KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The inability of one credit union’s systems to differentiate between active-duty and Department of Defense civilian employees led to the withdrawal of funds from some members’ accounts, leading to financial challenges for some.
Stars & Stripes reported that Service Credit Union withdrew the funds as it took back a onetime payroll credit extended to more than 20,000 members in early October following the partial shutdown of the U.S. government on Oct. 1.
The program was intended to give a financial boost to U.S. service members and Defense Department civilians who bank with the institution, in anticipation of members losing out on mid-October pay, a Service Credit Union spokesman told Stars and Stripes.
How Amount Was Calculated
The publication explained the automatically provided credit was calculated by averaging a member’s direct deposit totals over the past three months, according to an Oct. 8 message, which added that “the credit will then be reversed once payroll has resumed.” Credit reversals began after the executive branch announcement that pay was resuming for active-duty service members, according to a Service Credit Union statement to Start & Statement.
“But while military personnel received a paycheck on Oct. 15, furloughed and excepted DOD civilians did not,” Stars & Stripes reported. “Service Credit Union’s system could not ‘differentiate between active-duty and Department of Defense civilian employees, which is why the program was applied broadly to those with impacted direct deposits,’ the statement said.”
Stars & Stripes said Service Credit Union did not immediately respond to questions about what amount or types of transaction would cause its system to act as if a DOD civilian’s regular paycheck had been restored.
Members Dispute Claim
“This reversal process has been a standard part of this program for years and was communicated to our membership prior to the posting of this credit,” the CU’s statement added.
But Stars and Stripes said it spoke with four people who disputed that. One member, Chase Szente, a civilian employee at Ramstein Air Base who has worked without pay and benefits since Oct. 1, said the credit “was a really happy surprise” that turned into “a kick in the shins.”
