Consumer complaint received 2023-10-03
Company: BMO HARRIS BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NV
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
This issues in my other complaint roll over to this complaint and the following more specific issues : I opened a secured credit card with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/2023. The banker took $ XXXX for this card. My claims on disputes were not taken correctly and after the bank merged with Bank of Montreal my ability to use the account was changed. I went into the new bank where I live and was told that I would have to pay off the account in order to close it. I informed the branch which was now Bank of Montreal that they had $ XXXX on deposit against my usage and that they need to reconcile the account by using that money. While I didnt want to close it initially, they had stopped allowing me to pull cash out. Every person I spoke to had a different version but no one would help me. I had fraud disputes with all my accounts and no comprehensive help from anyone. While I tried to pull out money in the branch, the teller called her contact at BMO and I stood there an hour and a half while no one picked up the phone to talk to her. I called BMO myself and got thru in XXXX minutes. While that customer service person told me I exceeded my cash advances I got a call on my other phone from XXXX, XXXX, XXXX. It was the fraud department asking me if I was trying to withdraw money. I confirmed that I was and where I was etc. I had to pass my cell phone under the window while the branch manager took my phone to the back to speak with the lady. The fraud department confirmed several times that there was no limit on my cash advances and that she removed the block. This never happened. I was then told to work with customer service and that the block was removed. I was unable to get my money several times. I had disputes on this account dating back several months that were not handled correctly. I was sent from department to department and one guy wouldnt transfer me and argued with me for an hour. The next time I went to the BMO branch they told me they couldnt close my account or give me any of my money. They wouldnt give me a form to refile my disputes as I was told to do in the branch. They told me to call BMO and ask them what I should do. I was standing in the BMO branch. The next time I came to the branch they locked the doors XXXX minutes early while I was in my car getting ready to go in. Eventually I reached a woman who handled all my disputes and she did some research and said she would return my call. She did return my call and she resubmitted my disputes. I had my provisional credits the same day and the cash advance limit seemed to have been removed. Now I am being charged over a XXXX dollars in cash advance fees. And interest of almost {$200.00} for cash advances. Due to the mishandling of my disputes for so long I feel this bank has taken advantage of me. My account holding $ XXXX for this card earned XXXX cents in a year. But they are charging me cash advance fees and interest on my use of the money. I paid the account off every month. I have been tormented on calls and in person. Neither bank has been able to escalate my issues and my credit and financial well being has suffered greatly including my mental health. I reported that I want all these fees returned to my account but only XXXX have been credited. Thats the way everything is handled on all my accounts. I asked the bank to close this account for months and they refuse to do it. Only XXXX person has every got back to me since XXXX. Everyone else has transferred me to closed departments or told me they cant help me and told me they cant escalate my matters. No one will go over the disputes and the items in the disputes and then they choose how much they want to allow or start treating me like this is my fault. This goes back to Bank of The West and transfers to BMO and theres no consistency. The BMO credit department says a provisional credit is applied within XXXX to XXXX business days while the checking department says 1 to 10 business days and both departments pick and choose what credits they give like only XXXX out multiple cash advance fees. When the credits dont appear then they say well we try but it can be longer than XXXX business days. They tell the customer to wait. No one is accountable and as a customer you have to wait and then they say to much time has passed and now its to late to process the claims. I cant get past the customer service reps and they tell me they will escalate by email and someone will get back to me and no one ever does. Ive lost a lot of money due to this.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief