Resolving Complaints

If you have a complaint of any kind, we are committed to resolving it promptly and effectively.  We encourage you to follow the process outlined below, to help you get your complaint resolved as soon as possible.

Once we receive your complaint, we will acknowledge receipt and work towards resolving your issue in a timely manner. We will contact you, typically within 7 days, to follow-up accordingly. 

We will investigate your complaint and endeavor to provide you with an impartial, objective, and fair resolution to your complaint within 56 days of receipt.

You can obtain, upon request, at any time during the complaint process, an up-to-date status of your complaint.

You have the right to submit your complaint to the Ombudsman’s for Banking and Investment Survives (OBSI), whose contact details are outlined in this brochure, if:

• We are unable to resolve your complaint within the prescribed 56-day period for dealing with complaints
• You are not satisfied with the resolution offered by the Bank’s Senior Designated Complaints Officer

Step 1: Raise a complaint

For individuals in the pre-mortgage stages:

Contact the Bank’s Sales Representative or Mortgage Specialist you have been dealing with.

If you are already dealing with one of our Sales Representative or Mortgage Specialists, it is best to contact them directly. More than often, your concern can be resolved satisfactorily by talking to the employee that you have already had contact with.

If your complaint is about the Sales Representative or Mortgage Specialists, you can ask to deal with their manager. The sooner you contact the appropriate parties, the sooner they can begin working on a solution for you. 

Alternatively, you can contact the Bank in the following ways:

For clients with existing mortgages

Contact the Bank’s Client Relations Team

Include the following in your correspondence:

• Your name and contact information
• The nature of your complaint
• The resolution you are seeking

Resolving your Complaint

Who are you submitting this complaint for?^*

• Myself
  

  I am submitting this complaint for myself.
• Someone else
  

  The consumer has authorized me to submit this complaint for them.

Your Information

First Name^*

Last Name^*

Are you an existing client or in the process of applying for a mortgage?^*

I have an existing mortgage I am applying for a mortgage No

File Number (if known)

Are you working with a professional partner (Broker, Financial Planner or Bank)

Yes No

What is your preferred method of contact?^*

Phone Number Email

Phone Number

Email

By providing your email address, you understand that it will be used for the purpose of confirming receipt of your complaint and corresponding with you with regarding to your complaint.

In order for us to investigate your complaint, please provide us with as much detail as possible (who, what, when etc.) and the resolution you are seeking^*

Characters Left

Max 2500 Characters

Submit

Your Information

First Name^*

Last Name^*

What is your preferred method of contact?^*

Phone Number Email

Phone Number

Email

By providing your email address, you understand that it will be used for the purpose of confirming receipt of your complaint and corresponding with you with regarding to your complaint.

*Please note that depending on the nature of your complaint, we may need permission from the account holder before we can discuss and/or share information with you.

Who are you submitting this complaint for?

Their First Name^*

Their Last Name^*

Their Phone Number

Their Email

By providing your email address, you understand that it will be used for the purpose of confirming receipt of your complaint and corresponding with you with regarding to your complaint.

Your Relationship to Them ^*

Broker Child Financal Advisor Friend/Neighbour Lawyer Other (Please specify) Other Family Member POA (Power of Attorney) Public Guardian Spouse/Partner

If Other, please specify ^*

Are they an existing client or in the process of applying for a mortgage?^*

They have an existing mortgage They are applying for a mortgage No

File Number (if known)

Are they working with a professional partner (Broker, Financial Planner or Bank)

Yes No

In order for us to investigate your complaint, please provide us with as much detail as possible (who, what, when etc.) and the resolution you are seeking^*

Characters Left

Max 2500 Characters

Submit

Thanks! Your complaint has been received

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. The Bank is required to attempt to resolve your complaint within 56 days. We will endeavor to resolve your issue in a timely manner, typically within 7 days. However, if our investigation exceeds this timeframe, we will contact you and follow up accordingly.

Please click on and download the Banks 'Resolving Complaints Brochure' below to familiarize yourself with our complaints process. Additionally, it contains the details of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) and the external complaint bodies whom we are regulated by, should you need to contact them.

Download Complaints Guide here

Step 2: Ask for your complaint to be escalated to a Designated Complaint Handler

If you are unhappy with how your complaint is progressing or the resolution you received from the employee handling your complaint, ask that employee to escalate your complaint to a ‘Designated Complaint Handler’.

Step 3: Contact the Banks most Senior Designated Complaint Officer

If your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction or remains unresolved after following Steps 1 and 2 of our Complaint Process, you may escalate your complaint by contacting our Senior Designated Complaints Officer. However, if your complaint relates specifically to a privacy matter, you can contact our Chief Privacy Officer.

External Agencies

If the above steps don’t resolve your complaint, you may consider escalating the matter further to the appropriate external agencies that can further review your complaint.  

Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)

You can contact the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), an independent dispute resolution service for consumers with a financial services complaint. You have up to 180 days from receiving our final response to submit your complaint to OBSI. More information about OBSI can be found at www.obsi.ca.

You may contact the Ombudsman at:

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC)

The mandate of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) includes overseeing compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s private sector privacy law. More information about OPC may be found at www.priv.gc.ca

For a complaint, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by:

Or going online: www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/file-a-formal-privacy-complaint

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises federally regulated financial institutions to make sure they comply with federal consumer protection laws, voluntary codes of conduct and public commitments. More information on FCAC may be found at www.fcac.gc.ca

FCAC will assess complaints made in writing to determine if there was a breach of law, code of conduct or public commitment, and if so, what actions should be taken.  FCAC does not resolve individual consumer complaints, nor is it mandated to provide redress or compensation. You may contact FCAC as follows:

Telephone: 1-866-461-3222

Write To:

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

427 Laurier Avenue West, 6th Floor

Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B9

The Senior Designated Complaints Officer’s Message

HomeEquity Bank is committed to providing excellent customer service to our clients.  Our dedicated employees work hard to address concerns brought to our attention and ensure that a satisfactory resolution is reached, or a reasonable explanation is provided before escalating a complaint to the Senior Designated Complaints Officer.

When a mutually acceptable resolution cannot be achieved, the Senior Designated Complaints Officer provides an impartial avenue of appeal for clients with unresolved complaints*. The Senior Designated Complaints Officer is independent and is charged with reviewing customer complaints that remain unresolved after the completion of the first two steps of HomeEquity Bank’s Complaint Handling Process.

The Senior Designated Complaints Officer is not an advocate of any party and is committed to providing an impartial and unbiased review of the complaint to ensure that a fair outcome and reasonable resolution is reached by the Bank and its clients. The Senior Designated Complaints Officer may also make recommendations, where appropriate, to improve HomeEquity Bank’s operations and services to enhance client experiences.

The Year in Review

Case Outcomes	Cases
Closed	10
Resolved	12

2023 Case Outcomes

Cases By Product	Count
CHIP Reverse Mortgage	15
CHIP Max	4
Income Advantage	3

2023 Cases By Product

Nature of Complaint Cases

*The Senior Designated Complaints Officer does not adjudicate on complaints related to credit decisions, preferable interest rate requests, mandatory service fees and matters that are in litigation. If a client decides to pursue legal action during the investigation, the Senior Designated Complaints Officer may also cease the investigation. The Senior Designated Complaints Officer does not offer legal or regulatory opinion or advice.