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Conference 7.286::dcu

Title:	DCU
Notice:	1996 BoD Election results in 1004
Moderator:	CPEEDY::BRADLEY

Created:	Sat Feb 07 1987
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1041
Total number of notes:	18759

558.0. "Possible Problem with EASYTOUCH" by TW::CURCURU () Fri May 29 1992 13:30

    
    
    	Hello.  I'm new to this file and hope I'm not violating any
    policies by entering this note blindly.  I seem to have a problem and
    would like to ask what I should do about it.
    
    	Several days ago,  the DCU tried to get in touch with me.  They
    finally got hold of me this morning.  The problem is this:  the DCU
    says there is no record of my payment of my 2nd mortgage (loan 11) last
    month and that now the payment is so late that they will have to inform
    a credit reporting agency.  They are trying to help out...I'm not sure
    this will work and don't want to give the details of it here.
    
    	However,  the problem  was caused by an EASYTOUCH transaction that
    seemingly never occurred.  On May 2,  I wrote in my sharedraft record
    that I had transferred (A LOT) of money from my share 5 to my loan 11
    via EASYTOUCH.  This is the only record I have of this event.  I never
    enter these things into my sharedraft account without first doing them.
    
    	DCU says this transaction never occurred.  Apparently,  it never
    did.  There is no record of any funds being transferred on May 2nd. 
    This is a problem as this means I missed a payment and it's now more
    than a month overdue.  
    
    	I used the 800 number for EASYTOUCH,  and thus have no phone bill
    to prove I called EASYTOUCH on that day.  The only written proof I've
    got is the entry in my sharedraft ledger dated May 2nd.
    
    	Is there anything I can do/should do about this?  The DCU says this
    event never happened.  I'm quite sure it did,  but cannot prove it.
    
    	Next,  if I continue to use EASYTOUCH,  (and that's the main reason
    I've got the DCU accounts...ease of payment and transfer),  what are
    some steps I can take to prevent this from happening in the future?
    
    
    	I've thought of some:
    
    	1) My answering machine can record calls.  I can record CARLOS
    (that talking robot) saying that it's transferred my money.  I can
    possibly record the answering machines' voice saying what the time and
    date are.  This isn't real good evidence...I can set the time and date
    to whatever I want.  But it does confirm that EASYTOUCH told me it did
    something.
    
    	2) EASYTOUCH could implement a time-date confirmation message when
    the transaction is complete.  This would be easy for me to use...I
    could then use the answering machine's recorder to make a log of the
    transaction.  However,  this requires the DCU to do something...I don't
    know how tough it is to get this accomplished.  It does seem to be a
    good idea to have a time-date stamp on the voice confirmation (at least
    to me).
    
    	3) I can check my account balances before and after the
    transaction.  I already do this occasionally.  That way,  I can tell if
    the money's been transferred.
    
    	4) I can avoid EASYTOUCH.  This isn't a solution.  It's too
    convenient.  And it's free...!
    
    	I hope there's a way to avoid the credit bureau report...I'd
    appreciate knowing if anyone else has ever had a problem of this type
    using EASYTOUCH.  I surely would not have missed a payment if I had
    known the transaction had not gone through.  But I doubt DCU really
    cares about that.  It sounds as if it's my fault the transaction was
    never completed...at least that's the DCU's stance.
    
    	Thanks for any input.
    
    	Kevin.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
558.1	and try and notice if there is "too much" money in your account	CVG::THOMPSON	Radical Centralist	`Fri May 29 1992 13:53`	7
	One thing I always do is to check the balances of both accounts after I do any transfer. Of course even if you do this and the DCU computer crashes in the midst of things and doesn't do the transfer you still have the problem of proving that you tried. But the process makes this less likely in my opinion. Alfred
558.2	No call is "FREE"	BASEX::GREENLAW	I used to be an ASSET, now I'm a Resource	`Fri May 29 1992 14:01`	13
	RE: .0 Since you used an 800 number, the DCU is charged with the call and should have a record of it. Looking at it in another way, you had the money in the DCU, it was just not in the right account for whatever reason. Since you believe that you made the transfer, it would be GOOD customer relations by the DCU to take your word, and do the transfer now. But that is just my feeling on how to0 handle customer relations. JMHO, Lee G.
558.3		BIGSOW::WILLIAMS	Bryan Williams	`Fri May 29 1992 14:21`	15
	A banking system should also have some kind of audit trail. From the phone record, they should be able to tell exactly when you called, and from the audit trail, they should be able to tell what transactions you made that affected any account balance. (They should also be able to tell if there was a system problem or other "unusual event" at or near the time of the call.) I'm not a database person, but I can see where it's possible to attempt a transaction, and have the updates all not succeed when the commit is issued, then it may do a rollback? I wonder how easytouch handles this stuff.. Is it possible that you made the call, but spaced the actual transaction? I did that once (last month) and bounced a check I thought I had transferred money into to cover. Then again, looking at your situation, maybe I didn't space it and they did! :-) Bryan
558.4	It happened to me once, a LONG time ago...	BTOVT::EDSON_D	that was this...then is now	`Fri May 29 1992 14:23`	24
	re .0 A LONG time ago I had made a transfer from one account to another via Easytouch. The next day, I noticed that my balances did not agree with the balances that the DCU showed I had. Come to find out, the day that I did this transfer, the system had crashed and they backed up to a point previous to my Easytouch transaction. I found this out by asking a teller why I had a discrepancy, she asked, did you use Easytouch last night...we had problems with it last night... Fortunately, it was no big deal as I caught it in time. I always do a balance of all accounts before and after transfers, now. Of course, that doesn't mean that that takes care of a potential for this to happen again. You're correct, there really is no way to prove you made this transaction. At least, no way that I know of. Is it possible that you either were disconnected or you hung up prior to, "Please enter your security code to confirm this transaction."? Don
558.5	Thanks for the replies!	TW::CURCURU		`Fri May 29 1992 14:54`	43
	Thanks to all for the quick replies! I have to say that I do not remember the specifics of the call I made. I can only rely on my "method." This involves writing the transaction into my sharedraft ledger only after I have gotten a "transaction confirmed" message from CARLOS...the robot. I had this same thing happen about 6 months ago. Mistakenly, I transferred $5.00, not $500.00, from my sharedraft to my loan 11. I looked at my statement next month and the transaction was not shown. I assumed (bad word!) that in that case, the transaction had violated some sort of "logical minimum" for transaction amount and that the computer had aborted it. However, I now wonder. It would be nice for the DCU to look through their 800 records...even if to satisfy my own curiosity about what exactly did happen on that fateful day! OF COURSE, having a record of my calling still would not insure that the transaction had been performed correctly or even what transaction(s) had been made then. I've been using EASYTOUCH for a while and know to wait for the "ENTER SECURITY CODE TO CONFIRM THIS TRANSACTION" message that CARLOS says. And if the transaction hadn't gone through, I would not have written it down...but human error is always lurking! It would be nice of the DCU to realize the money was there...just not in the intended account...as mentioned in one of the replies. If a credit report must be made, however, I am interested in knowing if DCU must attach any complaint I have to it. Does anyone know anything about that? I'd be curious to know if I could submit some type of written complaint. I'm even willing to make a copy of my ledger, showing the written entry for May 2nd of a phone transfer. Hopefully, I can avoid the report...I'll find out later this afternoon. Thanks for the replies. Kevin.
558.6	SOLUTION FOUND!	TW::CURCURU		`Fri May 29 1992 15:17`	23
	Thanks again...for all the info! All I can say is that the DCU has some very interesting creative financing solutions. :^) :^) :^) Details of this transaction will forever remain secret! :^) Needless to say, DCU isn't making the credit report and things are OK with the payments. However, the situation of the original (May 2nd) transaction never appearing still exists. That's OK this time since the credit report isn't needed and I "somehow" made the payment for last month. I'll take DCU's help and be thankful I learned an important lesson (TO ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK EACH AND EVERY EASYTOUCH TRANSACTION) without suffering any adverse financial effects or credit problems. Thanks again for the replies. Kevin.