Tag: PC financial

PC Express review

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Please note this is not a sponsored post. This review is based on my experience only.

PC Express is a click-and collect service owned by Loblaw Companies. Various stores offer PC Express, including Real Canadian Superstores in British Columbia.

As a PC Insiders‘ member, I don’t pay to use PC Express, so I decided to give it a try. Non-members have to pay a $5 “convenience fee”, which quite frankly should be renamed “inconvenience fee” instead. 

ONE BIG INCONVENIENCE INDEED

The process is very simple. You shop online, select your pick-up time and wait for the store to notify you when your groceries are ready. That, in itself, went without a hitch. This is when I was notified my order was ready that things went downhill. 

MY ORDER WASN’T READY AT ALL

Upon arriving, I called as instructed. I confirmed my credit card payment with the employee….and then waited….and waited for my order to be delivered. 20 minutes in total. 

People who arrived after me were served before me. This leads to me to believe the store only prepares your order when you call them, or that they forgot my order. 

no substitution available….allegedly 

When I called, I was notified 3 of the products I wanted were not available, and there was no susbtitution possible. I really questioned this, given the 3 products I had ordered: chicken thighs, pork shops and spinach leaves, all very common. 

After my order was finally delivered, I went to the store as I actually needed these items for my meals. 2 of the 3 items were available. The chicken thighs were available in the same brand as only, and the spinach leaves were a different brand. The only item that was not available in the quantity I wanted was the prok shops. I bought an alternate format. 

VERDICT: NOT WORTH IT

In total, I spent 45 minutes on an errand that should have taken 10 minutes, at the maximum. 

When I left the store, I had the impression no care was taken with my order, and that my time had not been respected.  It took me more time than if I had gone to the store directly with my grocery list. 

The only silver lining is that I didn’t pay for the service.I will definitely not renew the experience. 

The click-and-collect concept is getting old and outdated. Loblaw should look into deliveries, like all  pretty much all their competitors do….

 

No fee banking in Canada

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Banks and credit unions in North America have the right to charge all sorts of fees on both business and individual accounts. And boy, they do!

Monthly fees on chequing accounts can as high as to $ 30.00. Many financial institutions will waive the fee if you maintain a daily minimum balance in the account.

Said minimum balance has been on the rise and can easily reach $ 3 000.00. Yes, you are reading right, leaving $ 3 000.00 in accounts that usually don’t earn any interest. Ridiculous!

Monthly fees can and will add-up after an extended period of time. I recently changed banks. My ex credit-union charged me $ 7.00/month for 8 years. It adds up to $ 672.00.

I have done some research to find alternatives to monthly banking fees. I have looked for accounts offering unlimited transactions, not under any age requirement, and of course, with no minimum balance.

“NATIONAL” NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNTS

ALBERTA NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNT

BRITISH COLUMBIA NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNTS

MANITOBA NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNT

  • Cambrian unfee : this credit union will refund all banking fees with a recurring deposit such as payroll or pension

ONTARIO NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNTS

SASKATCHEWAN NO FEE CHEQUING ACCOUNTS

FINAL WORD

I am sure there are other financial institutions offering no fee chequing accounts. The above list is not exhaustive. Feel free to comment if you know of any other no fee chequing accounts in Canada.

Please keep in mind the mentioned institutions do charge other type of fees such as overdraft or cheques orders.