Complaint Review: Seven Seventeen Credit Union

In September 2006, my mother Annie Foster walked into the Seven Seventeen Credit Union to report unauthorized use of her ATM card. This unauthorized use occurred in the months of August and September of 2006. She did not know how the thefts occurred. She did not know how anyone could take the card without her knowledge. My mother was asked to surrender her ATM card and file a police report with the Warren City Police, both of which she did.

During the next three months, no action was taken on the account. Although the funds were not returned, my mother received calls from Ms. Petak letting her know that Ms Petak was still trying to get video records of the transactions from the banks involved.

After several months of no activity, I got involved. On or about December 27th, I left a message with Melanie Petak asking her to return my call. In the voice mail, I questioned why it was taking so long to close this case and replace the stolen funds.

On January 5th, my mother received a letter from Ms Petak telling her that restitution would not be made. The letter referred my mother to a section in the membership agreement outlining responsibilities to never allow anyone to use, borrow, or obtain the card or PIN. The letter also stated that Ms Petak was unable to complete the investigation.

After receiving the letter, I called Ms Petak and discussed with her that my mother had never willingly allowed anyone to obtain her card or her PIN number. She had no idea how the theft could have occurred. I asked Ms Petak if there were other cards issued to this account. She confirmed that there were no other cards. Ms Petak referenced the police report which says mis-use of card by unknown person, apparently a different spin on the word "theft". She also referenced the report which says that the ATM pin and card kept disappearing and reappearing, statements that my mother did not make to police. My mother told the officers that she never noticed the card missing, so whoever took the card must have took it, used it, and returned it without her noticing. Ms Petak sent me a copy of the report. From that point on, Ms Petak would not return my telephone calls.

Next, I sent a letter to Gary Soukenik, the President of Seven Seventeen Credit Union. His short letter lays out the same position due to the police report which states "mis-use of a credit card" by an unknown person. Apparently this is no longer called theft.

My mother notified the credit union as soon as she noticed the theft. She does not know who stole her card. She reported the thefts to the credit union and filed a police report as directed by the credit union. She did everything that she was supposed to do. The credit union never completed its investigation. Only after I called to discuss the case, well after 90 days, did Ms Petack send a letter denying restitution. Then she would not return my phone calls.

Gwendolyn
Warren, Ohio
U.S.A.