With the recent admissions of Big Bank employees using underhanded tactics to reach sales quotas at the expense of their customers, we would like to take a moment to thank all of our members for trusting us with their business. Our mission statement states our viewpoint:
To Enable growth, wellness and financial prosperity for our community through the values of trust, loyalty, compassion and integrity above all else.
We have earned your trust by showing our integrity for over 77 years.
At the Energy CU our members are owners and all profits go back to our members. Free products and services, loan interest rebates, deposit bonus interest, golf days, bus trips, dividends and increasing our reserves to maintain our financial stability, that’s where the Energy CU profits go.
The little white lies told by big banks may seem like small potatoes on the surface but look at what is really going on. These unethical upgrades and increases let TD alone earn reported earnings of $8.9 BILLION last year. Guess where those billions of dollars came from? Customer accounts, a little bit at a time.
- Being signed up for the most expensive account option when there are other cheaper options that would suit you better. That could be $30 per month that you don’t get to save for your retirement, or contribute to your Energy CU TFSA (and earn 2.15%) What else could you do with over $360 per year? Great Wolf Lodge with the Grand-kids? Karate lessons? Dance class? That new guitar you always wanted? Our full service members don’t pay a monthly fee for doing their banking with us.
- Increasing Limits on Lines of Credit without authorization. Not only is it illegal, but that customer who uses the line of credit regularly is spending up to what they assume to be a $5,000 limit when in reality there is now a limit of $8,000, unbeknownst to them. Those monthly payments that were at one time attacking the principle are barely covering the interest. You would need to increase your monthly payment by nearly $100 to pay off that extra $3,000 over 3 years at an interest rate of 8%.
- Increasing the limit on your credit card with out authorization. Besides being illegal, increased available credit can have a detrimental effect to your credit score in some cases. This sly little increase can also increase your exposure to fraud. Some people prefer to have a card with a low limit to make online purchases and other orders. If that limit has been increased and the customer is not 100% diligent in reviewing their statement, they may not notice this increased exposure to risk until it’s too late. What about your out of pocket expense? Using the same example as above. You would need to increase your monthly payment by nearly $100 to pay off an extra $3,000 over 3 years at an interest rate of 8% (and we all know you are probably not lucky enough to get an interest rate of 8% on your credit card. In most cases you can at least double it.) Did I mention there would be about $390 in extra interest paid as well?
So thank you, to all our valued members who know that every transaction that you make here at the Energy CU will be with your own best interests at heart. We want you to know that we take our relationship with our members very seriously. If you have any questions about any of our products or services please give us a call at 416-238-5606.
We succeed when you succeed. Here’s the proof!
