Credit union Froze Account

[ccgirl]

Wow! I was doing some school shopping for my son and I went to use my check card. I was declined. I was in shock because I just got paid today and I knew there was plenty of money in the account to cover some new school clothes. I called my credit union and they said that check cards were a prevledge and since I caused them a loss because of my VISA that is in the bankruptcy I was no longer able to have an account with them and my checking account was being closed. YIKES. I was able to go there and withdraw my money. They let me keep some money in the account to pay some checks that I have written and stated that those checks would get paid. They also said I could have my next pay check direct deposited to allow me time to set up an account somewhere else. What an experience. I don't know what I would have done if I had been out to dinner somewhere and had my card declined.....I had maybe $1.00 in cash in my purse.

[ccgirl]

One more thing...my plan was confirmed a few weeks ago so I was suprised that they waited this long to freeze the account. The girl at the cu was nice...she told me this was just a minor bump in the road and things would be fine down the road.

[rrockinggramma]

credit unions are known for this. There should be a sticky to warn everyone who is filing on a credit union to move their money asap

[lrprn]

Some credit unions can be quite difficult when you include them as creditors in a 7 or 13 bankruptcy. There's an arrogance there that banks don't tend to share.

You were able to get your money out - that's good. Now go open another account - this time NOT at a credit union - and start directing your funds there. It can take several weeks to get auto-deposits going, so you may have to ask your employer for a paper check for a few pay cycles so you can make the deposits yourself.

[ccgirl]

They did tell me that when I am done with the bk I can voluntarily pay them back the money they lost on me and I can once again be in good standing with them. After five years not sure I would want to go back.

[AngelinaCat]

This happened to us. We have our checking/savings account with a CU that my DH has been a member of for 40 years. We also have a car loan with them, which we reaffirmed. But it had to be their paperwork, not our attorney's, and it had to go before the judge in their district. They are in another state.

Even though we had talked with their credit department and were told there would be no problems, we also got a similar 'nasty-gram' about how our BK had caused the other members in good standing to lose--yada, yada. Seems to be standard practice.

After some more phone calls, the matter was resolved, and they even reversed the NSF charges that had accrued while our account was frozen. We are still with this CU and all is well. We had a very scarey 10 days though, while this was sorted out. Fortunately we did have a little emergency cash on hand.

[lrprn]

They did tell me that when I am done with the bk I can voluntarily pay them back the money they lost on me and I can once again be in good standing with them. After five years not sure I would want to go back.

Good for you to not be taken in by this common credit union ploy. Why would you stay with a credit union that is using coercion to force you to pay back a debt or debts that have been legally discharged just to maintain a relationship with them?

There are many credit unions in this world - you can always join another one if belonging to a credit union is important to you.

[workinghard]

That happened to me b4 - account was locked even before I even filed or near filing a 13! I was just late on car payments and the credit union locked my visa checkcard. Thankfully, I did not have direct deposit and my balance was minimal.

[road warrior]

ditch the credit union - they don't care about you one bit.
I went through the same ordeal. I was in good standing, had 2 loans that were taken directly from my pay and went to the CU. As soon as I filed, I stopped the automatic payments and withdrew all of my savings minus $100. The C.U. seized the account, took the money and now I get a statement showing a ZERO balance. To make things worse, the CU will get all of their money PLUS more than I owed due to the terms of my BK.
I will never have another account with a credit union again.

[Banko]

Thats too bad....I have banked with both regular banks and CU and also work at Wells Fargo. I would choose my CU over any other bank, but maybe that is just the area also. (I am in SD) I have never had a problem......cross my fingers!

[dizyblond]

Yes, the credit unions will take everything you have without telling you i advnce. Luckilly, I only had $5 in my checking account at the time -- but they even took that!

[Sham11801]

CU's are generally not for profit organizations created for its members. So a loss on their books is much harder to recover for them than it is for a congolomerate bank.