credit unions- worth the trouble?

[Anonymous]

It seems there are some credit unions opening their doors to more members (I am self employed). I am interested in refinancing and doing some other banking at a credit union, but I keep seeing very very unfavorable Yelp reviews about service quality.



I rely heavily on online banking and it seems most credit unions get such bad scores with their online banking that it would not be worth the trouble.

Over and voer again reviewers indicate they wanted to get away from big banks and ended up instead with abysmal service and incompetent bank employees.


Has anyone joined a credit union and used it as a secondary bank to get a refi or loan? In other words, not transferring all accounts over.

[Anonymous]

I have my mortgage and one secondary account with my work credit union. They are a dream to deal with. I keep my day to day checking with a major bank - too much of a PITA to move everything. I will move it all of the major bank makes too many more changes to my accounts, though.

[Anonymous]

I love our credit union! We've been with JFCU forever.

[Anonymous]

We use our Credit Union for nearly everything and do it all online. I think it depends on which Credit Union.

[Anonymous]

Also love our credit union. Capital one was a nightmare and Wachovia was even worse. Those big banks exist to make money off their customers through random fees and moving due dates that trigger late fees.

[Anonymous]

We love the federal credit union. When we moved to the Midwest we still kept it. They link with other credit unions so you can use a lot of different ATMs without fees. Our online banking is great and you can do deposits by taking a picture of the check. We do everything from mortgages to car purchases to kid accounts with them.

[Anonymous]

I love my credit union, but they are not all created equal. Mine is out in CA so of no use to you. It was my primary account when single, and I still keep it as my separate account where I handle my business transactions. Online banking had always been a piece of cake.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The ones I am considering are Lafayette and Signal. Both with branches in Kensington. Both with some pretty bad yelp reviews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The ones I am considering are Lafayette and Signal. Both with branches in Kensington. Both with some pretty bad yelp reviews.

Lafayette is terrible. We have an account with them and also use another credit union. We plant on closing out the Lafayette account. We have had multiple screwups with them when we had to get debit cards replaced, and we have also had fiascos with them when trying to wire money. Also, their website is from the 90s. Complete with retro buttons, and when you get into the account pages after you login, website is even more retro looking. Does not inspire confidence.

[Anonymous]

They are all different! I've been a member of one for over 20 years and couldn't be happier. Regardless, if you hate it then close the account.

[Anonymous]

A couple things to consider- I love our credit union but I've never done a Yelp review on it. I worked for banks for years and it really depends on the branch for service. We have Pentagon Federal (if you are non-military, you donate to their military fund for $20 to become a member). They have far more updated technology than Wells Fargo where we have our checking account. From PenFed, I can transfer money between the credit union and bank for free via ACH credits/debits which I can't do from Wells.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

What is the trouble with credit union. I can't imagine giving money to a bank.

[Anonymous]

I have to say, after just having read through tons of reviews of my two beloved banks, most people who write reviews are ANGRY because something went wrong. People who have nothing go wrong are much less likely to write a review.

Also the root of the negative reviews is important to consider. Is there a trend to them?

I do a lot of banking through Navy Federal Credit Union and it's been nothing but awesome (auto loans, checking, savings, IRAs, mortgage). If you are even remotely related to a DoD employee or contractor, you should get membership with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love our credit union! We've been with JFCU forever.

+1

[Anonymous]

Huge fan of Navy Federal!