ABSOLUTELY THE WORLD'S WORST BANK !!!

UPDATED IN POST #58 02/24/21


I just want to give you Fella's a serious heads up warning so you never have to go through what I have been doing for the last two weeks - and it's not over yet!

About 5 years ago I opened up a Money Market account at BMO Harris Bank in IL. At the time they were paying the highest Money Market rates in the Country and I always like to keep some money freely available and readily accessible - just in case.... When I originally funded the account I wired it in and it was received and deposited in my account the very next day. Thankfully I have not needed that money however over the last year or so their interest rates have dropped like an anchor and I decided to withdraw that money and money and invest it elsewhere. When I wen to do that is when I first realized this is the worst Bank in the Country!

I started the withdrawal process 10 days ago and I still do not have my money! They will only allow so much per day and only so much per month. At that rate it will take me 6 1/2 months to withdraw the funds!! I called them, asked for special permission to withdraw the money in one lump sum and they said they would send me a 12 page application for permission to do that. I received the application and filled it out - sent it overnight mail (so I know they received it as they will only accept an original, not a fax or email) and have not heard a peep in 9 days! I just called them and they are telling me it could take up to 2 weeks to be approved! After approval, it takes up to 72 hours to get it wire transferred to my local Bank! Long story short - it will be about a month before I can get my own money!

As far as I am concerned this is usury & abuse and how it's even legal is beyond me! Oh - and BTW when everything is finally transferred they charge $35 for the wire! I am alerting everyone here to stay as far away from the Bank as humanly possible and don't be sucked in to using them by their future interest rates! While their representatives have been mostly polite and have seemed to sympathize with me, I am simply outraged that in this day and age with instantaneous electronic transfers, a simple money transfer will wind up taking over a month - UNACCEPTABLE! You have been forewarned my friends - please learn from my misfortune.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but can't you just close the account?

I think I would read all of the fine print that I signed when originally setting up the account. If this "procedure" isn't documented up front my next call would be to the State bank regulator. If it is in the fine print, well........................What can I say???

Muss Muggins said:

I'm just thinking out loud here, but can't you just close the account?

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No - it would take me 6 1/2 months at their "allowable" withdrawal rate. That is why I filled out their "special 12 page application" to wire it all out all at one time - but again, we are still weeks away to completion even with that!

I've never heard of a bank that you couldn't close your account and receive a lump sum check in about ten working days or less. Something does not seem right to me with this whole mess. Good luck with it . . .

chief38 said:

No - it would take me 6 1/2 months at their "allowable" withdrawal rate. That is why I filled out their "special 12 page application" to wire it all out all at one time - but again, we are still weeks away to completion even with that!

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deadin said:

I think I would read all of the fine print that I signed when originally setting up the account. If this "procedure" isn't documented up front my next call would be to the State bank regulator. If it is in the fine print, well........................What can I say???

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Their original agreement (as are ALL financial institutional agreements) are PURPOSELY extremely and almost impossible for even Lawyers to read & understand. I highly doubt anyone here (including most Lawyers) would fare any better than I did when I skimmed through it originally. They do this so that no one actually understands what they are getting into - however many of these agreements also state that they are free to change their rules and reg's without letting you know even after you have signed it!

Muss Muggins said:

I've never heard of a bank that you couldn't close your account and receive a lump sum check in about ten working days or less. Something does not seem right to me with this whole mess. Good luck with it . . .

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Me neither! But NOW you have - I kid you NOT! I am currently in the process of doing so - - however it will be about one month in total to complete. tThey don't tell you that upfront.

I would recommend getting in touch with your State's Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division (or whatever the equivalent would be in your state). If they're not the right place, they'll be able to refer you to the right place. I agree with others that it's not right that the bank is keeping you from your own money, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal - the State will know.

BTW this is not a regular saving or checking account! This is a Money Market account and subject to a different set of rules, regulations and protocols.

BTW I just got off the phone with them once again and had them "expedite" my request forms. We'll see how that goes.

NOTE: If I were not going through this myself I would also find it hard to believe - but I am living it! I am not pulling any punches or leaving out any facts here - this is truly happening - even my own Wife can't believe it! This is exactly the reason I have started this post - to keep you fellas from getting burned here from BMO Harris Bank!

State Banking Commission

Call or email the FDIC! They control what is allowable, unless it is a state chartered bank or S&L! Not allowing withdraws is what started the Bank Runs in the depression.

It has been my experience the highest interest paid mean the greatest risk of never seeing it again! Here in Ohio an inept governor and state chartered banks started a world wide "Mini-run" in the late 80's! The state chartered S&L's were paying 1% more that FDIC S&L's! And then the walls fell!

Ivan

The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.

I had a 20 year annuity with The Hartford that my parents had set up when I was a child. I decided to withdraw it a few years ago and you would think I was trying to rob them. It took several months to get this done and a lot of time and effort. Now for the most part, I avoid using banks except to maintain a small fund account to pay bills.
Also keep in mind that the Federal Govt. is trying to eliminate cash as much as possible as a vehicle to pay bills, buy items, etc. Since cash isn't traceable the government ability to tax cash transactions is severely reduced and this is the primary reason.
Jim

Would I be correct to think BMO Harris Bank is not a Brick & Mortar bank, but instead is an on-line bank that has arrangements for cash machines in various locations, and you're being limited to common industry limits on cash machine daily withdrawals?

vt_shooter said:

Would I be correct to think BMO Harris Bank is not a Brick & Mortar bank, but instead is an on-line bank that has arrangements for cash machines in various locations, and you're being limited to common industry limits on cash machine daily withdrawals?

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No - they do have Brick & Mortar buildings however they are almost 1,000 miles away and so I can't just walk in.

BTW when I opened this account I did my do-diligence and researched them. At the time they were one of the top recommended banks for money Market accounts. I guess a lot has happened in 5 years!

When I read the title I thought for sure this was going to be about Wells Fargo.

You might be using the wrong terminology with them. It sounds like they're limiting you to daily cash machine "withdraw" or electronic transfer limits. Write a check, and don't call it a withdrawl, call it a check. If you still have a money market account, you should be able to write a check to yourself for at least the entire balance (minus maybe $10 or $20 to keep the account open), and deposit that check in another bank. If you don't still have a money market with them, open one and transfer everything into it, then write the check to yourself. If you can't do that they're in effect limiting the size of checks people can write - that's unheard of in my world. I suspect the rules for checks is different than the rules for electronic transfers, cash machine withdrawals, etc.

chief38 said:

I just want to give you Fella's a serious heads up warning so you never have to go through what I have been doing for the last two weeks - and it's not over yet!

About 5 years ago I opened up a Money Market account at BMO Harris Bank in IL. At the time they were paying the highest Money Market rates in the Country and I always like to keep some money freely available and readily accessible - just in case.... When I originally funded the account I wired it in and it was received and deposited in my account the very next day. Thankfully I have not needed that money however over the last year or so their interest rates have dropped like an anchor and I decided to withdraw that money and money and invest it elsewhere. When I wen to do that is when I first realized this is the worst Bank in the Country!

I started the withdrawal process 10 days ago and I still do not have my money! They will only allow so much per day and only so much per month. At that rate it will take me 6 1/2 months to withdraw the funds!! I called them, asked for special permission to withdraw the money in one lump sum and they said they would send me a 12 page application for permission to do that. I received the application and filled it out - sent it overnight mail (so I know they received it as they will only accept an original, not a fax or email) and have not heard a peep in 9 days! I just called them and they are telling me it could take up to 2 weeks to be approved! After approval, it takes up to 72 hours to get it wire transferred to my local Bank! Long story short - it will be about a month before I can get my own money!

As far as I am concerned this is usury & abuse and how it's even legal is beyond me! Oh - and BTW when everything is finally transferred they charge $35 for the wire! I am alerting everyone here to stay as far away from the Bank as humanly possible and don't be sucked in to using them by their future interest rates! While their representatives have been mostly polite and have seemed to sympathize with me, I am simply outraged that in this day and age with instantaneous electronic transfers, a simple money transfer will wind up taking over a month - UNACCEPTABLE! You have been forewarned my friends - please learn from my misfortune.

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What you are describing here really isn't all that unusual. The reason why they had the best interest rate in the country is that their investments of your money were potentially higher-risk and/or had their own restrictions (that's how they got their own higher returns to provide you with the higher rates). You have to deal with these onerous rules that essentially were passed down through your bank from whomever runs THEIR investments.

It's not like they just had your money lying around in their vault or stuffed into the CEO's mattress at his house. It's all tied-up somewhere making money for the bank - and you.

The limits they set are to prevent a run on their accounts if there is a sudden change in the economy or monetary policy. The Feds may require the bank maintain a certain amount of their deposits on hand but that is only for traditional checking and savings accounts. Money Market accounts and other "non-traditional" accounts are not always subject to these rules, and are frequently not even insured by the FDIC.

Now certainly everybody has the right to complain every now and again, but banks are highly regulated and something tells me everything you are going through is outlined somewhere in the paperwork you signed when you opened the account. Caveat Emptor.

The fact they are paying more than most other banks should itself be a Red Flag.
Just like Jon651 said, they can only earn those higher rates by investing in higher risk ventures.