Conference 7.286::dcu

I think you have an out.....
On many loans, you have a 3-day "right of recission" which means:
if, within 3 days after you close, you change you mind for any reason, 
you get to cancel the loan, get all your fees back, and be made whole 
again.  
Worth looking in to?

    RE: .1
    
    Exactly. That is what I would do. If these fools are willing to
    let potentially thousands of dollars worth of business to be lost
    over a mere $275 then they don't deserve your business. Let them
    go to the expense of the title search and all the other paper work
    and when they approve your loan, cancel it through the recission
    process. They deserve it.
    
    Along with the recission stuff, I would look into calling the better
    business bureau or whatever agency handles credit unions and file
    a formal complaint of misadvertising. Hell, I'd even call a lawer
    about it.
    
    It's funny, the DCU seems to think that it is a privilege to do
    business with them. They can't seem to get it through their thick
    craniums that they are nothing more than one small financial
    institution among many hundreds available to the average consumer.
    Why do they insist on treating their cusomters this way? I guess
    they just don't need the business.
    
    While I'm at it I'll relate that the DCU consistently turns me down for
    a CRT line of credit. But at the same time I can get (and now have) the
    same type of overdraft lines from other (large) banks, personal loans,
    2nd mortgages, a new (expensive) car loan, credit cards, etc. They just
    don't seem to want the business; if they want me to pay my interest
    elsewhere, that's fine with me. I would not even lower myself to even
    apply for one of their new credit cards; I simply don't need the abuse.
    
    It must be nice for a financial institution to have so much money
    that they don't need well established credit consumers. I use the
    DCU to deposit a fixed amount of money each week into my checking
    account and use it for monthly bill paying only. Sadly, I have had
    to go to other places for the rest of my banking.
    
    Gee, I feel better now!
    
    -Glenn-

Go directly to the President !

He is a reasonable person and I am sure that he will resolve this in your
favor.   Looks as if small minds are setting policy.

    I also applied for a Home Equity Loan, I believe it was back in
    August and I do know what you are going through. I am not sure if
    this applies to you but in NY state, there is a mortgage tax
    of 1.5% of the loan. Each state may vary. I was not notified of
    this until all the paperwork was set in motion. If I cancelled,
    I was told I would not get back the $100 application fee.
    
    						Andy

    re: .1 & .2 
    Thanks, I am aware of the "right of recission" and did get the
    paperwork for that at the closing last Thurs.  I don't want to cancel
    the whole deal only because I have a few things that need immediate
    attention and cannot wait through another application period
    
    re: .3 - Sounds like a good idea.  I did meet with Frank Gooley
    after the closing,and, though he was a nice guy about it, he still
    didn't give me anything that I wanted to hear although he did say
    that he would pass on my complaint. (wherever that goes...I don't
    know)
    
    
    re: Anyone: 
    Who is the President of the DCU?
    What agency should I address for a problem like this?  The Better
    Business Bureau? Or is there another agency for the Banking Business?
    
    Thanks for the replies.........
    
    re: .4  -  I did not get hit with anything other than what the DCU
    told me I would have to pay such as what happened to you.

        Richard Mangione is the DCU President.  Call 8-223-6735
        for "general info".
        

    I hsd a problem several years ago with a lender who would not honor
    a rate quoted because by the time they got around to approving my
    application, the rate had gone up.  I was immediately ready to close
    but the bank took their sweet time.  I sought and received remedy
    through the Attornry General's office via an official complaint.
    I'd bet they would love to get a series of complaints about the
    advertisement.  Just my opinion.
    Marc

re:    < Note 129.5 by TRACTR::BOUDREAU >
                          
    
   > What agency should I address for a problem like this?  The Better
   > Business Bureau? Or is there another agency for the Banking Business?
    
    Federally chartered credit unions (such as DCU) are regulated by:
    
    National Credit Union Administration                             
    441 Stuart Street
    Boston, MA 02116
    
    I suggest you file a complaint with them.

The DCU hit my wife and me with the same frivolous decision as we were
in the act of closing our loan.  We decided on the spot to back out of
the deal (and forfeit our $100 application fee) rather than submit to
that treatment.  We're now reapplying and plan to do what we can to 
get our original fee back.  Here's the story:

WE applied for a DCU home equity credit line in late August.  A week
or so before our closing date (October 13) we received the September
DCU newsletter, containing the ad reproduced in note 129.0.  Quite
clearly, the ad promises $300 at closing to anyone who applies before
December 31.  When we showed up at the Maynard office to sign the
papers, I took it for granted that we'd receive the $300 incentive,
but I saw no mention of it in the legal documents.  This is an
approximation of the ensuing dialogue: 

Me: 		"Where does this $300 credit get figured in?:

Attorney: 	"Well, it doesn't, because you applied before
		October 1st."

Me: 		"But all this ad says is that if we apply before 
		December 31st we get $300.  It doesn't say anything
		about applying after October 1st."

Attorney:	"Just a minute.  Let me ask the loan officer to come 
		in and explain it."

Loan officer:	"Someone else has already raised this question, and 
		the answer is that the $300 is only for those who
		apply after October 1st."

Me:		"Where does it say that!?"

Loan officer:	"That's what we meant!"

My wife:	"But the ad is in the September newsletter!"

Loan officer:	"Yes, but it came out in October."

Me:		"So if we withdraw our application and reapply we can 
		qualify?"

Loan officer: 	"Yes, if that's what you want to do.  

Me:		"That means that if we go ahead and close this loan 
		right now, we're giving away $300!"

Loan officer:	"Well, really only $200 because you'll have to forfeit 
		your $100 application fee."  [Note: this fee is refunded
		to the borrower if the loan is consummated.] 
My wife and
me, in 
whispers:	"We can't throw away 200 bucks!  And anyway, this is a 
		crock!"

Me:		[With resignation] "Okay, if reapplying is what we have 
		to do, we'll do it.  But it's just going to cost the
		Credit Union money and time to process our new 
		application.  Isn't there a way around that?"

Loan officer:	"No."

Me:		[Figuring that she knows how silly this is, but is 
		doing her duty]  "Be honest, doesn't this seem
		unnecessary to you?"

Loan officer:	"No!"

Me:		[Unable to think of anything else to say and still 
		maintain dignity.]  "Oh."

Attorney:	[Politely shreds the papers we had begun signing.]

We left, feeling annoyed over the waste of our time and puzzled by
this demonstration of official disdain for customers.  (Personally,
both the attorney and the loan officer were polite, but unmoveable.) 

We have now reapplied.  We had to pay the $100 application fee again, 
but won't have to pay for a new house appraisal, since the earlier one 
is still current.  To add insult to the injury, the loan officer who's
processing our second application has just told me that he's lowering
the approved credit line by $2,800 because they erred in calculating
the credit line the first time around. 

We do intend to write a letter to the DCU president, Richard Mangeone, 
with a copy to the National Credit Union Administration, referenced in 
129.8.  We'll be paying an economic penalty even if we get back the
"forfeited" $100 application fee, because this protest will end
up costing us a lot of labor, aggravation, and lost use of the funds
we're requesting.  It's a matter of business principle, though.  I
don't think DCU should be treating customers this way. 

When this is all resolved I'll relate the results here, so stay tuned.

    It seems to me that tthe $300 in question is below the maxima for
    most states' Sall Claims Courts limits.  If that's the case for
    your state, it costs a nominal filing fee and will cost the DCU
    a lot in lawyers (they have to have a lawyer defend them).  So,
    you can probably get the $300, your filing costs, and probably damages
    if you want to.  The unfortunate part is that this, like taxes,
    comes out of our pockets eventually.
    
    Or, you could try the state's attourney general.
    
    BobW
    
    PS, If the DCU tore up the papers and declined to give you the loan,
    then you can probably get your money back because they are in breach
    of contract.