Extended Drive Thru Hours

Drive Thru hours on Fridays are available from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The main office, Sparkman Drive branch, and the Athens branch each have these extended hours for your convenience. The new Madison office when opened will have these extended drive thru hours as well. (The Madison office will also be open on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Check back here or on the main credit union website for information on an opening date for the Madison office.)

More Scams in Alabama

The criminals never seem to rest when it comes to creating different scams. The latest scam that has impacted another credit union in South Alabama is a "Vishing" attack. An automated telephone call was placed to thousands of consumers stating that the consumer's credit or debit card had expired. The consumer was then asked to call a long distance telephone number to reactivate the card by providing the card number, PIN, and current expiration date. The credit union's name was included in the automated call and also on the toll free number.

Credit unions do not contact you by phone, email, or regular mail and ask you for your personal information. If you are ever contacted by a source claiming to be from North Alabama Educators Credit Union and they ask for personal information, please do not provide this information. Remember - Do not trust Caller ID as a verification since Caller ID can be spoofed by scammers. Contact the credit union at one of our published telephone numbers to let us know about the potential scam.

I predict that telephone and mail scams will become more common in the future. Most consumers are more aware of the email scams now so they are less effective to the criminals.

ATM at Main Office

Our ATM at the main office on Whitesburg Drive is currently down due to continued service problems and downtime. A new ATM will be installed soon and will be placed in the first drive thru lane through the wall of the credit union. This will provide better security for credit union staff members and greatly reduce the impact of varying weather conditions on the ATM itself. In the meantime, members are encouraged to utilize any Redstone Federal Credit Union ATM as withdrawals there are free of charge for members of North Alabama Educators Credit Union. They do not charge a surcharge fee for withdrawals to members of North Alabama Educators Credit Union. We do not charge an internal fee for ATM withdrawals from an ATM not owned by NAECU. Please note though that there is a $0.50 fee for balance inquiries or balance tranfers at an ATM not owned by NAECU. To avoid this type of fee, members are encouraged to use our 24-Hour Audio Response MemberLink or home banking services, both of which are free services.

Paperwork has been signed and delivered for joining the CO-OP ATM Network that will provide even more surcharge free ATM's nationwide. Hopefully we can provide a live date soon for this expanded ATM network.

The new ATM should be in place within the next few weeks. An update will be posted here when the new ATM is back online.

A Funny Story to Share

A 5-year old kindergarten student was preparing for his first day at the "big school". The teacher had earlier suggested that the new kindergarten students buy their lunch for the first few days of school so that they were familiar with the process of buying lunch. As the mother was preparing the children for school, the 5-year old kindergarten student brought his piggy bank from his room and asked nervously "do I have enough money for lunch?". He thought that he had to use his own money for his lunch and would need to bring his piggy bank to school. Needless to say, the mother reassured him that he didn't have to use his piggy bank money for lunch.

I know this story well - the 5-year old kindergarten student is my own son!

Members needing help with credit union loans

Please contact a Loan Officer or our Collections Department if you see that maintaining your existing loan obligation with North Alabama Educators Credit Union is becoming difficult. The credit union can help with alternative payment plans and internal loan consolidations to make loan repayments more affordable. We would rather work out a plan to repay an obligation than to repossess an automobile or file a lawsuit to collect an debt obligation. The key though is to communicate your financial situation as soon as possible if you see that you are unable to meet your financial obligations. Please do not feel ashamed or embarrassed by contacting us for help. That is what we are supposed to do - help our members with their financial needs.

While North Alabama Educators Credit Union has not been involved with any of the sub-prime mortgage loans or non-traditional adjustable rate loans, we certainly know that some of our members could have participated in these type of loan programs from other lenders.

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Tennessee River Valley is a recommended resource for member assistance in the areas of budget planning, money management skills, confidential credit counseling, and voluntary debt management plans. Their local office is located at 1015 Airport Road, Suite 205, Huntsville Alabama 35802. Their telephone number is 256-881-1000. There is no cost to consumers for the available services.