USAA just pulled a huge mindf#@k on Travis and his wife, and now he wants to talk to someone high enough up the chain to find out what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. His wife “went online yesterday to check on some transactions and discovered her IRA balance was $0. Six hours prior to that, her balance was $14,000.” When she tried to find out what had happened, the first CSR she spoke with told her she had no IRA account, and the second CSR told her to refresh her browser. Yeah, you know how these newfangled browswers are always wiping out retirement accounts.
credit unions
EECB Gets Credit Union To Pay Up $125
By 9.17.08
Rick has been trying for months to get his his credit union, Opportunities Credit Union of Vermont, to pay up for a $125 home inspection, and now, a week after sending his EECB, he prevailed. As we wrote last week, his credit union was supposed to pay for a home inspection but said they didn’t have to because the bill was never sent. However, the home inspector uses an electronic billing system and it showed that the credit union rep had in fact read the sent bill. Emails and phone calls between Rick and his credit union rep led to a stalemate. Then Jim sent off an executive email carpet bomb and got the following back from the credit union president:
So What's Replacing Boarded-Up Payday Lenders? Credit Unions!
By 7.27.08
Consumers in Washington D.C. have apparently flocked to credit unions since the district outlawed payday lending last year. Payday lenders whined that lending without 300% APRs was utterly unaffordable, but credit unions are proving that it’s possible to make long-term, low-dollar loans with interest rates as low as 16%.
FDIC Call Center: Former Employee Says It's A Great Place For Bank & Credit Union Info
By 3.13.08
A former FDIC employee writes that the FDIC’s call center (877-275-3342) is “a tremendously helpful place to get basic referral information if you’re having trouble with your bank, lender, or finance company.” They can’t help you with complaints, but they can route you to the correct agency, provide credit union contact info, and give you the names and numbers of state agencies where your bank is located.
One Customer's Call Changes Verity Credit Union's Mortgage Rate Policy
By 2.15.08
Keith writes:
My adjustable rate mortgage with Verity Credit Union is due to reset next month. As part of the note there is an option to convert to a fixed rate. The calculation of this fixed rate is clearly defined as equal to Fannie Mae’s required net yield for a 30 year fixed rate covered by an applicable 60-day mandatory delivery commitment plus five-eighths of one percentage point, rounded to the nearest five-eighths of one percentage point. So take the Fannie Mae 30 year 60 day rate add 5/8ths and round to the nearest eighth. The note said the note holder got to decide the day of the rate but Verity was nice enough to let me pick which day I wanted as long as I gave them 15 days notice before the reset date. I patiently watched the rates every day and fortunately right before I was to give them notice rates were steadily declining…
Free Advice: Don't Deposit Bags Of Meth In The ATM
By 2.15.08
Here’s a little free advice from your friends at The Consumerist: Don’t deposit bags of meth at the ATM. You don’t get any interest and they’re probably going to figure out who are after they see your name and account number.
By 10.4.07
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If you’re a customer of a small bank or credit union with limited access to fee-free ATMs, consider asking your financial institution to look into joining pre-existing, surcharge-free ATM networks like MoneyPass or Allpoint.
Non-Profit Payday Loans: Loansharks With Shorter Teeth?
By 8.28.07
That’s a lady who is finally digging herself out of a payday loan hole with the help of a “non-profit” payday loan. At one point, Truckey was paying $600 a month in finance charges alone. Now she has a new loan through GoodMoney, operated by local credit union. The new loan’s APR is only 252%, about half what she was paying before.
BC Credit Union Apologizes To Customer With Humble Pie
By 7.28.07
Paula wrote to BC credit union to let them know their website gave her inaccurate directions to a nearby ATM. Within a few days, she received a personalized apology note and a little something extra.
Checks Stolen? Maybe Leave The Account Open, Otherwise The Bank Won't Help You With The Hot Checks
By 5.8.07
Boom: they get angry and they sent many letters…
7 Confessions Of A Car Salesman: Kia
By 4.5.07
Carl spent some time selling Kias at a dealership in Colorado, and has written in with a few insights about Kia, selling cars, and some buying strategies for you. Some highlights:
Undocumented Workers Offered Special Savings Accounts With Arizona Credit Union
By 2.1.07
A restaurant chain with a store in Mesa offers to accept Mexican pesos for pizza and receives threats at its Texas headquarters.The state’s largest credit union is bracing for similar fallout as it begins marketing savings accounts to undocumented immigrants.
Are Credit Unions Really Better Than Banks?
By 12.14.05
Reader Jim Walls offers this advice about how to avoid banks entirely, but going to its socialist equivalent, the credit union. We thought it was an interesting, succinct explanation on why you might want to look at credit unions as the panacea for all our banking problems.
