8

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 automati-
cally from your savings or share draft account, you can stop the 
payment on any amount you think is wrong. To stop the pay-
ment 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 be-
lieve 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,  including 
finance charges, and we can apply an unpaid amount against 
your  credit  limit.  You  do  not  have  to  pay  any  questioned 
amount while we are investigating, but you are still obligated 
to pay the parts of your bill that are not in question. 

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 fi-
nance charges, and you will have to make up any missed pay-
ments 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 be-
tween 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  
merchant,  or  if  we  mailed  you  the  advertisement  for  the  
property or services.

MECU OF  
BALTIMORE, INC. 

7 East Redwood Street • Baltimore, Maryland 21202

VISA CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT

In this agreement the words “you” and “your” mean each per-
son 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  issue.    “Account”  means  your 
VISA® Credit Card line of credit account with us. “Credit Union” 
means the Credit Union whose name appears on this agree-
ment or anyone whom the Credit Union transfers this agree-
ment. “We”, “us” and “ours” means MECU of Baltimore, Incorpo-
rated. This agreement is effective as of April 1, 2012.

1. USING YOUR ACCOUNT. If you are approved for an Account, 
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, finance charg-
es,  plus  “other  charges”)  that  you  will  have  outstanding  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  Number  (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 any-
one 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 agree-
ment you made with the Credit Union. If this is a Joint Account, 
Section 21 below also applies to your Account. 

M-105465

2

3

4. FINANCE CHARGES. APPLICATION OF PAYMENTS: Your pay-
ments will be applied by us in the following manner. (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 To-
tal 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 statement. 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  corresponding  Platinum  ANNUAL 
PERCENTAGE  RATE  is  9.90%. The  Periodic  Rate  used  to  com-
pute  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  state-
ment 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 account 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  ap-
plying the monthly Periodic Rate to the average daily balance 
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 unpaid balance of 
credit Purchases at the beginning of the billing cycle any new 
credit Purchases posted to your account and subtracting any 
payments received or credits posted to your account but ex-
cluding 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 Platinum AN-
NUAL  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 cycle 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 
during previous billing cycles. 

The  FINANCE  CHARGE  for  a  billing  cycle  is  computed  by  ap-
plying the monthly Periodic Rate to the average daily balance 
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 determined by adding 
to  the  outstanding  unpaid  balance  of  Cash  Advances  at  the 
beginning  of  the  billing  cycle  any  new  Cash  Advances  post-
ed  to  your  account,  and  subtracting  any  payments  received 
or credits 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 not to ex-
ceed $24.00, dependent upon outstanding balance. 

b.  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 up to $15.00 for each item returned depen-
dent upon your outstanding balance. 

c. Effect of Default: If you are in default under this Cardholder 
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. 

d. Foreign Transaction Fee: Refer to Section 18.

e.  If  applicable,  there  will  be  a  $5  charge  assessed  to  your 
credit card statement for each expedited telephone payment 
initiated by the cardholder through 24x7 Cardholder Services.  

f. Lost Card Replacement Fee: If your card is lost and you order a  
replacement,  you  will  be  charged  a  lost  card  fee  of  $10  per 
card.

g.  Express  Delivery  Fee:  If  you  request  Express  Delivery  of  a  
replacement card, you will be charged an Express Delivery fee 
of $10 per delivery.

6. PAYMENTS. Each month you must pay at least the minimum 
payment  shown  on  your  statement  by  the  date  specified  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 pur-
chases 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 mini-
mum payment 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 

 
 
4

5

6

7

over your credit limit. The current minimum payment will be 
rounded off to the next whole dollar. 

are also responsible for all transactions made to your Account 
after termination, unless the transactions were unauthorized. 

7.  PAYMENT  ALLOCATION.  Your  payments  will  be  applied  to 
the balance owed in accordance with applicable law. 

8. SECURITY INTEREST. If you give the Credit Union a specific 
pledge of shares by signing a separate pledge of shares, your 
pledged  shares  will  secure  your  Account. You  may  not  with-
draw amounts that have been specifically pledged to 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 Retire-
ment 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  unless  you  are  in  de-
fault 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 Account 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 any-
thing to the contrary in any other agreement. 

9. DEFAULT. You will be in default if you fail to make any mini-
mum 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 ap-
plication or credit update. You will also be in default if some-
thing  happens  that  the  Credit  Union  believes  may  substan-
tially reduce your ability to repay what you owe. 

When you are in default, the Credit Union has the right to de-
mand immediate payment of your full Account balance with-
out giving you notice. If immediate payment is demanded, 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 unauthorized use of your 
Credit Card. You may be liable for the unauthorized use of your 
Credit Card. You will not be liable for unauthorized use that oc-
curs after you notify us of the loss, theft, or possible unauthor-
ized use. You will have no liability for unauthorized purchases 
made with your credit card, unless 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  accordance  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 Agreement. You 

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  Account  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 in-
vestigate  your  credit  standing  when  opening  or  reviewing 
your account. You authorize the credit union to disclose infor-
mation regarding your account to credit bureaus and creditors 
who inquire about your credit standing. If your account is eli-
gible 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 mini-
mum  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  re-
ports 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, write 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 billing 
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 request they 
correct the report. If we disagree with you after our investiga-
tion,  we  will  tell  you  in  writing  or  by  telephone  and  instruct 
you how to submit a statement of your position to those agen-
cies. 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  adjustments, 
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 ob-
ligated  to  offer  such  services  and  may  withdraw  or  change 
them at any time. 

15.  SPECIAL  PROMOTIONS.  From  time  to  time,  we  may  of-
fer  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 pay-
ments and other terms for special promotions may differ 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, except where 
changed by the special promotion. Except to the terms modi-
fied by the special promotion, standard terms will continue to 
apply to any and all transactions that are not subject to a spe-
cial promotion. If you elect a special promotion, 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 start-
ing  to  bill  you  according  to  the  standard  terms  described  in 
the Agreement. 

16. CONVENIENCE CHECKS. Convenience checks may be used 
to purchase goods and services, to transfer balances from oth-
ers, 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 convenience 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 regard-
ing your account with us to assure the quality of our service. 

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

A  1%  International  Fee  will  be  assessed  on  all  transactions 
where  the  merchant  country  differs  from  the  country  of  the 
card issuer. The converted transaction will be shown separate-
ly from the International Transaction Fee on you billing state-
ment. 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 processing 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.

A  fee  of  0.8%  will  be  assessed  on  international  transactions 
conducted in U.S. dollars.

19. MERCHANT DISPUTES. The Credit Union is not responsible 
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  services  you 
purchase with the Card if you have made a good faith attempt 
but  have  been  unable  to  obtain  satisfaction  from  the  mer-

chant or service provider, and (a) your purchase was made in 
response to an advertisement the Credit Union sent or partici-
pated 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 transac-
tion 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 approved 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 person on 
the Account must sign the Agreement (by signing on the ap-
plication). Each of you will be individually and jointly respon-
sible for paying all amounts owed under this Agreement. This 
means that the Credit Union can require any one of you indi-
vidually  to  repay  the  entire  amount  owed  under  this  Agree-
ment. 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  contract 
which applies to all transactions on your Account even though 
the  sales,  cash  advances,  credit  or  other  slips  you  sign  or  re-
ceive 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 Ad-
dendum are the final expression of the terms and conditions 
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.