Client Review on NORTH SIDE COMMUNITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Feedback:

I have had a savings account there for years and I don’t see any perks.1) It is very hard for me to actually talk to someone. The menu comes on and the call transfers but they don’t answer or they pick up then hang up more often than not. Some employees respond better to emails, some don’t. They respond quickly to the emails from the website but it’s hard to login unless you have your account info in front of you.2) I got an auto loan through them, but they were only .25% lower than the competitors offer and I had issues with them not pulling my auto pay (and telling me I was at risk of having my car shut off) twice the first year. They also initially wouldn’t backdate payments they took out late, a big NO NO. Also, if I want to make extra payments, I have to contact the CU and schedule it through a person manually applying the payment.3) I attended a credit/home buying consultation and the guy gave me misinformation on the home buying and not much help on the credit part. I found that out when I want to the home buying seminar they told me to go to.4) I most recently requested a debt consolidation loan for credit cards (I requested 10k) bc my credit card utilization brought my score down significantly. This was suggested by my mortgage lender who pre-approved a mortgage, but used a tool that showed that if my credit card debt was transferred to a personal loan, my score could increase by 80 pts and I could get a better interest rate. I applied through the credit unions website at a cost of $30. They only use TransUnion (which was my lowest score-50 pts less than my highest) so instead of being considered on the credit score spectrum (like they do for mortgages), I was stuck w the lower score. Then I got an email saying they could only approve me up to $3k (!!!!!) bc of my low credit score. Circular logic: we won’t give you a personal loan to improve your credit score bc your credit score is too low. I was also given a lengthy list of items to submit to continue the loan approval process.5) The very next day, I ended up getting a loan for the full $10k at a reasonable rate over 3 years at a competitor (I had multiple offers) who had the funds to me within a week. No prepayment penalties and they did their own legwork of calling to verify the info I put on the application instead of asking me to gather the various paperwork. And I can make extra payments any time I want as needed. 6) I always get mail from a 3rd party through them trying to sell me all different kinds of insurance that I don’t need and can’t seem to opt out of.7) The only good thing I have to say is that Maria Montoya is pretty helpful. She has limitations on what she can do due to policy, but she tries to help and is the most consistent with communication.As soon as I finish the home buying process I’m refinancing my car and closing my account there. Idk what they do for the community, but they haven’t done much for me.