Consumer complaint received 2024-12-17 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: BMO BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I reached out to BMO regarding 3 interim tax bills I had received for XXXX. I was seeking clarification on whether I am responsible to pay these or if they are paid via escrow. I spoke on the phone with customer service and was told that BMO tracks this independently and no action was required on my part. Out of an abundance of caution, I emailed all 3 bills to BMO customer service on XX/XX/XXXX for documentation. I never received a reply or any sort of follow up communication for these bills so I proceeded forward with the information I had received from customer service, that BMO is responsible for these bills. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another tax bill stating that the XXXX interim taxes I had received confirmation would be tracked and paid by BMO had not been paid. At that time, I sent the bill to customer service via email as I had been instructed in the past. I did not receive any reply or communication from BMO. 

Through XXXX, I received 2 more unpaid interim tax bills prompting me to initiate further follow up. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called customer service and spoke with XXXX. She confirmed 3 outgoing payments were made on XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX and stated that my accounts should be up to date. She said she would submit tax inquiry letters to all 3 offices to query balances and put tracers on the checks that were sent. I did bring up multiple times on this call that the bills that I had received had different amounts listed than the amounts that were sent in XXXX and XXXX- I was reassured that this was likely a mistake by the county and BMO double and triple checks the taxes due prior to payment so BMO 's payment would be correct. I was told I would hear from someone within a week, once the 3-5 business days for the inquiry had passed. She said if I hadn't heard anything, I should call back next week. I did not receive any sort of follow up or call back from BMO other than letters confirming the outgoing payments in XXXX and XXXX ( which was not my question or the issue that I needed help with and were not received in the mail until XX/XX/XXXX ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I had not received any sort of communication or update on my case. I called customer service and spoke to XXXX. She stated that payments were wired, not sent by check, so there were not tracers to be followed up on. This is a concerning mismatch of the information I originally received so I am not sure which is accurate. She also stated that inquiries with the tax office had shown taxes were up to date so I should reach out to their offices now to confirm. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the Tax Collector 's office and spoke with them about my accounts to confirm the report that I received from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. They confirmed that XXXX Taxes were paid in full but I still have an outstanding balance on my account for interim XXXX taxes, the same balance that I have been trying to resolve with multiple phone calls and emails to BMO for the past 10 months. 

I then called BMO Customer Service again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with XXXX, she stated she would submit a case ticket with the tax department for follow up and resolution of this issue. I stated that these bills were for XXXX interim taxes and not the XXXX taxes that she repeatedly told me were paid but I was still informed to wait as those taxes should be paid out of escrow. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called and spoke with XXXX who again took me through the same information about the XXXX taxes being paid. I repeatedly stated that I was talking about XXXX interim taxes, not XXXX taxes and she was unable to give me any information or help me with my inquiry. I then requested to speak to a supervisor. I was then transferred to supervisor XXXX who told me for the first time that I should reach out to closing escrow for XXXX taxes. I had called multiple times at this point and given the same information and was never directed to escrow until XX/XX/XXXX. 

I reached out to escrow and my loan officer on XX/XX/XXXX and they informed me that I am responsible for these taxes and they should have been paid in XXXX when I received the first bill. I called BMO in XXXX and attempted to resolve this issue and was explicitly told I am not responsible for paying these. I sent the bills no fewer than 3 times to BMO customer service and confirmed the correct email address each time. I did not receive any follow up or communication from BMO regarding these bills despite many attempts on my part and requests for more information about these specific bills. I am now stuck paying 10 % penalty charges due to BMO 's incompetence. 

If this is not resolved by XX/XX/XXXX, my account will be sent to collections and due to taking weeks going back and forth with BMO, my only option is to send certified funds in the next 14 days. I also now have a penalty on all 3 unpaid tax bills due to how long they have been unpaid - this is not due to any error on my part and I expect BMO to cover the penalty fees for their mistake. When I spoke with Tax Collector XXXX XXXX, she stated that in these cases escrow is expected to fix their mistake by covering the penalty charge. 

Throughout this process, I have not received any follow up of my case requests or communication outside of the 3 letters that were not the information I had requested. I have had to initiate every step of communication with them and received no replies or independent follow up whatsoever. The only reply I have gotten is an apology and promise to provide more training from my loan officer yesterday - this is not sufficient for the amount of money and time I have lost in this process due to BMO 's negligence. 

I also have concerns about their general management of my escrow account as my balances have dipped lower than federally required multiple times this year ( most recent recalculation attached ).

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