Consumer complaint received 2023-02-02
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: BMO Bank, N.A. (CA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for the BMO Harris Bank XXXX XXXX Mastercard because of the advertisement the company addressed to me in the mail promising a " {$200.00} cash back bonus awarded after {$2000.00} spent in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. '' On the same day, I was notified that I had been approved for the card. I received an email confirmation of the approval. On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I received the card in the mail and I activated it via the phone number indicated on the card. On the same day, I made an online purchase for about {$83.00}. Immediately thereafter, I received a " suspicious activity '' email stating, " Your card ending in [ XXXX ] is currently restricted due to security reasons. Please call us at XXXX to address a suspicious {$0.00} transaction that occurred on your card on XXXX at [ XXXX XXXX XXXX  ]. '' I immediately called the number. The company representative said I had to verify my identity before I could continue to use the card by visiting a XXXX Bank in person. I've had numerous credit cards over my 18 year credit history and I have never once had to verify my identity in any way - let alone in person - so I was frustrated, confused, and suspicious of this Bank 's request. The representative then said she could verify my identity by sending me a text message, but I never received the text. This also made me suspicious. Then the representative said I could verify my identity by answering a few credit bureau type questions. This also made me highly suspicious, especially because it seemed as though the representative was calling from her home and it was super quiet. It made me uncomfortable with all the telephonic fraud taking place in the world, coupled with the fact that I'VE NEVER HAD TO VERIFY MY IDENTITY WITH A CREDIT CARD COMPANY BEFORE USING A CREDIT CARD. Therefore, I declined verifying my identity this way. At this point, I was suspicious of this company and wanted to cancel my card, but then a BMO Harris Bank representative informed me that I could not cancel my card without first verifying my identity. I called on XX/XX/XXXX at around XXXX XXXX but could not get through to anyone for over 40 minutes and had to hang up. I then called again on XX/XX/XXXX at around XXXX or XXXX XXXX PT and the representative said I could not cancel the card without visiting a bank branch in person. However, the representative told me there were no XXXX Bank branches anywhere near where I live in XXXX XXXX, CA. He then said he would send me a secure message with a document that I could complete that would help verify my identity but that a manager would have to approve it and that would not be until business hours on Monday in Central Time which are XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. After a lengthy conversation with this person, in which I complained about XXXX 's glitchy and difficult to navigate website and overall bad customer experience, I hung up. I received the document the following day via a private message center within the XXXX online banking portal. I had to set up a whole other password to use this messaging system. I then downloaded the document and although it seemed simple enough, it required notarization! An additional cost that was not disclosed to me. Needless to say, I am extremely frustrated with BMO Harris Bank on many levels. Chief among my complaints are that it ( XXXX ) mislead me into believing it was a trustworthy company through its advertising as it looked similar to other trustworthy banks that Ive used in the past, such as XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, ( XXXX ) it advertised that I could earn {$200.00} if I spent {$2000.00} within 3 months of the card opening but it has purposely prevented me from using the card after my first purchase, ( XXXX ) its website allowed me to schedule a payment on it but it did not send me a confirmation email and Im worried given how untrustworthy it has proven to be that the transaction will actually occur, ( XXXX ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I tried to log into my account on the XXXX website multiple times but I was unsuccessful due to a site error, ( XXXX ) the Company lured me into applying for its card with the intent that I never be able to earn the {$200.00}. If I am unable to use the card and if XXXX continues to be difficult to deal with, then I would like to cancel the card. However, I am unable to cancel the card without going through the arduous process spelled out above. Given my experience so far, XXXX XXXX is untrustworthy and should not be permitted to conduct business within the United States.