This Toronto man says TD Bank lost his RRSP, potentially worth $100K

Bob Grossman wants to know where his money is.

The Toronto resident had more than $37,000 in his TD Bank Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) account back in 1996, and believed it was rolling over every year, gradually growing in value.

At least, that’s what he says TD told him back in the 1990s.

But last year, as he approached his 60th birthday, he says he went to check on his investment only to find out his account had vanished.

“Oh, I was floored. I mean I understand that I wasn’t accessing it, but I never thought it was gone or missing,” Grossman told CBC News.

According to TD documents he provided to CBC News, the bank told him the retirement savings plan would renew with an annual interest of 4.5 per cent.

The $37,956.64 he had in the account could now be worth as much as $109,163.82.

“I just thought it was renewing every month or every year and I would accumulate money and now’s the time I wanted it,” he said.

Since discovering the funds were missing last March, Grossman reached out to the bank, the bank’s ombudsman, the office of the superintendent of financial institutions and his MP.

He says none could help.

CRA documents suggest account never cashed

CBC News has reviewed dozens of pages of documents, including financial records Grossman provided TD in his effort to find out where his money went, including records from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that appear to show the RSP was never cashed.

In May 2019, TD told Grossman it had no records of the RRSP, and considered the matter closed.

“The Bank conducted a thorough search of your RRSP Account but was unable to locate any records of it,” wrote Loredana Falotico, of TD’s office of the ombudsman.

The bank told Grossman it only has to keep records of shuttered RSP accounts for seven years, adding his account must have been closed, but couldn’t say when or by whom.

“I never closed my account. So if they voluntarily closed it I have no idea why or who gave them the authority to,” said Grossman.

He says TD never informed him or the Canada Revenue Agency that his account had been closed.

TD finds document after CBC asks questions

Then this week, after numerous inquiries from CBC News, TD told Grossman it did have some records of his investment.

The bank provided Grossman with a letter claiming his RRSP had risen in value to $43,037.99 but that the funds were withdrawn on June 29, 2000. TD said it closed the account the same day.

TD, in an email statement, said it was Grossman who closed the account but didn’t provide any supporting documentation.

The bank maintained the new information it uncovered was consistent with its 2019 investigation.

“We can also confirm that you do not have any accounts (RSP or otherwise) with TD, consistent with our findings from your enquiry last year,” Nicholas Zapf, the senior manager of customer care for TD, wrote to Grossman in a letter dated March 10, 2020.

The bank suggested Grossman contact the CRA to see if the federal agency has any record of the RSP.

Grossman has been in contact with CRA numerous times in his quest to find his money. He says the federal agency has told him it has no record of the money, let alone the RSP being cashed and taxed.

Grossman provided CBC News with CRA documents that appear to back him up.

TD declines to answer specific questions

A spokesperson for TD declined to answer a series of questions from CBC News, including why the bank initially claimed it had no records of Grossman’s RSP.

“The results of our investigation remains consistent with our findings from last year. We’ve conducted a thorough investigation and have concluded that the account in question is not with TD,” a bank spokesperson said in an email.

“Additionally we can confirm that regulatory and reporting requirements for RSPs prohibit any financial institution from changing or closing an RSP account without a customer’s consent.”

Grossman says he still wants the bank to rectify the situation.

“I just want what they owe me: my money plus interest,” Grossman told CBC News.

“Just because they’re a bank and they’re supposed to be the professional people to invest with, you’ve got to stay on top of it,” he said.

“You can’t assume that things are being done accordingly.”

CBC