Ontario woman frustrated after bank reverses currency exchange of $1,400

When travelling abroad, you may come home with foreign currencies. if you hang onto foreign currency too long it could become outdated and lose its value.

A Scarborough, Ont. woman says she visited her bank to exchange some Mexican pesos for Canadian funds earlier this year, but weeks after completing the exchange, she was told by the bank that the pesos were worthless and they wanted the Canadian money back.

“They are penalizing me for their error and I think that’s unfair,” Josie Romano told CTV News.

Romano said she has travelled to Mexico many times over the years and saved her leftover pesos, before deciding in March to exchange them.

Romano gave the bank $21,000 in Mexican pesos and received $1,413 in Canadian dollars.

“(The teller) gave me the cash and I accepted it. I went home and completely forgot all about it,” she said.

However, Romano said Scotiabank later contacted her to say the bills were too old and of no value.

“They changed their mind and said the pesos are too old. I had no idea that the pesos are old. How would I know? They’re the bank.”

The Mexican peso was revalued by the Bank of Mexico in 1993 and older bills were withdrawn from circulation.

Romano said the bank offered to return the pesos to her, but she had already spent the $1,413 and said she didn’t want them back.

That’s when Romano said the bank went ahead and debited her bank account $1,413.

“All of a sudden they had taken the money out of my account without my knowledge or consent. They took the full amount,” she said.

When CTV News reached out to Scotiabank, a spokesperson said in a statement, “When exchanging currency for a Scotiabank client, our process is to advise the client that if the foreign banknotes are returned for some reason (for example, they are no longer in circulation), their account will be debited the Canadian dollar value of the returned foreign bank notes at the foreign currency exchange rate the day the debit is processed.”

Romano said she felt the bank should not have exchanged the pesos if they had no value.

“It’s like losing the $1,400 in the street. If they wouldn’t have given it to me, I wouldn’t have spent it.”

Following CTV News’ involvement, Romano was told she would get a full refund of the $1,413.

“I have no words to express my gratitude,” she said.