CIBC customers to get refunds after being wrongly charged credit card fees

CIBC will be refunding an estimated $70 million to customers after an investigation found that the bank has been charging incorrect credit card fees over a 14-year span.

The bank, which is the fifth-largest lender in Canada, has been improperly charging customers for exceeding their credit limits between 2003 and 2017. CIBC has also been charging inappropriately high premiums on optional creditor insurance policies during this period.

Both issues have been fixed, according to a notice posted to CIBC’s website.

CIBC customers will be receiving refunds that average out at $50, including interest. The refunds will be automatically issued to customers’ credit card accounts between July and October, though the bank aims to deposit the majority of the refunds by August.

Customers who are no longer banking with CIBC will receive cheques in the mail. The bank advises people who have moved since they last held a CIBC account to call the bank if they haven’t received a letter about the issue by October.

The refund amounts were validated by an independent firm.

CIBC has not explained when it discovered the mistakes, or how the problem occurred.

“We are notifying affected clients directly and taking action to ensure they are refunded with interest as quickly as possible as we work to make this right,” CIBC spokesperson Jason Wesley told the Globe and Mail in a statement Friday.