Lakeview Credit Union in Neenah, WI

Opened my 12/31/13 statement from LVC. They started to take a $5 “dormant acct. fee” out of my acct. on 11/30/13 and 12/31/13. Statements come qtrly – I’ve never had a fee b4 (& my last statement was on 10/31/13). I called & was told only a mgr can reverse fees (so they ARE reversible). I was transferred to a mgr who explained that I am costing the other LVC mbrs $ ($20/year to be exact) by having my acct. open and not using it. The mgr. refused to refund my two $5 “dormant account fees” b/c it “simply costs them too much $ to maintain my savings acct. with them”. I even asked if I sent them more $ to deposit if that would help. It’s not like this is a free checking acct., this is a SAVINGS acct. = $ on deposit that financials use to lend to other people. I explained that I haven’t received a notification of how a dormant acct fee would be starting on my acct. Well, supposedly in their newsletter, there was a write-up about this. Now I would imagine that a two sided 4-page full-color “news letter” costs a lot more to LVC than it does to maintain my savings acct. But that is apparently where the notice was. The last thing I have had time for is to read the small print in a brochure (whoops, I mean newsletter). It’s also curious that statements come 1x/qtr but the fees began implementation mid-qtr. So I’m out my two $5 fees and feel rather ‘duped’. Seems that perhaps a notice should have come with or ON the last qtrly statement (not in some type of advertisement/”newsletter”) & then mbrs would have time to not only read it but react. I guess this is punishment for not reading their full color “newsletter” (i.e. ad) that clearly can’t possibly cost the other mbrs the full $20/year that my savings acct. obviously was costing them. The mgr said that if I re-open an acct. when I get back to town that they will then credit my acct. the fees….I wonder if they’ll do that with interest? I guess I’ll just go back to Community First like I was pre-Kimberly-Clark days and LVC can sleep at night knowing that they recouped 10 of the $20/year it was costing them to maintain my burdensome savings acct. My guess is that it costs LVC a lot more than the $10 reversal of fees I requested to gain new members; and when I get back to town, I certainly won’t be one of them. P.S. my husband’s savings acct. w/ Community First Credit Union has never been charged a “dormant acct. fee” and both of us have been out of town the same amt. of time. FYI: In LVC contact info. section it says, “We want to make money easy for you. We're not-for-profit and member owned, so you get better rates and fewer fees.” They may say that, but they certainly don’t mean it.