The Bank of Montreal has been fined $4 million by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) for improperly disclosing fee details and overcharging customers. The FCAC, responsible for safeguarding financial product users, found that the bank had charged monthly plan fees to over 100,000 customers between 2010 and 2024 that should have been waived or discounted.
In response to the violations, the Bank of Montreal has refunded over $3 million to the affected customers and made a charitable donation of $600,000 for unrecoverable amounts. A spokesperson for the bank emphasized their commitment to high standards of conduct, noting that they took proactive measures to reimburse customers and promptly reported the issue to the FCAC.
The penalties imposed by the FCAC are linked to discrepancies in discounted bank account offerings for various customer segments, including newcomers, medical and dental students, Indigenous banking clients, and participants in a home financing promotion. The FCAC highlighted that the $4 million penalty signifies the level of negligence on the part of BMO in addressing and identifying the error, despite receiving more than 500 customer complaints regarding the incorrect monthly plan fees charged.
