ComplaintsforLighthouse Federal Credit Union

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On October 6, I called lighthouse credit union to make my $954 car payment. They took the payment over the phone and charged me a $10 fee and it came out of my account from service ********************************************* on October 7. On November 6, I received notification that I was 30 days delinquent on my car payment from three different credit reporting bureaus. I called lighthouse credit union to resolve the issue and after three calls and 48 hours they still have not been able to locate my last payment. It has been applied to someone elses account and they are not helping me with callbacks or any resolution efforts. All of my credit card interest rates are going to go up because they have falsely reported to the credit bureau that I was missing a payment for over 30 days.

  Business response

  11/13/2024

  Dear *****,
  
  Thank you for contacting Lighthouse Credit Union regarding your auto loan payment for account ***********. There was a payment made on October 4, ******************************************* the amount of $944.61. Due to an incorrect loan number being used during this transaction, the payment was not processed correctly. This caused an incorrect credit bureau reporting,showing your account as 30 days past due.
  
  After reaching out to our Accounting team, they were able to correct the error in the system and backdate the payment to reflect October ******. Our Payment Resolution team was also able to correct the incorrect credit bureau reporting, which should be reflected within the next 1-2 credit bureau reporting cycles.
  
  We apologize for the inconvenience, and if you need more information, have questions, or require additional documentation, please do not hesitate to reach back out to us directly.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ********
  Elevated Care Specialist | Elevated Care
  Lighthouse Credit Union

  Customer response

  11/15/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** Button

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid off my loan and closed my account, but they are not giving me my Title.

  Business response

  11/04/2024

  Dear ***** ********,
  
  We have received your inquiry regarding a title for your recreational vehicle and have successfully made contact with you on November 4, 2024. The loan paid off with Lighthouse Credit Union was a recreational vehicle, and at this time Lighthouse Credit Union does not title recreational vehicles as they are not registered for road use. The dealership you worked with to obtain the recreational vehicle, *****************************, should be able to provide you a Certificate of Origin which is the recreational equivalent of a title. Lighthouse Credit Union has sent a letter stating you have paid your loan in full with additional direction provided if you are looking to release the lien with the state. 
  
  Please let us know if you have any more questions or concerns. 
  
  Sincerely,
  ******** ********
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Lighthouse Credit Union
  PO Box 1240
  ********************

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  April 4, 2024 Northeast Credit Union, now DBA Lighthouse Credit Union did a hard pull of my credit report without my knowledge or consent. I have a loan for my truck from 2019 but otherwise have made no additional requests for credit lines. Based on information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), they are only authorized to do a soft pull without consent unless there is a court order or subpoena, which Northeast Credit Union did not have.

  Business response

  09/26/2024

  Good afternoon,

  
  Northeast Credit Union, DBA Lighthouse Credit Union has reviewed the membership in question and has already been working with the member regarding this credit pull recently.

  
  The member became delinquent on his auto loan with us on 2/29/2024. We processed a notice of this on 3/6/2024 and sent an email to the member on the same day. We then sent another notice of this on 3/11/24 with no response. On 3/19/2024 we called the member at the telephone number on file and left a voicemail requesting contact as it was urgent and sent a physical letter. On 3/22/2024 we sent a text message requesting contact and again on 3/26/2024. On 3/29/24 we left another voicemail stating that it was important to contact us before the account was assigned for further escalation. On 4/3/2024 we left an additional voicemail stating we needed to be contact before noon on 4/4/2024 to avoid this being escalated for repossession.
  On 4/4/2024 we did run the members credit report with a hard pull, for a full picture of where the member may be living, possible phone numbers and possible place of employment,as is within our guidelines when initiating a repossession.
  On 4/24/2024 the member made payments to bring the delinquent loan current and paid to have the repossession removed.
  On 9/17/2024 the member sent an email to one of our *********** Representatives questioning this credit pull and requesting it be escalated for further review. It was then submitted to our ************* Team who initiated an investigation.
  On 9/18/2024,an ************* Representative called the member to discuss their concern and explain why we had pulled his credit. During that phone conversation, the member stated it was illegal to pull said report and demanded we reverse the credit pull by 9/25/2024 or he would be filing a complaint.
  Our ************* Team worked with our ********************* to investigate further regarding our guidelines with the ****. In doing so, we found that within the Limits on Permissible Purpose, we are able to pull reporting to determine an applicants eligibility for credit or insurance, to open a deposit account, or in connection with a review or collection of a members account. Neither the **** or CFPB indicate when you can or cannot do a hard or soft credit inquiry.
  On 9/24/2024 we contacted the member to advise him that the credit inquiry performed does meet the permissible purpose requirements under the *****
  We feel as if we have done our due diligence in researching this and working with the member to try and resolve the issue.
  If there are any additional questions or concerns, we are more than willing to work with the member and can be contacted at ************.
  Sincerely,
  **** *******
  ************* Specialist
  Lighthouse Credit Union

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I used the at this point Northeast credit union app to apply for an Auto loan. I got back a pre-approval statement from them that said I was pre-approved at 0% financing for the car I was looking to purchase. With the pre approval in hand I drove to the car dealership up in *******, *****, when I got there and made the decision to purchase the car, I was told that while I was pre-approved, they would not honor the rate. They were moving the rate to above 7% They could not explain the change other than saying it was a Drive Today car loan program error, nor did they offer to work with me to get a rate that would have been acceptable for both parties. I assumed that 0% was really 0.9% so I was planning on paying some interest. My credit score was 820, and I do have more than enough money to cover the loan in investments. The employee who dealt with me was fairly rude and treated me as if I should have known this was wrong. (I had been car shopping for weeks and was getting 0% offers on new cars, so no, a 0.9% offer on a used car was not out of the realm of possibility.) After this the employee would not answer my phone calls, email me back, or reply in any way until I went above his head and got someone else to get him to reply. He did not give me a new rate or work to rectify the situation in any way. I felt very upset to be treated as such especially by a credit union that swears it cares about its people. I eventually had to go with another credit union as Northeast essentially refused to work with me in any capacity.

  Business response

  09/24/2024

  Upon additional research and reviewing the images provided by the member in the BBB complaint, they show that the loan was approved for the requested amount of $24,400 for 60 months with a max approval amount of $30,900.  The interest rate shows as zero because we cannot determine the final interest rate until we know what the year of the vehicle is.  On that same image in the text below it states " Your loan request is approved pending verification of income and collateral."
  
  The members application was submitted on 7/3/24 and they spoke to branch ***resentative on 7/3/24 in regards to the 0% interest rate that was showing.  The member was told that it showed 0% because the rate could not be calculated until the collateral was verified.  There was a holiday on 7/4/24. The member called into ****************** around 1:30pm on 7/5/24 and spoke to a lender.  The member was in contact with branch *** by email after speaking to the lender on the phone on 7/5/24 and had the answer to the interest rate and was given the correct interest rate as well that was quoted as 7.25% for 60 months based on the members credit tier along with the year of the vehicle.
  
  In the BBB complaint our member lists her Desired Settlement as "Finish the Job", I attempted to reach the member by phone on three separate occasions on 9/17/24, 9/18/24, and 9/23/24 and left voicemails.  I emailed the member on 9/18/24 after not being able to reach them by phone trying to clarify what they meant since the notes on the loan application indicate she had gotten a better rate at the dealership.   The member responded with the following:
  
  "Thank you for getting back to me. I would like to have a fair discussion and negotiation to come up with a loan APR.  When this event occurred, Northeast Credit Union stopped working with me. As a result, I was forced to sign up at another credit union to get a car loan. I was very dissatisfied that Northeast Credit Union did not finish the job. I would like to refinance my car loan and see your best rate. If I can not get a refinanced loan, I will likely need to move my finances away from Lighthouse Credit Union, as having my funds split between multiple credit unions does not make sense. "
  
  I sent a follow up email asking additional clarifying questions about their current interest rate and term and what the vehicle was that they purchases so that I could better attempt to get them a comparable quoted interest rate and attempt to get them in touch with a lender for a refinance.

  Customer response

  10/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 22289160
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: This statement "Upon additional research and reviewing the images provided by the member in the BBB complaint, they show that the loan was approved for the requested amount of $24,400 for 60 months with a max approval amount of $30,900.  The interest rate shows as zero because we cannot determine the final interest rate until we know what the year of the vehicle is.  On that same image in the text below it states " Your loan request is approved pending verification of income and collateral.""

  When I applied for the loan I put in the make, model and *** number of the vehicle I was interested in. I also put down that I would make a downpayment on the vehicle. This is where the $24,400 dollar amount came from. This was not a pre-approval for any vehicle, it was a pre-approval for a very specific vehicle. You had all of the information needed before giving out the 0% financing. 

  So, Northeast Credit union did know the make and model and *** number of the car in question.  I had to dig to find the *** number as the car had only come on the market on July 3rd. I had provided them all of the information for the vehicle I was interested, as I was only interested in 1 used car. No others.  If I had not purchased this vehicle I would have purchased a NEW vehicle through another service, such as dealer financing. 

  If they are claiming I needed other collateral I would have been happy to show them my personal brokerage accounts with more than 8x's the loan in savings (No, these are not my 401K or other sources that would be difficult to access.)

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

   

  Business response

  10/15/2024

  Thank you for your response, the additional information you provided allowed us to further investigate your complaint with-in another area.

  We have concluded our inquiry and attempted to reach out to you again to resolve this concern.

  We would like to discuss a resolution with you if you would return our calls or email us with a time best to reach you.  

  ****** *****
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Member ***********
  CUNA Certified Credit
  Counselor
  NMLS # *******
  E. *****************************************
  P. ************
  
  **********************************-1240
  ********************************
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company has charged a fee by banking error and is refusing to refund. I have a protection fee against this and am bot able to use apparently. This company needs to have internal investigation as I asked why this would happen and was told another fee would occur if not fixed immediately. I am trying to not seek aid in this and am asking this company to immediately refund the 32 it has incorrectly taken. I will leave this bank and go to another if needed.

  Business response

  05/31/2024

  Good morning,
  
  Northeast Credit Union has reviewed the members account, and it seems that the member had spoken to a Team Lead in our ****************** yesterday afternoon, May 30th, 2024, and was advised that we can no longer offer additional fee refunds unless it is due to a Credit Union error.

  Over the last 18 months,we have provided 6 fee refunds to this member due to overdrawing the account.

  The transaction that caused this fee was from an automatic ACH transfer that was processed on 5/30/24 where there were not sufficient funds in the account to process the payment.
  

  At this time, we will stand by the decision not to process any fee refunds unless caused from an error by our institution.

  If the member would like further explanation or additional information,we will be happy to assist them. They can contact our ****************** at **************.

  Sincerely,
  ***********************
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Northeast Credit Union

  Customer response

  05/31/2024

   
  Complaint: 21781233
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  06/10/2024

  No information was shared regarding their rejection of our decision. We would happily assist with further information if a reason for their rejection was shared for us to respond.

  Respectfully,

  *************************

   

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  10/23/23 insurance cancelled 10/25/23 deposit made 10/25/23 took nap, shooting happened 10/26/23 car wreck happened 11/6/23 email to **** 11/7/23 email to ***** 11/8/23 email to **** 11/28/23 email to **** 1/2/24 email to ********* 1/4/24 email to ***** 1/12/24 email to ***** 2/20/24 email to ***** The phone calls are excluded from this timeline because theres simply too many and this has gone on too long. This report needs to be filed and a resolution needs to be found.My car insurance had a small lapse due to non-payment then shortly after had a wreck and was towed to a local tow yard with a $75/day holding charge. Ive done more than my fair share of due diligence, escalated this through the ********************* since my insurance wasnt reinstated due to an unknown medical condition Ive been navigating. Northeast failed to work promptly and accordingly and seemed to have behaved with a biased because Im a young, female lender with a bad situation. Had NECU representatives considered this situation from a human aspect and complied with their third party companys request in a timely manner who's willing to make an exception to the policy, rather than disregard and make decisions on behalf of *********, this situation wouldve been resolved promptly and not months later with possible real life consequences such as MY drivers license being suspended. This transaction has caused an immense amount of stress and Ive had several sleepless nights with this lingering over my life. Theres been a significant amount of misinformation being conveyed to me the consumer, the third party company TueStage, and the representatives at NECU and it needs to stop and the balances need to be paid. My life has been in a financial ruin since that day and Im fighting a medical outbreak that could have me out of work for a MINIMUM of twelve months. Thats not whats best for me or the communities I live, work, and play in.

  Business response

  05/18/2024

  We were informed on 11/6/2023 that due to the lapse of insurance at the time of the accident ********************* denied the members insurance claim. 
  
  We were informed by Trustage, the GAP provider, on 1/5/2024 that anyone who has gap insurance can file a claim but if you don't have primary insurance coverage at the time of the accident that more than likely the claim will be denied.  The member was informed of this by email at that time.
  
  Trustage, the GAP provider, denied their claim stating "after review of the file the claim has been denied. There is no payable benefit as the member did not have insurance on the vehicle at the time of loss. Therefore, we estimated the vehicles actual cash value using NADA ******** retail at the time of loss. This resulted in a negative benefit."
  
  In a separate letter from Trustage, they stated "after careful review on your members benefit activation claim and the facts surrounding it, I regret to inform you that CUMIS ****************** **** must respectfully deny coverage for this loss pursuant to the terms of the Contractual Liability Policy for the following reason(s): A loss for which there is no payable gap or for which there is a negative benefit" 
  
  With no payment being made on the loan since 10/29/2023, and no insurance claims being paid out, Northeast Credit Union began the collection and charge off process for this loan which had resulted in a charge off on 3/31/2024.
  
  Multiple emails and phone calls had been had with the member, explaining the denied claim. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************** full on the 8th of March. The *** website states to wait till the 13th to see the deposit reflected but it is now the 13th and the bank has no record other than another amount that was not my reflected tax return. Almost 300 dollars of that return is missing and has not been deposited.

  Business response

  03/14/2024

  Good afternoon,

  Northeast Credit Union processes deposits as they are received from outside entities within the parameters received of posting timeframe. On 3/7/24, we posted a deposit submitted by the *** to your account. After researching with our ACH team, we have no further pending deposits at this time. If you believe this deposit is incorrect or another deposit should be made, we recommend you contact the *** and/or your tax preparer for further assistance. We have no control over what amount is sent to ** on your behalf or when it is received from outside entities.

  If youre interested in discussing this further, please feel free to contact us at ************ and well be happy to go into further detail. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  NECU wants to repossess my car, claiming it's because I haven't bothered reaching out or working with them in regards to my car's past due balance. On Nov 29th of 2023, I had spoken with someone about refinancing the car, and rolling my charged off loans into one loan, per month. They said they'd reach out to someone in regards to this and get back to me. See attached photo On Dec 7th, I called and asked about it, got told, once again, someone would reach out to me. No one did. See attached photo After Dec 7th, people would call but no one would talk Feb. 16th, 2024 I get a call saying the car is up for repossession because I haven't communicated with them, and the loan is charged off due to non-payment. So now I lose my car AND still have to pay back the balance. The car currently is $3000 to pass inspection, and has lots of external cosmetic damage, along with mold growing inside the car since it's leaked water since day 1 of getting it. I already told NECU I wanted to keep the car, and I made the approach to THEM about refinancing the car, and no one ever reached out, now I'm being told it's my fault, that I never spoke to them about it, and that they're not going to work with me on it. At every turn that I try to work with this company, I'm met with disrespect and very little flexibility. When I originally signed up for this loan, I asked for the disability insurance, and it was never done. I asked DOZENS of times for someone to reach out to me in regards to that, and no one ever did. I've been out of work for almost a year now with a sever degenerative spinal disease, and that's EXACTLY why I asked for it, just in case something like this happened. I had a personal loan I got through them that had it, so why wouldn't I get it on a larger loan like a vehicle loan? I can pay the loan. I'm going back to work in less than 2 weeks, but NECU doesn't care. NECU drops the ball at every turn, then attempts to blame me for it.

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  To whom it may Concern,

  Northeast Credit Union has reviewed the members complaint and their account / loan records. We have found that the member did not opt in for the additional coverages they are referencing when applying for the loan at the dealership. Member did get Warranty and GAP on vehicle however, did not opt to receive the life or disability on the loan.  Between 3/24/23 and 12/27/23 there were 27 voicemail messages left for the member, between 5/25/23 and 2/16/24 member called in and spoke to collections 15 times.  All loan approvals are decisioned based on credit worthiness at the time of application. 
  

  Sincerely,
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Northeast Credit Union
  

  Customer response

  02/22/2024

   
  Complaint: ********  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: I understand it says I didn't opt in for the health waiver but I told them specifically that I wanted it.  As for the response of them talking about credit worthiness, that is irrelevant to the fact that I was told someone would call to speak with me about it, and never did, at which point, the loan continued to fall behind until it was charged off.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

  Business response

  02/26/2024

  The originating of the loan and signing of all paperwork was with the dealership you selected. The GAP, Warranty, and any insurance coverages would have been offered and sold through the dealership when you worked with them to purchase the vehicle. The paperwork signed indicates that only the dealerships GAP and Warranty products were chosen when finalizing your purchase with them. 
  
  GAP, Extended Warranty and insurance product offerings are different when obtaining the loan directly with our institution than those separate products the dealership offers from their direct partners.
  
  Regarding your request for someone to contact you in regards to refinancing, Northeast Credit Union reached out and left you 27 voicemails prior to the loan being charged off. After a loan is charged off, we are unable to refinance the loan as indicated by our Collections Department on multiple recorded calls and a new loan would have needed to be applied for and approved by our Underwriting Department.

  Respectfully,

  Jacob L

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a fraudulent charge from ****** and they are not investigating thoroughly

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  Northeast Credit Union has reviewed this member complaint and their account. The dispute was submitted on December 23, 2023 for two withdrawals from ****** in the respective amounts of $31.98 and $14.99. After further investigation, the dispute was finalized on January 18, 2024 with a decline decision, due to the merchant providing us information that the merchandise was successfully delivered to the member’s address on file.  The merchandise was not returned to the merchant and therefore the dispute decline decision is final. We have provided a letter to the member that if the member would like to investigate this further, they can request copies of the documents we relied on to make our determination or to reach out to the merchant directly to discuss any additional options.

  If you have any additional questions feel free to reach me at 603-559-1656.
  
  Sincerely,
  Latisha H*******
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Northeast Credit Union

  Customer response

  02/22/2024

  
  Complaint: *******1
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing to express my deep concern about the disclosure of my nonpublic information to credit bureaus and the resulting inaccuracies on my credit report, causing significant financial and emotional distress. In accordance with 15 USC 1681 Section 602, I possess the right to financial privacy, expecting the confidentiality of my information. Additionally, 15 USC 1681 Section 604(a)(2) emphasizes that a consumer reporting agency cannot furnish account information without my written instructions, which I have not provided. I have identified errors on my credit report originating from NORTHEAST CU, adversely affecting my financial well-being. I urgently request the correction of these inaccuracies. Lastly, please be reminded of 15 USC 1666(b), preventing creditors from treating payments on a credit card account as late under specific circumstances. For your reference, my account details are as follows: Account Number: *********** I request a thorough review of my account, prompt correction of credit report inaccuracies, and strict adherence to federal laws governing my information. Failure to address these concerns may necessitate legal action. I anticipate your timely response and resolution. Thank you for promptly attending to this matter. Sincerely, ******** *****

  Business response

  12/29/2023

  To whom it may Concern,
  
  We have received your complaint and reviewed the loan and determined the credit reporting is correct. Here is the information regarding your loan:

  Vehicle was assigned for repossession 10/6/2022 after the member surrendered it (voluntary repossession), vehicle repossessed 10/20/2022 and sold at auction 11/30/2023 for $20,800.00.
  

  Principal balance at time of repo $24,566.72.
  

  Remaining balance after vehicle sold at auction: $4606.03.
  

  The collection team attempted several times prior to repossession to reach the member.  Letter sent to member to inform her of sale and what was due after sale was sent 12/2/22.  The recovery attempted several times after the sale to continue collection efforts, call, email, texts and letters.
  

  We have reported accurately and followed all guidelines for providing your information to the Credit Bureaus. There was no credit card with Northeast Credit Union for us to report on, so any referenced guidelines or regulations are not applicable. 

  The Member has disputed the credit reporting through the Credit Bureaus several times and each time it was confirmed that the reporting is correct.

  If you have any additional questions feel free to reach me at 603-559-1656.
  
  Sincerely,
  Brandi S****
  Elevated Care Specialist
  Northeast Credit Union

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩