Bill Pay Q&A

Disclosure and Agreement for Bill Payer Service

I.   Introduction  

This Agreement and Disclosure describes the types of Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs) available with SESLOC Federal Credit Union’s Bill Payer Service and provides information about your rights and responsibilities concerning those transactions. This Agreement applies only to transactions initiated using Bill Payer services.

In this Agreement, “you” and “your” refer to the member and joint owner or authorized user of the member’s account(s). “We,” “us,” and “Credit Union” refer to SESLOC Federal Credit Union. The “Service” refers to SESLOC’s Bill Payer service.

 By applying for or using the Bill Payer Service or allowing others to do so, you consent to the terms of this Agreement and Disclosure.

 II.  Account Access

Any account owner who has the Personal Identification Number/Password (PIN), or any person to whom you or your joint owner have given the PIN, is an authorized user of your accounts and can conduct any transaction on your accounts that you can conduct yourself. Once you have SESLOC eBranch service, you or any authorized user can add the Bill Payer Service by enrolling on-line. You are responsible for all transactions authorized users make, whether or not they stay within the scope of permission you give them to use your accounts. The only way to stop an authorized user from accessing your accounts is for you to go online and choose another PIN known only to you or contact the Credit Union to deactivate SESLOC eBranch on your account.

III.  Business Days/Hours of Operation

The Bill Payer Service is generally available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system may be temporarily unavailable for brief periods of maintenance or in emergency situations. In addition, the Bill Payer Service is made available pursuant to a license agreement by and between SESLOC Federal Credit Union and Fidelity Information Services, Inc. (FIS). Any interruption of service or access caused by FIS will also prevent your use of the service.

The Credit Union’s business days are Monday through Friday, excluding holidays and weekends. Transactions that are requested on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays on which the Credit Union chooses to remain closed will be processed on the Credit Union’s next business day.

IV.  Description of Service

The Bill Payer Service permits you to use your Internet-enabled device to direct payments from your designated online Bill Payment Account to third parties you wish to pay. Your Bill Payment Account must be a checking account. Through the Bill Payer Service, you can pay bills from your Bill Payment Account to businesses or individuals.

All payments you make will be deducted from the checking account(s) that you designate as your Bill Payment Account for the Bill Payer Service. Any payments you wish to make through this Service must be payable in U.S. dollars to a payee located in the continental United States. We reserve the right to restrict from time to time the types of payees to whom payments may be made using the Service.

You are prohibited from using the Bill Payer Service to make payments to/for the following excluded merchants and purposes:

• Tax entities (IRS, state and local tax authorities)

• Payments to businesses in connection with unlawful Internet gambling

• Collection agencies

• Court ordered payments

• Payees outside the U.S.

• Payees with Armed Forces postal codes (AP, AE)

• Payments to settle securities transactions

• Payoffs on “special financing” transactions

• Unprocessed payments due to debit failures

 The Credit Union does not support these types of payments due to the difficulties of performing follow-up research with the payees in the event the payees claim non-receipt or late payment, or because it is prohibited by law. The Credit Union will not accept liability for such payments should you initiate them using this Bill Payer Service. Payments for these payees will be your sole responsibility if delayed or improperly processed or credited. The Credit Union will not research or resolve any claim resulting from a prohibited payment made using the Service.

The Credit Union reserves the right to refuse to pay any payee to whom you may direct a payment. The Credit Union is obligated to notify you promptly if it decides to refuse to pay a payee designated by you. This notification is not required if you attempt to make a payment prohibited by this Agreement.

V.  Payment Methods/Schedules

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you authorize us, and any third party acting on our behalf, to choose the most effective method to process your payment, including without limitation, electronic (ACH), paper or some other draft means. When possible, payments will be made electronically. However, some payments will be made by check.

Payments set up in advance of the due date are withdrawn from the Bill Pay user’s account up to 5 business days before the date when paid by check, and 2 business days for payments made electronically.

You must select the delivery date for any payment, or specify a payment rule in the system that automatically selects this date for you. It is your responsibility to schedule payments to arrive by the due date specified on the bill or statement. If the actual due date falls on a non-business day, you must select a delivery date that includes an additional day for processing. If you select a delivery date that causes payment to be delivered after the due date, we are not responsible for any late charges that you may be charged by the payee. We may set a maximum dollar amount for payment and/or refuse to permit any bill payment if we reasonably believe such refusal is necessary or advisable for security reasons.

VI.  Limit on Amount of Transfers

You may utilize the Bill Payer Service to make payments to a maximum of  999 payees. There is a dollar limit of $9,999.99 (or the available balance, whichever is less) on any Bill Payment initiated through the Service.

 VII.      Time Limitations

You must transmit payment instructions no later than 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on any business day to have them processed for that day. Payments added after 1:00 p.m. will be processed on the following business day.

VIII.   Processing

We will withdraw the funds from your funding account the morning after your processing date (2 or 5 business days prior to your payment due date); therefore, funds must be available by the end of the business day the night before the processing date. Two (2) business days are required to process electronic bill payments. If a payee is not set up to accept electronic payments a check will be sent, which will take up to five (5) business days to process and deliver to the payee.

You must allow sufficient time (2 or 5 business days) as indicated for the Bill Payer Service to receive your request and process the bill payments so that funds can be delivered to the payee before the payment due date (the due date shown on your invoice or provided by the payee). If you do not allow sufficient time, you will assume full responsibility for all late fees, finance charges, or other action taken by the payee.

IX.  Overdrafts and Rejects

We will overdraft from your Share Savings Account in accordance with your Checking Account terms and conditions, or from your Overdraft Line of Credit in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement, if sufficient funds are not available in your checking account on the morning following the designated Bill Payment processing date.

In the event sufficient funds are not available (NSF), the Credit Union will notify you through the Bill Payer Service and by email on the processing day and a block will automatically be placed on your Bill Payer Service. No additional bill payments will be processed until the account is properly funded and the NSF payment(s) is cleared. If any payments are scheduled to pay while the account is blocked, the payments will not be processed and we will notify you through the Bill Pay Service or by email on the processing date.

When a NSF condition occurs, we may make up to three (3) attempts to withdraw funds from your account. You will be charged a NSF fee each time funds are not available in your account. At our discretion, we may block your Bill Pay Service after one attempt to withdraw funds from your account and no further attempts will be made. Your Bill Payer Service will remain blocked and no additional payments will be processed until the NSF condition is resolved.

The Credit Union is not responsible if the notification does not reach you, whether or not this is due to events beyond our control. At that time your account will be charged the Bill Payment NSF fee.

The merchant may reject a bill you schedule. Once the merchant rejects a bill, you are responsible for either making alternate arrangements for the payment or rescheduling the payment. In no case will the Credit Union automatically resubmit a payment for you after the bill has been rejected by a merchant.

 If you have overdraft protection on your checking account, your request for the Bill Payment transfer out of your checking account will be considered a request for an overdraft protection transfer or loan advance if it is needed to complete the transaction. Overdraft protection will be handled in a manner consistent with the overdraft services you previously requested and have available at the time. Overdraft protection is only available on checking accounts. Requests for transfers out of other accounts in which you do not have available funds will be denied.

Federal Reserve Regulation D transfers from savings accounts are limited as follows:

“For savings and money market accounts you may make up to six transfers or withdrawals by means of a preauthorized, automatic, or telephonic transfer to another account of yours or to a third party during any calendar month. Of these six, you may make no more than three transfers to a third party by check, debit card, or similar order.”

X.   Electronic Bill Delivery and Presentment

This feature is for the presentment of electronic bills only, and it is your sole responsibility to contact your billers directly if you do not receive your statements. In addition, if you elect to activate one of the Service's electronic bill options, you also agree to the following:

a)    INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE BILLER. The Credit Union is unable to update or change your personal information such as, but not limited to, name, address, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, with the electronic biller. Any changes will need to be made by contacting the biller directly. Additionally it is your responsibility to maintain all usernames and passwords for all electronic biller sites. You also agree not to use someone else's information to gain unauthorized access to another person's bill.

b)   ACTIVATION. Upon activation of the electronic bill feature the Credit Union may notify the biller of your request to receive electronic billing information. The presentment of your first electronic bill may vary from biller to biller and may take up to sixty (60) days, depending on the billing cycle of each biller. Additionally, the ability to receive a paper copy of your statement(s) is at the sole discretion of the biller. While your electronic bill feature is being activated, it is your responsibility to keep your accounts current. Each electronic biller reserves the right to accept or deny your request to receive electronic bills.

c)  AUTHORIZATION TO OBTAIN BILL DATA. Your activation of the electronic bill feature for a biller shall be deemed by the Credit Union and its providers to be your authorization for us to periodically obtain bill data from the biller on your behalf. For some billers, you will be asked to provide us with your user name and password for that biller. By providing us with such information, you authorize us to use the information to periodically obtain your bill data from the Biller.

d)  NOTIFICATION. The Credit Union will use its best efforts to present all of your electronic bills promptly. In addition to notification within the Service, the Credit Union may send an e-mail notification to the e-mail address listed for your account. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that this information is accurate. In the event you do not receive notification, it is your responsibility to periodically logon to the Service and check on the delivery of new electronic bills. The time for notification may vary from biller to biller. You are responsible for ensuring timely payment of all bills.

e)  CANCELLATION OF ELECTRONIC BILL NOTIFICATION. The electronic biller reserves the right to cancel the presentment of electronic bills at any time. You may cancel electronic bill presentment at any time. The timeframe for cancellation of your electronic bill presentment may vary from biller to biller. It may take up to sixty (60) days, depending on the billing cycle of each biller. The Credit Union will notify your electronic biller(s) as to the change in status of your account and it is your sole responsibility to make arrangements for an alternative form of bill delivery. The Credit Union will not be responsible for presenting any electronic bills that are already in process at the time of cancellation.

f)  NON-DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC BILL(S). You agree to hold the Credit Union harmless should the biller fail to deliver your statement(s). You are responsible for ensuring timely payment of all bills. Copies of previously delivered bills must be requested from the biller directly.

g)  ACCURACY AND DISPUTE OF ELECTRONIC BILL. The Credit Union is not responsible for the accuracy of your electronic bill(s). The Credit Union is only responsible for presenting the information we receive from the biller. Any discrepancies or disputes regarding the accuracy of your electronic bill summary or detail must be addressed with the biller directly.

This Agreement does not alter your liability or obligations that currently exist between you and your billers.

XI.    Expedited Payment

An expedited payment allows you to send an accelerated payment to a payee through the Service as either a same day electronic payment or a check sent overnight, depending upon our relationship with the payee. Expedited payments may not be available for each of your payees. An expedited payment fee, as listed in the Credit Union's Fee Schedule, will be charged to your funding account for each expedited payment made. Once you have submitted an expedited payment transaction for processing, you cannot place a stop payment request on it. Expedited payments cannot be sent to an address in Hawaii, Alaska, or to a P.O. Box. Expedited payments may not be delivered on non-business days. It is important that you follow the instructions presented in the Service when making an expedited payment. Failure to do so may cause your payment to be delivered late or returned as undeliverable, for which the Credit Union will not be held responsible.

XII.  Documentation

Confirmation Number. Upon completion of a transaction using the Bill Payer service, a “confirmation” number will be given. You should record this number, along with the payee, scheduled date, and transaction amount in your checkbook register (or other permanent record) because this will help in resolving any problems that may occur.

Periodic Statements.  Information about the Bill Payer Service transactions will be shown on your normal statement for the account to and from which transfers or payments are made. You will get a statement monthly if you have a checking account or in any month in which you have electronic funds transfer activity. All members receive statements at least quarterly.

Notices. Notices will be sent to the primary account owner at the email address shown in our records. On joint accounts, notice to the primary owner will be deemed notice to all account owners.

Stop Payment on Bill Payments.  Bill Payments made by electronic transfer may not be stopped once they have been processed and deducted from your account. It may be possible to place a stop payment on a bill payment made by check. Our remittance processor will, if possible, place this stop payment and the fee assessed by them will be billed to your account (refer to SESLOC Fee Schedule). If we are unable to stop a Bill Payment, you must resolve any disputes directly with the payee. Although the Credit Union will make every effort to accommodate your request, the Credit Union will have no liability for failing to do so.

XIII.  Cancellation of a Scheduled Payment

You may cancel any of your scheduled payments any time prior to the processing date. Cancel a scheduled payment by selecting “cancel” next to the Payee in the Pending Payments section.

 XIV.  Cancellation of the Bill Payer Service

In the event you wish to cancel the Service, you must contact us at the address or telephone number set forth above. Any payment(s) processed before the requested cancellation date will be completed by the Credit Union. All Pending Payments, including recurring payments, will not be processed once the Service is cancelled. The Credit Union may terminate or suspend the Service to you at any time and for any reason. Neither termination nor suspension shall affect your liability or obligations under this Agreement.

If you subsequently wish to resume this service, you will need to re-build your payee list. Your Bill Payer Service is automatically cancelled if you do not use the service for three consecutive calendar months. To resume this service, you will need to re-build your payee list.

 XV.  No Duty to Monitor Payments

We do not have a duty to monitor payments made through the Bill Payer Service. It is your responsibility to review your account history on a regular basis to verify Bill Payment activity.

 XVI.  Fees and Charges

Bill Payer service imposes no monthly service charges. Fees apply for certain types of activity, including savings overdraft, insufficient funds, check copy, and stop payment. Please refer to the current SESLOC Federal Credit Union Fee Schedule for a complete list of fees associated with this program.

Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF)	25.00
Check Copy	20.00
Stop Payment	25.00
Expedited (same day) electronic payment	7.00
Expedited (overnight) paper check payment	20.00
Proof of Payment	3.00
On-Demand Compact Disk (CD)	20.00

XVII.  Privacy

SESLOC Federal Credit Union will share information about your accounts and transfers only:

a) where it is necessary for completing transfers; or

b) in order to verify the existence and condition of your account for a third party, such as a credit bureau or merchant; or

c) in order to comply with government agency or court orders; or

d) as explained in the separate Privacy Disclosure.

 
XVIII.  Your Liability for Unauthorized Transactions

Tell us immediately if you believe an unauthorized person has obtained access to your PIN/Password or someone may transfer money out of your accounts without your permission.

Call us immediately at (805) 543-1816 or (805) 227-1030 or (805) 464-5030 during business hours or fax us any time at (805) 546-9622. You can also write to us at:

SESLOC Federal Credit Union
P.O. Box 5360
San Luis Obispo, California 93403-5360

 

Telephoning is the best way to keep losses down. If you don’t notify us within the time limits in this paragraph, you could lose all of the money in your accounts plus money in any account or line of credit you have designated for overdraft protection.

If you tell us of the loss, theft or other potential unauthorized use of your PIN within two business days after you learn of it, your loss will be no more than $50. If you do not tell us within two business days after you learn of the loss, theft or other potential unauthorized use of your PIN, and we can prove we could have stopped someone from using it if you had told us in time, you could lose as much as $500.

If your statement shows transfers that you did not authorize, notify us immediately. If you do not notify us within 60 days of our mailing the first statement on which the unauthorized use appeared, you may not be reimbursed for funds lost provided we can prove that we could have stopped someone from taking the money if you had told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long trip or hospital stay) kept you from telling us, we may extend the time period.

 XIX.  Credit Union Liability

If we do not properly complete a transfer on time or in the correct amount according to our agreement with you, we will be liable for your direct losses or damages (not to exceed the amount of the transaction). However, there are exceptions. We will not be liable if, for instance:

a) you fail to provide and maintain a valid email address with the Credit Union;

b) through no fault of ours, your account does not contain enough money or you do not have available credit to make the transfer;

c) the Bill Payer Service system was not working properly and you knew about the breakdown when you initiated the transaction;

d) your PIN was reported lost or stolen and we have blocked its use;

e) circumstances beyond our control, such as fire, flood, electrical failure, or malfunction of the central data processing facility prevent completion of the transaction in spite of our reasonable precautions;

 e) your account is “frozen” because of a court order or some similar legal action;

 f) we establish other lawful exceptions and give you notice required by law of them. 

 In no event will we be liable for consequential, indirect, or punitive damages. The Credit Union will carry out written instructions from you and authorized users of your accounts. We will not incur liability for carrying out written instructions in a reasonable manner. You agree to indemnify the Credit Union and hold us harmless from any and all liability we incur as a result of following your written instructions in a reasonable manner.

SESLOC Federal Credit Union is responsible only for exercising ordinary care in making payment upon your authorization and for mailing or sending a payment to the designated payee. SESLOC Federal Credit Union is not liable in any way for damages you incur if you do not have sufficient funds in your account to make the payment on the processing date, if the estimate of time to allow for delivery to the payee is inaccurate, or due to delays in mail delivery, changes of merchant address or account number, or the failure of any merchant to account correctly for or credit the payment in a timely manner, or for any other circumstances beyond the control of SESLOC Federal Credit Union.

 XX.  Electronic Message Capabilities and Limitations

The Bill Payer Service allows you to receive electronic mail messages from the Credit Union. An email address is required. These messages can also be retrieved whenever you login to SESLOC eBranch. These alerts report activity in your account to assist you and to protect you from unauthorized changes to your account. SESLOC Federal Credit Union is not liable in any way for damages you incur if you do not provide and maintain a valid email address.

XXI.  Authorization to Charge Accounts

You authorize us to charge your designated account(s) for any transactions accomplished through the Bill Payer Service, including the amount of any bill payment or transfer that you make, and any charges for the service. You understand that in adding a payee or maintaining a payee list, even if no payments are scheduled, you are electing to use the full Bill Payer Service. You authorize us to process Bill Payments and to transfer funds according to the instructions we receive if you provide the instructions through the Bill Payer Service. You authorize us to initiate any reversing entry or reversing file and to debit your accounts at SESLOC Federal Credit Union or elsewhere, in order to correct any mistaken credit entry. You understand that if a Bill Payment request describes the beneficiary inconsistently by name and account number, execution of the request will occur on the basis of the account number, even if it identifies a person different from the named beneficiary.

XXII.  Changes in Terms

The policies and procedures outlined in this disclosure were in effect on the date of publication. The Board of Directors reserves the right to change Credit Union policy at any time without prior notice. Please contact us if you wish to determine if any changes have been made. You will receive at least 21 days’ advance written notice of any change, deletion from, or addition to this Agreement that will adversely affect you. Your continued use of the Bill Payer Service after the effective date of the change will constitute your agreement to the changed terms. If you do not want a new or changed term to apply to your use of the Bill Payer Service, please notify us in writing to terminate your service, or you may select the “Stop Bill Service” option to discontinue your Bill Payer Service. (Please refer to “Cancellation of the Bill Payer Service,” section 12.)

XXIII.  Termination

You agree that we can terminate this Agreement and your use of the Bill Payer Service if:

a) You or any authorized user of your Bill Payer Service breach this or any other agreement between us.

b) We have reason to believe that there has been or may be unauthorized use of your Bill Payer Service.

c) If your checking account is closed due to fraudulent activity.

d) There are conflicting claims to funds in your accounts.

e)  You or any authorized signer asks us to do so.

f) You attempt transfers when you do not have available funds or overdraft protection available to cover them.

g) We find it necessary to close your checking account due to NSF activity.

 h) You do not use the service for 90 days.

We reserve the right to discontinue the Bill Payer programs at any time by giving you advance notice.

XXIV.  General Terms

a) When you use the Bill Payer Service to access your accounts or loans, the Credit Union agreements that govern those accounts or loans (such as your Checking Account Agreement or Open End Loan Agreement and Disclosure) also apply.

b)  Non-cash items or ATM deposits you make to your accounts may not be available for immediate withdrawal. Please refer to our Funds Availability Schedule.

c)  We may report you to consumer reporting agencies that report account abuses or loan delinquencies if you fail to meet the terms of this or other agreements governing your accounts or loans with us.

d) The Bill Payer Services are designed and intended to be used for personal, family and household purposes. The Service is not designed for commercial use.

e) California law and applicable federal law, including but not limited to Federal Reserve Regulation E, govern this Agreement.

If any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

XXV.  Enforcement

If an authorized Bill Payment transaction results in a negative balance in any of your accounts, you agree to restore the negative balance immediately upon our demand. If you do not do so, you agree that we can take funds from any Credit Union account in which any owner of the negative balance account has an interest to recover all or part of what you owe us. Our exercise of this right in the event of a negative balance is not an election of remedies and will not waive our right to pursue all other legal means of collecting what you owe us. You agree to pay all of our reasonable collection costs before we take legal action to collect what you owe us. If we do take legal action to collect what you owe us, you agree to pay our reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of suit, in addition to any other remedy the court finds proper. “Legal action” includes but is not limited to a collection lawsuit, an action to protect our interests if you become a debtor in bankruptcy, an appeal, or any other type of legal proceeding. 

XXVI.  In Case of Errors or Questions About Your Electronic Transfers

If you think that an electronic transfer shown on your statement is wrong, or if you need more information about a payment or transfer, contact us immediately at (805) 543-1816 or (805) 227-1030 or fax us at (805) 546-9622, or you can write us at:

SESLOC Federal Credit Union
P.O. Box 5360
San Luis Obispo, California   93403-5360

We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we sent you the first statement on which the error or problem appeared.

a) Tell us your name and account number.

b) Describe the error or the transfer you are unsure about and explain as clearly as you can why you believe there is an error or why you need more information.

c) Tell us the dollar amount and the payee of the suspected error.

If you tell us orally, we may require that you send us your complaint or question in writing within ten (10) business days. We will tell you the results of our investigation within ten (10) business days after we hear from you and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to 45 business days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide to do this, we will re-credit your account within ten business days for the amount you think is in error, so you will have the use of the money while we complete our investigation. If we ask you to put your complaint or questions in writing and we do not receive it within ten business days, we may not re-credit your account during our investigation.

 We will tell you the results of our investigation in writing within three business days of concluding it. You may ask for copies of the documents we used in the investigation. If a notice of error involves an electronic funds transfer that occurred within the first thirty (30) days after deposit to a new account, the applicable time period for action shall be twenty (20) business days in place of ten (10) business days. If a notice of error involves an electronic funds transfer that was initiated in a foreign country, the applicable time period for action shall be ninety (90) calendar days in place of forty-five (45) calendar days.

Go to Bill Pay Q&A     Log on for Bill Pay Service

R 4/10