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  4. Firstmark Credit Union Closed My Jumbo CD 5 Months Before Maturity And Sent The Money To "Unclaimed Property"!

Firstmark Credit Union Closed My Jumbo CD 5 Months Before Maturity And Sent The Money To "Unclaimed Property"!

Azul
  |     |   5 posts since 2016

Has this ever occurred to anyone? I am beyond shocked!

In October 2011, I opened a jumbo CD with Firstmark Credit Union after reading a blog entry about it on this forum.

As the maturity date is approaching I contacted the institution yesterday to see if I could get the funds ACH'ed into my Ally Bank. To my amazement, I was told my account was closed in May due to "inactivity" and the funds sent to unclaimed property and I would have to go through them to get my money!!

Suffice it to say, I am not happy. I asked the rep to transfer to me a manager, and I had to hold for what seemed forever, so I hung up and called again. Finally after a series of several calls and after talking to three people, a supervisor said that she referred the case to their risk management department for handling and someone will call me today.  She acknowledged that the account was closed in error as this CD had a mid-October 2016 maturity date and they closed it in May, 2016!

I can submit an update once I hear back. Hopefully this will not happen to anyone else.

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11


Answers
ChasR
  |     |   287 posts since 2013
Thank you for this information.  I am anxiously awaiting your follow-up report because I own four of this cu's 40-month CDs.

At some point in the recent past, Firstmark "updated" its online banking system.  Maybe there is some built-in glitch.
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6
Azul
  |     |   5 posts since 2016
I went to Texas Unclaimed Property: https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/programs/claim-it/ and searched under my name. Nothing! So I called Firstmark Credit Union again and asked them for a claim number. They were unable to provide one! The supervisor said Ms. Wade, the Assistant VP of their risk management department would call me back. I told her that I will not wait for a call back, and I am very close to calling an attorney as the information they gave me yesterday appears incorrect. So she got Mr. Rivera the VP of risk management on the phone. This gentleman apologized for the error and said he will ensure all money and interest is back in my account today. I asked him if this is something that just happened to my account or if others are affected and he said they will be checking into that today. I highly recommend that anyone with CDs at this institution keep a close eye on their accounts.  I will post again, if/when my account is reinstated.
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17
ChasR
  |     |   287 posts since 2013
Thanks.  A vanishing account balance is a problem I'd like to avoid.  This shows why we are all lucky to have this Forum available to discuss problems and issues.
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13
Frank Walker
  |     |   83 posts since 2016
Thank you, Azul, for your very important and informative posts.  I hope you actually get your money back.  Mere words mean nothing today.  Only an account balance speaks to reality.

Inactivity rules, whether at a bank or at a CU, are a curse for savers.  You never know with certainty when the guillotine blade is going to fall.
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3
lou
  |     |   1,004 posts since 2010
WOW!!!!! If that happened to me, my head would explode.
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3
Azul
  |     |   5 posts since 2016
Mr. Rivera called me yesterday to inform me that my account had been re-opened and all interest credited. I asked him if I could login to my account to see it and he said yes. I tried logging in but my username and password were not accepted. I called again and the rep said I would have to register for online banking again. So I did, got in it and the account was empty. No balance, no accounts. Called again and was told that it will show up today.  I just checked and it all looks good. Savings account is there and CD as well. I tried linking it to Ally with instant verification and it did not accept it so I asked for the two deposits. Hopefully that will work. I can't wait to get my money outta there when the CD matures. :-)

I was telling this story to our carpool driver yesterday and he was stunned but not shocked. He said if the balance shows up again, it will be good because he had something similar happen to him, only he never got the money back. A couple of years ago, he deposited $2,000 in cash in his wife's IRA at Wells Fargo. Following the deposit, the money showed up in his statements and all was good. Fast forward to tax time, he noticed that the IRA account had a balance less than what he thought it should be. Upon examination he discovered that the bank at some point debited that account the $2,000. He called, spoke to all kinds of people and everyone told him that the deposit was made in error and to prove that he actually made the cash deposit, he would need to provide the receipt. He said he used to not keep receipts forever. After reconciling his statements, he would toss them. Not any more... After months of aggravation and lost time, that money is long gone. He never got it back. I asked him if he told his branch to review the video recorder for that day, he said he did not think about that, but will do so now. I hope it is not too late. It has been two years. Since then he said he saves all paper receipts and also has them email a receipt and keeps those too. I plan to begin that practice myself, immediately ...

Thank you all your responses and to our friend Ken for providing this incredibly valuable forum for all of us. I have been following this blog since he first began writing it I am so much better off today because of it and you.
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3
ChasR
  |     |   287 posts since 2013
Your posting led me recheck my Firstmark accounts yesterday.  It turns out my memory was wrong, and that I actually own three 40-month CDs and a jumbo 60-month CD maturing in December. It may be the same type of CD as yours.  Fortunately, my online banking page shows it's still there!
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2
Azul
  |     |   5 posts since 2016
I talked to them again today and they said this just happened to my account and it was an oversight on their part. According to Texas law any account with no activity for three years is closed and funds transferred to the state. What they failed to see in my case is that the CD had not matured yet. To compensate for the inconvenience this ordeal has caused me, they deposited an extra $300 in my savings. It's all good. :-)
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9
MidAtlantic
  |     |   142 posts since 2012
Sorry for the anxiety you had but that is a good outcome. Resolved in 2 days and $300 compensation.
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2
Azul
  |     |   5 posts since 2016
Yes, I agree. A very good outcome. This was not something they just handed to me though. I asked for it, because of the inconvenience, and they agreed.
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2
Bozo
  |     |   1,375 posts since 2011
Unclaimed property laws are quite arcane and virtually impossible for a layman to comprehend. Stated as simply as I can, unclaimed property "escheats" to the State if abandoned. Escheated property may be "reclaimed" within a certain period by heirs or creditors. If escheated property is not reclaimed with a certain period, it flows into the general fund of the State and gets spent.

You can search for your particular State's law on escheat by entering the name of your state and "escheat" in a search box. The results will give you time limits, contact requirements, and reclamation policies.

Odd as it might sound, a dividend (or interest) check from the issuer to the payee (such as addressee is deceased) can trigger the starting of the escheat time limit. Financial institutions often stop cranking out interest or dividend checks when payments are returned "deceased." The issuer then waits the time required by law, then sends the account (with accrued interest, dividends, and principal) to the Secretary of State, or the State Treasurer. The State might, or might not, make an attempt to contact heirs or creditors.
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