BURBANK, Calif. – A long-time member of Partners FCU is in a dispute with her credit union over four round-trip plane tickets to China that were secretly charged to her Visa card by an unauthorized third party--her ten-year-old son.
Susan Kuoch, an active member for more than two decades, insists that she should not be liable for the more than $4,000 in charges accrued by her boy because she contacted the credit union within days of the February 1 charges.
At first, she asked the credit union to cancel the card because she thought she was the victim of an online identity thief. But then she realized it was her son who made the unauthorized purchases over the Internet. The flights were scheduled for last month.
The member argued that she should not be liable because the transactions were made by a minor child, according to documents filed in federal court in a suit where the Partners’ member is suing CUNA Mutual Group.
The credit union reversed its decision to not hold her responsible for the purported identity theft, saying "you refuse to prosecute (your son), therefore, you are liable for the charges...there are no Visa regulations that permit us to obtain a credit on your behalf."
Attorneys for the credit union were not immediately available Friday.
In her suit, Kuoch claims her son’s purchase of the China tickets violated the provision of the Truth In Lending Act that makes a cardholder liable for unauthorized use of their credit card if, among other things, "the card issuer has provided a method whereby the user of such card can be identified as the person authorized to use it." Since the unauthorized transaction occurred online this provision was not met, claims the member.
The suit also claims the young boy’s purchase also constituted a "billing error" under the Fair Credit Billing Act under Reg Z.
The credit union, according to the suit, maintains the member is liable for the costs, unless she prosecutes her son for fraud.
