Assiniboine Credit Union mistakenly charges members $1,000 'Maintenance Service Charge'

An ACU member account that was mistakenly billed $1,000 for a maintenance service charge on Oct. 31, 2021.

WINNIPEG -

Some Manitobans banking with Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) were erroneously charged a $1,000 maintenance fee by the financial co-operative.

A photo provided to CTV News shows an ACU member account billed with a $1,000 “Maintenance Service Charge” on Oct. 31.

A spokesperson for ACU confirms that some members were charged $1,000 instead of their usual monthly fee, which ranges between $3 and $16.50, depending on the plan.

“As soon as we saw the issue we immediately took action to correct it,” reads a statement from ACU.

“We are investigating how this happened, and the extent, to ensure it does not happen again,” the statement continued.

On Monday morning, Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) alerted members on social media of the issue.

A flurry of responses came in from members complaining about the charge and long wait times to reach an ACU attendant and rectify the charge.

“Just a minor inconvenience to be honest,” Apenimon Mato wrote to CTV News. “I was putting in gas and noticed it, they called me back and I have already been reimbursed the amount.”

Naomi Joy had a similar experience, telling CTV News in a statement that the “matter was dealt with promptly and they returned my call.”

Some members, however, were none too pleased with the exorbitant charge even if it was quickly resolved.

“$1,000 isn’t something you brush off and carry on with your day, even assuming it’s a bank error and it’ll be corrected,” Miles Majcher wrote CTV News.

“It’s emotional stress as much as financial.” 

In an updated statement, Assiniboine Credit Union told CTV news the source of the issue was not a hack of their systems and all fees will be returned to members by the end of the day.