Consumer complaint received 2025-02-17 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: BMO BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing a formal complaint against BMO Harris Bank for engaging in fraudulent mortgage practices, failure to validate debt, deceptive financial conduct, and predatory lending practices related to my mortgage. The violations originated while my mortgage was under Bank of the West, which unlawfully increased my balance by {$31000.00}, failed to validate the {$82000.00} deferred balance, and improperly rolled in unsecured debt. Upon acquiring my mortgage, BMO Harris failed to validate the debt despite multiple formal requests and has continued collection efforts with no legal standing.

After being notified that they have no lawful claim to enforce the debt, BMO Harris sent me a loan modification agreement, attempting to coerce me into a new contract despite their default. This was a deceptive attempt to reset the terms of an invalid debt and cover up their failure to validate it.

Because BMO Harris has failed to respond to my conditional acceptance agreement, they are now in default per XXXX XXXX and contract law. As a result, they no longer have any legal standing to enforce the mortgage debt, and they owe me {$400000.00} in damages due to their fraudulent financial practices. A UCC lien has been filed against them, and I will proceed with foreclosure actions against them for their failure to cure their default.

Details of Violations : 1. Failure to Validate Both Secured and Unsecured Debt My mortgage was originally with Bank of the West, which unlawfully increased my balance by {$31000.00} and improperly rolled in unsecured debt.

Upon acquiring the mortgage, BMO Harris had a legal obligation to validate the debt before attempting to collect it. 
I formally requested debt validation on XX/XX/XXXX, and multiple times thereafter, yet BMO Harris has never provided lawful verification of the debt.

Their failure to validate constitutes a default under UCC 3-501, making their collection attempts unlawful. 

XXXX. Fraudulent {$31000.00} Mortgage Increase & Unlawful Deferred Balance ( {$82000.00} ) My mortgage balance was unlawfully increased by {$31000.00} before my forbearance ended, without proper disclosure or authorization. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX admitted that unsecured debt was rolled into my mortgage, yet they continued attempting to collect on both the mortgage and the unsecured accounts separately, which is fraudulent.BMO was made aware of this and continued to do the same The {$82000.00} deferred balance has never been lawfully explained or itemized, violating TILA ( Truth in Lending Act ) and consumer protection laws against predatory lending. 

XXXX. Deceptive Manipulation of Contingency Date to Force a XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX removed a key contingency date on my mortgage agreement, causing an artificial and unlawful default. 
This was done without my knowledge or consent, depriving me of my contractual rights and forcing me into default. 
This constitutes bad faith lending, breach of contract, and deceptive financial practices. 

4. Continued Deceptive Collection & Credit Reporting Violations Despite their failure to validate the debt, BMO Harris continued aggressive collection efforts and reported fraudulent negative information to credit bureaus.

This damaged my credit score and limited my ability to refinance or seek alternative financial solutions, causing significant financial harm.

5. Attempted Fraudulent Loan Modification After Default Notice After being formally notified that they had no legal standing, BMO Harris sent me a loan modification agreement in an attempt to : Reset the terms of an invalid debt Waive their default and fraudulent activities Force me into accepting an unlawful balance increase This was a deceptive and bad-faith attempt to coerce me into a new contract despite the fact that they had already defaulted under the conditional acceptance. 

6. BMO Harris is Now in Default Per Our Conditional Acceptance Agreement BMO Harris was given multiple opportunities to validate the debt, correct fraudulent balances, and respond in good faith, but failed to do so.

Per UCC 3-501 and contract law, their failure to respond constitutes tacit agreement that : The debt was invalid The mortgage balance increase was fraudulent They have no further claim over my property As a result, I no longer owe the mortgage debt, and BMO Harris now owes me {$400000.00} in damages for their fraudulent financial practices.

A UCC lien has been placed against them, and I will proceed with foreclosure actions due to their continued failure to cure their default.

Requested Regulatory Action & Remedies : 1. Immediate removal of the fraudulent {$31000.00} balance increase and full correction of my mortgage records. 
2. Full discharge of the deferred balance ( {$82000.00} ) and cancellation of any claims against my property.

3. Cease all collection efforts on both the mortgage and any related unsecured debt.

4. Correction of any negative credit reporting related to this fraudulent balance.

5. Regulatory investigation into BMO Harris Banks predatory lending, deceptive mortgage practices, and fraudulent financial conduct.

6. BMO Harris must immediately compensate me in the amount of {$400000.00} for damages.

7. Due to BMO Harriss failure to cure their default, I have placed a UCC lien against them and will proceed with foreclosure actions against their assets.

Conclusion : BMO Harris Bank has engaged in deceptive lending, fraudulent balance increases, and bad faith collection practices while refusing to validate the alleged debt or correct their unlawful actions. Their failure to respond to my conditional acceptance places them in default under contract law, UCC provisions, and consumer protection statutes.

I request immediate regulatory enforcement to hold them accountable and compel them to correct their fraudulent activities before I proceed with further legal enforcement, including foreclosure against their assets under my UCC lien. 

This was also brought to the CFPB 's attention back in XXXX and nobody did anything about it. The CFPB did not enforce any laws or regulations or hold them accountable and allowed them to continue to take advantage of me and remain deceptive and predatory. Bmo Harris is to remove all debt both secure and unsecure that they have in their system and restore my credit back to its original, standing prior to doing business with them and Bank Of The West. and I fully expect the CFPB to uphold their legal obligations and their responsibilities or I will do anything and everything in my power to hold the CFPB accountable for their negligence. Had this been handled correctly three years ago and accountability placed on the correct party this would not have gotten so far.

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