ComplaintsforAustin Telco Federal Credit Union

• Initial Complaint

  05/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The credit union is refusing to dispute an unauthorized transaction that was drafted out of my account. The bank account was incorrect it was also unauthorized. They drafted this money out 3 months later with out any notification and are saying the company that I am not associated with has to deposit into an incorrect account.

  Business response

  06/20/2023

  Dear ******:
  
  Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding an unauthorized transaction and giving us the opportunity to respond. We understand you have been contacted by a representative from Austin Telco and the issue has been resolved. If you need further assistance, please contact our ****** Services Team at ************.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** Services Department
  Austin Telco FCU
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Over last couple yrs-to present 3/2023, have problems with Telco. Cost me lot of money/stress/time. commitments made by Telco not honored. Promises of escalation, resolution broken. Austin Telco many times stated they'd correct errors, actions or lack of on my accounts that were-are causing issues of $$$. I called, drove thru teller window, many times went in, sat with personnel to correct the following: transactions allowed to go thru when no funds avail, fraudulent transactions. Went in-spoke directly with bank employees. Even contacted them more than once to get help while I had COVID and then was on road-moving ***** to *****. Telco assured me they had my needs covered. Each, everytime, we went over issues, I was told funds/fees/charges had been removed ( reimbursed), that theyd stop fraudulent transactions, help me with paperwork (when I had COVID twice, during a move). Each time pleasantly assured me they'd corrected problems, accesses, addresses, refund fees- charges. I'd find out later that they weren't done in full, not as agreed. I've called, msg'd to escalate. I've asked for zoom mtg, phone call to once and for all resolve. I have a trail of msgs a mile long complaining asking for resolution/escalation. When I call support, no ones authorized to help, no ongoing notes in file. Each time unable to help. I ask for escalation, while they go get it I'm disconnected, put on hold only to then be disconnected and they NEVER call back. I ask for update/ status msgs, calls, email. Never get. The only reason I've not closed accounts is because I'm wanting issues resolved, accounts credited back, made whole $. Austin Telco seems to have an inability / unwillingness to support their customer, honor their word, track commitments/document complete fixes, fully fulfill support offered. They know I'm in *****, but each time I continue to push for help they tell me to drop by the bank!Last night they stopped my cards, this morning can't tell me why!

  Business response

  04/05/2023

  In reviewing the account we have documented that the credit union has returned / refunded 26 fees which were assessed over multiple accounts the account holder maintains with our credit union. The reason for the refunds has been due to various grievances and hardships the account holder has contacted us about and requested that the fees be waived, but no fees were charged by ATFCU in error.
  
  There are no current outstanding claims for this account holder. The last claim this account holder made with Austin Telco was in May of 2022. The claim was filed as fraud claim against Uber and it was determined the charges were not fraudulent. At that time we advised the account holder to attempt a resolution with **** since there was an active relationship between the account holder and the merchant. We further provided the account holder with a dispute form and advised the account holder that if a satisfactory resolution could not be attained with the merchant we would attempt a dispute on her behalf but would need to follow proper protocol which included obtaining a properly filed dispute claim. We attempted communication with the account holder to assist with the process but the account holder unfortunately never responded.
  
  Most recently on 3/29/23 a card transaction was declined as a suspected fraudulent transaction and fraud prevention attempted to contact her to verify the transaction. Ultimately, the transaction wasnt deemed suspicious enough to shut the card off. With the exception of the initial declined charge the card was never stopped or shut off. Earlier in the same month the account holder did have a card that was captured due to invalid PIN tries. Account holder contacted us and Austin Telco handled the matter to get her PIN reset and card operational.
  
  While we regret that the account holder is not satisfied with Austin Telco and our service, it is the finding of our investigation that the credit union has accommodated the account holder every time they have reached out for support. It is our further finding from notes and documentation collected on the accounts that we have extended courtesy accommodations to the account holder on multiple occasions. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Austin Telco, we have been dealing with the Shoal Creek location as apparently there is only one person in the entire company that can re-issue cashier's checks. We both terminated or bank accounts with Austin Telco and received our funds in the form of a cashier's check. Our original check was lost in the mail, never cashed, so we contacted Austin Telco. As per what they advised, we purchased a bond, turned that paperwork into Austin Telco in May 2022, and were required to wait ***** days before they could reissue our $7000 CHECK. It has now been 11 months! We have called weekly/biweekly and either spoke with, or left a message, for *****. The last response we had was about 3 weeks ago. Our messages aren't being returned and ***** Does not answer when we call. We have been told that everything is "good to go" for the past 4 months and that we just have to wait for our check to be re-issued as they verified it was never cashed by someone else. This is absolutely ridiculous! We waited the required 90 days and because ***** was out sick for a month, she accrued a backlog and we are suffering. According to Austin Telco, no one else in the company can perform her job so many customers have suffered. We have spoken with other Telco employees with no assistance given. This has delayed my husband and I buying a house! Completely unacceptable! At this point, we should be owed interest for all of the delays and issues the bank has put on us when they are completely at fault. All we are wanting is to receive our$7000 cashier's check. Today, 1/13/2023, we received a phone call from ***** letting us know that our situation has been closed because our cashiers check was cashed by an unknown person in June of 2022. For months they told us they check the status of our check and it was never cashed, and all of a sudden today it was cashed in June so now we are out $7,000. This is unacceptable, They lied for months as they didn't keep a status update of our check like they said.

  Business response

  01/19/2023

  Austin Telco management reached out to the accountholder on 1/17/23 to discuss this matter at length.  Unfortunately, no history of the activity was located as outlined in the grievance. The accountholder indicated they have receipts and documentation, which they will gather and provide. Once these documents and additional details are received, the claims will be further researched.  At this point, there has been no resolution regarding the claim; although Austin Telco staff will continue to cooperate and assist with this matter. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  There seem to be overdrawn account claiming that I owe the bank a balance of funds when they took my funds to put toward a false accusations of negative account which was never they been playing with people personal information the staffs and the Manager's who been stealing money out of my account acting like they can't open the lobby for people to handle their personal information along with changing pins on people cards or try to use a different race instead of assisting customers with their satisfaction or I will have my attorney take them down for Fraud charges along with putting a false dispute in to make me wait 30 to 60 days if I got to small claim this business I will do so

  Business response

  02/10/2022

  02/10/2022
  
  To whom it *** concern,
  
                 We are aware of this member/account holders complaint, and are currently working with the member to address it. We were contacted by our member on 1/24/2022 and were made aware that a company incorrectly charged the account causing a negative balance. The member advised that they were in the process of resolving the matter with the company and they were expecting them to issue a refund. At this time, we made the member aware that their debit card would not work with a negative balance.
                 We were contacted again on 1/29/2022 by our member by phone. When we attempted to assist them, they became upset and would not allow us to help. They then drove to a branch location and began to demand that we refund money to their account.The branch staff attempted to request clarification on what money they were talking about. At this point, the member became abusive and threatening to our staff, they left without a resolution.
                 On 1/31/2022 our member called back in and our staff was able to file a dispute claim on his behalf in regards to two debit card transactions that posted to their account. We are currently investigating the dispute claims to help resolve any error that *** have occurred on the account. We have attempted to reach out to our member to ask additional questions about the disputes. We have not been successful in reaching them. If the investigation is not completed within 10 business days,then a provisional credit will be issued while we continue investigating further.
  Our staff has helped our member as much as possible throughout this matter while enduring abusive language and threats.We have concluded that our staff did not steal money from our members account as the member has accused.
  
  

  Customer response

  02/11/2022

  Complaint: ********
  Rejected Fraud activities charges you have to show me the evidence of this I won't fall for the bite at all show me the proof of the amount with the charges
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  ***************************
  

  Business response

  02/16/2022

  Austin Telco was able to make contact with the account holder by email on Friday 2.11.22.
  We discussed the dispute he is making on his account. The dispute involves a hotel charge and car rental that the account holder is claiming the merchant processed incorrectly or were supposed to reimburse.
  The claim is in process. The account holder expressed that he wanted to visit our main location and sit with someone from our card services area to discuss the claim in detail. He further expressed that he didnt not wish to talk to branch staff regarding the matter. The account holder has been given contact info to reach our card services area directly and has been made aware that we will meet with him in person if he prefers for updates or questions. The head of Austin Telco's card service area reached out to the member again the morning of February 16th and left a message for the member. We are waiting on the member to call back. Claim is still in process. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The lender has closed my account as bad debt but is reporting a higher balance month over month as if it's collecting interest. This is fraudulent. Also, at the time I stopped payment its because I was out of the country and the lender would not accept any payment over the internet or phone making it impossible to pay the balance.

  Business response

  09/21/2021

  Austin Telco offers a variety ofloan payment options for members who may be living or traveling overseas. 
  
  With regard to the balancereported to the credit bureau, Austin Telco reports credit data to the creditbureaus using the industry standard Metro 2 format.  This standardizedformat includes the principal balance and any accrued interest.  Chargingoff a loan does not impact the credit unions ability to collect what is owedunder the borrowers security agreement including interest and any applicablecharges or fees.

  Customer response

  09/21/2021

  Complaint: 15868517
  
  I am rejecting this response because this is a predatory lending practice that is not only harmful, but gives inaccurate information to future lending institution reporting a balance that was listed at the time of charge off, even though that is not correct. They obligated under the Truth in Lending Act to send monthly statements showing the increase in finance fees. I will aim to seek further legal action as this institution will neither accept payment when I contact them, nor discontinue accrual of interest which goes against everything a credit union stands for in service to its members.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  09/24/2021

  We apologize that you did not find our service levels up to yourexpectations.  In reviewing the account history, including your quarterlystatements through 6/31/21, we do not see any payments made on the loan sinceApril 15, 2020.  We were also unable to find any reference to any contactfrom you regarding payments since that time.
  
  Based on the smallremaining balance of your loan and your dissatisfaction with our service levelsand payment options, we will manually remove the charge-off from the credit bureaus. 

  Customer response

  09/27/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Yes I would like to put a fraudio claim activity in on Austin tellico credit Union claiming they only set up savings account when I had both accounts checking in savings account claiming something wrong with this system or broken system a glitch scandal playing with people's identity and information acting like something wrong with the computer when they be tapping into people's account and trying to remove their account when I open up both accounts checking in savings and I even respond to them like four messages and they waited to close tonight to get back with me if this doesn't get solved I will be coming for a lawsuit along with the police report on them along with BBB services

  Business response

  10/15/2021

  Our member did encounter an issue in the process of openinghis account online. He reached out to us on 8/30/21 and instructed Austin Telco that hehad requested a checking account be opened along with the savings account heopened.
  He was very upsetthat he did not have an open checking account. A review of our records of theonline opening request did reveal that ****************** had in fact only requested asavings account. We believe that he may have overlooked the checking accountrequest. There was some initial confusion about what the members grievance waswhen he contacted us. But once it was clear what the member was needing, AustinTelco did have this matter resolved for him quickly on 9/1/21. We further showthat he has had no additional matters concerning his account sincethis situation was resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Money was taken from my account on 7/19/21. Several large purchases were made. They have not been able to offer me a solid timeframe and have not reached out to provide status updates. Also their banking system is insufficient to help prevent fraudulent charges happening. Allowing out of start charges from places Ive never shopped at to go through.

  Business response

  07/22/2021

  On July 19th, the member filed a fraud claim over the phone and was told it typically takes a minimum of 2-3 business days to process, but that we do have 3-5 business days to investigate and process these claims. After investigating, it was determined that the charges were for online transactions that we were able to charge back and the member was scheduled to get a credit to his account today. The credit card department was contacting the member today to follow up. As far as preventing these sort of transactions, there is no real way to tell if they are actually legitimate, or if he gave out his card information or if his card information was compromised. The transactions were to ********** online, which would not typically raise any red flags unless the amounts were much larger. As of this writing, the account has been credited those charges as the member was informed they would be.

  Customer response

  07/23/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩