of a complaint isn’t as big a deal as the principle involved.

Those with just a small amount of money at stake can be equally, if not more, outraged at how they’re treated. They can become frustrated — to the point of obsession — when companies ignore them. And a corporate failure to communicate drives customers to the media.

Companies have to listen and respond to ordinary people without fobbing them off on third-party call centres. Otherwise, they will continue to get a bad rap for service, which can damage their reputations and their share prices.

Here are a few laments that came my way today, including a Tim Hortons story that took just a few hours to resolve.

Remember when all you heard from investment salespeople during the RRSP season was about the 30 per cent tax credits available on a labour-sponsored fund?

Sometimes, they added the RRSP deduction and showed how 75 to 80 per cent of your contribution was subsidized.

Sounded like a great deal, right? But did they also mention the sky high management fees or the fact that a portfolio of emerging businesses might prove to be highly illiquid in an economic downturn?

Unless you held the fund for eight years, you had to repay the tax credits. But just as cash-in time was getting close, many funds suspended redemptions and moved to annual distributions. This meant an even longer wait to retrieve your money, assuming you had much left.

What I find galling is that the high management fees continue to accrue, even though you’re stuck in the fund and can’t exit. That’s another thing your salesperson probably didn’t tell you.

I spoke to investment author Gordon Pape, who owns a bunch of labour-sponsored funds and didn’t see it coming. Neither did I when I bought the Vengrowth II fund, which I wrote about this week.

My column elicited lots of response from readers, some of whom asked if they could join a class action lawsuit against the fund managers.

I think contracts should be written and signed by both parties. A verbal contract is unfair — especially if the consumer is not aware that it exists.

Suppose you’re speaking to Bell Canada and you’re offered a discount. You say OK, but don’t ask any questions. You have no idea you’ve entered into an informal contract.

Some time later, you switch your business to another firm. Bell makes you repay all your monthly discounts, going back to when you received them, in your final bill.

Since you didn’t know you had a contract, you didn’t know when it expired. And if you did know the expiry date, you could have delayed your switch for a few months.

I wrote about this issue here a few months ago, but now I have an update. Daryl Charanduk, whose comment appears in the earlier post, appealed Bell’s decision to the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).

CCTS upheld Bell’s verbal contract, based on the information given by both sides. Check out its decision posted below.

As for Charanduk, he’s still unhappy with Bell. But he’s happy he switched. Now he’s paying much less than he did with Bell, even after receiving the fictitious discount that was later clawed back.

Tonight, the CBC news ran a piece about a common consumer con. You return your rented car in the same condition you received it and later find a damage charge added to your credit card bill.

With the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, the rental car scam may be easier to pull off.

In the story, a businessman was told that Budget had to replace his rented Kia’s windshield at a cost of $1,100, when there was a tiny chip that would cost $25 to $30 to fill in. He cancelled his credit card to avoid having the charge put through on it.

What else can you do to protect yourself? Don’t buy the expensive collision damage waiver (CDW) from the rental company. Find out how much coverage you have from your own car insurance policy and your credit card company.

Also, take your own pictures of the rental car if you drop it off at remote locations or after hours.

The story resonated with me because I was in a fender bender accident a week ago and I’ve just rented a car from Enterprise (a nice feature of my policy). The clerk made a pitch for the CDW coverage so I wouldn’t have to involve my own insurance company. I said I’d take my chances.

The Enterprise office, located next to the body shop I went to, probably has some success with that argument. When your insurance company is already paying for one claim, why tempt fate by risking another damage claim with a rented car?

Bravo to the CBC for exposing the way car rental firms can abuse customers who haven’t bought their expensive coverage against scratches and chips.