Conference 7.286::dcu

>    8. The use of the "(incumbent)" designation on the annual ballot should
>       be dropped.

I've found it useful in determining who to vote *against*.

   <<< Note 270.1 by NOTIME::SACKS "Gerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085" >>>

>>    8. The use of the "(incumbent)" designation on the annual ballot should
>>       be dropped.

> I've found it useful in determining who to vote *against*.
    
    Absolutely, keep it! 
    
    When Are the next elections? Can we rush them along somehow with a 
    petition? 
    
    J
    

    
    RE: .1 & .2
    
    You definitely have a point!  What was clearly a "medal on the chest"
    has been turned into a bulls-eye in the coming election!!  Thank you
    for showing me the err of my ways.  ;-)
    

    
    
    Another wanna see:
    
    
    12.  Decrease the number of signatures required of a petition candidate
    	 for the BoD to 200.
    
    After browsing thru the Federal Credit Union Standard Bylaw Amendments
    and Guidelines, I have discovered that DCU has established the MAXIMUM
    number of signatures required for a partition candidate to get on the
    ballot for the BoD.  The number can be as low as 20!  For credit unions
    with over 50,000 members, 500 is the maximum.  Let's open the process
    up!  I can see where MANY candidates would not want the "approved by
    the Nominating Comm." distinction in future elections.

    Since I replied to 271, I suppose I should toss something in here.
    
    DCU needs a SERIOUS attitude adjustment!  From top to bottom, (I'm
    including the BoD, DCU management, DCU's workers, and even DCU's
    membership) DCU needs to rediscover the reason for which it was created.
    I could probably provide a long list of behaviors that need to be
    changed, but the point is that the motivation behind it all is wrong.
    
    DCU IS NOT A BANK.  DCU's reason for existence is to enable its members
    to pool their financial resources for the benefit of all.  We often
    forget that DCU's membership includes its own employees.  We SHOULD NOT
    be hassling each other as we transact business.
    
    DCU SHOULD BE ITS MEMBERS' PREFERRED PLACE TO SAVE.  That doesn't mean
    that the DCU has to have positively the HIGHEST interest rates around. 
    It DOES mean that the DCU has to provide efficient and friendly service
    at reasonable rates.
    
    DCU SHOULD BE ITS MEMBERS' PREFERRED PLACE TO BORROW.  Make it EASY on
    us, please!  Borrowing need not be an adversarial process.  People's
    needs vary WIDELY, so creditworthiness needs to be established using
    flexible criteria.  Don't give away the store, but DO give us a break.
    As we heard a few years ago, "Trust, but Verify".

    RE: .prev
    
    >DCU SHOULD BE ITS MEMBERS' PREFERRED PLACE TO BORROW.  Make it EASY on
    >us, please!  Borrowing need not be an adversarial process.  People's
    >needs vary WIDELY, so creditworthiness needs to be established using
    >flexible criteria.  Don't give away the store, but DO give us a break.
    >As we heard a few years ago, "Trust, but Verify".
    
    You said it!  I've tried to make as much use as possible of the DCU for
    loans, but their high interest rates, low caps, and onerous loan
    process are highly discouraging.
    
    I needed to re-roof my house and wanted to take out a home-improvement
    loan - the cap was $5000!  Also, I had to put a lien against my
    mortgage for the loan.  Jeez!  And I have a good credit history!
    
    - Dave

re: .6

>    I needed to re-roof my house and wanted to take out a home-improvement
>    loan - the cap was $5000!  Also, I had to put a lien against my
>    mortgage for the loan.  Jeez!  And I have a good credit history!

Don't all home-improvement loans require a lien against the property being
improved since you are effectively borrowing against your equity?

I do agree that their loan application/approval process leaves much to be
desired, especially if your nearest DCU office is over 1,000 miles away.

Bob

    Re .6/.7:

.6  I needed to re-roof my house and wanted to take out a home-improvement
.6  loan - the cap was $5000!  Also, I had to put a lien against my
.6  mortgage for the loan.  Jeez!  And I have a good credit history!

.7  Don't all home-improvement loans require a lien against the property
.7  being improved since you are effectively borrowing against your equity?
    
    It's perfectly normal for home improvements to be secured by a lien
    against the property.  (Sometimes it happens without the borrower even
    knowing about it -- Sears filed a lien when they installed solar panels
    on my home and I opted for the "no payments for 3 months" option.)
    
    $5000 sounds like a rather arbitrary amount for a cap.  The equity
    available (less some margin for owner optimism and/or market softness)
    should determine your limit.  If you need more than that, the balance
    is UNsecured and would normally be at a markedly higher interest rate.

    It's somewhat already been mentioned but...
    
    
    1. Give us a good return on our savings (better than competitive
       interest rates).
    
    2. Give us a better than competitive interest rate on loans.

    
    RE: .9
    
    You can't say it too much!!!!  The early DCU annual reports certainly
    used to say it PLENTY.  
    
    Many of the changes being proposed would lead to the return of DCU to
    the direction of a credit union vs. that of a bank.  And the two items
    you list MUST BE #1 & #2 on a credit unions priority list.
    

       <<< Note 270.0 by GUFFAW::GRANSEWICZ "I'M DCU and you're not." >>>
    
    > 4. Full disclosure in the DCU annual report of relationships which 
    >   directors or senior management have with other companies, banks, etc.  
    
    > 5. Full disclosure in the DCU annual report of loans to directors and DCU
    >   employees over a set amount.  Also, any loans which these people may
    >   be guarantors or co-signors.  Mortgages on primary residences would
    >   be excluded.
    
    > 6. Distribution of a full annual report, including the statement by the
    >   independent auditors and their notes.
    
    I'd like to second these points. At the first meeting w/ the BOD, this
    info was requested but the BOD rejected it as an invasion of their
    privacy of their members loans and because the DCU isn't a public company.
    In light of the mismanagement of the DCU and the lack of knowledge
    about BOD actions, I feel that we, the members and owners have a right
    to this info. The DCU isn't a private company funded by the BOD.
    
    Last Thursday's Globe had an article on insider lending by banks to
    board members. The DCU is suffering from a $18 mil bad loan to an
    insider - it's ex-president. The handling of this affair and the
    checking charge brochure, have raised a credibility gap. If the DCU
    want's to retain it's members - it will need to be as open as possible.
    
    Thus I'd like to bring up another point. Since the BOD doesn't deal w/
    trade secrets in a start-up field, I see no reason why all past &
    future minutes of BOD meeting shouldn't be available. Plus all BOD
    meetings should be open - not just allowing members a period for queries
    before a closed meeting.

re: BOD meetings

I'd like to see something similar to the Texas Open Meetings Act for the DCU.
The Texas Open Meetings Act applies to goverment agencies and requires advance
notice to the public of meetings (For those with regularly scheduled meetings,
like City Councils, etc, I think the advance notice requirements are changed
to keep things from getting rediculous) and all business (with the exception
of personnel matters) must be open to the public.

I think something similar should be required for the BOD meetings, where the
'public' becomes 'members'.

Bob

    I spent the night reviewing this whole file.  Its a scrapbook of DCU
    progress and bloopers.  we have been ignored by the DCU BOD for years.
    Some important [to me] dates in history:
    
    note 63  Topics for use with the president.  I began this note with my
    		list.  Same list can be used today.
    
    note 90  Nov 88  we get a newletter for the BOD [they were listening!]
    		we were promised more communications, but we didn't hear
    		from them again until they fired the pres..
    
    note 95	1988 annual report  no information from indepentant
    		auditors.  Some people started smelling something wrong!
    
    note 143 &143.12  I am feed up and run for BOD  143 lists my struggles,
    		.12 lists my platform.  I had no banking experience, but
    		was interested in representing the common person on the
    		BOD.
    
    
    note 160.46  BOD election illregularities.  Some people didn't even get
    		to vote for BOD.  Interesting reading if you haven't read
    		it.
    
    note 165.14 april 89  the questionair.  maybe we should all print it
    		and mail it into DCU!
    
    
    
    
    there have been a good number of people trying to get the BOD to wake
    up and serve the members.  It was quit evident from talking with people
    taday while taking signatures that they don't keep up with the issues.
    that's one reason why a incumbent gets continually reelected.
    
    the petition is a start.  when the special meeting is called, we must 
    continue to inform DCU members through information packets and talks
    similiar to the collection of signatures.  We CAN NOT run out of
    steam and be satisified with simply getting a special meeting called.
    WE MUST BRING OUT THE PEOPLE IN MASS!!  We must choose our candidates
    and not allow them to be deluted be having too many to choose from.
    We must work for the candidates that are choosen so that they get
    elected.
    
    regards, ed
    

    
    Add to the list:
    
    -- Elimination of current restrictions on former DCU members from
       re-joining the credit union.
    
    -- Immediate elimination of "Information Protection Policy".
    

I'd like to see an additional mortgate option similar to what St. Mary's has 
in  Manchester. The one in particular is called a LIFT mortgage, where you pay
1/2 of your "30 year" mortgage payment every two weeks (could be 1/4 each week 
here) instead of every month. You end up paying off the 30 year mortgage 
in 22 years. Do the same for Car loans too.

Creative things like that are all that's needed to keep members happy.

Bryan

    DCU does have a bimonthly payment option for first time mortgages.

>< Note 270.16 by CHIEFF::MACNEAL "ruck `n' roll" >
>
>
>    DCU does have a bimonthly payment option for first time mortgages.
>
>
	Point to differ...

	I currently am looking to possible refinance my mortgage,
	and I just now called..  They did NOT offer me a chance 
	to make 24/26 payments.

	I was told "No, we don't offer that, however you can make
		    a 13th monthly payment yourself."

	What's the difference between a first time mortgage, and
	refinancing to make a new loan..

	Thanks
	Charlie

BTW..

	I found the rates to be compatible with the rest of the area

		8.5   with 2.25 pts
		8.625 with 1.5  pts
		8.75  with  .75 pts
		8.99  with  .0  pts

	All available for 20/25/30 years.

�	What's the difference between a first time mortgage, and
�	refinancing to make a new loan..
    
    I don't know, but just about every lending institution that I know of
    differentiates between the two.

I've been thinking about what a credit union is, and how that would have been
useful to me, specifically when talking about loans.

My husband has been a member of a cooperative bank for many years.  If he needs
a loan, he walks in, says "I need a loan", and within a week he has it.  He
knows his credit is good, and the cooperative bank knows he is a member.  He is
is trusted.  He doesn't just get good service, he is taken care of.  Let me also
add that he is by no means a major depositor, just a member.

As I've moved around, I've had accounts at various banks, including our
illustrious credit union.  At none of these places have I ever felt that
anyone "knew" me.  When it came time for me to get a car loan, a home mortgage
or a construction loan, it didnt matter a hill of beans to any of the banks,
or to the credit union, that I was a depositor/member.

For a bank, one could argue that they are nicer to their major depositors.  What
then for a credit union?

The change I'd like to see is this:  when a member contacts the credit union,
they should be treated as a respected member, and not as a customer.  If a
member has a need, the credit union employees should bend over backwards to 
meet that need.  If a "program" doesn't exist to meet that member's need, the
appropriate person needs to do what they can to meet that need.

This might include helping members with all kinds of personal loans and home
mortgages and equity lines.  It may also include helping a member finance a
rental property, but it should not include speculative real estate.  Last year
my husband and I got a construction mortgage from a bank we had never dealt
with.  The loan helped us buy land, and is helping us to build our dream house
with our own hands.  We weren't able to use the cooperative bank because of
their lending region, but it is in DCU's lending region.  Did they talk?  Did
they notice that I've been a loyal member for 9 years?  Did they care that I
had all my savings with them, and that we were overqualified for the loan?
You know that the answer is no.

This is wrong.  This loan would have been a bonanza to our credit union.  This
is something I'd like to see changed.

Elaine

    Re. -1 Elaine,
    	I use to have an account at Workers Credit Union before I joined
    DCU. When I needed a loan, I would call in the morning, when WCU was
    open, and said that I need a loan for such and such, will it be ready
    by the end of the day? Yes, Mr. Robert, just be here before closing
    time, and we will have everything ready for you to sign. I did this on
    numerous occasions. I could never do this with DCU when I was in New
    England.
    
    Dave
    

>they notice that I've been a loyal member for 9 years?  Did they care that I
>had all my savings with them, and that we were overqualified for the loan?
>You know that the answer is no.

  Elaine, the problem was that the land wasn't on Cape Cod. :-)

	Danny

    
    Ditto on WCU. When I was relatively new to DEC and the area, I needed
    an auto loan. Banks looked at me like I had two heads -- WCU treated
    me like a long-lost brother, and approved my auto loan in 4 hours
    (including lunch).
    
    Proposed nre motto for DCU: "Membership has its privileges."
    

    Well, I've already stated that I think that DEFCU should get back to
    basics!  And I've been saying that for years!  Today, I pick up DEFCU's
    Rate Information (Revised March 2, 1992).  Don't know if it's the
    latest, but I got it from BTO's branch office so I'm assuming it's the
    latest.
    
    Primary Savings (share 1)  Annual Yield 4.08%  Rate 4.00%
    
    Checking (balances >= $1000) Annual Yield 3.57%  Rate 3.51%
    
    
    I've done some checking of some of the local banks and they can beat
    these rates!  Not just match them, but beat them.  I guess we'll see
    how the election turns out!
    
    Don

    
    Excellent reply Elaine!  That is *exactly* how a credit union should
    work.  That is why they were created.  What we have now is a bank
    masquerading as a credit union.  We are just one of 88,000 customers
    and if we don't like what they want want to give us, then shop around.
    And then they turn around and blame the membership because they have
    too much money on hand and complain no DCU members are borrowing money.
    So they must 'invest' in Cape Cod real estate.  Do they honestly expect
    us to believe this?
    
    I have insisted for years that DCU members ARE borrowing money.  They
    are just not borrowing it from DCU.  DCU has been blind to this simple
    fact for years.  I wish I would have documented the *hundreds* of DCU
    members who have told me stories of being refused by DCU for loans of
    very small amounts for ridiculous reasons.  No attempt to work with the
    people, just flat refusal.  Again, at lunch today while I was in the
    SHR cafe meeting the voters, I heard 2 more such cases.  There are just
    too many cases to dismiss this.  The 'conservative lending policies' of
    DCU have seemingly been applied to the membership at large in a way
    that has resulted in the membership going elsewhere for loans.  The
    issue of DCU's loan policies and practices needs a long hard look. Does
    anybody think membership representation on the credit committee might
    help in this respect?
    
    Nobody is saying that DCU should start giving money away.  But DCU MUST
    realize that it's members are the single best investment and risk
    going.  But change at DCU will need to start at the top.  If DCU
    doesn't change it's ways, it will eventually implode as the membership
    deserts it.

    January 1992 I to was refused a personal loan.......  My credit IN ALL
    AREAS is AAA and I have NEVER had any problems getting a loan in the
    past.  In fact, in the past 8 years I have had the following loans at
    DCU:                                     
       1 Used car loan (2 years)
       1 New  car loan (3 years)---
       1 personal loan (2 years)---These two loans over lapped 1 1/2 years
    
    At which time I lived in an apartment......Aug 1990 my husband and I
    had a custom home built with almost 30% of equity because of a large
    downpayment (to keep our monthly payment down), my new car of three
    years is completely paid off (6 months early).......and I was refused a
    loan on the grounds that they have to count my WHOLE morgage payment as
    debt....because my husband could leave me at any time and I would be 
    stuck with the morgage.  I don't mind saying that our morgage is 
    $1,500 a month and averaged
    against an average employees salary equates to an excessive debt
    ratio!! and therefore puts me in the category of a bad risk!!!
    therefore automatic denial.....no consideration was made of my past
    loan history.....After HEATED debate they agreed to only count 3/4 of
    the mortgage but of course you can already guess that was just a little
    to much.....so LOAN DENIED!!!!  I was told that if my husband was
    willing to co-sign with me they would have no problem approving the
    loan....since I am over thirty and have NEVER needed a co-signer
    before....I refused!! After 8 years of profitable business for
    DCU...they turned their back on me!  Flame off!
    

    
    RE: .25
    
    Well not only could your husband leave you, but you could also decide
    to leave work and have a child, or you could become ill and leave work, 
    or you could <fill in the blank>.  Or the day after I am granted a
    mortgage, I could be unemployeed.
    
    This seems more than mildly absurd.  You could deny almost anybody a
    loan based on some horrible thing that MAY happen to them.  And if the
    mortgage is in both names then you share liability for the loan.  Is
    this what DCU's 'conservative lending policy' is?  It certainly seems
    like something else to me.
    
    QUestion:  Did you go somewhere else and get the loan?
    

Also re .25 (loan denied because her husband might leave her)

I thought about this note a lot, since I am now on our mortgage (one of the
"side effects" of refinancing) and wondered what would happen if I applied
for a DCU loan.

Along the same lines as what Phil said, but more closely tied in with the
reason for refusal, if Hubby is about to disappear and leave her saddled
with the joint mortgage, what good is his being co-borrower on her loan
going to do??  Do they think he'll pay that and not the mortgage?

Jill

    I think it's been said elsewhere in this file, but I'll put it here
    too:
    
    I'd like to have DCU raise my Visa credit limit without my having
    to fill out another entire credit application.  My current Visa limit
    is $1000, which does not strike me as a monsterously big amount. 
    I've always paid off the balance in full each month.  I've got money 
    in an RSVP account.  I've never bounced a check.  I've been employed 
    at Digital for nearly 23 years, which is about as much job stability
    as one could hope for.  Yet, when I went to ask, the automatic response 
    was, "You've got to reapply."  So I didn't bother.  
    
    It seems to me that a $345,000,000 credit union can afford to risk,
    say, a $2000 credit limit on somebody with that kind of record (all of
    which they already know) pretty much automatically.  If DCU was a 
    $345,000 credit union I might see the point of extreme caution, but 
    it's not.
    
    Bottom line: DCU management acts as though it doesn't trust the
    members with their own money as much as it trusted Cape Cod real 
    estate developers with the members' money.

Another vote in favor of more member-friendly credit card increases.

When I first applied for my DCU Visa (when they first came out) I decided to
go for broke and asked for a Gold Card.  They called me to say they couldn't
do that, since the $5000 minimum was too much higher than my current max at the
time of $2500, but they would give me a $3000 limit.  I accepted that, but I
had to investigate the $2500 since I wasn't aware that I had such a card!
(but that's another story).  Anyway, some time later I decided to try again,
and redid the application (which I had xeroxed the first time, making
redoing it easier -- a general helpful hint) and this time they accepted it.

I don't recall anything else having changed, except for my current-max, which
I know I didn't even go up to (since I pay the full balance each month), so
there must be an easier way to go through this procedure, even if it means
asking the member whether there are any major changes that they should know
about, although that may also be inappropriate since circumstances will
change even if you don't re-apply for a new limit!

Jill

.27> Bottom line: DCU management acts as though it doesn't trust the
.27> members with their OWN money as much as it trusted Cape Cod real 
.27> estate developers with the members' money.

		* Emphasis on 2nd line 'OWN' is my own *

Maybe I am being too picky on his terminology, but when one member borrows money
they are not borrowing their own money.  The term should be 'another MEMBER'S
money'.  In a bank, we borrow 'another saver's money'.  Maybe DCU is being too
careful, as it is a matter of opinion as to what is being careful enough and
being too careful.  But the DCU management IS being put in charge of using the
money for other people's use, and in that is a LOT of responsibility.

I have no idea what the figures are, but when the AVERAGE family doesn't have
enough money to pay its bills, isn't the credit card payment one of the bills
that IS put aside?  If there is any truth to this, then maybe their concern is
genuine.

>I have no idea what the figures are, but when the AVERAGE family doesn't have
>enough money to pay its bills, isn't the credit card payment one of the bills
>that IS put aside?  If there is any truth to this, then maybe their concern is
>genuine.

    	Probably true.  But that doesn't seem to be the case in many
    instances.  People who are not behind on their bills or at their
    maximum are being asked to re-file.  If a member is behind in payment
    or at the maximum then DCU should take a closer look before granting
    more credit.  But a person should be granted an emergency increase in
    most situations (only one of these per a pre-determined period).  But
    don't get me wrong, if a member has a history of not paying back the
    money they borrow then NO credit should be granted unless the member
    agrees to work to repay the credit union and work to re-gain a good
    credit rating.
    
    I guess to me the real question here seems to be, "Why does DCU always
    have to assume the worst about a member?".  I have no problem with DCU
    loaning my money to a member who might be going through some tough
    times and needs somebody to give them a little breathing room.  This is
    what SHOULD differentiate a credit union from a bank.  What I will
    NEVER accept is my credit union risking my money on people, trusts or
    investments that are not part of or tied to the Digital community.  The 
    fact that these people don't share a bond sorts with the rest of us 
    makes them a much greater risk.
    

    In my case they would, in effect, be loaning me my money.  I have
    more than enough money in my RSVP account to cover the potential
    Visa charges.  
    Sure, if my account balances hovered around 0 most of the time, if
    I'd missed some credit card payments, if I had bounced some checks,
    the level of caution would be justified.  But that's not the case.
    And they never bothered to check.

    No I have not gone elsewhere yet......why should I??? This has been my 
    major banking institution for almost 8 years why should I accept them 
    turning their back on me.  The biggest convienence is having automatic
    withdrawl from my check each week.....saves me alot of time.  I will
    wait 3 months and reapply if I am denied then......well then I will be
    taking ALL my banking with me.  Another DCU member driven away... my
    only hope is that my vote WILL make a difference!!!!! So I'll show some
    patience......for a while.
    

    
    RE: .33
    
    Oops, I didn't mean to imply you *should* go elsewhere.  I was just
    wondering if you did, what kind of reception you may have received at
    the other place.  Many DCU members have been welcomed with open arms at
    many other places after having been denied loans at DCU.  I like the
    way one noter put it, they "treated me like a long lost friend" (or
    something like that).
    
    And yes, hopefully a thorough review of loan policies and procedures at
    DCU will yield a more "human" approach to dealing with the membership.
    
    The Bylaws state:
    "The credit committee and its appointed loan officers shall endeavor
     diligently to assist applicants in solving their financial problems."
    
    Hopefully we can get DCU thinking along the same lines as WCU in this
    area.

    
    re: the car loan and "the husband might leave bit"
    
    That's pretty cute..given they gave my husband a car loan not too long
    ago..house mortgage was considered 1/2 payment on his application, and
    on top of it my income was considered to be an additional source,
    although the loan was for HIS car..
    
    I don't recall them telling him I might leave him and he'd be stuck
    with the mortgage payment..
    
    Wonder if it makes a difference what gender you are..
    
    Nisreen
    

>    Wonder if it makes a difference what gender you are..
       Gee, isn't that against the law? 
                                              Denny

    RE: 35 and 36
    
       .....They make it pretty hard to prove..... When I filed a formal
    complaint against the loan officer at the branch, the incident was
    "looked into"  and the loan officer denyed ever saying that and I was
    told that because of this persons reputation as a good loan officer
    they "tended to believe her not me".  

    
    RE: .37
    
    But don't the facts speak for themselves?  Why did DCU first use 100%
    of the mortgage and then 75% of the mortgage payment?  Did they ever
    say why they didn't use 50%?  Was any of this in writing or was it all
    verbal?

    This started with a letter to the DCU Loan Office and was replied by a
    woman named Mary (can't remember her last name) As usual my portion was
    in writing (as always) and theirs was verbal (as always, I have NEVER
    received a written letter from the DCU - remember the saying cover your
    %&&)  The entire conversation was basically this .... we would love to
    give you a loan but....... and every time I challenged them on the buts
    they would give in a little but in the end she was able to stop the
    negotiation before I was eligable to be approved.  And so it's
    History....

	RE .39

	Isn't it a federal law that a person rejected on a loan or credit
application receive a response in writing with the reason for rejection ?

	Bob Lail

Re: .40

Doesn't that rule read that if you ask, in writing, they must state the reason,
in writing?

				- - Steve

    I'm sorry ....I forgot.....I received a FORM letter about 2 weeks later
    that had two blocks checked off....
    
       - Insufficent income
    
       - Undesclosed debt
    
    NOTHING pertaining to the ACTUAL problem was listed....seems to cover
    it right?

    If you request a reason, they must provide you with the name of th
    credit agency that they received your credit report from and you can
    request a copy, at no charge, from that credit agency in order to
    verify if the report that the DCU was making its decision was accurate. 
    I would strongly recommend that if you are turned down for credit that
    you get a copy of the report used to deny that credit.  It is quite
    possible that the infomration is inaccurate.

I've been following this notesfile since it's creation. Since I am aware of
others dissatisfaction with DCU, I've always proceeded cautiuously with them.
I usually think about how much grief are they going to give me before I decide
to apply to them for anything. Last year I got a car loan from them very easily 
when they advertised the Pre-approval of car loans within 24 hrs. The thing
I don't understand about the way DCU operates is this:

When you apply for a loan elsewhere depending on the loan, 
they run a credit check on you to see if you've missed any payments, or how 
many times you made late payments, etc. If you have payroll deductions for DCU
and automatic payments that they control when they are made (like once a month
and only x% of the loan, rather than all that they deduct into escrow), how
far do they need to look for some simple facts about your credit history?

By the way, I too applied for the Gold card and was only given $1000 limit. But
last week, I received a letter from them saying they increased my limit to $2500
without my requesting it.

You applies for a GOLD card and got a $1000 limit ??

I have NEVER heard of a VISA gold before with a limit less than $5000.
The normal VISA can be this low, but I understood one of the parameters of
a Gold card, with it's higher fee, was a minimum of $5000.  In fact, I haven't
got one which is less than $10000.  (Neither has my non full tim eemployed wife,
though none of her's are from DCU).

Bill