Exercise In Frustration!

VanCity Credit Union has put me through their own brand of hell this past two weeks! They are trying to change from one type of ATM service "Plus" that worked perfectly to another "Cirrus" that does not work at all (at least in the USA).

I have been having a very difficult time trying to get cash down here. All the ATM's that have worked for me in the past are now declining my card and telling me to "Contact Your branch". I called VanCity and was told the "Plus" machines would no longer work and to look for the ones displaying the "Cirrus" emblem. All Walmart ATM's are Cirrus but decline my card every time. VanCity then told me that some ATM's look for 18 digits in the card number while VanCity's cards have only 16 digits. I was able to find only one machine in Yuma that worked and that was at Wells Fargo Bank but it would only give me $300 and charged a $5 fee where the Walmart machines I used to use only charged $1.50 for a $400 withdrawal.

Another call to VanCity and I was told to look for machines with the "Exchange" sticker and they gave me the addresses of two of them here in Benson. I drove to both of them and only one would take my card but would only give me $200 for a $2 fee.

I finally discovered that Walmart will take my debit card for a purchase and will give me an extra $100 cash from the till. This is what I will have to do, split my purchases into small bundles and go through the checkout three or four times to get my cash.

I fail to understand why VanCity would take a perfectly working system and change it for something that does not work at all! If we were in Mexico we would be in serious financial trouble as it is a cash economy there and without pesos you cannot rent an RV space or even buy gas. Thanks a lot VanCity, if you would have told me in advance what you were going to do I would have changed banks!