Can a Credit Union deny me access to my statements?

[Katie97]

I'm planning to file for bankruptcy in about 45 days because my business failed last year, and I'm trying to obtain copies of my bank account statements for the past year. However, the credit union that I use is refusing to grant me access to any information about my account due to a $5,000 loan that is delinquent.

They blocked my online access to my account, refused to give me any account information over the phone, stopped sending me monthly statements, and ignored a letter I sent to them requesting old bank statements. They have also refused to allow me to close my account.

The customer service representatives that I have been communicating with have indicated that the only way there would be any possibility of obtaining any information about my account is to speak with the collections department. I have avoided communicating by phone with collections representatives from any organization because I am unemployed and have no ability to pay them right now, and I also don’t want to give them any information that can help them in filing a lawsuit against me.

Is a credit union allowed to deny a member access to information about his account or prevent him from closing his account because of a delinquent loan and a refusal to communicate by phone with their collections division?

I do need to obtain my bank statements fairly soon, and I would also like to close my account. Do you think the best way to proceed is to go ahead and communicate by phone with the collections division?

[Chowder]

Do you think the best way to proceed is to go ahead and communicate by phone with the collections division?

It couldn't hurt to try. Don't be surprised if they refuse you copies until you either make payment(s) or promise to. You might have to play ball to get what you want.

CUs are notorious for this kind of antics.

[lrprn]

However, the credit union that I use is refusing to grant me access to any information about my account due to a $5,000 loan that is delinquent.

Welcome to the nasty, vindictive world of spurned credit unions. I'm sorry to say that they have every right to stop your online access and to not provide monthly statements or historical statements.

Do you still have funds in the account? If you do, then the account cannot be closed anyway until the funds are removed.

I do need to obtain my bank statements fairly soon, and I would also like to close my account. Do you think the best way to proceed is to go ahead and communicate by phone with the collections division?

Your CU has drawn the line in the sand telling you verbally that the only way you are going to get your statements is if you talk with their collection department. You can talk with them - just keep repeating that you can't pay them because you are unemployed. Be like a broken record. State it over and over if necessary. And because you are unable to pay, if they ask for your address tell them there's no reason to provide a mailing address at this time.

One other back-door thing you can try is to go into the CU in person, choose one of the lowly tellers, and politely request a printout of your account. If your account isn't flagged, that might get you a current account printout at least. It's worth a try.

[backtoschool]

When I filed bk on my credit union, they stopped all access to my records, yet I was too dissorganized and uninformed to have gotten two years of statements before I filed. I ended up having to have my attorney subpoena them for the records. And even then, they didn't send them to me, they sent them to the attorney.

To anyone who is pre-planning their bankruptcy and hasn't filed yet. Get your statements NOW. Get two years of them just in case. It will be much more difficult to deal with your credit union after you file.

[jribe]

this is exactly why i won't bank at a CU! They do stuff like this and there's not many ways out of it.

As a side note- my frist CC was with a CU- and when i called and told them that my husband has been out of work for 8 months and we needed to work something out in payments because i couldn't afford it anymore they had NOTHING for me. They said if i couldn't afford the payment, then i couldn't afford any assistance. They said they are member owned- so they don't give assistance.

Talk about a joke. So i told them if they weren't willing to help i would BK on them.

[MSbklawyer]

I ended up having to have my attorney subpoena them for the records.

That's what I was going to say. As soon as you file, your attorney can issue a subpoena to the CU that will get them produced.

[hurtininaz]

I was recently blocked online access and found that they cleared then closed my accounts. I was told I could go into the branch and pay $2 per page for the statements. They were really nice at the branch and didn't charge the fee for copies. I think it helped that I brought in the truck they were ready to repossess. Don't be afraid to talk to the credit department, they can't get money if you don't have it to give.

[Katie97]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to go ahead and call the Credit Union collections department this afternoon and ask for access to my account. It's great to know that if they continue to deny me access, I can have my attorney subpoena them for the records once I file for bankruptcy.