urbansuite

I finally received my card! Short of a lengthy diatribe about the who and why, I will focus on the process as feedback. In essence, the nearly 2 month delay was due to a "computer glitch." Potato, potatoe. PM for details.

If you have any issue with BMO that has taken an extended period, you're better off NOT going "internal." By "elevating the issue" to the inept "supervisor(s)" (expletives eliminated), I endured an entire month of pure frustration.

Things were expedited upon filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to the folks at CFPB, consumerfinance.gov, the bank has a timeline which to respond to your complaint; your complaint is noted and tracked. Upon filing, I was contacted by none other than Wendy Velasquez, the contact posted by MIA. She was efficient and professional despite not having an immediate answer. She kept me apprised the entire time she researched it which eliminated the confusion and condescending demeanor of her previous contact at BMO. Who cares if she elevated the issue, she gets the credit for fixing it.

Thank you MIA for your advice. If anything this shows Wendy is doing her job, and in this case, with the help of the CFPB.

The card received is a chip and pin type but now we are still working on getting the PIN part of it (don't know why this is an issue) and restored online access.

Who knows if I'll keep the card going forward but this exercise shows how the BMO views this product. BMO is not an American bank, it is 1 of 5 major banks in Canada which control 90% of the market; do they really need to invest in stellar service? Without identifying other issues, the BMO Q4 report should also indicate strategy with the brand.

I would say that the profile of the average Diners Club user is a safe credit risk based on my research but are we really worth the resources and effort? One thing resonates for certain: Carry another card as a backup!