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Piss on the RBTT Banking Morons

SOME PEOPLE ASK, WHY THIS BANNER?

As a formidable Consumer’s Advocate responsible for Trinidad’s First BANKING OMBUDSMAN (Now the FSO/Financial Services Ombudsman) and it’s revised BANKRUPTCY & INSOLVENCY BILL 2006, I considered it necessary on May 15th 2008 to write to Gordon Nixon, CEO of Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC) congratulating him for RBC’S successful acquisition of Trinidad’s despicable RBTT Bank Ltd. which PIRG felt was not operating in the best interest of the very people who constitute the very nucleus of Trinidad Banking, and on whose backs they continued to ride without conscience, extracting more and more ‘Profits” while shamelessly offering them extremely poor service, and limited financing designed for pawn-brokers, making sure they merely survived and not prosper, while using the vast and combined savings of these people to ensure minority races, clans and cliques prosper with enormous wealth.

PIRG continued in its eight pages of correspondence to tell this Mr. Nixon “We as a formidable Consumer’s advocacy group would not allow RBC as new owners of RBTT to continue this same level of shamelessly despicable service to Trinidadians, and that we expect the same level of service to our people as afforded them by bankers in Canada, including RBC”. We then warned him “Should this same service continue, we would engage our Trade Unions as representatives of the masses to institute marches on RBTT’S premises in Trinidad to demand respectable levels of customer service, and full access to all the bank’s products and services”. We asked for toilets in banks, Full Teller Service as a means of eliminating existing and unacceptable long lines, and staff trained and monitored to value the Customer’s time AS EXIST IN CANADA.

This letter was sent to Mr. Nixon via FEDEX on May 15th 2008, and a copy delivered to one of RBTT’S MORON OF BANKING MORONS, CARLENE THOMPSON BISHOP the so-called “Manager” of its Maraval Branch who along with the bank’s GRETCHEN CAMACHO, Manager D/Martin & SUSAN DELPH, Manager of West-Mall would REFUSE the honor ITS VERY OWN Customer’s Mandate purely as a puerile means of malevolence in refusing to cash their cheques SOLELY because it was payable to TREVOR HOSTEN, founder of PIRG, a known public critic of their banking misfeasance and malfeasance, and their use of the bank’s enormous resources as their own personal fiefdom to get to those with guts to stand up to them, these Square pegs in Round holes fooling the masses that they know banking beyond being mere Robots with absolutely no brains, nor understanding of the Role of a Banker.

On Monday May 26 THE EMPIRE STRIKED BACK

A mere 11 days later, triggered no doubt by anger and malice towards our letter to RBC’S Nixon, RBTT’S DOREEN ST. LOUIS of its Risk Management at 2nd floor, 55 Independence Square, sent two of the bank’s employees to the Ariapita Avenue Furniture Showroom of PIRG’S founder to engage stealth and dubious machinations, lying to the staff about their intended purchase of furniture in which they required “Pro-forma Invoice to prepare payment tomorrow”. At 1.20PM that same evening I received a call while in Philadelphia from a female claiming “Am a single parent who recently lost my job and Republic bank registered a Judgment against me and wrote to threaten me they would execute a levy to recover”, further exclaiming in the most genuine of deceit, ‘What advise can you give me to handle this”, prompting me to emphasize in a manner I did to numerous consumers in the past, as I proffered sage advise to protect their rights, EXCEPT she was an RBTT employee from right there at 55 Independence Square, continuing to do the dirty bidding of her superiors, possibly for recognition and promotion as is their paradigm, REGARDLESS of how wrong, or whom they hurt, or what family or business they disrupt. PERIOD.

The following day, Tuesday May 27th at around 10.12AM, I received a call from my office that “A Marshall from the Court is here to levy on a judgment for RBTT Bank, along with four large trucks, Two Policemen, 8 loaders and a Bailiff”. They deliberately escalated a $28,000 judgment to $139,890.00 padded with usury interest, and cost of the levy. Feeling they had me, they refused to back down, avaricious to fulfill the bank’s objectives at any cost as they proceeded to manhandle and load furniture on their trucks. A customer Mr. Pantin who previously paid for a three piece Leather set was driving by on Ariapita Avenue and on reaching our shop saw the identical set he paid for being loaded on a truck and the manner in which it was manhandled brought him into our shop to complain, only to realize we were not attempting his delivery, but being levied upon by RBTT Bank only because PIRG wrote to RBC Canada complaining about the horrible service and aloofness and high-handed arrogance of the RBTT BANKING MORONS in Trinidad. When completed by 3.35 PM so as to rush to eastern enterprises to store and Auction them off, they willfully took goods in excess of $670,000.00.
Upon completion of the exercise, a pivotal player of the operations told my staff “This Bank really out to get your boss. Just yesterday they send people here pretending to be customers to gather more ammunition and even told me TO GO DOWN THERE, EMBARRASS HIM, SHUT HIM UP AND CLOSE HIM DOWN”.

Following the bank’s public advertisement to AUCTION the looted goods, and of course anxious to continue their vindictiveness by bearing and embarrassing the Name TREVOR HOSTEN, I engaged litigation against this despicable RBTT Bank AND WON, albeit at a loss to understand the Judge’s ruling directed that the bank release the levied goods, BUT pay half my legal Cost, while directing my Company pay have their $98,000.00 storage fees for their errors in wrongly seizing goods from TREVOR HOSTEN INTERIORS TRINIDAD LTD. During this trial, I witnessed first hand how a Bailiff in the coffers of a powerful bank can deliberately and blatantly LIE under OATH to tell the court he saw no nameplate bearing TREVOR HOSTEN INTERIORS TRINIDAD LTD,  following his pre levy visits to determine accuracy, and also on the day of the said levy. My Company has had that Nameplate permanently placed there since its inception.

Following the court’s ruling, I hung the banner PISS ON THE RBTT BANKING MORONS on my building on Ariapita Avenue on Friday December 12th which drew tremendous attention and of course curious people stopping to take a photo. On Tuesday December 16 while serving a customer who incidentally was complaining about her RBTT banking relationship as so many others, RBTT’S head of Security and perpetuator of their injustices visited my showroom. Just as the customer took out her RBTT cheque book I exclaimed in the presence of this Mr. JEREMY JONES “Am sorry but we will not accept any cheque from that bank as they will refuse to cash it ONLY because it is made payable to me, TREVOR HOSTEN”, which prompted an immediate injection for Mr. Jones “Maam you can go ahead and write that cheque and I will see to it that Mr. Hosten does not have a problem. And I assure you, Mr. Hosten it would not be a problem”. This was mentioned only because Mr., Jones was privy to, supported and condoned the bank’s previous and well established malevolent actions of denying even their very own customer’s right as their paying agent by nefariously refusing to cash their cheques ONLY because it was payable to TREVOR HOSTEN. Following the customer’s departure Mr. Jones continued “Mr. Hosten that banner is causing quite a stir and my Managing Director sent me to negotiate with you leaving it to me to make certain decisions. I come in Peace. Now tell me, what could we do to get you to remove that banner?”

Explaining my situation which he was already privy to, I requested the following:

1. A LETTER OF APOLOGY FOR THE BANKS WRONGFUL ACTIONS AGAINST ME VIA ITS GRETCHEN CAMACHO, SIAM RAMJAGSINGH, CARLENE THOMPSON BISHOP, SUSAN DELPH AND ITS DAVID HACKETT who BLATANTLY LIED TO BANKING REGULATORS (Who I complained to)  by correspondence dated September 12, 2002 THAT I WAS INDEBTED TO ITS WESTMALL BRANCH ONLY TO BE REFUTED BY ITS THEN MANAGER Mrs. C. AQUI by correspondence dated October 7, 2002. (This was deliberately done as a way of denying my reputable Company with an enviable DUNN & BRADSTREET International Credit Rating of 1A2, access to the bank’s Credit Card terminals which actually puts money into an account to be withdrawn ONLY with the banks approval).
2. REINSTATEMENT OF MY CURRENT ACCOUNTS
3. INSTALLATION OF THE BANK’S POINT OF SALE TERMINALS WHICH MY THEN MANAGER M/s THEODORA CHIN RECOMMENDED OVER SEVEN TIMES THAT I QUALIFIED FOR, EVEN GOING AS FAR AS FINALLY WRITING THE BANK’S DAVID HACKETT AND SIAM RAMJAGSINGH “I WILL ACCEPT PERSONAL REPONSIBILITY FOR MR. HOSTEN’S TERMINALS”, SO MY BUSINESS COULD ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS AND CONSUMERS, INCLUDING RBTT VERY OWN CARD HOLDERS WOULD NO LONGER BE INCONVENIENCED, AT TIMES LEAVING MY SHOP IN THE RAIN TO VISIT THE NEAREST ATM TO WITHDRAW CASH TO COMPLETE THEIR TRANSACTIONS.
4. RETURN OF MY COMPANY’S GOODS WRONGFULLY LEVIED ON, WITHOUT MY PAYING HALF THE $98,000 STORAGE FEES AS DIRECTED BY THE COURT WHO ALSO ORDERED RBTT TO RETURN THESE MERCHANDISE. THAT THE BANK PAYS MY FULL LEGAL COST AS AGAINST THE 50% ORDERED BY THE JUDGE.

Mr. Jones responded “I could give you the first three, bit not so sure of the last”, prompting me to respond ‘WELL THE F’ING BANNER STAYS” to which he responded “OK Trevor, I WLL SEE TO IT THAT YOU GET YOUR MACHINES BY FRIDAY, IF NOT MONDAY FOR THE LATEST, BUT I MUST TAKE DOWN THAT BANNER BEFORE I LEAVE HERE TODAY, DO YOU HAVE A LADDER?”. I responded “Mr. Jones are you sure you can deliver what you offer here today assuming I allow you permission to take down the banner?” He responded “Trevor, you have my word on that” to which I agreed and directed him to the 10’ ladder as he proceeded to climb up and down removing the many clips to free this apparently powerful banner which, evidently, rattled the Park Street Head Quarters of this powerful banking behemoth and present Cartel Chair.

The following day this Mr. Jones called to advise me that his Managing Director Catherine Kumar wanted to meet with me, and a meeting was arranged for Thursday December 18th at 8.00AM, and lasted to 9.51 AM at which time I aired my grievances to a Managing Director I had previously written to over 8 times both on my behalf and that of consumer’s who sought PIRG’S help in seeking rescue from the bank’s many misfeasance and malfeasances, arrogance, pettiness and malevolence, ALL without even the courtesy of an acknowledgement, far less effective action befitting any reputable financial organization concerned about their public image and the quality of their Customer Service. Of course M/s Kumar pretended not to have received any of these correspondences proffering some lame excuse about “they going to various departments”.

Further, I again made clear my justifiable demands as I did to her Mr. Jeremy Jones as she took notes pretending to be surprised at the charges leveled against her bank, and promised to investigate them and “get back to you by Monday 22nd. During this meeting I also told her in the presence of Mr. Jones “If I owe your bank I will pay them if you will waive the interest”.

Monday 22nd came and no response, but M/s Kumar did call on Tuesday apparently ill, and I said to her “I understand, so I will give you some time to get better, but no later than Monday 29th” as we parted quite amicably. Low and behold I received a call from the bank’s Mr. Raymond Bachew exclaiming in a voice beseeched with both urgency and anxiety “M/s Kumar ask me to contact you to make payment arrangements for your outstanding loan and I wanted to know if we can meet as soon as possible to complete this”. 

This immediately led me to believe that RBTT bank, despite my extending an olive branch to them, and their Mr. Jeremy Jones on approaching me about the banner exclaiming “I come in peace to negotiate with you” was callously looking to railroad me, seeking ONLY their own unilateral self interest without addressing the serious and pivotal concerns raised with their M/s Kumar, and I promptly told Bachew “This is NOT what was agreed to and I am only willing to make payment arrangements contingent on a complete deal to reasonably address my essential concerns including that of RBTT cardholders. SO UP WENT THE BANNER, AGAIN!

“PISS ON THE RBTT BANKING MORONS”

I was later informed by inside staffers that their DAVID HACKETT, the same one who previously wrote the Banking Inspector of the Central Bank on September 12, 2002 blatantly lying to besmirch my character while making the bank appear above board as they always do, this same DAVID HACKETT who in his desire to railroad my legitimate business repeatedly told his Managers to do nothing for me, was instrumental in admonishing M/s Kumar to “Have no dealings with that man, and the Banner could stay for as long as he wish, and we could write off dat small amount”.

On January 21, 2009 I received a letter hand delivered by Jeremy Jones, the penultimate paragraph which read, “NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN ALSO THAT, WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT, RBTT BANK LIMITED RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE YOU ADMISSION TO BANK PREMISES IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO”. So if YOU are an RBTT customer exercising your inalienable right to give me your RBTT cheque, this reprehensible bank is saying they would NOT cash it as they continue their long standing pettiness against a formidable Consumer’s Advocate publicly vociferous against their despicable level of customer service to Africans and Indians, their highhanded arrogance because they feel they have the people’s money, and when you challenge them AS I DID, AND WOULD CONTINUE TO DO so as to RIGHT their many WRONGS, they choose to become spiteful with weak and vindictive employees grossly lacking morals and integrity to get to their Victim at any possible cost.