Consumer complaint received 2021-04-01
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Charged too much interest

Complaint:
Current Entry : Navy Federal has NOT fixed the below described issue. The issue is not whether they converted my SCRA benefits but the fact that they put all the extra payment, over the minimum payments, to one of the 6 % portions of the credit card and NOT the current charges at 14.99 %. Look at what should have converted in XX/XX/XXXX compared to what is owed now % wise and what was charged and paid every month. It doesn't add up, they paid part of the lower interest first! If you look at the information that was submitted, they paid off one of the 6 % portions with that extra money and did not put it toward the 14.99 % which is what they are LEGALLY supposed to do. According to the Credit Card Act of XXXX, a company CAN NOT put extra payments over the monthly minimum toward the lower interest rate if there is more than one rate on the card and that is the case here. There were 2. One at 6 % and the monthly amounts I was charging at XXXX. My current card balance should be at 6 % with hardly any at 14.99 % based on the amount that should have transferred to 6 % back in XXXX. Can someone on your end look at the documentation I submitted? I'm going to put in a new complaint because it's clear this wasn't understood. What they have done is ILLEGAL. The amounts I paid over the minimum match the amounts I was charging and should have gone to current charges at 14.99 %. My most recent statement shows that only half of what is owed is at 6 %, so they were not putting that extra money toward the XXXX but the lower interest rate. How is that possible unless it was calculated incorrectly? The CFPB is supposed to investigate this, especially if this is fraudulent charging of interest rates. They violated the credit card act. 

It might only be the loss of about XXXX dollars to me in interest but if they do this to a lot of people, that amount adds up quickly and could constitute fraud. As a military service member, I want someone to investigate this further. This is incorrect and illegal. They did nothing to fix this for me except write me a letter to tell me that it's correct with no proof to their claim. I want to see the analyst 's notes and the calculations used down to the XXXX for these transactions when the account went to 6 % in XXXX and how they came up with these figures for the last 9 months because it doesn't add up. Please advise and require them to provide this data. 

PREVIOUS COMPLAINT NOT ANSWERED ACCURATELY OR WITH DATA Navy Federal Credit Union ( NFCU ) calculated my interest on my credit card under the SCRA benefits incorrectly, by paying off my " balance transfer '' rate '' first with my over the minimum payments, instead of putting the extra amounts toward the current transactions for the months they were made that were being calculated at 14.99 %. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I was called to XXXX XXXX with the XXXX. I contacted NFCU that month to let them know about it and request the SCRA benefits. It took them 4 months to finally institute the benefits, despite my calling multiple times to inquire. They stated they were " backlogged '' and they would get to it. 

Late XX/XX/XXXX, they finally " converted '' my card amounts under SCRA ; however, they did not put the full amount that was owed in XXXX to the 6 %, as the law requires, Instead, they refunded some of the interest I paid but put all the extra monthly over-the-minimum due payment amounts toward the " balance transfer '' interest rate which should have been put to 6 % and all the additional money paid in should have gone to the current monthly charges that I was charging. This means they paid off something that should have been at 6 % before paying off the higher monthly charges that were at 14.99 %. This is a violation of the CARD act, paying a lower interest rate first, and a violation of my SCRA rights that require the entire amount owed on my card at the time of XXXX XXXX to go to 6 %, regardless of whether it was a balance transfer rate, etc. At the time, the balance transfer rate was expired and was at the same rate as purchases, or 14.99 %. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted them and explained that I believed this to be the case and asked that they look into it. They did nothing. I contacted them again in XX/XX/XXXX XXXX more times and spoke with several people and requested a call from a supervisor, again they did nothing. During this time, I also put in several online messages through their portal, 4 of them, and they did NOT respond to any of them and again did nothing. In XX/XX/XXXX, I talked to someone named XXXX, apparently he was a SCRA supervisor, for 90 minutes and he stated he would go back to the analyst that completed the SCRA calculation transaction to get more information and that he would return my call. He never did. I called again last week and again asked for someone to call me back and again they did nothing. The newest statement showed no change and it's clear they don't want to change it or help me figure this out when it's clear they are in the wrong. They obviously don't care and so I'm filing this complaint with you, the SCRA/DOJ, the credit bureaus and the XXXX. 

Attached you will find all the statements since I went on XXXX XXXX, as well as a spreadsheet I created that shows what was owed at the time of XXXX XXXX and all the charges and payments made during this timeframe. They paid off one of the 6 % items first, thus now forcing me to pay 14.99 % on items I charged while on XXXX XXXX overseas which should have been paid first. Unlike most cards, they do not lower the rate for current charges while on XXXX XXXX ( like XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ), only those obtained PRIOR to XXXX XXXX ( and apparently don't even want to do that for us! XXXX. The fact they waited to " update '' my account makes me also think they did it on purpose so they could charge me the way they did, which is clearly a violation to the CARD act and the SCRA. It's not about the money, it's about the principle, and it's clear that NFCU doesn't have any principles to help servicemembers when they need it the most. I'm incredibly disappointed and hope you can help me rectify this issue. 

For any other servicemembers that read this, DON'T USE THE NFCU CREDIT CARDS ON XXXX XXXX. There are many other better options by companies that clearly care about us when we are called up. Thank you. 

There is only one fair solution, that my card be calculated correctly based on the law of the CARD act of XXXX and the SCRA. I should owe about XXXX at 6 % and my 14.99 % rate part should be XXXX or very close to that, if they had actually paid off the higher interest rates on the monthly charges first.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief