My credit union account was hit for six transactions I did not do. Fraud?

Hi all,

About six months ago my credit union account was hit for six transactions i did not do. I have had this account approx. 5 years and the only two transactions i have ever commited to best of my knowledge where two lodgements never having taken a withdrawl.

I can prove without doubt that i didnt commit a least two of the withdrawls as i wasnt even in the country.

I have been in touch with the branch and what they told me to do was find the book..... tried to but its not to be found, i is either lost or stolen. Since then i have been in contact several times, but all they have done is give me the run around and have taken no action. I have asked to be put in contact with the manager to discuss as to what he intends to do, but i have just been ignored.

What are my options ? are there other channels i can take ?

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

A member has to sign a withdrawal form when taking out money from the credit union, so make an appointment to see the manager and ask to see the withdrawal forms for the dates specified. If the signature is not yours, then the credit union has a problem.
Credit unions operate on local knowledge of their members but if you have only been into the office twice since you joined, it would be hard for the officers to recognise someone else posing as you. Still, they might have checked at least the first withdrawal against your membership form signature.
I am sure if you make a determined effort to find out when you last had your book and how or where it might have been mislaid/stolen, the manager or loans officer will help to resolve the issue of the withdrawals.
In the unlikely event that you don't get satisfaction, the Irish League of Credit Unions is the next step.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

thanks attica, as i say its not possible for the signatures to be mine i was in the USA for at least two of them and have the stamps on my passport to prove it. I have asked twice to have the manager ring me to discuss but i have just been ignored. Think i will at this stage follow your advise and contact the irish league of credit unions.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

I don't think that the League has any role in this.

Write a registered letter to the Credit Union
Set out the calls you have made and the lack of response
Request a copy of the withdrawal slips.
Separately, ask to see your file under the Data Protection Act - just to see if they have recorded anything about the reported fraud.

If you do not get a satisfactory response, you should get the annual report of the Credit Union and contact the audit committee or supervisory committee. Any suggestion that money was withdrawn by someone else should have the Credit Union jumping to attention in case there is some wider fraud going on or in case it shows a gap in their systems.

If they don't respond, then you complain to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

It looks to me that someone found your Pass Book and used it to withdraw money.

If the account was very quiet, it is possibly an internal fraud which the staff are trying to cover up.

A

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

would you not just call into the credit union in the first place and demand to speak to the manager? the person who took your phone calls may be the person committing the fraud so the manager may never have been made aware of your calls.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

dereko1969 said:

would you not just call into the credit union in the first place and demand to speak to the manager? the person who took your phone calls may be the person committing the fraud so the manager may never have been made aware of your calls.

Click to expand...

On a matter like this, with a history of inadequate response from the CU, I think it would be better to pursue the matter in writing. Many people take written communications much more seriously than oral ones, especially if there is any possibility of the matter going towards the courts.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

but can you guarantee the manager will be the one opening the letter? i just think face to face contact is better in the first instance as they can see you're not messing about.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

thanks all .... think i will approach it by writing a letter directly to the branch manager and a seperate letter to the ILCU and see how fast either are to react - face to face contact would be hard to achieve as seems to work varying hours and my job takes me away from the county, plus when i cant get him to return my calls i cant organise a sit down - my account would have been exceptionally quiet IF someone actually got my book it points to a huge hole in there security and checks. Books contain the signatures of the account holder and any idiot could have a go at replicating the signature, account updates are only sent out once a year and gives the actual account holder no way of knowing if activity has actually occurred or not unless they are actively using there accounts - it was six months after the fraud had stopped that i noticed it via my annual statement - by then all security tapes etc from the branch have long dissapeared.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

Brendan said:

Request a copy of the withdrawal slips.
Separately, ask to see your file under the Data Protection Act - just to see if they have recorded anything about the reported fraud.

Click to expand...

Tie these two requests together - request the withdrawal slips under the Data Protection Act, so they are legally obliged to provide these.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

Hi,
I have some experience with Credit Unions. My advice is to see if the credit union has a complaints procedure in place - it should be posted in the credit union but many do not do so. Ask for a copy of it and ask to see the complaints officer. Go through this process but if they don't reply and deal with you promptly then write to the Secretary of the Credit Union - This is the legal entity of the credit union and not the manager. You could be wasting your time with the manager based on your current experience. You should cc your letter to the Registrar of Credit Unions. Do not send it to the league of credit unions - they do not get involved in these type of cases and it is only wasting your time. Then go to the financial ombudsman. You need to follow the sequence correctly and show that the credit union is not dealing with your complaint.
Best of luck with it.
Mike

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

Hi there,

You should address your query to the Supervisory Committe; they are separate committee charged with the supervision of the CU with regards to internal control and should be in a position to answer your queries; Alternatively just go to the Gardai and report the fact that money is missing out of your account.

Dacoon

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

This appears to be quite serious issue that any credit union, bank or building society would treat seriously. If you have genuine reason to suspect a fraud and have not recieved a satisfactory response from the credit union then threaten to file a complaint with the Gardai within one week of the date you send your letter. If you receive no response or are not satisfied with the response make a complaint at your local Garda station.

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

If is was fraud, it strange that they did not withdraw all the money, and not only that they did it twice!

Re: Credit Union Account Fraud

I have a family member that works in a credit union and she would advise you not to address a letter to the secretary as when a letter like that comes in - it can be opened by certain members of staff or the manager. You should make an appointment with the secretary and meet her/him face to face. The officers' name maybe included with your annual statement.