Digital Federal Credit Union UCC termination - member trying to clear lien after payoff
I paid off my equipment loan with Digital Federal Credit Union back in October and they said they'd file the UCC termination within 30 days. It's been almost 3 months now and when I check the Secretary of State website, the original UCC-1 is still showing as active with no termination on file. I need this cleared because I'm trying to refinance with another lender and they won't proceed until the lien is officially terminated. Has anyone dealt with Digital Federal Credit Union dragging their feet on UCC terminations? The loan department keeps telling me 'it's being processed' but I'm starting to worry they forgot or messed something up. I have the payoff letter showing zero balance but that's apparently not enough for the new lender - they want to see the actual UCC-3 termination filed with the state. Any advice on how to light a fire under them to get this done?
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Liam Cortez
Oh man, credit unions can be slow with the administrative stuff sometimes. Did you get the payoff in writing? That's usually when the 30-day clock starts ticking for the termination filing. Some institutions don't start the process until they receive the written payoff confirmation internally.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Yeah I have the payoff letter dated October 15th, so we're definitely past the 30 days. I called again yesterday and they said the termination request is 'in queue' but couldn't give me a timeline.
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Savannah Vin
•Queue is code for 'we haven't done it yet' in my experience. At 3 months you have every right to be pushy about this.
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Mason Stone
Digital Federal should definitely have this done by now. Under the UCC, they're supposed to file the termination within a reasonable time after payoff - 30 days is pretty standard. You might want to escalate beyond the loan department to their compliance officer or member services supervisor. Credit unions usually respond better when you mention compliance issues.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Good point about compliance. I'll try that angle. Do you know if there are any penalties for institutions that don't file terminations in a timely manner?
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Mason Stone
•Depends on your state, but some have statutory damages for failure to file timely terminations. Even mentioning that you're aware of potential penalties usually gets them moving faster.
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Makayla Shoemaker
•I had a similar issue with another credit union last year. Once I mentioned filing a complaint with the state credit union regulator, they had the termination filed within 48 hours.
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Christian Bierman
This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai for document verification after loan payoffs. You can upload your payoff letter and the original UCC-1 filing, and it immediately flags any inconsistencies or missing terminations. Would have caught this delay much earlier and given you documentation to push the credit union harder.
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Emma Olsen
•Never heard of that service. Does it actually interface with the state filing systems to check termination status?
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Christian Bierman
•It cross-references all your documents and highlights discrepancies. Really helpful for catching these administrative delays before they become bigger problems with new lenders.
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Lucas Lindsey
UGH this is so frustrating! I'm dealing with something similar right now with a different lender. Why do they make it so hard to clear liens when you've already paid everything off?? It should be automatic!
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Sophie Duck
•I feel your pain. The whole UCC system seems designed to create headaches for borrowers even after they've fulfilled their obligations.
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Austin Leonard
•It's because most institutions treat terminations as low priority back-office work. They got their money, so there's no urgency from their perspective.
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Anita George
Have you tried reaching out to Digital Federal's president or CEO directly? I know it sounds extreme, but sometimes executive escalation is the only thing that works. Most credit unions pride themselves on member service, so having a member complaint reach the C-suite usually results in immediate action.
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Kiara Fisherman
•That's actually not a bad idea. I've been a member there for over 10 years, so this kind of delay is really disappointing.
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Abigail Spencer
•Executive escalation works. I did it with my mortgage company when they wouldn't release a lien. Got a call from their office within 2 hours and the termination was filed that same day.
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Logan Chiang
Check the original UCC-1 filing carefully - sometimes credit unions mess up the debtor name slightly or use different entity variations, which can complicate the termination process. If there's a name mismatch between your loan docs and the UCC filing, that could explain the delay.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Interesting point. I should double-check that. The loan was in my business name but I don't remember exactly how they filed the UCC-1 originally.
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Isla Fischer
•This is super common. I've seen terminations delayed for months because the original filing had 'LLC' and the termination tried to use 'L.L.C.' or some other variation.
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Miles Hammonds
•Exactly why document verification tools are so valuable. They catch these name inconsistencies immediately instead of letting them cause months of delays.
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Ruby Blake
Three months is way too long. I'd draft a formal complaint letter referencing the UCC article 9 requirements for timely termination and send it certified mail to their compliance department. That usually gets corporate attention pretty quickly.
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Micah Franklin
•Good advice on the certified mail. Creates a paper trail and shows you're serious about pursuing the issue formally.
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Kiara Fisherman
•I'll try the compliance officer route first, but if that doesn't work within a week I'm definitely sending a formal complaint letter.
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Ella Harper
Just went through this exact scenario with my equipment refinancing. New lender wouldn't proceed until they saw the actual UCC-3 termination on file, not just the payoff letter. Ended up having to get my attorney involved to push the original lender. Cost me $500 in legal fees but it got resolved in 3 days after months of runaround.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Ugh, I really don't want to involve attorneys but if they keep stalling I might not have a choice. The new loan terms expire next month.
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Ella Harper
•Sometimes just mentioning attorney involvement without actually hiring one is enough to get them moving. Worth a try before spending the money.
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PrinceJoe
•Legal threats work but you have to be prepared to follow through. Empty threats usually backfire with credit unions.
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Brooklyn Knight
Digital Federal has always been slow with their back office operations in my experience. Great rates but terrible follow-through on administrative tasks. I'd definitely escalate to member services management and mention that you're considering switching your primary banking relationship over this issue.
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Owen Devar
•The threat of losing a long-term member relationship is usually effective with credit unions since they're member-owned.
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Kiara Fisherman
•That's probably my next step. I have my business accounts there too, so losing that relationship would hurt them more than just the loan payoff.
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Daniel Rivera
Whatever you do, document everything - dates of calls, names of representatives, reference numbers, etc. If you end up filing a regulatory complaint, having detailed records makes a huge difference in how seriously they take your case.
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Sophie Footman
•This is crucial advice. I learned this the hard way when I had to file a complaint with the CFPB over a different lender issue.
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Kiara Fisherman
•I've been keeping notes but I should probably create a more formal log. Thanks for the reminder.
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Connor Rupert
•Also take screenshots of the SOS website showing the unfiled termination with timestamps. Visual proof is powerful when escalating complaints.
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