2 Customer Reviews
Review from M. J
1 star10/17/2024
This bank has been repeatedly locking out our debit cards, despite our attempts to coordinate with them. We do not own personal cellphones and depend on email and their online support to help us when problems arise. At first I was told I could inform the bank ahead of time whenever a charge might occur that could possibly lock the card for fraud (repeating international transactions that were previously validated apparently still cause them to lock your card) and then later I was told I can only inform the bank the day-of the charge. Well, two international services we rely on occurred during a holiday weekend and the bank was not available. I tried to message them via their online system. I have not had a reply for half a month. Their chat feature says agents are supposed to be there 9AM-5PM. That has been offline for SEVERAL months. I had to call in on a work phone (something I'm technically not supposed to do) only to speak to an agent who on two occasions said they couldn't hear anything I was saying due to a bad connection. After finally getting it fixed, I've discovered that again, my card was locked because of a charge (a repeated monthly charge, mind you) from an EAST TEXAS BUSINESS FOR LESS THAN $20 that caused them to lock down my card ******** of this moment, I still have not heard anything from the bank in writing either online or via email. We asked if there's anyone that can help us at all and have not received any written replies to anything since the start of the month.If you rely on any international services or make international purchases (such as ****) or get unlucky and happen to make the wrong purchase from an East Texas business (one that you've repeatedly been making for several months) then ***** is absolutely not the bank for you. Unless you enjoy having your debit card locked for all kinds of pointless reasons, especially when you need to get gas or buy food. ***** knows better than you about how to protect you from fraud, after all.
East Texas Professional Credit Unions Response
10/22/2024
**** has been in contact with East Texas Professional Credit Union regarding the ongoing issues with their debit cards. The day after this review was submitted, we received an email from **** with specific instances of their debit cards being inactivated. The Credit Unions **************** responded to **** within the hour with an explanation of what caused the most recent instance of the card being inactivated. All debit card transactions are scored through a fraud detection algorithm by the card processor for the financial institution. With fraud being so rampant, technology is used to mitigate fraud losses. International transactions are typically treated with greater scrutiny by these fraud detection algorithms. Unfortunately, M.J.s card activity triggers a fraud score which will prompt the cardholder for a confirmation for the validity of the transaction. Since **** does not have a cell phone, they do not receive these alerts. The Credit Union will work with **** to find an alternative solution to this debit card issue.Regarding emails not being answered, the Credit Union prides itself on responding to member inquiries quickly. We searched our archives for the past three months to locate any emails from **** The only emails we located were on 10/16 and 10/18. We will reach out to **** for alternative email addresses to assist with our search to resolve these issues.Review from Danny G
1 star09/03/2024
Not going into detail. ***** not only ruined our ********************* but lied repeatedly about our $2524 we paid ****** through them and Neighborhood Finance a division of. They have a horrible agent ******* ******. Do not trust her. She is totally incompetent. She lost our checks electronically and caused a lapse in our insurance. We now have finally found a company who insured us for $500 less, but with enormous increases in benefits.I cancelled a thirty-five year membership with East Texas Professional Credit Union and lost a valuable credit outlet because of her neglect and stupidity. She's rude vindictive and cruel. Stay away from this company and Credit Union. Use ******* C/U. Much more dependable and honest.***** Ray ****** ***** Military Veteran.East Texas Professional Credit Unions Response
09/04/2024
East Texas Professional Credit Union operates an insurance agency through a Credit ************************** (CUSO) to provide discounted home, auto and life insurance through multiple national insurance carriers to our members. **************** is employed through the Credit Unions CUSO as a liaison agent to assist our members with their insurance needs through these national insurance carriers. The Credit Unions CUSO works through Credit ********************* (CUFG) for this service.
On July 2, 2024, **************** brought two checks to **************** for payment of his annual homeowners policy. The checks were each for half of the amount due, with one being from **************** and one being from his wife. The agent processed the checks to Safeco electronically. Per standard procedure, paper checks are converted to electronic drafts.
On July 10, 2024, **************** received notice from Safeco that both checks were returned unable to locate to Safeco by the makers banks. **************** reached out to **************** via phone and email to resolve the issue. **************** contacted Safeco for clarification. **************** provided additional account information for one of the payments at that time.
**************** payment attempt that was resubmitted by **************** was successful with the additional information, leaving half the annual policy amount due. **************** was insistent that both he and his wife had been charged for their half of the policy, but Safecos records did not reflect the policy being paid in full. At this point, **** stepped in to assist in resolving the issue. A representative from CUFG contacted **************** to resolve the issue but was unsuccessful in salvaging the policy. On July 22, 2024, CUFG sent **************** a document for flat cancellation of the policy. *************** signed the document electronically on July 23, 2024, and a refund was processed for the amount that had been paid according to Safecos records.
On July 26, 2024, **************** finally provided bank information regarding the second half of the policy payment being deducted from their bank account. That information facilitated Ms. ******* ability to work with Safeco to determine where the remainder of the premium paid had been misapplied.
**************** confirmed that Safeco located the misapplied funds and processed a second check on August 2, 2024, to fully refund **************** premium paid. **************** requested that ****** include a narrative from their billing department to explain why the payments were not processed originally and why it took so long to refund ****************. ****** declined to provide any explanation.
The Credit Union and Neighborhood Financial Services have never experienced issues of this nature with Safeco in the past. We apologized to **************** for the length of time it took to resolve his payment issue with ****** and wish him the best with his new financial institution.
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