SAFE Credit Union

Review: Paid off car loan 83 days ago. We have called 6 times to request release of Vehicle Title to date it has not been done, yet they cashed our check.

My husband and I paid off our car loan in August 2013. Safe deposited our check on 8/22/13 for $ 5869.82, the pay off amount Safe gave us. Our primary residence is now Washington State, so the vehicle is registered here. We understand the physical paper title will be sent from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

WHY WE ARE REGISTERING THIS COMPLAINT:

We are registering this complaint because Safe will not release the electronic title to the California DMV and the California DMV can NOT issue our paper title until they do.

I talked to [redacted] at extension [redacted] in September, my husband talked to [redacted] at extension [redacted] on 11/8/13. In the last 3 months, we have made 6 phone calls and each time someone has said either the title has ALREADY been sent OR they were RELEASING IT THAT DAY. On 11/8/13, [redacted] in the Safe DMV Department also said she was going to release the title that day.

According to the Customer Service Department of the California Department of Motor Vehicles the title has NOT been released by Safe as of 11/12/2013.

On 11/8/13, [redacted] told my husband Safe had No Record of any of my previous phone calls concerning this matter. We have phone records proving these phone calls were made so we are CONTACTING AN ATTORNEY but wanted others to know of their bad business practices.

ACTION WE WANT TAKEN:

We want the vehicle title released so the California DMV can issue our paper title. Even though our primary residence is no longer in California, we do still have a home there and the residence/friend there are on the look out for anything coming from the DMV.

I am also in contact, almost daily, with the Customer Service Department of the California DMV.Desired Settlement: Release of Vehicle Electronic Title to California DMV today so they can issue our paper Title.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

I am writing in response to the consumer complaint that you filed with the Revdex.com on November 14, 2013, regarding the release of your title on your 2001 Lexus.

Please accept my apology for the delay in releasing the title on your 2001 Lexus. Unfortunately, there was an oversight on SAFE's part and the lien was not released in a timely manner as it should have been after your loan was paid in full. [redacted] did however, electronically release the lien after you spoke with SAFE's Call Center on 11/8/13 and we have confirmed with the DMV that the lien was removed on 11/15/13.

I am sorry that this issue was not resolved with your initial contact with SAFE's Call Center and assure you that I will take corrective action to prevent this from happening in the future.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at (XXX) XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

Recovery Manager

cc: [redacted], Chief Executive Officer

[redacted], Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer

[redacted] Vice President Consumer Lending

[redacted] Assistant Vice President/Collections and Insurance Manager

[redacted], Director of Internal Audit

Revdex.com of NE California

Review: I am a new bank account owner and the credit union charged me $6 every time I used my ATM account without notifying me of this via e-mail or regular USPS mail. This has accrued to the amount of $90. before I found out about it. No one told me this was the practice. No one informed me of the process. The credit union should have let me know they were charging me this and/or explained the charge at the time I opened the account. The charges should be reversed and I should not be held responsible for this miscommunication.Desired Settlement: Credit account for charges and notify me if I have over drafted the account within 7 days.

Business

Response:

Please see attached response.

Thanks

Business

Response:

July 23, 2014

Review: While I'm usually a quite happy customer of Safe Credit Union, I am most unhappy with their communications problems. I have no way to escalate my complaint, as the corporate headquarters doesn't furnish any contact info and the call center personnel aren't knowledgeable. My issue involves both my house and my auto loans through Safe and their new insurance offices in Texas. The people in Texas do not seem to know what they are doing. They continuously demand proof of auto insurance, even though I have had the same policy for 10 years. Every 6 months they are demanding my policy again and again. Every time I think it is resolved, I get another nasty letter. I've never had this much trouble with any house or auto loan. I even talked to their insurance dept. in Lake Zurich ([redacted])regarding my home loan (as [redacted] is the servicer) to make sure that the Safe CU Insurance Dept. in Texas would have the correct info. There is some kind of disconnect with these people. Major communication issues. My insurance agents have presented them with my policies numerous times. Now they are trying the same ploy with my home insurance. Are these people not properly trained? Are they not following the procedures? Why can't they seem to get it right? I hate to use a public venue like Revdex.com to complain, but I'm totally frustrated at the poor communication within this organization.Desired Settlement: Please get my auto loan insurance information and my home loan insurance information correct. I don't care what it takes on your part, but I'm tired of receiving incorrect and erroneous nasty letters when the fault lies with your employees! Otherwise, I really do like your loan products and enjoy being a member, but being hounded all the time is really frustrating.

Business

Response:

April 7, 2016 [redacted]

[redacted] RE: Consumer complaint # [redacted] Dear Mrs. [redacted] I am writing in response to the consumer complaint you filed with the Revdex.com on March 28, 2016, regarding letters received requesting updated insurance for your existing auto and home loan. Your letter states that SAFE’s insurance tracking centers have mailed numerous requests to provide updated insurance when in fact; your policies have been in place since the inception of the loan. In addition, you indicate your frustration with the lack of direct resources available to express your concern with receiving these letters. According to our records, a request for a current vehicle policy was requested September 30, 2015 as the last policy sent by the carrier showed an expiration of December 30, 2013. A policy was received for the missing period with a new expiration date of December 30, 2015. On December 30, 2015, we had requested proof of renewal and have yet to receive a copy from the carrier; however, your account has been updated per verbal authorization from the carrier following your call on January 5, 2016. It is required that the carrier send updated policies to the lienholder with each renewal. To avoid a delay in getting the updated policy information in the future, we have requested the carrier to update your policy to reflect “continuous unless cancelled.” Regarding the mortgage loan, [redacted] ([redacted]) is our servicer for mortgage loans and does not have access to information related to our vehicle loans. The homeowner’s insurance policy for your home is paid from your escrow account and was renewed by [redacted] on February 16, 2016 and is currently in full force. The information you received from [redacted], indicating the insurance policy on your home had been lender placed, was incorrect and you will receive a letter from [redacted] confirming you have private insurance paid via your escrow account. I apologize that your recent interaction with SAFE did not meet our expectations of providing members with an exceptional experience. We will reach out to our insurance service centers to ensure they escalate similar issues directly to a manager to ensure this type of issue does not happen again. I hope this letter clarifies this matter for you however, if you have any additional questions feel free to contact me at [redacted]. Sincerely, [redacted] Collection Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: During the month of March 2015 I entered into an agreement with an online company called [redacted]. They are a company that deal with rent-to-own homes. They have a website that you can use for a certain timeframe and then you contact them to cancel. We cancelled the agreement within the correct timeframe. We were alarmed to discover that this company took $58.00 from our account a few weeks later. We called our Safe Credit Union branch on Bruceville road in Elk Grove, CA explained the situation and we were given a provisional credit and a dispute was filed on our behalf. We were further alarmed to discover that during the month of May, Safe Credit Union removed the provisional credit and placed the $58.00 back to our account. I spoke with [redacted] the branch manager who informed me that we did not meet the time frame to provide additional information for the dispute and thus they could not help us. I am a retired military veteran and am very dissatisified with this matter. I feel that Safe Credit Union is dropping the ball with this matter.Desired Settlement: I want Safe to return the $58.00 to my account.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted], I am writing in response to the consumer complaint you filed with the Revdex.com on June 15, 2015 regarding a fraudulent dispute you submitted with SAFE on March 5, 2015.We have reviewed your account as well as all of the supporting documentation. As stated in your consumer complaint, a provisional credit of $58.94 was posted to your account on March 19,2015 after filing a SAFE Fraudulent Transaction Dispute form. When the provisional credit was issued, a letter explaining the temporary nature of the credit was mailed to you on March 20,2015.We immediately opened your case with [redacted] and the merchant involved. Unfortunately, the merchant of your disputed transaction was able to provide supporting documentation that goods or services were rendered based on the contractual agreement you entered into. They indicated that they maintain accurate records of all customer contact with their Customer service Department and no attempt had been recorded to cancel before the expiration of the trial membership.Based on this information a letter was mailed to you on April 10, 2015 which required your response by April 24, 2015. This letter provided the following two options for additional actions: 1. A statement indicating you have reviewed the merchant's documentation and your detailed reason(s) for wanting to continue the dispute. 2. If applicable, and this is still a fraudulent transaction, please use the following verbiage in your response. " I have never been in contact with this merchant, and did not inquire about, authorize, participate in, or benefit from this transaction or merchant. "Unfortunately, no response was received from you. Therefore on April 27, 2015 a letter was mailed to you explaining the provisional credit would be reversed and the claim was being closed. It also clarified that SAFE no longer has any disputing rights on your behalf for the charge in question. The provisional credit was reversed on May 8, 2015.SAFE takes fraudulent transaction claims extremely serious and makes every effort to assist our members in resolving these disputes. I have enclosed the documentation from this case for your review.If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly at [redacted].Respectfully,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: I feel that Safe did act in the best interest of it's customer (my wife and I) by doing it's due diligence to validate this company. We want our money back. If we get our $58.00 back we will drop this complaint. if not we will continue to fight for our rights as a common consumer

Review: I applied for an auto loan with SAFE on 3/9/16 and was instantly pre-approved. In reviewing my credit report a few days later, I noticed that the inquiry from SAFE was not listed as an Auto Loan inquiry. This is particularly important because [redacted] counts multiple inquires for auto loans within a 45-day window as a single inquiry. Since SAFE did not provide the correct purpose code to [redacted] when requesting my credit report, [redacted] does not recognize it as having been for an auto loan, and the inquiry is not grouped with my other auto loan inquiries. Instead, this inquiry is counted as its own separate inquiry and has a negative impact on my credit score. In sum, I did not grant permission to SAFE to pull my credit for any purpose other than an auto loan, and this inquiry was documented incorrectly in my credit file.Desired Settlement: I kindly ask that SAFE contact Transunion immediately to make a correction to this mistake.

Business

Response:

April 7, 2016

RE: Consumer complaint # [redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted],

I am writing in response to the consumer complaint that you filed with the Revdex.com on March 31, 2016 regarding the type of inquiry that resulted from your recent application for an auto loan.

SAFE’s credit bureau of choice, [redacted], sets up subscriber codes based on the lenders nature of business and purpose. SAFE Credit [redacted]’s nature of business is a credit [redacted]; therefore the first designation is coded as a credit [redacted]. Because the use of the subscriber code is for an auto purchase, the second designation is Auto. Therefore the inquiry resulting from your application for an auto loan with SAFE Credit [redacted] is reported from [redacted] as an auto inquiry from a credit [redacted]. [redacted] has confirmed that our subscriber code is set up to report this information correctly.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [redacted]

Sincerely

Consumer

Response:

Thank you for clarification.

The way you explained it makes perfect sense, and I agree that is how it should be coded. Can you please confirm with [redacted] that the second code, for purpose, was in fact reported as Auto for my application? If you look at the copy of my credit report, attached to the complaint, it states "Permissible Purpose: Credit Transaction." I believe that if this was reported the way you explained, it should say "Auto" for the permissible purpose. This leads me to believe that there was an error in the way this inquiry was reported.

Thank you!

Business

Response:

April 14, 2016

RE: Consumer complaint #[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted],

I am writing in response to your request for additional information regarding the consumer complaint that you filed with the Revdex.com on March 31, 2016 regarding the type of inquiry that resulted from your recent application for an auto loan.

I have confirmed with [redacted] that the second code which represents the type of transaction is coded as an auto transaction. [redacted] responded to my inquiry of why the permissible purpose is showing as “Credit Transaction” instead of “Auto Transaction” by confirming that they do not have a separate permissible purpose code for auto, the permissible purpose designation applies to all forms of credit transactions. In addition, the permissible purpose is used only to designate why an inquiry was obtained and does not indicate the type of inquiry.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [redacted]

Sincerely,