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stop the payment on any amount you think is wrong. To stop 
the payment your letter must reach us three (3) business days 
before the automatic payment is scheduled to occur. 

YOUR  RIGHTS AND  OUR  RESPONSIBILITIES AFTER WE 
RECEIVE YOUR WRITTEN NOTICE

We must acknowledge your letter within thirty (30) days, un-
less we have corrected the error by then. Within ninety (90) 
days,  we  must  either  correct  the  error  or  explain  why  we 
believe the bill was correct. 

After  we  receive  your  letter,  we  cannot  try  to  collect  any 
amount you question, or report you as delinquent. We can 
continue  to  bill  you  for  the  amount  you  question,  includ-
ing  finance  charges,  and  we  can  apply  an  unpaid  amount 
against your credit limit. You do not have to pay any ques-
tioned amount while we are investigating, but you are still 
obligated to pay the parts of your bill that are not in ques-
tion. 

If we find that we made a mistake on your bill, you will not 
have to pay any finance charges related to any questioned 
amount. If we didn’t make a mistake, you may have to pay 
finance charges, and you will have to make up any missed 
payments on the questioned amount. In either case, we will 
send you a statement of the amount you owe and the date 
that it is due. 

If  you  fail  to  pay  the  amount  that  we  think  you  owe,  we 
may report you as delinquent. However, if our explanation 
does not satisfy you and you write to us within ten (10) days 
telling us that you still refuse to pay, we must tell anyone we 
report you to that you have a question about your bill. And, 
we must tell you the name of anyone we reported you to. We 
must tell anyone we report you to that the matter has been 
settled between us when it finally is. 

If we don’t follow these rules, we can’t collect the first $50 of 
the questioned amount, even if your bill was correct. 

SPECIAL RULE FOR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES

If you have a problem with the quality of property or services 
that you purchased with a credit card, and you have tried in 
good  faith  to  correct  the  problem  with  the  merchant,  you 
may  have  the  right  not  to  pay  the  remaining  amount  due 
on the property or services. There are two (2) limitations on 
this right: 

(a) You must have made the purchase in your home state or, if 
not within your home state, within one hundred (100) miles 
of your current mailing address; and 

(b) The purchase price must have been more than $50 

These limitations do not apply if we own or operate the mer-
chant, or if we mailed you the advertisement for the property 
or services.

© CUNA Mutual Group, 6/08

M-93600

Municipal  
EMployEEs  
crEdit union of  
BaltiMorE, inc.

7 East Redwood Street • Baltimore, Maryland 21202

VISA®  CREDIT  CARD  AGREEMENT

In  this  agreement  the  words  “you”  and  “your”  mean  each 
person who has signed the application for the card. “Card” 
means  the  MECU  VISA®  Platinum  Credit  Card,  MECU 
VISA® Gold Credit Card or the MECU VISA® Classic Credit 
Card  and  any  duplicates,  renewals  or  substitutions  we  is-
sue.  “Account” means your VISA® Credit Card line of credit 
account  with  us.  “Credit  Union”  means  the  Credit  Union 
whose  name  appears  on  this  agreement  or  anyone  whom 
the  Credit  Union  transfers  this  agreement.  “We”,  “us”  and 
“ours”  means  Municipal  Employees  Credit  Union  of  Balti-
more, Incorporated (MECU).

1. USING YOUR ACCOUNT. If you are approved for an Ac-
count, the Credit Union will establish a line of credit for you 
and notify you of your credit limit. You agree that your credit 
limit is the maximum amount (purchases, cash advances, fi-
nance charges, plus “other charges”) that you will have out-
standing on your Account at any time. If you are over your 
credit limit, you must pay the amount you are over before 
payments  will  begin  to  restore  your  credit  limit.  We  may, 
from time to time, either upon your request or at our option, 
increase  or  decrease  your  credit  limit,  and  we  will  notify 
you  if  we  do. You  may  request  an  increase  in  your  credit 
limit only by a method acceptable to the Credit Union. The 
Credit Union has the right to reduce your credit limit, refuse 
to make an advance and/or terminate your Account at any 
time for any reason not prohibited by law. 

2. USING YOUR CARD. You may use your Card to make pur-
chases from merchants and others who accept VISA® Cards. 
In addition, you may obtain cash advances from the Credit 
Union and from other financial institutions that accept VISA® 
Cards,  and  from  some  automated  teller  machines  (ATMs). 
(Not all ATMs accept VISA® Cards.) To obtain cash advances 
from an ATM, you must use the Personal Identification Num-
ber (PIN) that is issued to you for use with your Card. You 
agree that you will not use your Card for any transaction that 
is illegal under applicable federal, state, or local law. 

3. RESPONSIBILITY. You agree to pay all charges (purchases 
and cash advances) to your Account that are made by you or 
anyone whom you authorize to use your Account. You also 
agree to pay all finance charges and other charges added to 
your Account under the terms of this Agreement or another 
agreement you made with the Credit Union. If this is a Joint 
Account, Section 21 below also applies to your Account. 

2

3

4.  FINANCE  CHARGES.  APPLICATION  OF  PAYMENTS: 
Your payments will be applied by us in the following man-
ner. (1) If your payment is large enough, we will apply it to 
pay your Total New Balance in full. If your payment is greater 
than your Total New Balance we will apply the excess first 
to pay new cash advances and next to pay new purchases 
occurring after the Closing Date shown on your billing state-
ment. If you make no new cash advances or purchases, the 
excess will be shown as a credit balance on your next billing 
statement for which you may, by written request get a refund; 
or  (2)  If  your  payment  is  less  than  the Total  New  Balance, 
we  will  apply  the  payment  first  to  any  unpaid  FINANCE 
CHARGE,  with  the  balance,  if  any,  first  to  the  entire  cash 
advance balance and next to the entire purchase balance. 

FINANCE  CHARGE  ON  PURCHASES:  The  Periodic  Rate 
used  to  compute  the  FINANCE  CHARGE  is  .825%  per 
month  for  the  MECU  Platinum  card.  The  correspond-
ing  Platinum ANNUAL  PERCENTAGE  RATE  is  9.90%. The 
Periodic  Rate  used  to  compute  the  FINANCE  CHARGE  is 
1.077% per month for MECU Classic and Gold cards. The 
corresponding  Classic  and  Gold  ANNUAL  PERCENTAGE 
RATE is 12.92%. A FINANCE CHARGE will be imposed on 
Credit Purchases only if you elect not to pay the entire New 
Balance shown on your monthly statement for the previous 
billing  cycle  within  twenty  five  (25)  days  from  the  closing 
date of that statement. If you elect not to pay the entire New 
Balance shown on your previous monthly statement within 
that twenty five (25) day period a FINANCE CHARGE will be 
imposed on the unpaid average daily balance of such Credit 
Purchases from the previous statement closing date and on 
new  Credit  Purchases  from  the  date  of  posting  to  your  ac-
count during the current billing cycle and will continue to 
accrue until the closing date of the billing cycle preceding 
the date on which the entire New Balance is paid in full or 
until the date of payment if more than twenty five (25) days 
from the closing date. 

The FINANCE CHARGE for a billing cycle is computed by 
applying the monthly Periodic Rate to the average daily bal-
ance of Credit Purchases, which is determined by dividing 
the sum of the daily balances during the billing cycle by the 
number  of  days  in  the  cycle.  Each  daily  balance  of  Credit 
Purchases  is  determined  by  adding  to  the  outstanding  un-
paid balance of Credit Purchases at the beginning of the bill-
ing cycle any new Credit Purchases posted to your account 
and  subtracting  any  payments  as  received  and  credits  as 
posted to your account but excluding any unpaid FINANCE 
CHARGE. 

FINANCE  CHARGE  ON  CASH  ADVANCES:  The  Periodic 
Rate used to compute the FINANCE CHARGE is .825% per 
month for the MECU Platinum card. The corresponding Plat-
inum ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE is 9.90%. The Periodic 
Rate used to compute the FINANCE CHARGE is 1.077% per 
month for MECU Classic and Gold cards. The corresponding 
Classic and Gold ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE is 12.92%. 
A  FINANCE  CHARGE  will  be  imposed  on  Cash Advances 
from  the  date  made  or  from  the  first  day  of  the  billing  cy-
cle  in  which  the  Cash Advance  is  posted  to  your  account, 
whichever is later, and will continue to accrue on the unpaid 
average daily balance of such Cash Advances until the date 
of the billing payment if paid during the same billing cycle, 
or  until  the  closing  date  of  the  billing  cycle  preceding  the 
date on which the entire New Balance is paid in full or until 
the date of payment if more than twenty five (25) days from 
the closing date. If the New Balance shown on your monthly 
statement  for  the  prior  billing  cycle  is  paid  in  full  within 
twenty five (25) days from the closing date of that statement, 

no FINANCE CHARGES will be imposed during the current 
billing cycle for Cash Advances posted to your account dur-
ing previous billing cycles. 

The FINANCE CHARGE for a billing cycle is computed by 
applying the monthly Periodic Rate to the average daily bal-
ance  of  Cash  Advances,  which  is  determined  by  dividing 
the sum of the daily balances by the number of days in the 
billing cycle. Each daily balance of Cash Advances is deter-
mined by adding to the outstanding unpaid balance of Cash 
Advances at the beginning of the billing cycle any new Cash 
Advances posted to your account, and subtracting any pay-
ments as received or credits as posted to you, but excluding 
any unpaid FINANCE CHARGES. 

5. OTHER CHARGES. The following other charges (fees) will 
be added to your Account, as applicable: 

a.  Late  Payment  Fee:  Payments  which  are  received  fifteen 
(15) days past due will be subject to a Late Payment Fee of 
$24.00. 

b.  Over  Limit  Fee:  An  Over  Limit  Fee  of  $24.00  will  be 
charged if your account exceeds the dollar amount of its line 
of credit. 

c. Return Check Fee: If a check or share draft used to make 
a payment on your account is returned unpaid, you will be 
charged a fee of $15.00 for each item returned. 

d.  Effect  of  Default:  If  you  are  in  default  under  this  Card-
holder Agreement, at our option we can require immediate 
payments  of  all  amounts  you  owe  under  your  account.  If 
we  refer  your  account  to  any  attorney  for  collection,  you 
will have to pay an attorney or collection fee of 15% of the 
amount owing, plus all court costs. 

f. Foreign Transaction Fee: Refer to Section 18.

6. PAYMENTS. Each month you must pay at least the mini-
mum payment shown on your statement by the date speci-
fied on the statement or no later than twenty-five (25) days 
from the statement closing date, whichever is later. If your 
statement says the payment is “Now Due,” your payment is 
due  no  later  than  twenty-five  (25)  days  from  the  statement 
closing date. You may pay more frequently, pay more than 
the minimum payment or pay the Total New Balance in full. 
If you make extra or larger payments, you are still required 
to  make  at  least  the  minimum  payment  each  month  your 
Account  has  a  balance  (other  than  a  credit  balance). The 
minimum  payment  for  the  MECU  Platinum  card  is  2%  of 
your Total  New  Balance  for  purchases  and  cash  advances, 
or  $10.00,  whichever  is  greater,  plus  the  amount  of  any 
prior minimum payments that you have not made, and any 
amount  you  are  over  your  credit  limit. The  minimum  pay-
ment for MECU Classic and Gold cards is 3% of your Total 
New Balance for purchases and cash advances, or $10.00, 
whichever is greater, plus the amount of any prior minimum 
payments that you have not made, and any amount you are 
over your credit limit. The Credit Union also has the right to 
demand  immediate  payment  of  any  amount  by  which  you 
are  over  your  credit  limit. The  current  minimum  payment 
will be rounded off to the next whole dollar. 

7. PAYMENT ALLOCATION. Subject to applicable law, your 
payments may be applied to what you owe the Credit Union 
in any manner the Credit Union chooses. 

8. SECURITY INTEREST. If you give the Credit Union a spe-
cific pledge of shares by signing a separate pledge of shares, 
your pledged shares will secure your Account. You may not 
withdraw  amounts  that  have  been  specifically  pledged  to 

4

5

6

7

secure your Account until the credit union agrees to release 
all or part of the pledged amount. In addition, your Account 
is secured by all other shares you have in any individual or 
joint account with the Credit Union, except for shares in an 
Individual Retirement Account or in any other account that 
would lose special tax treatment under state or federal law if 
given as security. These other shares may be withdrawn un-
less you are in default under this agreement. You authorize 
the Credit Union to apply the balance in your individual or 
joint  share  accounts  to  pay  any  amounts  due  on  your Ac-
count if you should default. Collateral securing other loans 
you have with the Credit Union may also secure this loan, 
except that a dwelling will never be considered as security 
for this Account, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in 
any other agreement. 

9. DEFAULT. You will be in default if you fail to make any 
minimum  payment  or  other  required  payment  by  the  date 
that it is due. You will be in default if you break any promise 
you make under this Agreement. You will be in default if you 
die, file for bankruptcy or become insolvent, that is, unable 
to pay your obligations when they become due. You will be 
in  default  if  you  make  any  false  or  misleading  statements 
in any credit application or credit update. You will also be 
in  default  if  something  happens  that  the  Credit  Union  be-
lieves  may  substantially  reduce  your  ability  to  repay  what 
you owe. 

When you are in default, the Credit Union has the right to 
demand  immediate  payment  of  your  full Account  balance 
without  giving  you  notice.  If  immediate  payment  is  de-
manded,  you  agree  to  continue  paying  finance  charges,  at 
the periodic rate charged before default, until what you owe 
has been paid, and any shares that were given as security for 
your Account may be applied towards what you owe. 

10. LIABILITY FOR UNAUTHORIZED USE-LOST/STOLEN 
CARD NOTIFICATION. You agree to notify us immediately, 
orally or in writing at 7 East Redwood Street, Baltimore, MD 
21202 or telephone (800) 449-7728 seven (7) days a week, 
twenty-four (24) hours a day, of the loss, theft, or unauthor-
ized use of your Credit Card. You may be liable for the un-
authorized use of your Credit Card. You will not be liable for 
unauthorized use that occurs after you notify us of the loss, 
theft, or possible unauthorized use. You will have no liability 
for unauthorized purchases made with your credit card, un-
less you are grossly negligent in the handling of your card. In 
any case, your liability will not exceed $50. 

11. CHANGING OR TERMINATING YOUR ACCOUNT. The 
Credit Union may change the terms of this Agreement from 
time to time. Notice of any change will be given in accor-
dance with applicable law. If permitted by law and specified 
in the notice to you, the change will apply to your existing 
Account balance as well as to future transactions. 

Either you or the Credit Union may terminate this Agreement 
at any time, but termination by you or the Credit Union will 
not affect your obligation to pay the Account balance plus 
any  finance  and  other  charges  you  owe  under  this Agree-
ment. You are also responsible for all transactions made to 
your Account after termination, unless the transactions were 
unauthorized. 

The  Card  or  Cards  you  receive  remain  the  property  of  the 
Credit  Union  and  you  must  recover  and  surrender  to  the 
Credit  Union  all  Cards  upon  request  or  upon  termination 
of this Agreement whether by you or the Credit Union. The 
Credit Union has the right to require you to pay your full Ac-
count balance at any time after your Account is terminated, 

whether it is terminated by you or the Credit Union. If this is 
a joint Account, Section 21 of this Agreement also applies to 
termination of the Account. 

12. CREDIT REPORTING. You authorize the credit union to 
investigate  your  credit  standing  when  opening  or  review-
ing your account. You authorize the credit union to disclose 
information  regarding  your  account  to  credit  bureaus  and 
creditors who inquire about your credit standing. If your ac-
count is eligible for emergency cash and/or emergency card 
replacement  services,  and  you  request  such  services,  you 
agree that we may provide personal information about you 
and your account that is necessary to provide you with the 
requested service(s).

We  may  report  your  performance  under  this Agreement  to 
credit  reporting  agencies,  including  your  failure  to  make 
minimum payments on time. If you request additional cards 
on  your  account  for  others,  you  understand  that  we  may 
report  account information in your name as well as in the 
names of those other people. We may also obtain follow-up 
credit  reports  on  you  (for  example,  when  we  review  your 
account for a credit line increase). If you wish to know the 
names of the agencies we have contacted, writes us at the 
address listed on the billing statement. We will try to notify 
you by telephone or by mail of any legal process served on 
us in order to give you an opportunity to object to it, unless 
the law prohibits the notice.

If  you  think  we  reported  erroneous  information  to  a  credit 
reporting agency, write us at the address listed on the bill-
ing statement. We will promptly investigate the matter and if 
our investigation shows you are right, we will contact each 
credit-reporting  agency  to  whom  we  reported  and  will  re-
quest they correct the report. If we disagree with you after 
our investigation, we will tell you in writing or by telephone 
and instruct you how to submit a statement of your position 
to those agencies. Your statement will become a part of your 
credit record with them. 

13. RETURNS AND ADJUSTMENTS. Merchants and others 
who honor your Card may give credit for returns or adjust-
ments,  and  they  will  do  so  by  sending  the  Credit  Union  a 
credit slip or other electronic means which will be posted to 
your Account. If your credits and payments exceed what you 
owe  the  Credit  Union,  the  amount  will  be  applied  against 
future  purchases  and  cash  advances.  If  the  credit  balance 
amount is $1 or more, it will be refunded upon your written 
request or automatically after six (6) months. 

14. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS/CARD ENHANCEMENTS. The 
Credit Union may from time to time offer additional services 
to  your  Account,  such  as  travel  accident  insurance,  at  no 
additional cost to you. You understand that the Credit Union 
is not obligated to offer such services and may withdraw or 
change them at any time. 

15.  SPECIAL  PROMOTIONS.  From  time  to  time,  we  may 
offer special promotions under which purchases of goods or 
services, balance transfers or cash access transactions may 
be  billed  to  your  account  with  special  promotional  terms. 
The  Finance  Charges,  minimum  payment,  application  of 
payments  and  other  terms  for  special  promotions  may  dif-
fer from the standard terms described in this Agreement and 
as may be shown on your Account Statement. The standard 
terms of the Agreement apply to any special promotion, ex-
cept where changed by the special promotion. Except to the 
terms modified by the special promotion, standard terms will 
continue  to  apply  to  any  and  all  transactions  that  are  not 
subject to a special promotion. If you elect a special promo-

tion, you agree to the terms of the promotion and understand 
that  any  unpaid  balance  related  to  the  special  promotion 
will be subject to the standard terms when the promotional 
period ends. We are not required to give you advance notice 
before resuming or starting to bill you according to the stan-
dard terms described in the Agreement. 

16. CONVENIENCE CHECKS. Convenience checks may be 
used  to  purchase  goods  and  services,  to  transfer  balances 
from  others,  or  to  obtain  funds  up  to  the  amount  of  your 
available cash advance limit unless that amount will cause 
the total balance to exceed your credit line. We will treat con-
venience checks as a cash advance and charge them against 
your cash advance limit. Each convenience check must be 
in the form we have issued and must be used according to 
any instructions we give you. Convenience checks may be 
used  only  by  the  person  whose  name  is  printed  on  them. 
Convenience  checks  may  not  be  used  to  pay  any  amount 
owed to us under this or any other Card Agreement that you 
have with us. We will not certify any convenience checks, 
nor will we return paid convenience checks. 

17. TELEPHONE  MONITORING AND  REPORTING.  From 
time  to  time  we  may  monitor  and  record  your  telephone 
calls  regarding  your  account  with  us  to  assure  the  quality 
of our service. 

18.  FOREIGN  TRANSACTIONS.  Purchases  and  cash  ad-
vances made in foreign countries and foreign currencies will 
be billed to you in U.S. dollars. The exchange rate between 
the  transaction  currency  and  the  billing  currency  used  for 
processing  international  transactions  is  a  rate  selected  by 
Visa from a range of dates available in wholesale currency 
markets  for  the  applicable  central  processing  date,  which 
rate  may  vary  from  the  rate Visa  itself  receives  or  the  gov-
ernment-mandated  rate  in  effect  for  the  applicable  central 
processing date.  

A 1% International Fee will be assessed on all transactions 
where  the Transaction  Fee  will  be  assessed  on  all  transac-
tions  where  the  merchant  country  differs  from  the  country 
of the card issuer. The converted transaction will be shown 
separately from the International Transaction Fee on you bill-
ing statement. This fee will be assessed on all international 
purchases,  credit  vouchers,  and  cash  disbursements.  The 
exchange  rate  for  transactions  in  foreign  currency  will  be 
a rate selected by VISA® from the range of rates available in 
wholesale currency markets for the applicable central pro-
cessing date, which rate may vary from the rate VISA® itself 
receives, or the government mandated rate in effect for the 
applicable central processing date plus the 1% International 
Transaction Fee.

Effective April  4,  2008,  a  fee  of  0.8%  will  be  assessed  on 
international transactions conducted in U.S. dollars.

19. MERCHANT DISPUTES. The Credit Union is not respon-
sible for the refusal of any merchant or financial institution to 
honor your Card. The Credit Union is subject to claims and 
defenses (other than tort claims) arising out of goods or ser-
vices you purchase with the Card if you have made a good 
faith  attempt  but  have  been  unable  to  obtain  satisfaction 
from the merchant or service provider, and (a) your purchase 
was made in response to an advertisement the Credit Union 
sent or participated in sending to you; or (b) your purchase 
cost  more  than  $50  and  was  made  in  your  state  or  within 
one hundred (100) miles of your home.

20.  REFUSAL  OF THE  CARD.  We  are  not  responsible  if  a 
transaction on your account is not approved, either by us or 

by a third party, even if you have sufficient credit available. 
We  may  limit  the  number  of  transactions  that  may  be  ap-
proved in one day. If we detect unusual or suspicious activity 
on  your  account,  we  may  temporarily  suspend  your  credit 
privileges until we can verify the activity. 

21. JOINT ACCOUNTS. If this is a Joint Account, each per-
son on the Account must sign the Agreement (by signing on 
the application). Each of you will be individually and jointly 
responsible for paying all amounts owed under this Agree-
ment. This means that the Credit Union can require any one 
of you individually to repay the entire amount owed under 
this Agreement. Each of you authorizes the other(s) to make 
purchases  or  cash  advances  individually.  Any  one  of  you 
may, in writing, terminate the Account and the termination 
will be effective as to all of you. 

22.  EFFECT  OF  AGREEMENT.  This  Agreement  is  the  con-
tract which applies to all transactions on your Account even 
though  the  sales,  cash  advances,  credit  or  other  slips  you 
sign or receive may contain different terms. 

23. NO WAIVER. The Credit Union can delay enforcing any 
of its rights any number of times without losing them. 

24.  STATEMENTS  AND  NOTICES.  Statements  and  notices 
will be mailed to you at the most recent address you have 
given the Credit Union. Notice sent to any one of you will be 
considered notice to all. 

25. FINAL EXPRESSION. This Agreement and the LoanLiner 
Addendum are the final expression of the terms and condi-
tions of this VISA® line of credit between you and the Credit 
Union. This written Agreement may not be contradicted by 
evidence of any alleged oral agreement. 

26. GOVERNING LAW. This Cardholder Agreement and the 
granting of credit hereunder is made pursuant to the Mary-
land Credit Union Act and the Commercial Law Article, Title 
12, Subtitle 9 and any applicable Federal Laws. 

27.  COPY  RECEIVED.  By  signing,  using  or  accepting  the 
MECU VISA®  Credit  Card  you  acknowledge  that  you  have 
received a copy of this Agreement.

YOUR BILLING RIGHTS 
KEEP THIS NOTICE FOR FUTURE USE 

This notice contains important information about your rights 
and our responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act. 

NOTIFY US IN CASE OF ERRORS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT 
YOUR BILL 

If you think your bill is wrong, or if you need more informa-
tion about a transaction on your bill, write us on a separate 
sheet at the address listed on your bill. Write to us as soon 
as possible. We must hear from you no later than sixty (60) 
days  after  we  sent  you  the  first  bill  on  which  the  error  or 
problem appeared. You can telephone us, but doing so will 
not preserve your rights. 

In your letter, give us the following information: 

• Your name and account number. 

• The dollar amount of the suspected error.

• Describe the error and explain, if you can, why you believe 
there is an error. If you need more information, describe the 
item you are not sure about. 

If you have authorized us to pay your credit card bill auto-
matically from your savings or share draft account, you can