Consumer complaint received 2025-08-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: FIRST TECHNOLOGY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: UT

Complaint narrative:
Complaint Type : Improper adverse action notice, discriminatory denial of credit access, and procedural misclassification following use of consumer report data. 
Institution : Digital Federal Credit Union ( DCU ) Summary of Complaint : On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a credit card application to Digital Federal Credit Union ( DCU ). DCU performed a hard inquiry via Equifax and conditionally approved a {$2500.00} credit limit, contingent on membership activation.

Membership Application Timeline : XX/XX/XXXX & XXXX : XXXX online membership applications auto-denied without explanation. No adverse action notices were received by mail. 
XXXX XXXX : I submitted a paper application with a comprehensive identity verification kit : TSA-vetted Commercial Drivers License ( Hazmat Endorsement ) Social Security card, birth certificate, Utah State ID, W-2, recent pay stub Certified funds deposit and proof of nonprofit affiliation XX/XX/XXXX : Received a mailed membership denial document citing only unable to adequately verify the information provideda vague and undefined justification XX/XX/XXXX : DCU issued a Notice of Adverse Action, referencing my credit card application by date and product type Action marked Declined Reason stated : Membership Denied Unable to adequately verify the information provided Disclosure : Credit score of XXXX XXXX NOT AVAILABLE No mention of the XXXX used to approve the credit product Disclosure Contradiction : DCU accessed my Equifax credit file to approve the credit card. Because I had less than XXXX months of credit history, XXXX was unavailable, but my XXXX was present and sufficient for approval. 
At the time of application : Equifax was still using XXXX XXXX in all public-facing platforms DCU evaluated and approved my credit card application using XXXX XXXX adverse action notice omitted any reference to XXXX and XXXX only the absence of XXXX, creating the false impression that no score was available DCU extended credit based on consumer report data, rescinded the product through procedural gatekeeping, and then denied full disclosure obligations under FCRA by misclassifying the denial as membership-based.

Discriminatory Pattern and Statutory Violations : Despite submitting TSA-vetted credentials and synchronized documentation, I was repeatedly deniedfirst through automated systems, then through manual reviewusing the same vague language. This pattern suggests discriminatory filtering disguised as procedural failure.

Violated Statutes : Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( ECOA ), 15 U.S.C. 1691 ( a ) ( 1 ) : Prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction based on race, national origin, sex, age, or source of income.

DCUs repeated denials, vague reasoning, and refusal to engage with verified documentation suggest disparate treatment.

Regulation B, 12 C.F.R. 1002.2 ( b ), 1002.9 ( b ) ( 2 ) : Requires creditors to provide specific reasons for adverse action and prohibits discouraging applications based on prohibited factors.

DCUs templated language and refusal to clarify what failed authentication may reflect discriminatory discouragement.

Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681m ( a ) : Requires disclosure of the credit score used, its source, and contributing factors when adverse action is based on consumer report data.

DCU used VantageScore to approve credit, then masked its use and denied the product without proper disclosure.

Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. 1981 : Guarantees all persons the same right to make and enforce contracts as white citizens.

Denial of membership and financial services despite full eligibility and documentation may constitute unlawful refusal to contract.

CFPB Guidance ( 2023 ) : Prohibits institutions from reclassifying credit denials as membership decisions to avoid adverse action disclosures. 
DCUs adverse action notice referenced a credit product but framed the denial as membership-only.

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 explanation