First Federal Bank of Louisiana

Check 21

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT

Effective October 28, 2004, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, or "Check 21", will bring the nation's check payment system into the digital age. Improved efficiency in check processing is the main goal of Congress with the enactment of "Check 21."
"Check 21" allows substitute checks to be used. The benefits to you of this are:

   •Faster Clearing of Checks - a more accurate and faster picture of your account balance occurs.
   •Quicker Response - faster retrieval of images means faster problem resolution.
   •More Secure Check Information - no need to physically move checks between financial institutions.
   •Detect Fraud Faster - faster clearing of checks, brings faster detection and investigation of fraud.

Substitute Checks and Your Rights

What is a substitute check?

To make check processing faster, federal law permits banks to replace original checks with "substitute checks." These checks are similar in size to original checks with a slightly reduced image of the front and back of the original check. The front of a substitute check states: "This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check." You may use a substitute check as proof of payment just like the original check.

Some or all of the checks that you receive back from us may be substitute checks. This notice describes rights you have when you receive substitute checks from us. The rights in this notice do not apply to the original checks or to electronic debits to your account. However, you have rights under other law with respect to those transactions.

What are my rights regarding substitute checks?

In certain cases, federal law provides a special procedure that allows you to request a refund for losses you suffer if a substitute check is posted to your account (for example, if you think that we withdrew the wrong amount from your account or that we withdrew money from your account more than once for the same check). The losses you may attempt to recover under this procedure may include the amount that was withdrawn from your account and fees that were charged as a result of the withdrawal (for example, bounced check fees).

The amount of your refund under this procedure is limited to the amount of your loss or the amount of the substitute check, whichever is less. You also are entitled to interest on the amount of your refund if your account is an interest-bearing account. If your loss exceeds the amount of the substitute check, you may be able to recover additional amounts under other law.

If you use this procedure, you may receive up to $2,500 of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) within 10 business days after we reviewed your claim and the remainder of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) not later than 45 calendar days after we received your claim.

We may reverse the refund (including any interest on the refund) if we later are able to demonstrate that the substitute check was correctly posted to your account.

How do I make a claim for a refund?

If you believe that you have suffered a loss relating to a substitute check that you received and that was posted to your account, please write to First Federal Bank of Louisiana, P O Box 1135, Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601, or call us at 337-433-3611. You must contact us within 40 calendar days of the date that we mailed (or otherwise delivered by a means to which you agreed) the substitute check in question or the account statement showing that the substitute check was posted to your account, whichever is later. We will extend this time period if you were not able to make a timely claim because of extraordinary circumstances.
Your claim must include:

   * A description of why you have suffered a loss (for example, you think the amount withdrawn was incorrect);
   * An estimate of the amount of your loss;
   * An explanation of why the substitute check you received is insufficient to confirm that you suffered a loss; and
   * A copy of the substitute check and/or the following information to help us identify the substitute check: the check number, the name of the person to whom you wrote the check, and the amount of the check.

"Market data is provided by DTN without any warranty of any kind. Use of the data and its contents are at your risk. DTN and its content providers are not liable for any damages users may incur from use of the data. DTN makes no representation that the information presented is accurate, complete or timely."

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Shop online with greater security at participating stores listed at www.verifiedbyvisa.com

Once you activate your card, Verified by Visa® protects you at every participating online store--so only you can use your card.

Q: What is Verified by Visa® and how does it work?
A: Verified by Visa® is a program designed to provide an extra level of protection against Internet fraud. On Internet transactions between participating cardholders and participating merchants, Verified by Visa® requires a cardholder password to confirm the cardholder’s identity and complete the purchase.

Q: Are all of First Federal’s Check Card and Credit Card holders enrolled?
A: Yes. When First Federal requested Verified by Visa®, all of First Federal’s cardholders were automatically enrolled in the program. However, the cards must be activated by the cardholders.

Q: How are the individual cards activated?
A: A card can be activated either while shopping at a participating Internet merchant or by visiting www.verifiedbyvisa.com. Business Credit Cards can only be activated through www.verifiedbyvisa.com.

To activate during Internet shopping: The cardholder is prompted (usually by a pop-up window) to enter his or her five (5) digit zip code, and the last three (3) digits of the signature panel code on the back of the card. This data is authenticated and the cardholder is prompted to select a password. When the password is entered, the card is activated.

To activate through www.verifiedbyvisa.com: The cardholder visits the website and follows the appropriate steps to select a password, and the card is activated.

Q: What if the cardholder’s computer settings will not allow pop-up windows?
A: Pop-up window "killer" programs may interfere with activation and authentication.

Q: How many characters should the password be?
A: Verified by Visa® passwords should be 8 to 10 characters and can be special characters, letters or numbers. The passwords are case sensitive.

Q: Can a cardholder establish a password hint?
A: Yes, this can be done at any time by visiting www.verifiedbyvisa.com. Business Credit Cards can only be activated through www.verifiedbyvisa.com.

Q: Where are the Terms and Conditions (also called Terms of Service)?
A: During Internet shopping, a link to Terms and Conditions will be available near the bottom of the Verified by Visa® window. Alternatively, you can view the Terms of Service at www.verifiedbyvisa.com. Business Credit Cards can only be activated through www.verifiedbyvisa.com.

Q: Where is the list of merchants who participate?
A: A list of participating merchants can be viewed at www.verifiedbyvisa.com. Business Credit Cards can only be activated through www.verifiedbyvisa.com.

To Report Lost or Stolen Card
To Report Lost or Stolen First Federal
Check Cards or Credit Cards

To report your First Federal Check Card or Credit Card lost or stolen during business hours, please call 1.337.433.3611 (out of area 1.800.860.1238). (Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST, excluding holidays and weekends).

To report your card lost or stolen after business hours, please call the number mentioned above for the appropriate card.

As an additional precaution, please call your local First Federal account representative as soon as possible to report your card lost or stolen. Please have your account information available at the time of the call.

Disclaimer: This site may contain links to third party websites. These websites have no official relationship with First Federal Bank of Louisiana. We provide this information as a convenience to First Federal Bank of Louisiana visitors. First Federal Bank of Louisiana does not endorse or guarantee the quality or services provided by these establishments. By selecting these links, you will be leaving First Federal Bank of Louisiana's webspace. First Federal Bank of Louisiana does not guarantee the accuracy or content of these pages.

"Market data is provided by DTN without any warranty of any kind. Use of the data and its contents are at your risk. DTN and its content providers are not liable for any damages users may incur from use of the data. DTN makes no representation that the information presented is accurate, complete or timely."

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SUPPORT INFORMATION

QUICKEN USERS

If you currently use Online Banking with Quicken and First Federal Bank of Louisiana, you will need to perform one of the following actions. Otherwise, you may receive an error message (OL-202, OL-249, or OL-297) and may not be able to connect and perform transaction download (through Quicken) with First Federal Bank of Louisiana.

Quicken Windows Users – One Step Update
1) Choose “One Step Update” from the Quicken “Finance” menu (“Online” Menu in Quicken 99).

2) Remove all the checkmarks and then click “Update Now”.

3) Important! At the completion of the One Step Update process, exit and then restart Quicken.

If this update does not allow you to download your transactions, refer to the Instructions for Quicken 2001 on Windows XP users.

Quicken for Macintosh Users
Quicken for Mac customers are required to download the latest patch to continue to use Online Banking. To download and install the latest update to Quicken for Mac, choose Check for Updates from File menu and follow the on-screen instructions.

You may also find the latest update file and detailed instructions at:http://www.intuit.com/downloads/?lid=button.

If you have Quicken 2001 on Windows XP or continue to receive the error after performing a One Step Update in Quicken for Windows:
Intuit has provided a file that will allow you to download your transactions. Simply download the file from the Intuit site and install into your Quicken Program directory. You can find the file and detailed instructions at: http://www.intuit.com

If you encounter the following message while logging into the Online Banking system, please continue reading:

“Information you exchange with this site cannot be viewed or changed by others. However, there is a problem with the site’s security certificate.”

There is a Verisign defect that affects any Global Server IDs issued after December 6, 2001. Several hardware upgrades have been installed since this date and these upgrades included installation of Verisign Global Server IDs that are affected. As a result, you may encounter the above message during the log-in process.

We would like to assure you the applications are secure and this error message does not prevent access to Online Banking. This message is caused by an inconsistency between the expiration dates of the new Global Server ID and the Certificates previously issued by Verisign. Verisign has developed a patch for end user's Internet browsers to correct the issue.

End user's that are using Internet Explorer 4.0 or that have upgraded to Internet Explorer 5.0 prior to 12/6/2001 may be affected by this defect. End users that are currently using IE 4.0 can correct the problem by either updating to IE 5.0 or by installing the patch that is contained at the following website: https://www.verisign.com/support/site/getCA.html

A patch has been released for Microsoft's Internet Explorer certificate validation process vulnerability.

This patch has been certified, and its installation is recommended if Internet Explorer is used for outbound Internet access.

Please note that there may be installation issues with respect to particular hardware platforms. Therefore, it is recommended that you consult with Microsoft and your individual hardware manufacturers to ensure that the patch is compatible with your particular configurations.

IE 5.0 users that encounter the problem should also install this patch. This process is intended to ensure that the end user is using the most current root certificate.