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I paid off my mortgage / home equity / consumer loan and the credit union charged me a high prepayment penalty. I wasn't aware that the loan had a prepayment penalty. What can I do?

Generally, federal credit unions cannot charge a…

I re-deposited a check. Now the credit union says that it has placed an exception hold on my funds. What does that mean?

The credit union may use an exception hold on a…

I received a letter from my credit union stating that they have frozen or reduced my Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). I have already written checks using that line of credit but the checks are still outstanding. What can I do?

You should contact your credit union immediately…

I received a letter stating that I have been pre-approved for a credit card with a high credit limit and a low annual percentage rate. What does this mean?

Generally, when you are "pre-approved" for a…

I was contacted by phone to apply for a credit card. The representative discussed a low interest rate and I agreed. However, when I received the credit card, the rate was higher. Can the credit union do that?

Yes, the credit union can call you and offer you…

I was late with one payment and the credit union repossessed my car. Can it do this?

There are no laws or regulations that address…

I wrote a check/share draft for $300, but the credit union posted it as $3,000. The credit union told me to get the money from the other party. Is this correct?

No. This appears to be a check altering/posting…

I wrote a check/share draft for $89 but incorrectly wrote out the amount as “eight-hundred and ninety dollars.” The credit union paid it as $890. Shouldn't the credit union have paid according to the numeral?

No. State statutes indicate that when dealing…

I'm considering a reverse mortgage and understand that I am not required to make payments; when and how is a HECM repaid?

A HECM must be repaid in full when you die or…

If a credit union has an underserved designation, and wants to expand its field of membership to an adjacent county, does the county have to have the same designation?

We assume you are a low-income community charter…

If a credit union serves a specific military base rather than a full branch of the military, would the "honorably discharged" language apply?

Yes, but it will only apply to that branch of the…

If an adjacent area, CBSA or CSA is located in another State, does that have any impact on the decision to approve or deny an application?

No. There is no impact. The adjacent area, Core…

If at the time of approval as a well-defined local community a multiple political jurisdiction was under 2.5 million people, does the area qualify as a previously approved if the population now exceeds 2.5 million people?

There is no population limit applicable to a…

If company A is in our membership and they have contractors with less than 3,000 employees, can we add the contractor company to our FOM?

Yes. Subject to any limitations in the clause…

If NCUA has already approved an area as a well-defined local community, can we use that area to support our application to expand our community charter?

Yes. There has been no change to the rule in…

If our original group was an airbase, can anyone who is retired Air Force now join?

We need to make a distinction between honorably…

If the credit union is using CDFI to determine a "qualified underserved area" does the said credit union still need to provide specifics regarding the depository/non-depository facilities in that area?

The credit union does not need to provide…

If we are in the midst of creating a plan for an underserved area, do we now have to resubmit the area to see if it matches CFPB's underserved county?

No. If the requested underserved area has…

In a state-to-federal charter conversion, as a multiple common bond, the Chartering Manual states, "new federal charter may retain in its FOM any group that the state credit union was serving at the time of conversion." Does "any group" include counties?

No, it does not.  In a federal charter, a "group…

In a strip mall, if a tenant leaves and another tenant moves in, do we need to submit another application to add the new tenant that moved in?

No. However, the employees of the new tenant…

In rural areas, does the 'ability and intent' to serve dictate that there must be a physical building? One of our counties has a population of only 250 people.

No. However, a credit union requesting a charter…

Is a shared branch considered an acceptable ability to serve members as a means for a credit union to expand its field of membership?

It depends. If the shared branch meets the…

Is it correct to say that a community federal credit union can serve a CBSA, an adjacent area (assuming there is appropriate interaction between the communities), and an area designated as rural?

No. A federal credit union cannot submit a…

Is my understanding correct? If our existing community charter serves an area with a population over 2.5 million then we cannot add an adjacent county with a population of 30,000?

Yes, your understanding is correct, as the…

Is NCUA accepting a county recognized by the CFPB as rural as meeting NCUA’s rural district definition?

Yes. A copy of the CFPB rural counties is…