ROCHESTER, N.Y. — We begin this consumer alert with a question.  How often do you carry cash?  If you said, not often, you’re not alone. And Monday morning, some cashless ESL customers got an unpleasant surprise. When they tried to use their debit cards, their cards were declined, even though they had sufficient funds. The issue involved ESL Visa debit cards. And while the credit union’s spokesperson says they were able to rectify the problem by 11 a.m., it was a major inconvenience for some members.

One viewer told us she was unable to pay her bills. She went on to say quote, “If this issue doesn’t get resolved quickly, I don’t know what that’s going to do for my livelihood.” Another viewer told us her boyfriend was remodeling an office building and couldn’t finish his project after his card was declined at Lowes. 

“They try to cash him out there and they’re all looking at him like he has no money in his account, his girlfriend, Erica Anderson told us. “And he says no, I swear, ‘I have over a thousand dollars in my account.  I can cover this.  This is a $10 item. But I don’t have another credit card. I don’t have any cash. I have no way to pay for this’. So, he ended up having to push off this project until our cards start working again.” 

She said both have been ESL members for about two decades and nothing like this has ever happened before.

I contacted the credit union and a spokesman responded by email, writing, “While we experienced an issue with our debit cards this morning that caused them to be declined, the issue has been resolved since 11 a.m. and all debit cards are working again. If customers have any questions about their accounts, they should contact us directly by calling us at (585) 336-1000 or stopping in their nearest branch.

When asked what caused the issue, he wouldn’t respond.  But he added, “The issue has been identified, and steps are being taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

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