BMO Harris Bank
reviews and complaints

I have been a loyal customer of BMO for the last couple of years recently I was the victim of fraud and as such my bank account went negative $1400 I received a phone call from a fraud operator by the name of Linda on December 12th at 11:45 AM she left me a message saying that she would be there between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM central time I called her right back but I only got the voicemail I made several attempts to call Linda back to no avail I finally got a letter in the mail telling me how she was trying to call me I even went into my local branch and they could not reach her and when I finally did get in contact with her approximately 3 weeks later I was totally disturbed because she was very rude and told me well this phone call is recorded and as I told her that's fine but I have called you numerous times and I only have one phone call from you so where is it that you've been calling me my whole issue is I'm the victim of fraud and as I told her if you look at my past records with my account you will see the only deposits that I have coming into my account on a regular basis was from my job through the state of Illinois somebody from the fraud department text me to see if that was me trying to do a 39.99 purchase and when I replied no I'm sitting there going if they can text me about this why can't they text me immediately or call me when somebody's trying to do an electronic deposit into my account that has never been done before this Linda was very rude and as such I'm very extremely upset over the whole matter please address as my entire paycheck was taken right before Christmas and as such I was forced to call off from work as I did not even have gas money to get to and from work

First of all I am an 80 year retired female. I have been with BMO Harris for many years most with the Palatine and Mundelein BMO branches. At the Mundelein branch I would bring in donuts or cookies for the Manager Bob and his staff. Sadly Bob has moved to Arizona but was always a joy to go to if I had a problem and he always fixed it with such kindness and grace. The female tellers at Mundelein are fantastic. I recently moved to McHenry and this branch has been mean, horrible and yesterday the bank guard even called the police to arrest me. ME? This bank guard was smug, rude, laughed at me. I had just got off the phone with Frank at this branch and he is very aware of all the fraud and stealing from my checking account. Frank told me to come in and I was there in 15 minutes and was told by the bank guard the bank was closed. I told him Frank just told me to come in. I have around $6,000 in my checking account but no store would accept my bank card telling me there was no money. I needed to get gas for my card, I had no dog food to feed my dog and had no food for me. I even told this horrible bank guard I did not have enough gas to get home or feed my dog. The bank guard just laughed at me and said too bad. Get out of here now and called the police on me. I am 80 years old, kind, helpful, retiree from the College of Lake County. I have gone to Guatemala to help with disabled children, volunteer at Little City of Palatine and was their first football coach. Walter Payton threw my 50th birthday party for me. I was downtown on a really cold day and there was a man living on the street freezing and I gave him my jacket. And this disgusting bank guard kept laughing at me and said sorry no money for you. I had over $6,000 OF MY MONEY and all he did was laugh at me. I do realize there had been a water break but 15 minutes earlier Frank at the bank told me come in now. I did and was treated like a murderer, killer, and just awful things directed to me. Luckily the police was kind and clearly understood me and offered to drive me home because I was low on gas but my main concern was to feed my dog. I had been totally embarrassed that day and the day before because NO ONE would accept my BMO bank card.

HOW DARE YOU CALL THE POLICE ON ME. HOW DARE YOU KEEP MY MONEY. HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME LIKE A MURDERER. THE BANK GUARD IS YOUR PROBLEM NOT ME. HIS SMUGNESS, ARROGANCE, AND LAUGHING AT ME IS YOUR PROBLEM. BMO HARRIS MCHENRY HAS BEEN A CONSTANT PROBLEM FOR ME. NOT ME BUT YOUR MCHENRY OFFICE. Today not a word from the McHenry BMO office. NOT A WORD. DISGUSTING. I have to work to make sure my pension and social security GET MY MONEY and then good bye BMO. I will definitely make sure everyone knows of the treatment I got. Also, I did have a friend at my house and she heard Frank say some to the McHenry office now. 15 minutes later I was there and treated like a murderer. I am still so upset with this treatment and your bank guard and BMO letting this happen to me. I have never had the police call to arrest me NEVER. I pray your mothers and grandmothers never come across this disgusting bank guard.

December 20, 2022

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

I am writing to file a complaint against BMO Harris Bank.

I opened a checking account online at BMO Bank on 06/15/21, account ID [protected]. I have made significant deposits on 6/15/21 and 6/30/2021, but no withdrawals made. Total balance is $14,200.

I checked my balance on 10/28/22, and the balance is 0.

On 12/7/22, I went to the BMO Harris branch at 405 Pennsylvania Ave, G. E, IL. I spoke to branch manager B. P., NMLS 726627. He informed me that my account was “locked” due to suspicious activity. He did not specify the activity.

He asked me to produce several documents including two photo IDs (driver’s license and passport), social security card, credit card, naturalization paper, and utility bills; I complied promptly. Mr. P. also said that he would contact DDA recovery team in his bank to restore the balance, but no specific time frame given.

I have called his office several time since; he has not answered and I have left messages.

On 12/15/22, I went to the branch to meet with Mr. P, and was told that he was off for an unspecified emergency. He called me later that day, saying that he is still working on it but again no time frame was given.

On 12/19/22, I went to the branch again. I met with Mr. P. and he asked me to contact the fraud department, as Mr. P. said he was not authorized to unlock the account.

On 12/19/22, around 10:38 am, I called the fraud department and spoke to R. (I believe R. K.), a fraud investigator with BMO Harris. He advised that I should return to the bank with my passport, and Mr. P. could unlock the account immediately.

On 12/19/2, around 1:00 pm, I went to the bank with my passport, and again Mr. P refused to access my account, and stated that he is not authorized to unlock it.

On 12/20/22, Mr. P called and said that he has been working with B. in the fraud department to unlock my account. I was given no time frame as to when this situation would be resolved.

I am enlisting your help to investigate and resolve the issue immediately. Please advise if you need any additional information or have any questions.

Sincerely,

K. N.
G. E.

(H) [protected]

(M) [protected]

.

March 9, 2020, an inheritance check of $45,418.00 cleared the Bremmer Bank of Burnsville, The check was an inheritance I received from the estate of my aunt Cynthia Balgaard. I had deposited the check into my BMO Harris checking account [protected] [protected]. in Blaine MN. I did not receive a deposit receipt. Several weeks later I went to the bank and asked why the deposit was not in my checking account. Adam Beaudry, customer representative, told me there had been "a break in the system and he could not verify if I had an account or whether I had made a deposit with them" I left in shock. Several months later I spoke with Daniel Zerr, Bank Manager, asking him what had happened to my inheritance. Her turned to his computer, did some typing and went to the printer and picked up a piece paper and gave it to me. It was the balance of my checking account. And said to me, "Get out of here before I call the POLICE. No one is accusing me of wrong doing in MY BANK"

I left in total shock. I left and opened a checking account in the Village Bank the same day Oct 18, 2021. Needless to say, the deposit of $45418.00 remained in the BMO Harris bank of Blaine MN. Please make total recovery of the funds and mail the check to me, Karen Heimstead, 307 111th Ave Ne, Blaine MN. I have not done any banking at BMO Harris since Oct 2021. Someone has been using Identiy Theft to spend my inheritance. I have doctumentation to support my claim.

My HELOC was a 20 yr fixed rate locked in at 3.58% in 2020. I sold my home on 9/14/22, the property held as security for the HELOC. The payoff statement provided to escrow indicated a 4.99% in the payoff amount. This is false. I have statements indicating a locked rate of 3.58%

They are holding my funds. They won't cut a check for 30 days after the payoff, which was 9/14/22.

My wife called BMO Harris Bank Customer Service on 9/28/22 and tried to cancel her credit card account. She wasn't trying to increase her credit line or open a new account. She simply wanted to close the account. The customer service representative read my wife several security questions to verify my wife's identity, and the representative read them quickly. My wife answered the questions, but apparently didn't understand one of them, and provided the wrong answer. The rep then told her that she'd need to physically drive to a branch office located about 10 miles away, in order to close the VISA/MC account. This was *very* frustrating for her. Today, 9/29/22, we called customer service again to attempt to close the VISA/MC account, and the rep told us no, we have to drive to a branch office. My wife escalated the matter to a higher-level manager, and that person told my wife the same thing. My wife explained that it was going to take a lot of time to drive over to the bank, but they didn't care about that. Today, my wife is on her way over to the bank, and we will never do business with them again. In addition, I will be posting our experience on line in multiple forums. The bank provides *poor* customer service.

I purchased a VW CC Sport from a dealership and my loan was financed through BMO Harris Bank. I was able to make my payments regularly until I lost my job and then I got behind. A friend from church gave me the funds to get up to bring me current on my car loan. I was provided with the balance and the number of payments left on my loan. I was married and sold my condo then received the proceeds from the sale in early January 2019. I walked into the local BMO Harris branch office on Kingshighway in South St. Louis to pay off my vehicle. The customer service rep made several phone calls and had me wait while he gathered the payoff information. The rep had me pay and provided me with a receipt that showed the payoff and he wrote "congratulations" on the receipt. He told me it would take approximately 6 to 8 weeks to get the loan release letter.

A few months passed and I hadn't received the loan release. In the fifth month I received a nasty letter stating that I was in default of my loan contract and that I owed $2-3,000 on my car loan. I called and informed the author of the letter that I had paid the car off five months before and had the receipt. The representative insisted that the branch was incorrect and that I still owed money on this loan. I requested a copy of my payment history for my auto loan and was assured I would receive it in two weeks. Three weeks later I called again and requested the loan history. That was the last time I had any communication with BMO Harris's loan department. I never received any additional information.

From the time I paid off the loan in the branch office up until this moment, I have never received the loan history nor have I received any statements from the loan department requesting payments. I now would like to sell this vehicle but must have the loan release letter to complete the sale.

application # [protected]

I have called and emailed you on this as I have never called or applied for any services and I was told it was taken care of as FRAUD.

I received a letter dated Sept 19 and shows that the application was declined but not for the reason I called and wrote to your fraud department for.

Fraud activity: I was told it was taken care of and all services that someone uses my name, or any other information is FRAUD and why? I don't deal with any banks in Canada or intend to be moving forward.

I am filing this complaint and the below is also what was sent to the CFPB and the OCC.

I contacted my bank BMO Harris regarding multiple charges on my account that were from from Door Dash. I explained to BMO Harris that I attempted to contact the merchant Door Dash to advise them of the fraud charges but they refused to help me and asked me to show them proof that the charges were in fact fraud, which I explained to them I have no way of proving other than explaining I did not make nor authorize the transactions. The merchant continued to refuse to assist me with the fraud charges and getting my money back. While on the phone with BMO Harris I explained the above and advised them of the fraud transactions and that I did not make, I did not authorize those transactions nor sign for any of these charges. I received a letter via email that my claims department advising my claim was denied due to proof the merchant sent in. I contacted BMO Harris to inquire what info the merchant could have provided that indicated the charges were valid. The representatives explained the merchant sent them pictures of that the deliveries were made and placed in front of a door. I asked what the door looked like and what the picture looked like and what was explained was not what is in front of my home nor is what is described to be my home and I explained this is not my house. BMO Harris refuses to communicate with me to verify the pictures are even my house, send me evidence of the pictures and wants to hold me responsible for fraud charges I DID NOT Make. I am filing this complaint because they are failing to give me money back of $59.80 and prove that these charges are in fact valid, that I authorized them and delivered to my address. I am requesting assistance in obtaining my money back from BMO Harris Bank since there is nothing signed that I authorized the transactions or any proof that I actually made and authorized the transactions.

I had to jump through a bunch of hoops just to get the stupid Savings Builder account set up. I then set up an automatic transfer from my checking account (also at BMO) to the Savings account. This is an internal transfer that was scheduled to take place automatically on the 20th of the month. For some reason, my transfer didn't take place until the 21st one month. That kicked me out of the program completely, so now I can't even get the $5 for the rest of the year I enrolled in this program. This seems to be an unreasonable loophole that BMO uses to get out of honoring their end of the bargain.

BMO continually has issues with transfers taking over a week. One time, when paying from a BMO checking account with my bill pay service, it took BMO over 10 days to credit my credit card payment (also BMO)! Time to find a new bank!

I am trying to contact a person at BMO bank to be able to zell some money and they are sending me a code that will not go out to clear the transaction. There is nobody that can answer the phone at local branch and the numbers available to call require a personal access code which i do not have or ever had. I have been with the bank for over 40 years back when it was M&I Thunderbird. I know that personal service is a thing of the past but getting in touch with anyone to correct the problem is impossible. Now I have to go to the branch that I have let ring for the last 1 hour. I am not a happy customer because the service is crap.

I applied for mortgage with BMO harris with application deposit for $500 which was refundable, however BMO declined the mortgage and deducted the charges for appraisal and credit report which was never used or disclosed. The BMO promised quick mortgage turnaround and approval however they never worked on pre approval and gave a surprise by false promises with huge sum of mortgage amount with low interest rates (misrepresentation)

opened a new checking account last week jsut found our they have been robbed at least 2 times then today I went in to make a payroll deposit & branch is closed...been on hold with "customer service" for over 20 minutes to find a location I can deposit my check with! ABSOLUTELY NEVER OPEN AN ACCOUNT HERE!

Someone opened up a checking account in my name using all my info. Including SS#. I have been trying since June 9th to contact them and no one answers. I am getting pissed. I filed police report my banks, credit cards, credit reports, HELP! I want to close this account

On numerous dates in March and April, 2022, the tellers at both banks refused to allow me, a 73 year old man, to use the restroom.

I was so disgusted. I had to leave the bank and drive to a nearby gas station and once to a grocery store. I don't find this acceptable

I also called your complaint number and they hung up on me!

I am a long time user of your Bank.

my # is [protected]

Ask for V. Marchese

I have been banking with you for almost 20 years big mistake I should have switched things a long time ago. Right now which happens to me at least three four times a month I am locked out of my account because supposedly I put in the wrong password three times which I really didn't do. So on Christmas Eve I try to get my password reset I call your company and they're saying sorry we are closed for the holiday. So I called another bank just to see what would happen and this was at midnight I called Capital One they were open they were willing to help and I told them about you I said I think with Harris Bank and I told him you were the worst bank that I've ever seen. I know you guys get a lot of complaints because I know a few people who think with you and they all tell me the same thing this is the worst bank. I am changing banks on Tuesday and I'm always thinking well if we all think it's so bad let's get out of here I know four people have switched banks in the last 2 months. I think in your bank at Streamwood Illinois. When I call at night or during the day I am on hold for at least an hour if not longer and I'm not talking once in awhile I'm talking every single time. I'm talking 2:00 in the morning. Cuz I figure if I call you very very late somebody will actually pick up the phone. But nobody ever does you're on hold for another hour. And every time I ask why they always say the same thing all with short-handed because of covid. Well
you bet must have been shorthanded before Covid! Because this has been happening to me for almost 20 years. I don't know if you only have one person on the phone for your credit debit card request but there's something wrong when someone a customer has to wait an hour for somebody to pick up the phone for customer service it's very ignorant and rude. I'm surprised you people are still in business and I have a funny feeling within the next 3 years I'm going to see BMO Harris closing. I think you're pretty close to closing now. Sometimes I notice my bank I'll go in there on a normal weekday and you guys are just closed and there's a sign on the door oh Covid! I go down the street to Chase and they're open when covid is the worst they're not the type of bank that ignores their customers. Waiting on the phone for somebody to pick up a phone it's ridiculous. One time I actually went grocery shopping and left my phone at home on hold I was gone for 2 hours and when I came home I was still on hold. I should have switched things that day stupid stupid now I'm done I could not get into my phone since Friday because you guys were having the holiday off thanks should not have holidays off. It's Sunday now and it's after Christmas and you guys are closed now ridiculous I tried to call to get my password back and they said sorry we're closed for the holiday I'm sorry but the 26th is in a holiday. You used to be open all night long on the credit and debit cards now it seems like you're closed for those too. That just showed me how much that you care about your customers that you don't care about your customers. I am going to get a to a bank that actually cares about my business. I'm not rich far from it but I think I should be treated the same as anybody else with money. You people do not know what you're doing when it comes to business which is very sad. You're very frustrating to work with. Somebody got very smoothie with me because my email address you don't have. They actually wanted me to call me to give them my email address. I'm like why do I have to come in why can't I give it to you over the phone or you have to come in and do it why you see that I'm calling all you got to do is ask me for my password. When I come into my bank I'm going to close the account and go to Chase they are much much better than you that's where I started and I went to you because you were right across the street from me and I don't drive. I read your complaints all the time and you have a million of them. That's what's wrong with the world today people are aggravated and teed off and nothing is done about it. Our government our banks nobody gives a crap about customer service at all. And that's very sad and it's very sad that people take it. Sincerely Laura Wanat and it has not been fun thinking with you. Now I still can't get into my account so I'm going to have to call you tomorrow morning and I bet you $100 I will be on hold for at least an hour. So bad.

My husband called and was speaking to someone trying to find more information on how we could get a car loan. My husband was talking to someone and asking questions and for clarification and the representative was very rude when my husband was asking him questions and told him "I don't want to start arguing with you" and didn't want to answer any of my husband's questions.
That was very unprofessional and very rude. If that person doesn't want to do their job, they should not be working there. This was the first time that a Harris bank representative has been so rude and unprofessional. Very disappointed and angry.

On October 1, 2021, I called the 24/7 customer service phone line at [protected] to report potential fraudulent activity on my checking account (with a debit card). I have been a BMO Harris (M&I) customer for probably 37 years and never had any issues reaching a customer service rep. Not today, the 24/7 customer service claim on the back of the debit card and on the BMO Harris website is now a fraudulent statement. I called around 8pm to discover that "BMO Harris is now closed, please call back during normal business hours". I checked online to see if there was a fraud hotline and it was the same number. I even tried the international line but was directed to the same message. No matter what I tried, it would say it was directing me to a customer rep and that the call could be recorded followed by the BMO Harris offices are closed, please call back during normal business hours. I plan on switching to a bank with 24/7 customer service. Shame on you for dropping the ball on customer service.

I had given the check to my family member as a gift for Christmas. Each has deposited the check to their bank.
I have made an inquiry with my children and they told me it has been credited to their account (Capital One Bank) on 12/30/2020.
Unfortunately both of these checks have not cleared my account. I have made inquiry, but did not get any response.
This is very surprising and unusual.