Former PC Financial customers say frozen Simplii bank accounts causing 'undue hardship'

Some customers of Simplii Financial, the rebrand of the former PC Financial, say they've been caught off guard after their bank accounts were suddenly frozen in recent weeks.

Last year, the new CIBC-operated banking service absorbed more than two million PC Financial customers and promised a seamless transition.

But GJ Hagenaars, a longtime PC Financial customer, feels it missed the mark.

• CIBC to swallow PC Financial's banking business, rebrand as Simplii
• Where does the CIBC-PC Financial breakup leave consumers?

On March 28, his old debit card was declined while he was trying to buy $122 worth of food at his local grocery store in Smiths Falls, Ont., about an hour south of Ottawa. 

"It's not a nice feeling when you're standing in the grocery store, and trying to pay for something, and your bank card is not working," he said.

Like other customers whose banking information transitioned to the Simplii label, Hagenaars was sent a new Simplii debit card in the mail. The service told him bank cards would stop working by April 10 this year — a note that's also prominent on Simplii's website.

'I'm still stunned'

Still, Hagenaars, and others, say they didn't realize their accounts could be frozen long before that deadline.

One Reddit user who was still using a PC Financial debit card recently wrote that they knew the old account would freeze by April 10, but questioned why Simplii "froze it on March 23rd without notifying me."

Another Twitter user said their account was frozen on March 22 without warning, and without any notification after it happened.

Tagging Simplii Financial in a series of posts, the frustrated customer also tweeted that if a bank gives an "activate by" date, it shouldn't be blocking accounts before that deadline.

"I'm still stunned at this action your bank chose to take, and the undue hardship it caused me," the user wrote.

Simplii 'here to help 24-7'

Representatives for Simplii have been responding directly to these kinds of customer complaints online in recent weeks.

"We're working to make the transition as easy as possible and here to help 24-7 either online or by phone if clients need any assistance," said Tom Wallis, a spokesperson for the banking service, in an email to CBC Toronto.

Wallis didn't confirm how many accounts have been frozen to date. He did say all clients are being encouraged to activate their new Simplii cards by making a transaction with their existing PIN prior to the April 10 deadline.  

But some customers say that hasn't worked either.

In Hagenaars' case, he said that even when he tried to use the new Simplii card he'd received in the mail at an ATM, it didn't work — contrary to what he said he was told by the company — and it was only activated after he called customer service.

It's also not the first time Simplii customers have been concerned. As the Canadian Press reported last year, some reported long wait times for customer service help by phone, while others complained online about the service's mobile app not working after the transition from PC Financial.

"This is not the right way to associate your new name with a banking experience," Hagenaars said.