Friday, September 5, 2014

PenFed's Motley Fool Visa Card Membership Scam

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is marketing a Motley Fool Platinum Cash Rewards Visa Card and at the same time making a mockery of the associational common bond requirement.

According to PenFed's membership application, the credit union will make a complimentary $5 deposit into a share account required for credit union membership; but will also make a donation to a group to qualify a person for credit union membership.

PENFED MEMBERSHIP
Credit Unions may only consider applications for account, loans, or services from their members. Through The Motley Fool, there is an easy way for you to join PenFed.

PenFed will provide you a complimentary $5 as an opening deposit into your share (savings) account which is required to be a PenFed member. PenFed will also make a one-time $15 donation on your behalf to one of its partner organizations, Voices for America's Troops (VOICES). This donation will make you a member of VOICES, which then entitles you to become a member of PenFed.
However, if a person is unwilling to pay the associational dues, this would suggest a lack of support for the association’s goals and mission.

Moreover, PenFed states on its appplication that renewal of VOICES membership is not required to remain a member of PenFed.  Once again, this suggests a lack of commitment to the goals and mission of VOICES.

I'm also troubled by the PenFed's depositing $5 into a share account for the individual that is required for credit union membership.

So, it appears that the linkage between the borrower and saver being the same is no longer satisfied, when a credit union pays the deposit required for credit union membership.

These continued common bond abuses by large credit unions, which operate like mutual savings banks, will ultimately jeopardize the tax exemption for credit unions.

Click on the Application.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownSeptember 9, 2014 at 3:06 PM

    As a member of several large credit unions, a customer of large banks and a shareholder in several banks I would agree that their is very little difference between
    any of them. I believe we should review our policy of not taxing large credit unions. I think we should follow the Australians and simply call them what they are: Customer owned banks.

    ReplyDelete

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