TD offers customer compensation after dispute only if they sign NDA | Go Public

Guanghutsui was preparing his business taxes when he noticed an item on his bank account statement $1.50 fee, sometimes several times going back months. Under his plan, his financial advisor said you get A5 free transactions every month. I said that's great. Does that include E transfer? Said yes. But when he heads to his TD branch, he finds out E transfers aren't included. He files a complaint. TD eventually agrees to pay back those fees and offers a small bonus as a goodwill gesture. But when the paperwork arrives, it includes a clause saying the settlement is confidential. I was really stunned to be honest, because I didn't do anything wrong. And why do you try to shut me up? He refuses to sign the bank, says no confidential contract, no money. That is just unfair and that is unethical. Go Public also heard from a BMO customer forced to sign a gag order if he wanted to get back half the money stolen in E transfer fraud. They just want me to shut up. And I guess that's it. No one in Canada tracks how often non disclosure agreements are used. Initially created to protect trade secrets or intellectual property, lawyers say they're increasingly popular to silence people who've been wronged in cases ranging from financial disputes and insurance claims to sexual assault cases, like the woman who alleged she was assaulted by hockey players on the men's world junior team. I was told that I had no option if I wanted to settle. This requirement to try and keep people silent about almost anything is is not democratic and it suppresses freedom of expression legislation to restrict the use of ND, as has been introduced in several provinces and passed in PEI. After Go Public contacted TD and BMO, both banks compensated their customers. TD apologized to Guangzhou, saying he should never have been asked to sign a confidential contract. Erika Johnson, CBC News Vancouver.