Magic, Meetings, Torando Warnings, and a Four Alarm Blaze!

What a night! Tonight Piedmont CU had it’s 39th Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting brought good food, good company, a great magic show, and an inspiring God’s Pit Crew presentation. However, the most memorable part of tonight will likely be the BIGGEST FIRE in Danville, VA history! One of the old Dan River Mills buildings went up in flames tonight. There are a few photos below. We saw the smoke rising from our meeting place 2 miles away at the community market. On the way home I could see it while crossing the Central Blvd. bridge. The fire closed down the Union Street bridge which provided a great place for onlookers to watch the fire from a safe distance. That’s where these photos came from.

To top the night off there were tornado warnings for Northern Pittsylvania County all over the radio and tv. I’ll do a follow-up post about the Annual Meeting in the coming days, it really was a good one.

Automobile Warranties & Car Companies

This post is about the new Mechanical Breakdown Protection available through Piedmont Credit Union.

I am the classic “do-it-yourself-er”. But when my wife’s Acura started having transmission problems late last year I started to think, “maybe I shouldn’t have hung up on those people who call and try to sell extended warranties?” Acuras are not cheap cars and neither are their parts. Did I mention the warranty had expired several thousand miles ago? So I made the dreadful trip to a nearby Acura dealership and nicely explained that I didn’t buy an Acura to see the transmission go bad so soon, and even though it was outside of any warranty coverage I humbly asked if they could help me out a little. What really impressed me was how they pretty much agreed that Acuras are one of the highest quality cars available and that it should not have had this type of problem at this point of it’s life. So Acura corporate agreed to discount the cost of the transmission but I would not have any further warranty on the discounted parts like they usually give. I was pretty satisfied because it appeared that I would be able to pay for these repairs without too much financial discomfort.

Now for all you readers who think the next part is about how the dealership found other things wrong and boosted the price by a thousand dollars, I hate to disappoint you. When my wife picked up the car, the total price was $800 LESS than what they quoted me and it was going to come with a new 36,000 mile warranty! I’m now an Acura fan for life!

So what’s the moral of this story? I think it’s this: Consider purchasing an extended warranty for your vehicle. When you compare it’s cost to that of major repairs the choice is easy. Do the math.

New non-discounted transmission installed by dealer=$4,500.

Cost of Piedmont CU Mechanical Breakdown Protection=$1,565.

Mechanical Breakdown Protection is very affordable when seen from this point of view. Plans start around $900 and can cover almost any car that runs. You can read more about it on our main website here. Oh, if you decide to buy an Acura, just be sure to do your financing at the credit union!

New Advantage Cards are Here!

The Advantage Card is a must have for every wallet or purse in Danville, or southside Virginia. It’s free and contains discounts for all sorts of things. We’ve been including it with every spring quarterly account statement for several years now. This year’s card is not all that different from last year’s. It still has every Mexican restaurant in Danville, and many Italian restaurants too. There’s a discount for Caswell Pines Gold Club, One Stop Cellular, Martinizing Dry Cleaners, Sterling Optical, and many others. The only newcomers to the list are AAA Transmissions, Smith-Stokes car dealership, Aaron’s, and Bronx Boy Bagels (which I hear is quite a hit with the school board employees who work across the street from it).

Below are front/back images of the card. You’ll get one in your next Piedmont CU statement, or we’ll have them at the office too.

You can also download and print your own Advantage Cards from www.freeadvantage.com. As of 3-20-08 the new cards are not online yet.  But drop by our office and we’ll give you one!

Happy Saving!

Closed for Easter / Holiday Schedules

Piedmont Credit Union will be closed on Monday, March 24, 2008. (aka. the day after Easter)

Over the last two or three years our credit union has been adjusting it’s holiday schedule.  Last year it more closely followed the Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule.  In my experience working at smaller credit unions, I’ve found that often the credit union takes the same holidays as it’s sponsor company.  Being founded as a teacher’s credit union, it used to be that we closed the entire week of Christmas & New Year’s, just like schools!   Much to the chagrin of our beloved staff, those days are long gone.  But maybe next year we’ll ask the Board of Directors for Spring Break!

We’ve Been Very Bad Today

Any new year’s resolutions that somehow made it this far have just been blow away.  But it was for a good cause!

Today credit unions across Virginia participated in Sweets 4 Sweethearts, a fund raiser for the Children’s Miracle Network. Credit union staff and families brought in homemade goodies to share with credit union members. The catch… members must first contribute at least $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network. All the proceeds will go to our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. For us that’s in Lynchburg, VA, about an hour North of Danville.

As an added bonus it turns out that our Member Service Rep. Stacey, when she’s not being super nice to credit union members, makes holiday baskets in her spare time. So we decided in addition to our smorgasbord of treats that we would raffle off one of her beautiful Valentine’s Gift Baskets. So far there has been more interest in that than in the sweets!

Thanks to everyone who brought in goodies including Hall’s Pastry Shop and Nestle USA who helped to supplement what the Piedmont CU staff brought. Most of all thanks to all our members who have so greatly helped out the Children’s Miracle Network!

e-Signatures Frequently Asked Questions

This week we began using our new fraud prevention and e-Signature System. Our staff has really picked up on it well, learning the subtle nuances of scanning driver licenses and resetting the occasional frozen signature pad.  What surprised me most about this new setup is that very few credit union members have asked any questions about it.  So here is my starter list of e-Signature questions and answers.

1. Where does my signature go? Signatures are attached to an electronic copy of your receipt.  They are stored in a secure database which is only accessible by designated credit union staff.  In the past, signed receipts were stored in a box in our storage room.  The new electronic storage is actually much more safe and secure than the previous method.
2. What else are you going to put my signature on? When a signature is captured electronically, it is actually merged to become a permanent part of the document you are signing, just as if you had sign an actual piece of paper.  Our e-Signature system does not have the ability to move your signature once you have tapped the “OK” on the signature pad.  At that point it is made permanent and can only be slightly re-sized for legibility.
3. Why is my signature still on the pad when I’m ready to leave? Your signature will disappear from the pad as soon as our teller has completed the transaction.  The teller may have more work to do on your transaction such as scanning some kind of document relating to the transaction, such as a Power of Attorney or a Marriage Certificate.
4. Why do you need to scan my ID? We’re required by law to accurately identify everyone who does business with us.  Since most of our members come in regularly, we know them pretty well and don’t need to request ID for each and every transaction.  By scanning ID’s into our computer system, we’re making it so that we don’t have to ask for ID in the future because we’ll already be able to see that you look like the ID we have on file.  So it not only saves time, it potentially eliminates any possibility of face to face fraudulent activity on your account. 
5. Do you need to scan my driver’s license every time I do a transaction? No. Once we scan your ID the first time it is saved once and for all. This way we can pull it up on our screen every time you come back for a transaction and we can be sure it is you.
6. Will this help make my money more secure? Yes. Having the ID quickly assessable by our computer system will ensure that no one can just walk in pretending to be you and try to transact business on your account.  In the long run it’s also faster than having to ask for ID and virtually eliminates face to face fraudulent activity.

How are Credit Unions Different?

Here is a little video about how credit unions are different. It’s the simplest explanation I’ve seen that also communicates all the details. It’s done totally by a 19 year old girl in Canada, named Larissa.

Thanks to our friends North of the border at Currency Marketing, a credit union marketing company, and Young & Free Alberta, a website they created, for giving her the resources to put this together.

Two Perspectives… maybe three.

Update 2-17-2008: A revised edition of this post appeared in the Danville Register & Bee opinion section today. Here is a link to that column.

You may have heard that in Virginia the General Assembly is considering putting a cap on the interest rates that can be charged by payday lenders in our commonwealth. There have been several articles about the subject to appear in our local paper, the Danville Register & Bee, as well as other places as well.

An Op-Ed article in The New Dominion magazine says that ads by payday lenders are misleading. It gives some very reasonable responses to the claims of payday lenders made in their advertising and lobbying.

The Register & Bee Opinion Section says that there are no alternatives to it in our area, and that if payday lenders are forced out of business, something will need to step up and fill the gap left by their absence.

I’d like to make a response to the idea that there are currently no alternatives to payday lenders in the Dan River Region. But first, here’s a question I’d like to throw out: What did people who depend on payday lenders do before there were payday lenders?

Now, there are alternatives to payday lending in our area. There are nine credit unions from Martinsville to Danville to South Boston. Of the two that I’ve worked for I can say with certainty that they have a strong desire to serve their members no matter how dire their financial situation might be. At my two credit unions personal loans are granted for as little as $500. True, that might be more than what some payday lending customers need, but what is not needed can simply be paid back on the loan the same day. I’ve never heard of a credit union charging an early-payment penalty. Perhaps a better alternative is to use that “extra” money to kick-start a savings account. Then divert a portion of the loan repayment towards adding to that savings account. This would help establish the habit of saving money which in turn will reduce the need to borrow in the future. The same small loan amounts also apply to vehicle loans. The two credit unions I’m intimately familiar with are not opposed to refinancing older vehicles if it is truly helpful to the borrower.

But, then there is the argument that not many people can join a credit union. This is just a lack of awareness. “I wonder if there’s a credit union I can join?” is not a question that the average person asks. The fact is that anyone from Martinsville to Danville to South Boston can join at least one credit union without having any family connections. When you consider the fact that a member’s immediate family can also join, it’s not far reaching to say that the average person in our community can join 2-3 credit unions. Without my employment connection I can join 5 locally. (That’s because I married a wonderful Danville gal!)

So why aren’t people asking that question, “I wonder if there’s a credit union I can join?” I believe it is because the general public thinks they are just like banks. But that’s just not the case. I once knew someone with 20+ years experience at a bank who came to work at a local credit union. This person was overwhelmed at the difference between the credit union and banking worlds. The idea that we’re here to do what’s best for the credit union member instead of what’s best for Trustees and Shareholders was a totally new concept. It’s like you really don’t understand it until you do it. The same is true for credit union members. They really don’t understand the difference until they experience it for themselves.

Finally here’s a Register & Bee Letter to the Editor which is from someone who depends on payday lending. It’s short so here it is in it’s entirety.

Support payday lending

To the editor:
In response to, “No rest for either side in payday lending debate,” (Dec. 30, page B5), I am praying the government will not close down the payday lenders in our city.
Without payday lenders, I don’t know what I would do. I have no insurance and I am a diabetic and I have to get loans from a payday lender in Danville to get help with my medications and my supplies.
If it wasn’t for them loaning me money until payday, I wouldn’t be able to feed my children or get the medical help that I need. I know there are some people out there that abuse these companies, but I am speaking for those of us who really need them because we can’t make ends meet on our small salaries and we can’t get help from the government agencies for medical supplies or food.
Please don’t close down the payday lenders.

MELISSA RIGNEY
Dry Fork

There definitely are legitimate points in this letter. Private insurance would be really expensive for a diabetic, and most small employers don’t offer health insurance. (Side note: I wonder what kind of employee benefits payday lenders offer?) There is that zone that many people fall into where they make too much for government assistance but their salary is not really enough to live comfortably. She’s probably a single parent too. Raising a family is hard, expensive work with two parents at home.

There are two things I’d like to know, three that I’m curious about. How did Melissa or people like her manage before payday lending became popular in our area? How much money in fees has Melissa has paid out to her payday lender? If she had half that money today what could it be used for? If Melissa reads this post I hope that she will contact one of the credit unions I’m about to list below. Perhaps they can help her get out of falling back on her payday lender and help her to get some savings started.

Here is a comprehensive list of credit unions in the Dan River Region along with who can join them. If you are stuck in that cycle of having to take out one payday loan after another, please look through this list and see if there is a credit union you can join. Remember to consider if anyone in your family can join one of them. If so then you could join through your family member.

• Piedmont Credit Union - That’s us, we serve the Educational Community and lots of local companies and businesses. You can see exactly which companies we serve here. We’re always looking to expand the list so let me know if you would like me to contact your employer about offering the benefit of a local credit union.
• Goodyear Danville Family CU - They serve anyone who works at the local Goodyear plant.
• Danville City Employees FCU - Any City of Danville employee may join. (434)799-5027
• Danville Regional Medical FCU - Any Danville hospital employee may join, as well as employees of other medical facilities which have started a relationship with the credit union.
• URW Community FCU - They started off serving the United Rubber Workers Local 831 Union at our local Goodyear plant. Now membership is open to anyone who lives or works in Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Caswell County, NC.
• Halifax County Community FCU - Anyone who lives in Halifax County may join. (434)575-7916
• Danville Postal Employees CU - Anyone who works for the Danville Post Office can join. (434)793-4132
• Martinsville Dupont Credit Union - Once the credit union that served the old DuPont plant in Martinsville. Now they welcome anyone who lives or works in Martinsville, Henry County, Patrick County, Franklin County, Pittsylvania County, and Danville.
• Martinsville City Employees CU - Anyone who works for the City of Martinsville. (276)632-7775
• Martinsville Postal Employees CU - Anyone who works for the Martinsville Post Office can join. (276)632-7775 (yeah it’s the same number as Martinsville City Employees CU, not a typo, they’re small and they share the same space and employees.)

Update 2-17-2008: A revised edition of this post appeared in the Danville Register & Bee opinion section today. Here is a link to that column.

Online Tax Preparation

Well, the dancing Statue of Liberty is out again this year on Piney Forest Road(photo forthcoming if she’ll pose for me). She’s advertising Liberty Tax Service. Personally I think it’s very cute, though slightly distracting to drivers.  Also back for it’s sophomore year is our link to Turbo Tax Online. This is an online version of their self-prepared tax software. They actually have one option that says it’s free! It doesn’t include state tax preparation though. I figure that it’s good service if your taxes aren’t too complicated. I’ve always been impressed at the intuitiveness of the Turbo Tax for Windows product.

I used Turbo Tax for Windows for several years when things were pretty simple. But now after getting married, buying a house, having kids, finishing a basement, and now paying substantial amounts for medical expenses and health insurance, I’m going to stick with the friend who did them for me last year. (Note: Taxes and Accounting are his full-time job, not just something he does on the side.) I guess I’m the type who will sacrifice a little on the price when it promotes a local business or helps a friend.

Merry Christmas!

Here’s wishing all of our members and friends a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Holiday Season!

We’ll be opened Friday, the 21st(that’s today), and we’ll be opened until 12:30pm on Christmas Eve.  The credit union will be closed on Christmas Day and the day after Christmas.

Remember we’re still collecting items for our local homeless shelter until the end of the year! Click here for a list of items they could use.

Here are a few photos from our recent Piedmont CU staff and volunteers Christmas Party. It was alot of fun and the jazz band was really good too. Here also are photos of our first “Christmas at the Credit Union”. (There wasn’t time for many photos because we were really busy!)