late payment/bank advice please! sorry, also includes mini-rant

Posted: Apr 21, 2012

Yesterday was payday and I was very excited, of course! My van payment ($242) and my personal loan payment ($95) were due on April 11th. Both of these are through my Navy Federal Credit Union account that I had since I was 16. Anyways, long story short Friday was 9 days late and as soon as I had that paycheck in my checking account they froze my account where I could not take anything out. They do that if you are 10 days late, which I was one day shy of. Technically today would have been 10 days late. They still let you make payments online and I paid my credit card through them and my loan through them. I was about $100 shy of making my van payment and I figured that I would just pay it when my husband got paid this Friday. My husband and I went to the bank yesterday (before we knew the froze it) to try to beat that 10-day mark and get at least some money because we have nothing at all until he gets paid. We tend to live less than paycheck to paycheck these days. The ATM told us that we were poor and there was no money for us there. The ATM was kind of rude. :) I had a brilliant idea this morning that maybe if I write a check from my account and put it in my husband's account, like I was paying a bill, then we could at least buy food this week. When I checked my account to see how much I could spare online I also found out they TOOK all my money and put it on the van payment, still leaving a balance on the van payment. So now I have zero dollars. Has anyone had their bank do this before? I called and could never get ahold of anyone today. I feel betrayed actually. I am only 10 days late. HECK, they are going to charge me a fee anyway for being late! So adding insult to injury and just stealing my money is BS! I feel that is what they did was steal! I never signed anything that they could do that and I pay them by transferring payments myself with no automatic payments or anything! I am 10 days late!!!! Not a month, not a few months, and I hardly ever late on it. What gives them the right? It's extremely heartless. I could possibly understand if I was a risk and never paid ontime or ever. I have been a customer there for 12 years. There isn't even a branch here in East Tennessee. I do everything online and I am still loyal. Bottom line is I am getting an account with another credit union, probably my husband's, and changing my direct deposit to that one. Navy Federal can just pee off!!!! Sorry this is kind of a rant too. I am still in disbelief. Thank the Lord Almighty that I only have 14 payments. I also pray the van makes it that long. Thanks guys and God Bless. ;