RANT: What I like and dislike about Credit Unions

[RossMAN]

For ages I've known that Credit Unions are usually non-profit, owned by the members and aren't as greedy as corporate banks are (I work for one).

So this week I've decided to open 2 accounts with local Credit Unions, so far here's what I like and dislike (one major dislike indicated in BOLD):

Pro's:
My wife has ZERO credit in the United States since she's Australian. Her name appeared but no credit history and no credit score. The loan rep said she'd give her the benefit of the doubt and approved her on the spot for an unsecured $500 VISA credit card. The bad news is it has a $25 annual fee but that's the cost of having credit, we could have gone with a "secured credit card" but this was easier. I was really impressed with that, at my bank you'd have to raise hell and escalate the issue up several managers who would have still declined my wife for a credit card. She was approved instantaneously on the spot!
Personalized friendly service, you are no longer a "number"
You don't get charged to talk to a teller, use an ATM, or by calling them with a question
No monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements, no direct deposit requirement
RATES! With only $25 in my savings account I'm earning 2%, I'd have to have over $25,000 in my corporate bank's account to earn 2%.

Con's:
Since they use a clearing house (outsource) clearing checks, they only microfiche cancelled checks then destroy them!!!
Credit Unions usually only have 1 branch (except for some teachers, city/state/federal CU's).
Their internet banking sucks compared to mine (considered one of THE BEST in the banking industry)
They do not offer 24/7 telephone customer service, usually it's 7-6PM weekdays and closed on weekends/holidays
They offer fewer products than a corporate bank does
There's only 1 or a handful of branches in one city compared to thousands of branches nationwide
Only a few ATMs compared to thousands of ATMs nationwide

I think I'll eventually get over the fact that I won't get my cancelled checks back. So far I'm loving the higher interest rate, personal customer service and perks of being a Credit Union customer.

One of my main motivations to join a CU was in 1 year I hope to re-fi my Honda Accord and I think CU's are slightly more leniant in approving loans than traditional banks are.

If you'd like information from a Credit Union near you, here's two directories:
Credit Unions Online
NCUA.gov

 

[FoBoT]

my credit union has two branches , both located near my route to work each day, so it works out ok
they save me a lot of money in fees (i don't pay any ) and gave me a vehicle loan based mainly on my income/good work history, my credit at the moment is a bit tarnished, a bank would have denied me i am sure or charged me 20%

i like credit unions

 

[pyonir]

i've never had to use a cancelled check. had an account for 8 years. *shrug*

 

[RossMAN]

I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

Use duplicate checks.

amish

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Use duplicate checks

that is what i have.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

Use duplicate checks.

amish

I do.

I've had situations (with Sears and Montgomery Ward) where they claim I didn't make a payment or didn't make it on time or whatever bogus bullsh!t they come up with. Once I sent them a front/back copy of the cancelled check, there was no question that I was right and they were wrong, my credit reports were corrected without incident.

Maybe I'm weird I just like having my cancelled checks although the chances of me actually using them are slim to none.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

You guys don't have tags on your files to know if someone is looking at your account? I work for a bank as a programmer and the mainframe files, I've been told, have tags so that if someone looks at a bank employee's account, that tag is modified. Not too entirely sure how that works since I'm a Java programmer, not a mainframe programmer.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

Use duplicate checks.

amish

I do.

I've had situations (with Sears and Montgomery Ward) where they claim I didn't make a payment or didn't make it on time or whatever bogus bullsh!t they come up with. Once I sent them a front/back copy of the cancelled check, there was no question that I was right and they were wrong, my credit reports were corrected without incident.

Maybe I'm weird I just like having my cancelled checks although the chances of me actually using them are slim to none.

One local credit union claims to have copies of cancelled checks loaded for 'net access.

amish

 

[RossMAN]

AmigaMan - I think we might but I'm not sure who investigates the issue if there's a "hit" (another bank employee is checking out your account or did a search based on your name). One time a co-worker needed to know the birthday for another co-worker (surprise bday office party), so she looked up her account just like that. That infuriated me beyond no belief!

Electric Amish - Now that'd be a cool feature to have, I should ask them and see if that's available online, thanks!

 

[OutHouse]

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

My wife worked for a small bank and all the employees that had accounts there were blocked from other employees. when ever i went in to cash a check they would try to look up my account and say things like "this is weird, are you sure you have an account here?" hehehe

I too am thinking of switching to a credit union, atleast for a second account.

 

[RossMAN]

Citrix - I think our bank should do that and it shouldn't be that difficult from a programming standpoint. All of our employee accounts are flagged EMPLOYEE, so if any bank employee wants to look up an account which is flagged EMPLOYEE I think only a manager should be allowed to do that. Oh well, it won't be an issue for me after I have the direct deposit switched over to the Credit Union.

I gotta hobble to the car now, going to open the 2nd Credit Union account today!

 

[Kenazo]

I have my main account at one of the largest CU's in Canada. They have some of the best rates in Canada, which is why I like them However, from my experience it is more difficult or perhaps complicated is a better word, to get a loan from a CU as they are very careful who they lend to. A bank just runs you through a predetermined set of variables/inputs and decides from there. At the CU they know you better etc. however the decision is usually determined by a board or committee and will be discussed and voted on. So it can be a much longer process than a large bank.

Also, I get all my cheques back with my statements, and up here all the CU's are linked so you can use any CU ATM with a very low fee (as compared to using a bank ATM which will cost upwards of $1).

All in all, I love it. Where else do you get money back at the end of the year if they did really well?? Last year my CU paid back several million dollars to the account holders.

EDIT: I just checked the regular savings rate -> 3%

 

[milagro]

Originally posted by: Kenazo
will be discussed and voted on. So it can be a much longer process than a large bank.

Also, I get all my cheques back ....

All those in favor of providing a loan for a tank say "eh"

 

[Murpheeee]

I have had a credit union account for 4 years now, and would never go back to a bank.

The bank I used to have would not give me an overdraft, the final straw came when I forgot to enter soemthing in Quicken and a check to the phone company bounced.....the bank charged me a $35 fee for mailing me letter telling me I was overdrawn and the phone company charged me another $30 returned check fee....costly mistake.

I was so pissed I switched to a Credit Union and instantly got a $500 overdraft.
The service is excellent, they really treat you like a human and a vaued customer.
Great rates on loans too.

 

[RossMAN]

Murpheeee - It's amazing how profitable it is for banks to charge fees and you get hit twice. First your bank charges you then the merchant charges you an NSF fee.

Fortunately I have my checking linked to my credit card in case an overdraft hits, which it never has

 

[NesuD]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I'm starting to like Credit Unions also, just wish I could get over the whole not getting my cancelled checks back issue (maybe I need therapy? ).

Since I'm going to have my Direct Deposit going to the Credit Union now, it's nice that fellow bank employees won't be able to look at my accounts and see how much $ I make.

Well they will provide you with copies of any of those checks you may need upon request what more could you need.
By the way I am a bit biased My wife is a Vice President of a local county wide credit union here. I love my Credit Union.

 

[RossMAN]

Good news, the second Credit Union (where I intend to do most of my banking, the first will be the wifey's CU since it's close to her work) offers 5 free check copies which they provide online.

Apparently it's copies of front/back and they're pretty clear, I can't wait to give it a test.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: pyonir
i've never had to use a cancelled check. had an account for 8 years. *shrug*

Same here but only 3 years.

 

[vi edit]

Credit Unions are soooooo much better than banks. Ever compare consumer loan rates? Hehehe. Total 0wnage on the Credit Unions part. I'm a member at two credit unions. I usually get my loans through CU #1, since I can get insane loan rates through them. Then, every now and then, CU #2 will have a deal where they will refinance your loans, at 1% lower interest rate than your current bank offers.

Sweet.

 

[kranky]

Does anyone have any problems getting membership at Credit Unions? I have accounts at three different CUs and each time I had to be affiliated with a certain group in order to join. Or don't those restrictions apply any longer? Can anyone join any CU?

 

[Stark]

I work for a credit union. We have 9 branches (I drive to all of them) and our internet banking is pretty good (except for when our webserver goes down).

Credit Unions rock!

 

[iamwiz82]

my credit union has great online banking and has 5 main locations and 24 service centers

 

[bunker]

I've been a Credit Union member for 15 years now. I love it.

As far as the cancelled checks go, I've never had a problem getting a printout of the front and back of a check for the same reason you used your actual cancelled checks. I fax in the request (require a sig) and have it within the hour.

My only gripe, which is one of yours as well, is the ATM situation. My credit union is back in Michigan and since I'm in Georgia now, I get hit with fees whenever I use an ATM down here. I rarely use it though because I have an account at a regular bank here for my day to day needs and only use the CU for my daughter's savings and major loans/financial transactions.

 

[Parrotheader]

I've had an account at my credit union since I was a pre-teen mowing yards for spare cash. Now that I'm married I still have the same account (split with my wife of course.) We love it. We only keep our primary savings there though. For convienence factor, we keep our primary checking in a regular bank. However, the interest on our checking account at the credit union blows the rates of the savings at the regular bank out of the water. Even in a rather stagnant economy my savings at the credit union was still earning well over 4% last time I checked. Back in the late 90s it was getting well over 6%. And without a doubt we'll most likely be going to them for any auto loans in the future. I love that place.

We personally don't need all the fluffy features that come with a bank most of the time. I could care less about my cancelled checks (never needed them) and we actually use the online banking very little from both the CU and the bank.