Student margin: “Desjardins killed my dream”

When Desjardins agrees to her credit to return to veterinary medicine, Melissa Hardy is thrilled. The former actress says to herself that she will finally be able to move on. But this is without counting on the fact that Caisse will withdraw his money as quickly as you gave him.

“They destroyed my dream…and my life, because they forced me into bankruptcy,” the 35-year-old, from Windsor, in the Eastern Districts, laments.

In February 2020, Caisse du Plateau-Mont-Royal agreed to pay him the first of $75,000 of what he believed to be a 4-year agreement for $300,000.

She insists “I have made sure three times and not once that I will renew every year until the end of my studies”. His advisor replies that this will be the case.

There is no supporter on file – and you will understand – required. However, Melissa is already withdrawing debts of approximately $200,000, a liability incurred during two previous redirects.

The loan was approved by Benoît Sauvé, general manager of the branch, and by Lucas Ste-Croix, one of No. 2. Melissa can fly.

Because after six consecutive rejections at the University of Montreal, she was accepted for the first time at the University of Edinburgh, “the second best vet in the world.”

She will move to the Scottish capital on September 20, 2020. Her dog and cat are traveling.

Six months later, in the middle of winter, I learned that Desjardins was refusing to renew his student scholarship. She, whose studies cost $57,000 a year and now lives in Scotland, won’t make $75,000 or anything else. The entire margin will be closed by the financial institution.

“They are hypocrites, and it is almost fraud. I would never have left if I had known,” accuses Melissa.

In Desjardins, we tell ourselves ‘we realize this is a difficult situation’ and claim that it is an ‘isolated case’.

It is rare for Desjardins not to renew the credit limit. If the member is very much in debt, Desjardins may ask the supporter to continue to cash out the margin. What happened with the member,” notes spokeswoman Chantal Korbel.

However, Melissa Hardy’s financial position in February 2021 is the same as it was a year ago, when the loan was granted to her.

For Desjardins, that’s the end of the story. « En tant qu’institution financière bienveillante, vous accorder le déboursement de la marge de crédit et vous amener à vous endetter davantage irait à l’encontre de notre mission », explique M. Sauvé, le directeur gésénéral à la à la cité e-mail.

He even offered to write off a portion of $75,000 from his balance sheet.

“They dare say they are philanthropists, but they shut down my margin of credit, force me to quit work and kill my dream. I just want them to keep their promise,” she replies.