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Doctors said mom is no longer able to make her own decisions and although my brother is Trustee and my mom still Trustor, the Credit Union withdrew from my mom's deposit account, paid off her credit card my brother was making payments on and closed the card with no one's permission. Isn't this against Reg Z rules? My mom was sole owner of Credit Card.

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I'm curious how did the credit union decide to do that? Was the account current? If payments were in arrears, their actions would be likely justified, but if payments were on time how did the credit union make that decision? How did they know mom was disabled/unable to make her own decisions?
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CAZborn91

Have you been able to look into this? Curious in what they said. It could help us if we find ourselves in same predicament.
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It is not unheard-of for a consumer credit contract to contain the phrase, "If any payment is missed then the lender can declare the entire outstanding balance due immediately."
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Nobody wants trouble but they sure do want their money...my guess is there was something in the microscopic print when signing up that allowed it to happen. Remember an unpleasant time when my SS number was linked to an account in mom or mom and dad's name regrettably at the same bank....I owed on a credit card....and one day the bill came and the balance was paid off. Few people knew. I was quiet about my good fortune and believed someone who knew me wanted to help anonymously or the bank wrote it off...something....Until the day came that mom had decided to do a little updating and went to transfer funds from the account into her checking to pay for the work...and the bank told her what had happened. I was livid...but that's how they operate....sneaky little bastards! And so I did btw pay mom back all of it....
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I'm curious as to how you know the credit union did this? This is unusual activity and it's against the law for her medical providers to share her information. Information could possibly shared with an outside entity if a medical release is provided. But if she is incompetent who would sign the release in her place? Even still, her credit union has nothing to do with her medical care. Even if they took money from one account to cover another, her diagnosis is not the reason. You have to find out the credit union's term of service and their over draft/ late payment policies. It simply doesn't make sense they would use her account to pay in full something that's already being paid. Call the credit union I'm sure you will get the truth.
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I don't think the Credit Union was aware of her diagnosis. The problem may have arose because of a missed payment. And seems their rules allow for deducting the payment missed from the person's account with them. I question why they paid the card off.

Please don't compare a Credit Union to a Bank. They are not run the same way.
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Prettywitty Jul 2021
A missed payment maybe. But debiting her account in full? This suspicious especially since the brother claimed to be making the payments.
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Unless taking the funds needed to pay off the credit card balance shorted mom, what really is the complaint? If there was a balance on the card and it was being paid back either minimum or more, then interest charges are building up and it would be better to pay it off and close it. I don't know what the CU rules and practices are regarding a situation like this, but how/why would they even know what doctors said about her condition?

I had POA for my mother. When I took over her finances, etc, due to dementia, I had NO doctor letter, just the POA. I was able to change the mailing address, secure another ATM/debit card in my name (two of us were also on the account) and use/pay as needed. The only CC mom had was Discover. They were a bit of a PITA, but the balance was paid every month, so that wasn't an issue. When she moved to MC, I left the card open for a bit, but kept it with me, unused. At some point I had them "freeze" the account and months later just closed it.

I don't understand why ANY banking institution would get access to a person's medical info nor why they would think it best to do what they did, unless the rules say so, but again, HOW would they know? If payments were made every month, I would be calling them to understand why it was done and ask where is it in the rules. Even if you go delinquent on CCs, usually the card is cancelled (seni-closed), but you keep getting statements and interest accrues until you pay it all off, then it's officially closed.

Are you certain bro was making payments?
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Credit Union is protecting their interests. Someone could run up a lot of charges and they would not be able to recoup.

Since CC is closed you might as well close out all accounts with them.
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The bank has extended the credit, and they can decline to continue extending it at any time as well. If they think someone is a poor credit risk, they can shut things down.
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"If you have money in your checking account and you fall behind on your credit card, personal loan or car loan with that same credit union, the credit union can take the payment out of your checking or savings account.Apr 2, 2013"

Looks like they could take out of her acct to pay the Credit Card but it says "payment". Really don't think it was right to pay off the credit card though.

I also read that if you have a car loan with them and miss a payment, they can deduct it from your acct too.
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I would read the terms and conditions of the credit card. This is probably addressed in them.
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If it’s a Credit Union based credit card, their powers are probably covered in their regulations covering their accounts and credit cards. In fact it may be in your mother’s best interests, as her credit card balance is no longer attracting interest while your brother pays it down. If they know that the doctor is saying that mother is no longer able to make her own decisions, the rule may be designed to avoid fraud by a third party. It may seem a little high-handed, but is there really a problem?
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