Rants, Raves, and Praise → Affinity Federal Credit Union

My mother's CU Affinity Federal Credit Union sucks. I just had to argue with a supervisor about an unauthorized $369 charge on my mother's credit card. Any real bank would simply remove the charge and that would be it. But Affinity FCU wants my elderly mother to fill out a form, have it notarized, and file a police report. Over a $369 charge! That's freaking ridiculous. I've never had to do that for a credit card, even when I had a $2000 fraudulent charge.

After much arguing, I got Affinity FCU to drop the requirement for a police report, but I'll still have to drive down to her house (90 minutes each way) and take her out to the Affinity FCU branch so she can have her signature notarized. And they won't credit her account until she does so.

So I have to go through all this trouble, but Affinity FCU is making things easy for the con artists who prey on senior citizens.

My mother has a significant amount of money at Affinity FCU, and I'll be closing all her accounts over time and moving the money to a real bank, which provides real customer service.

Unfortunately any "Bank" will be the same way. Debit cards to not provide the same protection as a credit card. If you are worried about this happening again the best thing to do would be get a credit card with the bank she is using and have them set it up to pull the full balance each month from her checking account or you can log in online and pay the bill out of her checking account

I find it ironic that you recently posted

quote:

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Closing all my BoA accounts has resulted in a nicer banking experience for me.

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from the thread »[Rant] Bank of america (2)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I had to do the same thing when my account was compromised a couple of years ago. Someone thought it was a nice idea to try and withdraw $500 from my checking account. I had never done business with whoever it was, and I not only had to file a police report, but be interviewed by a detective. They do this to weed out those who want to claim fraud, but have got the goods and just don't want to pay for it.

Note: I am not saying this is what you're doing. Please keep that in mind before you snark at me or anyone else.

This was a CREDIT card.

Completely normal. I agree.

Same thing basically happened to us. Guy charged out B of A Credit card over $1500 worth of Dr. Jay's clothing. The stupid part was he used his REAL home address, so it was real easy for the cops to get him. B of A didn't require us to file a police report, but we did so anyway. It only took 10 minutes of our time, and the station is 1 block away from us. B of A just sent us a form to sign to remove the charges.

Doesn't matter if it was a credit card, debit card or checking account. If you don't know where the charge is coming from and claiming fraud, they are going to get all their ducks in a row.

If you don't want to follow your procedures, that's up to you. But you're going to be hard pressed to get them to refund the money until then.

My wife also had a fraudulent charge.

Our credit union asked us to jump through the hoops, including filing a police report.

We happily filed a police report. We walked into the local precinct and met with a detective.

Why would I let the scumbag get away with stealing?

As an aside, the police officer that took the report said that because the fake card was used at Target, they would be able to get excellent shots of the person. The officer said that Target has high definition video cameras not only at each register, but all over the store.

Hopefully, the if enough people file against this scumbag, it can be elevated from a few months in jail to many, many years.

One can hope, can't they?

You and others seem to be missing the point...

Big Bank credit card: "$800 unauthorized charge? No problem! We've already removed the charge and you'll have a new card tomorrow. Have a nice day."

Credit Union credit card: "$369 unauthorized charge? Oh, dear. Let's see. You need to fill out a police report. Then wait for a form in the mail. Then fill out the form and get it notarized. Then send it back to us. And then, if we're satisfied, we'll remove the unauthorized charge. If we're not satisfied, you'll have to pay."

Which company would you rather do business with?

SMH. And you're missing the point. CUs are much different from Big Banks. Big Banks can and have in past experience revoked the temporary credit while they investigate because they haven't been satisfied with the information presented.

CUs have not only their interest but their members interest in mind. If every member claimed that they had fraud and they just forgave it, how long would it before the CU went under?

If you want to sit here comparing apples to oranges, go right ahead. I'd rather follow what they want me to do than sit and complain that it's not fair that I have to do this, that and the other.

If your CU is local, they should have the form to fill out in a branch. They should also have a notary on duty. You can get a police report done anytime. What I see is a hole in a bucket syndrome. You want to while about something but don't want to do something about it.

Good luck with your fraud report.

Cash is king.

aannoonn - We are sorry to hear about your recent experience with Affinity Federal Credit Union. One of our supervisors will be contacting you (via the number we have on file) directly to resolve the issue you described below. Thank you.
- Affinity Federal Credit Union

I had a similar problem that involved my Credit Union. But it only took a phone call to correct the situation. Reissued Credit and Debit Cards and new checks, all with new account numbers.

No forms, no police reports, nothing.

But then I researched my Credit Union's reputation beforehand. They are just shy of 64,000 members, $750,000,000 in Assets, a ratio of 357 members per employee, compared to a national average of 455. And they have been in business since 1937, with a strong presence in the community and many long standing ties.

A few days later I even received a call from them to ensure that all was ok. I even got a call a couple of weeks later, when someone using the old account number tried to access my account [twice]. I have gotten service like that in other matters as well.

I needed to increase my Credit Line and that only took a phone call and had an answer within 24 hours. Refinance a Vehicle, a few simple forms and a signature.

Could not get that level of service from my "real" banks.

As to "real" banks, I have had relatives get caught in their procedures, in one case someone was taking out $2600 every week for 4 weeks. The call center people would do nothing and offered nothing. It was a struggle to correct.

I used this site - »creditunionaccess.com/ and other sites to determine the best Credit Union for my needs.

ymmv hth

The closest branch is 35 miles away. As if my 85 year-old mother is going to drive 70 miles by herself to get a form notarized.

They're mailing the form to my mother's home address. Do they really think that someone else is going to sign it? Having it notarized is completely unnecessary, and something I haven't had to do under similar circumstances with "real" banks.

Regarding the police report requirement (which the CU waived at my request), absolutely nothing would happen with the police report. It would be a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.

I should note that my mother has been a member of this credit union for probably 25 years. It's not like she's out to scam them. Sheesh.

Meanwhile the CU called and said they've taken off the unauthorized charge, but I still have to send back the notarized form. So I have to drive 160 miles round-trip to fill out the form with my mother, then take her to get the form notarized.

If the charge was for like $20, they normally will just remove it without any issue the first time it happens. Beyond that, you even have to prove the loss of even $20. At least that has been my experience.

But your request was for $369, so what your having to deal with is normal. $369 isn't a small amount of money.

tell your mom to get her own phone and get a taxi to take her to the police department. If you live in a small town, the cops might even come to her.

you can get the form notarized any where, a lot of notaries will also travel to you. There is no reason you have to drive to the credit union to have it notarized.

Sounds to me like the CU is trying to work with you here. Why are you still bitching? Do your mom a solid and help her out. It's for her protection and for the protection of every other member of Affinity.

Seriously, it's such a bother to help out your mom? That's just sad.

I don't think it's a matter that it's a bother to help their mother. I think it's a bother that they have to do work to help the CU. I gave up after their last post because I realized that we'd be in a circular argument.

If the OP feels that it's a waste of time and that the CU is being difficult, then go to another CU and ask them their policy on fraudulent charges. I'm sure it'd be the same or similar. The higher the dollar amount, the more they have to do in order to recoup the losses.

Of course, this kind of logic is lost on some people.

After my experiences I have to agree.
My wife had fraudulent charges on a Citibank card to the tune of $700 (made at a store where she used to purchase regularly). The crooks had cloned the card as the charges were made by swiping. One call froze the account and she had a new card 2 days later plus forms to fill for having the charges removed. No notary, no police report - and again, she had multiple legitimate charges at the same store during that month, some close in amount.
I had a similar experience with Capital One for almost $1000, only I disputed the charges online, even less hassle.

I think this is about having your cake and eating it too. One normally goes to the credit union for the small bank feel and personal experience. You feel like you matter and you actually hold shares. The people their actually know you by name. For the most part, people are proud to be members of credit unions. Banks dont normally cause similiar feelings. Along with the great benefits may come some drawbacks. Unlike a big bank that can afford to write off a loss of $1000 in the blink of an eye, a credit union cannot. As others said, if the amount was $100 or less, they likely would have credited the OP's mom without paperwork. It is when the amount is higher that documentation is required.

When I used to be a teller at a major bank, if you were short at the end of the day and the amount was $50 or less, it was not a big deal. You did not have to complete paperwork and stuff.

When I worked at a credit union, any amount you were short over $5 had to be documented.

Bib banks also charge you higher fees for just about everything so they can absorb the fraud. As long as the stock price is OK no one cares. Credit Unions are cooperatives...something you don't seem to understand or care about. You get what you give in a cooperative. What's good for one member isn't necesarrily good for all the members. As an owner I'd think your mother would want to help the company she owns keep costs down. Perhaps a cooperative is the wrong place for her....although we only know what you think.

This should be a chargeback, so it shouldn't cost the CU anything. I would think the chargeback fees should make a bit of profit for them, if they weren't drowning themselves in unnecessary paperwork and personnel costs. But they can run their business as they see fit.

Regarding that "small bank feel" - The folks at Fleet Bank (now part of BoA) gave me a wedding gift when I got married.

My current bank has about 20 branches.

Your CU's not going to see an addional dime from there charge back outside of maybe the original amount less more fees. They are likely not large enough to be doing their own card processing and it is likely being done by a 3rd party that is going to be absorbing any of those fees and only charging more.

Amex
Capital One
Chase Bank

All removed bad credit card charges no questions asked and send a new card right away.

Now that credit union might have some kind of insurance that pays for this stuff and it might require the form and police report.
If I owned a bank, I would make everyone file police report, but large companies obviously see no value in one as they dont require it.

Refusing to get a police report sounds very, very fishy.
Like it could have been a family friend or family member that stole the card and made the charges and you want to protect them.
If you mother is too weak to function in society by herself she should give you power of attorney so you could have just signed the forms.

I would not be suprised if the mother made the charge and forgot or made the charge and had no money so she lied to her son. That could be another reason no police report is wanted

Not to mention that this is the sort of hassle that I was referring to in my posts in that thread.

I had my credit card skimmed at a Subway and all it took was a single email to Chase to have the fraudulent charges reversed and card cancelled/reissued with new number. Total time spent was about 90 seconds.

If the OPs grandmother used a debit card and not a real credit card then yes you are not guaranteed the money back and you have to do what the bank wants to get your money back.

My previous post about chase, amex, capital one is about REAL credit cards not debit cards.
I once had my debit card stolen and I had to fill out multiple forms to get the money back and the bank said I only get it back after their investigation which took two weeks. I also had to file out a police report.
Real credit card companies give you your money back instantly.

Why people think a debit card is a credit card is beyond me. Just because you can run it as a credit does not make it a credit card.

If your mom cant make her own phone calls regarding matters like this.. She shouldnt have a credit or debit card. Ide be pissed if my son was able to get any information out of my bank or credit union.