Northern Credit Union

Members, [redacted] & [redacted] opted into the Overdraft Protection program on 6/8/10. During  this time period the member has utilized the Overdraft Program to cover the following transaction types: debit card, checks and ACH. In accordance with our records the member opted out of...

the debit card overdraft program on 6/14/14, but contacted us on 6/17/14, stating they would like to opt back into the debit card overdraft program. We have no further documentation that the member opted out of the debit card overdraft program. The member also has the ability to opt in/out of the overdraft program through online banking. The example the member provided for 11/19/15 with the overdraft fee being charged when the funds were available, was due to funds being on hold from prior debit card transactions. When an individual uses their debit card, the merchant places a hold on the transaction for the amount of the purchase. If a debit card transaction is placed on hold the amount of purchase is reflected in the members' available balance. If the member was looking at the balance of their account, then it is possible that they did not realize the funds were on hold. We educate our members that they need to check their available balance (not balance) to know the amount of funds they have available to spend. This member hasonline and mobile banking, which makes this easier to check.  During the time the members have participated in the overdraft program, we have refunded overdraft  fees. The fees were refunded due to either credit union error or as a courtesy. On 8/31/15 the member  did request 12 fees be refunded, she stated that her husband had been out of work and just returned  the week prior. She wanted to know if we could help out by refunding some of the fees. Due to the  number of fee refunds prior, this request was denied, but recommended our Balance program to assist  with getting their finances back on track.  [redacted] and [redacted] communicate through all of our delivery channels, including online messaging. Based on our records any message delivered through these channels were addressed and communicated back to the member. Unfortunately, we did not respond timely to the last request theysubmitted on 8/22/15, which is not acceptable. We are researching this further and will be making the necessary changes to ensure our members concerns are addressed immediately. Based on our review, we will refund the fees the member has requested; together with an apology for the delay in our response to their request. We will educate the member further on how the debit card transaction holds work and how they can better manage their account.