Florida Telco Credit Union is Anti-marriage and Anti-Family
Over the last few months, we have built up our emergency fund to the point that we don't feel the need to rely on credit cards, and didn't feel we needed the five-thousand-dollar limit my card offered. But we weren't quite ready to give up that security "just in case". I wrote a letter asking that it be decreased to what we considered a good maximum of $500. Several days later I received a phone call telling me that I would have to get a higher interest card to have a limit that low. BUT with a $2000 limit (lower than the current card) I could upgrade my card and get a lower rate. After some deliberation, I decided that was fine and was transferred to the appropriate division.
The man I spoke with got some information, ran a credit check, and for final approval asked me the name of my employer. When I told him I was a stay at home mom, there was a period of silence. I informed him that this card was to be a joint card with my husband (who works outside the home), replacing the higher limit, higher-interest card that I already owned. He curtly told me he understood that, but I had to bring in an income. "What about alimony?" he asked.
Now, let me just switch gears for a minute and ask: what is wrong with this country that alimony is considered to be a positive thing? Because I am MARRIED, because I stay at home and raise my children instead of putting them in daycare every day, because I am not divorced and receiving alimony, I can't get approved as a stay at home mom? As a matter of fact, I have total access to our household accounts. Actually, I am the Chief Financial Officer of my household. I am certain that I have access to more money being married, with joint finances, than I would have as a divorcee.
Add to this the fact that I already have a credit card, with a higher limit than the one they denied me for, but have never had trouble paying, and the whole situation doesn't make sense. I have always heard that credit unions are willing to work with people, and in general are more helpful than a regular bank. Not the case with Florida Telco. Never in my life as a stay at home mom, have I felt more humiliated, than when I was transferred back to the original woman I spoke with and she told me she had been informed that I had been denied the upgraded card. When asking about canceling our current card, she gave me the address and did not try to convince a good customer to stay.
We will be closing our accounts with Florida Telco Credit Union. We have other banks that look at "household income" combined with our excellent credit history, and we know they will happily take our business.
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9 Comments
Post a CommentThis article was written over 3 years ago. I am unable to delete or edit its content and am similarly unable to delete my account. My aplogogies for offending anyone. I realize Florida Telco is governed by a set of rules and regulations, and that they are unable to waive them. As a previous poster stated, I was the primary on the account and that is why there was a problem. It would have made more sense to me then had that been explained at the time. I do not believe that they are anti-marriage or anti-family.
No guest, you are the dumb one. Obviously, you have no clue has this process works, especially considering the use of credit history and household income. Before spouting off (like a whale), why don't you do some research.
You are dumb. How in the world will any Financial Institution approve YOU for a loan when technically YOU do not have any income coming in? How would you pay your bills? If your husband is an AUTH user, that doesn't count, he needs to be PRIMARY on ACCT and First on Application. When you decide to stay at home, you give up (as far as any lender goes) individual freedom since you have no way of paying.
From my lending experience, if your name was first you need income, if your name is second then you can be a stay at home Mom. Although it is common sense to all of us that it is still going by the family's income, the computer has mandatory sections in bold, one being the primary borrower's income. They can't get past that field to complete the loan process.
more.. holy cow i need a life haha.. They can ask if you receive income and you offer the information as to where it is from and for how much. Some may ask if there is any other form of income such as seperate maintenance, alimony, child support, etc as a means of providing an example. Additionally, you can be a stay at home mom and be JOINT on a credit card account. It is all up to the way in which the application is completed. I do them just about every day at the credit union I currently work for. Hoe that helped and didn't confuse more than before.
sorry, got long winded, here is the rest hahaha
Also, credit unions don't issue credit cards as a primary lending tool, so the guidelines are different from large credit card companies. The good trade off is you may have grace periods on due dates, less default rates that are as high as over 30% for some major cards, etc. The bad side is the type of card you have usually has a minimum or maximum limit and the rate is adjusted accordingly. For example, you may qualify for a Platinum level card with lowest rate they offer, but the minimum limit is $8,000. If you request a max limit of $1000 it may put you in a Classic level with a higher interest rate. This is jibberish to someone who wouldn't know or work with this field daily, but it is something that the representatives can take the time to show you, so that you can make a better informed decision. By law,they should not be asking if you have alimony, child support, etc. They can ask if you receive income and you offer the informa
I have worked for different credit unions and also have an account with Florida Telco. I have seen the other side of the lending process. When you originally obtained the card you have had for 8 years or more the approval was based on different information in your application ie. monthly income, debt ratios were different, joint or authorized user relationships, etc. Perhaps the credit card you already had was an individual account with your spouse either listed as authorized user who is not financially responsible for debt but has permission to use it with his income not included in application or joint as jointly responsible for debt and his income is included in application. The representative should have picked up on that clue and suggest to add your spouse as a joint. This would allow his income to be included in the consideration for the different card and be a more accurate picture of your household finances. Also, credit unions don't issue credit cards as a primary lending tool
Sounds sexist. Do they ask men if they are getting any type of monetary assistance? I'm sorry you had that experience.
I totally understand where you are coming from. I think that all cards should look at household income and credit history when considering you for approval. I have had to deal with the same situation, although it was for a card that I had supposedly been "pre-approved" for that had better terms than our current card so we decided to try to switch. There are very few things more demoralizing than being told that you cannot have credit of your own, but are restricted to being an authorized user on your husband's card. Although I pay all the bills in our household too I cannot even get information from the customer service numbers for some cards because I am not the primary cardholder. In a society where a good credit rating is so important, what is a stay at home mom to do?