The parking lot at the UNI bank branch on Morton Avenue in Moncton has been full every day for the past three weeks.
Since the July 6th rollout of UNI’s new banking platform, customers have been experiencing difficulties receiving their paycheques on time, paying their bills, and using their debit cards.
UNI client Yves Raiche turned around after seeing the long wait at the bank.
He wants to use thousands of dollars of his savings to pay off an outstanding loan he has with UNI in order to end all business dealings with them.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to get this loan totally cleared off before it gets worse,” he said on Friday.
“The parking lot is full. There’s a 45-minute wait. So, what’s going on here? We want answers,” he said.
Gilles Lizotte, who has been banking with UNI for over 25 years, said he had to borrow money from family members because he hasn’t been able to use his debit card for the past three weeks.
He’s also been unable to log into his online banking profile.
“I don’t know if I got money in my account. I don’t know nothing,” he said.
Lizotte walks with a cane due to a neck injury and finds standing for long periods of time painful.
He has come to the bank branch 10 times in the past three weeks and left each time due to the long wait.
“I’m getting sick and tired of it,” he said.
Christian Duguay was at the Moncton branch on Friday because after paying off a loan in full on July 10th, a loan payment was automatically deducted from his account on the 21st of July.
He hasn’t been able to get on the phone with someone from UNI or speak to an employee at the branch since then.
“I call, I come here, and it’s 45 minutes’ wait. I’m not going to stand here 45 minutes,” he said.
UNI CEO Robert Moreau said staff are working 24/7 to try to fix the problems.
“We’re still in that process of transitioning but you know, month end is getting close, a few days from now, and the next month will be smoother, that’s for sure,” he said in an interview.
Moreau pointed out that some of the technical issues had been resolved, such as banking at ATMs, and that all banking fees were waived for all clients throughout the month of July.
He said the bank would help clients who incurred late fees or impacts to their credit scores due to being late paying bills because of the technical issues.
“We’re asking our members to give us a chance, it’s a big transition and it is complex. We’re asking for their understanding and a lot of them still do,” Moreau said.
Raiche, Lizotte and Duguay all intend to end their dealings with UNI as soon as possible.