Consumer complaint received 2020-10-30
Company: BMO HARRIS BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: WI
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX my wallet was stolen at an XXXX grocery store in XXXX, IL. I was out of town assisting a relative. I contacted the XXXX Police department immediately and filed a report with them. Since I was out of town, my husband contacted all of the financial institutions to report my wallet stolen to alert them to fraudulent activity on my account. There were multiple transactions, with the majority of transactions utilizing the debit card that is associated with my XXXX XXXX ( which is noted as a checking account by BMO Harris Bank ) account which was issued by BMO Harris Bank. The transaction amounts were for {$320.00} ( XXXX ), {$670.00} ( XXXX ), {$500.00} ( XXXX ) and {$860.00} ( XXXX ) for a total of {$2300.00}. Only the transaction for {$320.00} posted immediately. Per instructions by BMO I submitted a Fraudulent Transaction declaration on XX/XX/XXXX for the {$320.00}. I received credit for that transaction within 10 business days. The other transactions for some reason did not post until the end of XXXX, at which time on XX/XX/XXXX I filed another Fraudulent Transaction Declaration, again at the direction of the bank. Since that time I have contacted the bank again by phone on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX. I have also sent an e-mail to the reg E processing department at the suggestion of the telephone banking representative. Each time I contacted BMO they gave me different information on the timing that I might expect an answer on my claim. With the first call on XX/XX/XXXX I was told to check back in at the end of that week. The second call they told me it could take up to 30 days, and the final call on XXXX I was told that because it was a debit card for my XXXX that they had 45 days to resolve it. 
Finally, on XX/XX/XXXX I contacted a branch representative. I was then told that since this was an XXXX XXXX account the debit card was not subject to Reg E and therefore they have 45 days to respond to my claim and they are doing this as a courtesy to me. They told me they would be required to make a determination and inform me of the resolution by XX/XX/XXXX. As of today, XX/XX/XXXX I have yet to receive a credit for these fraudulent transactions and I have yet to receive any correspondence or response to me from BMO. All communication has been initiated by me. They will not allow me to speak to the investigator working the fraud case and have only provided me with an e-mail address for the fraud area. I sent an e-mail to the fraud are on XXXX, but never received any response. 
I have looked over all of the disclosures I received when opening up my account, the disclosures included with my debit card, etc. and I can find no information that tells me that fraudulent transactions with my XXXX debit card would be handled any differently than a debit card for any other consumer bank account. In speaking with the branch representative, they too were not aware of this special circumstance and admitted that they had never counseled someone opening this type of account about the risks involved with a debit card tied to an XXXX account. 
The branch representative did call me back to let me know he had sent an e-mail to the person working on my claim and was expecting to be able to contact me by end of day on XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted the branch representative again the evening of XX/XX/XXXX. He contacted me on XX/XX/XXXX to let me know that he finally received an e-mail from the person working on the fraud claim and they are waiting to hear from the merchants involved in the transactions and that because this does not fall under Reg E they have 90 days in which to resolve the case. The timeframe for their resolution appears to be a moving target.

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 explanation