UICCC Subtle Changes

51hh, I agree that it is frustrating to have an institution make an important change in requirements without taking the time to notify accountholders.  For some time I have been confirming the monthly requirements (as well as the rates) on each of my RCAs whenever I check balances.   It's usually only a couple of extra keystrokes to do so, and it ensures I'll see a change right away, regardless whether I am notified or not.   Still, I am unhappy to have to take those measures. 

In case it helps to pinpoint when the silent change might have been made, the $100 minimum DD/ACH withdrawal was in place when I opened my account in early May.  The fine print at the time also mentioned that accounts that do not qualify for four months in a row are automatically converted to the Free Checking product.        

I also have concerns about UICCU after opening an account a few months ago. I continue to recieve emails with attacments asking for personal information that I refuse to open.  UICCU refuses to answer my emails concerning this issue. I have also asked for a different person to handle my account which is also ignored.  NOT at all impressed with uiccu. 

Hello again 51 and others,

The notification about the $100 ACH minimum went out to Rewards Checking members July of 2011 explaining that the $100 minimum would be enforced as of October 1. We hoped that the 60 plus day notification would give the small percentage of rewards checking members that were not qualifying time to make the necessary adjustment.

We also used that communication to announce that ACH withdrawals in amounts greater than $100 would be accepted as well. Previously, it was only ACH “deposits” that would count.

In regards to the automatic change to free checking (after several months of not qualifying), we have disclosed that since the account was introduced in December of 2007.

We market our Rewards Checking as a product that gives back to members that have their primary checking account with our cooperative.  For the vast majority of our Rewards Checking account holders, meeting these monthly qualifiers has been very easy because they have set up the ACH to occur each month (usually the direct deposit of their paycheck) and they use their UICCU debit card wherever they shop. We try and caution members that if they try and use it as a money market and not a checking account, the qualifiers may become burdensome.

But DepositAccounts.Com may be a good way for me to get the word out about any forthcoming changes to the product.  In addition to the standard member communications, perhaps I can notify the site administrator of any changes we have planned for the product so that visitors here can know ahead of time.

In regards to the e-mail (posted by diamondx), I would like to know a bit more about where those e-mails are originating from.  If you could please contact Cathy Davis in our Call Center (319) 358-5618 or cdavis@uiccu.org, we would like to learn more about this.

Thanks for voicing your concerns.

 

Jim Kelly
Senior VP/Marketing
University of Iowa Community Credit Union