Superior Choice Credit Union

They are nothing more than a money grabbing low quality bank. I missed a full payment by $2.85 and they sent me as late on my payments to the credit bureau. They said I was 30 Days late, I would guess because of the $2.85. What a scamming org. Maybe it is time to hire an attorney and take legal action.

CROOKS PLAIN AND SIMPLE

Review: On May 10, 2014, I was charged three "courtesy pay fees" of $29 each, despite the funds being available in a savings account (with overdraft protection set up). In addition to the funds being available in the savings account, the actions of the credit union are very similar to the actions that caused Associated Bank (WI) to lose a class action lawsuit.

In communication with the credit union, they indicated that they were aware of the class action lawsuit for similar conduct that Associated Bank (WI) recently lost, but that they had developed a work around for that law through one of many disclosure forms filled out when opening an account. I find this method of "getting around" the fact that a different bank in town had just lost a class action lawsuit by running up overdraft fees (or "courtesy pay fees") inappropriate, and certainly against the philosophy of open disclosure that Revdex.com has advocated for.

More importantly, however, is that the funds were available. When I inquired, I heard back from the credit union on May 22, 2014 in writing. At that point, I was told, "As for your savings being linked to your checking, it is indeed set up that way. If you look at your account on May 10th, the system did transfer all available funds in your account, but it wasn't enough to cover your debit card charges. You did not have enough funds for all the charges totaled, and once you received your first fee, it created a snowball effect bringing you further into the negative."

However that is not accurate. First, there was no transfer from savings to checking on May 10, 2014. Second, funds were available to transfer from savings to checking on May 10, 2014. In fact, later, when I realized that Superior Choice Credit Union had not transferred the funds as the accounts are set up for, I manually transferred the funds myself, using funds that had been in the savings account the entire time. Even with the overdraft fees ("courtesy pay fees") - the savings account still had funds left over.

Simply put, I believe Superior Choice Credit Union is doing several things that requires the attention of the Revdex.com:

- They are utilizing an excessive series of disclosure forms to "gain permission" in order to work around the clear results of a class action lawsuit.

- They neglected to transfer funds as they indicated they would, and as the accounts were set up for.Desired Settlement: I would request:

- A full refund of the "courtesy pay fees"

- A Revdex.com review of the disclosure forms that the credit union is using to continue to approve debit card charges simply to assess overdraft charges. The complaint that lead to the class action lawsuit can be found here: [redacted]

Business

Response:

After reviewing this case today it was clear that funds were available in the member’s savings account on 05/10/2014 and that the fees were incorrectly assessed by our automated systems. My review further shows that there was an error in the setup of the member’s account causing the overdraft transfer link to fail in making the automated transfer of funds resulting in the incorrect assessment of fees. The overdraft transfer link has now been corrected for the member’s account and all fees ($87.00) have been fully refunded as of today (06/25/2014).

As to the narrative regarding Associated Bank and class action lawsuits pertaining to courtesy payment services, the member should know that this dialogue is irrelevant information. Superior Choice Credit Union fully complies with all regulations regarding courtesy payment services as well as procedural “best practices” for this service. There simply are no procedural “work arounds” in play for courtesy payment services nor have there ever been.

Respectfully,

[redacted] | President & CEO

Review: My bank account with SCCU over-drafted and accumulated 580.00 in overdraft fees when I had no idea my account was even in the negative. I visited SCCU and asked why they would allow my card to continue to be used without notifying me of these charges. They told me I had to submit a request to have these charges looked at to see if they could be reimbursed. We submitted the form and shortly afterwards we received a phone call notifying us that they had been emailing us notifications. I asked what email address they had been sending them to, and they said "[redacted]." [redacted] is not my email address... my email address is [redacted]. Upon informing them of this error, they still told me there was nothing they could do, and did not change my email address in their system.

I called back a few hours later and spoke with someone else asking them to produce the documentation where I wrote my email address incorrectly (as I believed it was a clerical error on their part). This woman changed my email address on the system.

On Tuesday morning, I received the documentation that I had written my email address correctly and they had entered the incorrect email address into their system via clerical error. I submitted another request to have my overdraft fees reimbursed, which was, again, denied. Their reason for denying this request was that I had access to online banking.

I used online banking until November of 2014 when I could no longer log in. I filled out a form to change my email address with SCCU so I could reset my password and it would be sent to the correct email address. This brings us to WHEN they entered the incorrect email address into their system - they entered my email into the system incorrectly, so when I tried to reset my password, and it didn't work once again. I gave up on their online banking after this incident. Also, even with online banking, I still had signed up to receive e-notifications sent to my email - which I never received, because they entered the wrong email address.

Had I been notified that my account was negative, I would have stopped using my debit card and added more money into my account.Desired Settlement: I believe a fair outcome would be to be refunded for all of the overdraft charges except one. If I had over-drafted, and had received a notification via e-mail (or mail, or phone), I would stopped using my debit card and added more money into my account.

Business

Response:

This email communication is the final communication we will make on the above referenced complaint numbers which we received from the Revdex.com by letters dated 08/21/2015. This case can be summarized by the following: Our former members are making their case based on the premise that an incorrect email on credit union records and inability to login to online banking relieves them of the duty of prudent financial management of their accounts. Unfortunately the reasons they present do not relieve them of this duty nor does the credit union assume the duty to manage their accounts for them. Under the account agreement the duty to manage accounts, to not overspend an account balance and to notify the credit union of errors remains with the member. The incorrect email address did not create the overdraft and the credit union has no responsibility to notify a member of an overdraft by email or by any other means of communication. Superior Choice Credit Union does not assume responsibility for an overdrawn account. Overdraft fees that have been accessed to the account have been reviewed. Through the review of the account records we have concluded that transaction processing was accurate and that the fees posted to the account were accessed according the credit union’s fee schedule and in accordance with rules within the member account agreement. Accordingly, no fee refunds are due. We have made diligent and exhaustive attempts to answer the member’s objections and defenses. We have been thorough with our responses. This email concludes the official responses of this credit union. We consider this case permanently closed. Any future inquiries (if any) through the Revdex.com for this member will not be responded to. Respectfully, [redacted] | President & CEOSuperior Choice Credit UnionP.O. Box 127 | Superior, WI 54880D 715-398-8912 | F 715-395-0118C 715-817-0892

President of the bank told me they are in the business of making money on fees. They are not under the business model of showing compassion. He thinks $116 in fees is reasonable, and less than "others." I asked for the numbers, but he didn't have them at his fingertips. Not like your president of the bank or anything, and would know those types of things. Never talked to a more arrogant, out of touch with reality person in my life. Very sad, since it used to be the best bank around. Now "they've changed their business model." I don't normally like to put negative things out there, but I will tell everyone I know not to bank there. My husband had a back injury and I accidentally paid mortgage a day before my husbands check cleared. Instead of calling like other banks would and how they used to be when there were concerns on our account due to fraudulent charges they sent a letter 3 days later with fees. They always lose checks that are put in night deposit boxes with envelopes or non envelopes. When asked where deposits are they then search for the deposit and put it in the system...8 out of 10 times this happens. When I asked to speak with someone in charged I was informed that if I had an envelope like I was TOLD this wouldn't be an issue...this is an issue no matter if I submitt deposit with an envelope or not! And that is no way to speak with a customer. The manager nor the president ever called to resolve how I was spoken to. I run a business of my own and I would never treat my customers in this matter.

Review: This is regards to complaint #[redacted]. I received a message asking me to let you know if we had any further contact with the business. We have had further contact. The President, [redacted], called me and told me that they will not refund any of the charges because I was not checking my online account.

The last time I checked my online account was November of 2014. After this, something happened with my password and I could no longer log in. I went into the bank in person and wrote my current email on a form: [redacted]. They typed it into their system as [redacted] - which is incorrect. I went home, tried to log into my bank account and still could not. I grew frustrated, as I had already made two calls to the call center and had filled out paperwork and it was still incorrect. After this, I recognized that I had no need for online banking, as I had survived this far without it and stopped checking my account online. I visited the bank every two weeks to deposit my paycheck and kept track of my balance that way.

I also do not recall "Opting-In" to have my debit continue to accumulate charges when overdrafting. The bank says I verbally opted in September or November of 2012, but I have no recollection of this. They have no documentation, or signed paperwork, stating that I "Opted-In" but treated my account as such, allowing it to accumulate 580.00 in overdraft charges.Desired Settlement: I believe a fair outcome would be a 551.00 refund. I acknowledge that I overdrafted my account, but had I received notification of this overdraft, I would have stopped using my card. I also do not recall opting in, and the bank cannot produce paperwork of my agreement to this.

Business

Response:

The member making the above referenced complaints is not entitled to refund of overdraft charges because he did not manage his account in a responsible manner which led to his overdraft. This is true with respect to credit union regulations, the account agreement and the credit union’s internal operating procedures. I offer the following facts in bullet point format: · The account agreement under which members and the credit union operates states the following: “You agree to exercise reasonable promptness in carefully examining your statement and reporting any errors or unauthorized withdrawal.”The records of the credit union indicate that the member was enrolled in electronic statement delivery (through online/mobile banking) and yet he had not logged into online banking since November of 2014. This being the case the member did not examine his bank statement since he did not log into online banking. Bank statement review is critically important to account management as it accomplishes account balance and transaction monitoring. · The credit union acknowledges the mistaken email address, however, the credit union is under no legal obligation to notify the member of an overdraft. Our credit union does routinely notify members of insufficient funds by either regular mail or by email according to the member’s enrolled preference. Since the member did not access online banking, the credit union staff had no way of knowing an error in the email address had occurred. Members are under obligation to notify the credit union of errors according to the account agreement. The email address is displayed within the online banking platform. · Online/mobile banking is a self-service platform whereby members can check their account balance as often as they like (i.e. daily or multiple times daily). Furthermore, email addresses are not necessary for enrollment in and usage of online/mobile banking. The initial enrollment and/or a reset enrollment is accomplished with a temporary password issued by credit union staff. · In addition to allowing frequent account monitoring, the online/mobile banking platform clearly shows the current registered email address (if any) which the member could have checked online for accuracy. Finally, with online/mobile banking access, the member could have self-enrolled in low-balance text alerts or email alerts. If he had taken this action, the system would have displayed his email address during the enrollment process. · The member stated to credit union staff that he kept no transaction register. Keeping a transaction register is key to avoiding insufficient funds when also used in conjunction with both online/mobile banking, prompt review of account statements and reconcilement of transaction registers to account statements. · The member has stated that he was frustrated with his attempts to login to online/mobile banking. The credit union rebuts that we have computers available in our lobbies where we can assist members with online banking difficulties. Credit Union staff routinely assist members with banking services each day and are happy to do so at no charge to the member. Furthermore, some of our branches offer extended hours of operation in service to our membership. · Regarding his opt-in for “Courtesy Payment” protection, the credit union followed regulatory protocols. Verbal opt-in for “Courtesy Payment” is allowed under regulations. Verbal op-in is routinely used so that the members may continue to utilize their debit cards for transactions that would otherwise be insufficient funds transactions. In summary, it is the credit union’s position that the member did not manage his account in a responsible manner. He could have persisted to access online/mobile banking to a successful conclusion and monitored his account after that time. In the absence of online/mobile banking he could have changed his election to paper statements which the credit union would have mailed to him. He could have maintained a transaction register at a minimum and he could have telephoned our call center for an account balance each day. Unfortunately none of these actions were taken by the member since November of 2014 through the date of insufficient funds activity that occurred in July 2015. We therefore conclude that the fees that were accessed to the account were proper according the credit union’s fee schedule published on its website at https://www.superiorchoice.com/fee-schedule. The management of this credit union apply fees consistently and therefore fairly to all members. Respectfully, [redacted] | President & CEOSuperior Choice Credit UnionP.O. Box 127 | Superior, WI 54880D 715-398-8912 | F 715-395-0118C 715-817-0892

Consumer

Response:

Do not bank here. Worst customer service I've ever experienced. All I can say is DO NOT BANK with Superior Choice Credit Union.... WOW.
We had some problems with my husband's financial statements. He made a miscalculation and overdrew his bank account... accumulating overdraft fees. We never received any notification of these fees. When we went to ask why overdraft charges had continue to accumulate without notification or his debt card being declined... we found out they were sending them to the WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS. We've been talking to them about it since Friday and submitted 3 requests to obtain a copy of the documentation where he wrote his email address down incorrectly (as we believe it was THEIR clerical error). They told us they would pull it. I called today to make sure it would be ready for him to pick up when he gets off work... the lady tells me that there is no documentation used for email addresses... it's all done verbally. SO.. I ask to speak directly to the supervisor... who denies me because he says no one has been talking to him about what has been going on (not true... as we have documentation the request we submitted). The supervisor REFUSED to speak with me... would NOT get on the phone even. Worst customer service I've ever encountered.