This bank sucks for many reasons, don't bank here. If you already have an account, close it and run. Not only have they totally screwed up and became insolvent and now managed by the government, their accounts are also filled with hidden fees that they will not waive even though they were not charged fairly. One example to consider is their checking account comes with a fee for using any ATM other than theirs, even if it is within the coop network (other credit unions). All that stuff you hear about free atm usage at other CU's is bs, as they will charge you a dollar per transaction reflected on your account at the end of the month. Sometimes they will, and sometimes they wont. There really is no pattern, and the branch workers have no good explanation. This bank is horrible, go to wells fargo or b of a. Edit: As an exact opposite of this crappy bank, Addison Avenue CU is offering to refund ALL ATM fees on their checking accounts. read more

I want to first say that I don't use CEFCU as my everyday bank. But today I went in to buy some $2 bills and speak to someone about the loan process. Antonio Villa was very helpful and very professional. I didn't like the fact that I was given a paper application, but I was told I can just as easily apply online. They only had 3 $2 bills for me, (I buy them as stocking stuffers) but he did take the time to call the other branches to locate more for me and told me he could give me a call when they get more in. I know to a few that this isn't a big deal, but I saw it as he went the extra mile for something as small as that ask. I will keep my savings account with them. But in the end I do miss Valley Credit Union. read more

I have been banking here for many years, and have had a good experience. These days, I usually bring my checks into the bank to deposit, and the people are friendly. It's nice that they have a play area for kids, my daughter likes going to the bank because of this. I usually have to drag her out of there when I am done. Since the people there know me, they are very nice about working with me and even reversing occasional insufficient funds fees. I doubt I would get this level of customer service from the bigger banks. read more

I have had this credit union for almost 15years now, I love this Bank. Although I miss the VP, like L. white, I still have Vanessa , as the Head. The young man as a willow Glen Manager is also Nice and Good to meet. I speak with Customer service Back ground and I mean service. These people are working hard to regain our trust again. I'll buy my next car from them. I think it is 5 stars now. read more

Before I moved to Illinois two years ago I lived in San Jose for over five years, and in the Bay Area all of my life (+40 years) From a personal standpoint I never used Valley, because professionally they were a poor group of managers to work with. My wife had been a CEFCU member for years before moving to California in 2000. Since moving here I became a member and have had exceptional service from them, and their loan rates were/are the best in town. For awhile I sold cars, and we used them as our 1st resource. The only downside has been that their security system for fraud detection has yet to be updated for quite some time, but they always err on the safe side, and I am ok with that. They are always very friendly and helpful, and by comparison, they are the best financial institute I have ever been with. Better than BofA, Wells, Home Savings-- and they are on par with PATELCO, another fine organization. Credit Unions are the way to go folks, and leave the "business" of banking to the banks! read more

I've been a member of CEFCU for 24 yrs! The customer servicer has been above board, always polite and friendly. Very helpful with all my banking needs. I will continue to be a dedicated customer and have referred Cefcu to friends and family. read more

My experience with CEFCU has not been very good at all. I realize there will be bad employees in every corporation but sometimes that can be an indication of the tone at the top and the company's initiatives that drive the HR process (especially in hiring). I had an auto loan with this bank that began in June 2015. The car I had was involved in an accident. I continued to pay the loan even though the car was totaled. After 5 months of dealing with my insurance company and this bank, I had a conference call with my insurance representative and the account manager of my loan at CEFCU. They determined together that the remainder of the loan would be paid off by my insurance company after I signed off a document to release the title. The next time I talked to Sergio the loan manager at CEFCU, he was the rudest representative I've ever dealt with. From the start of the phone conversation he had a condescending attitude and began telling me it was my fault the loan hadn't been paid off. After listening to his attitude for five minutes and him not offering any assistance, I realized I would literally have to walk this bank through each step of the process to make sure it didn't get bottlenecked at CEFCU only for me to be charged more late fees and be blamed for their lack of action. Needless to say I will not be doing business with CEFCU again. I highly suggest they take their employees through customer service, communication and personality training. Your front line employees are in contact with your customers everyday meaning they represent the company. One "reviewer"(probably an employee of CEFCU) gave an updated review saying the reviews hadn't caught up with the merge or something. Sorry, that's not accurate at ~6 of the reviews that are under 3 stars are within the last 5 or 6 months. I would say that's a fairly recent representation. read more

Almost every time I make a purchase, I have to go to the Bank to get cash. Whenever, I attempt to use my debit card to make a purchase, the card declines even though I have money in my acct. I have tried to use my checking acct. twice to pay my utility bill and CEFCU kicks it back to the utility co that the acct. number is incorrect. I finally had to take proof of my acct. information to the utility company as proof. Again, I had to go to the bank to get cash. I call the 800 number but I sit on the phone entirely too long. I heard nothing but good things about CEFCU but my experience has been HORRIBLE ! I am now looking for a different credit union or bank. read more

Another thumb's down for the new CU overlords. I also lost online access--had to go down to the branch twice to get it straightened out. Between the two visits I spent almost an hour waiting in line. At this moment I've been on hold for 30 minutes trying to get help activating my debit card. Their "hold music" is interspersed with political spam asking me to contact my representative about some legislation and "saving my debit card"...not cool. read more

After my credit union turned me down without being able to speak to a single live person to explain my desire to zero out all my credit cards in a low interest auto loan, I decided to give them a shot. Got a live person, they started the application via phone then said they would have someone call me back to work with me. I figured, oh great, another turn down for no reason, I will get a call in a week. With in the day I had gotten a call and was getting a GREAT rate on my auto loan. I will have to update whom helped me, but she was awesome! She knows I'm a single working mom, with a impatient little 19 month old son at the time, so almost everything was done by email. In and out in under 10 minutes with the rate I knew I deserved when we went to the actual branch on Meridian. Great bank, great rate and GREAT ability to look at your situation and handle your loan like a person not a number. read more

poor customer service and no follow up! closed all my accounts today and they didnt seem to care

Do NOT bank here. Their ATMS are HORRIBLE! They never work, or it takes 20min for the machine to process that you're trying to deposit money. It's absolutely ridiculous! I would do direct deposit but in my case I cannot because of the banks process time, so if you are using it for a car loan etc, make sure you are able to transfer your funds wirelessly. read more

What horrible service since the Valley CU merger. I agree with the comments below, run don't walk to a new bank.

When I first opened my account at this bank it wasn't exactly what I had hoped for and I was actually thinking I had made a mistake except for the young man who assisted me in opening the account, his name was Steve and he was polite and knowledgable, but he is not at that branch any longer. However, I now appreciate the service and the staff at this credit union. Especially the younger employees, they are always friendly and eager to help. The woman who is the branch manager is quite rude not only to customers but to the employees who sometimes have to go to her for help and I do whatever I can to avoid her. Matt is a supervisor there and should be promoted because he is efficient, knowledgable, patient and friendly (he actually knows your name when you walk in), to both customers and the employees who work under him. read more

Hello Everyone! I recently have lost my job, and I have started a loan modification with the folks at CEFCU. I rather have a tooth pulled or several of them then continue this process. I am doing a lot of research because this is all new to me. Apparently there is a Federally funded program called "KEEP YOUR HOME CALIFORNIA" that can assist me in keeping my mortgage payment current. You had to have heard the advertising on the news on the radio, it's apparently TOO DIFFICULT FOR CEFCU TO PARTICIPATE in this program, they have NO INTEREST in keeping their long term customers in their homes. There internal modification system does not work, so where else do I turn? I have been in my home for 9 years, they have received every payment in the last nine years on time and with out failure. Now that the little guy needs some help where are they now. You know they threw in my face that they did not take bailout money, that is Valley Credit Union, well the buyout of Valley to CEFCU is a form of a BAILOUT is it not. MORALS- of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: read more

Ive been a CEFCU customer since 1996. I'm originally from IL and then discovered that they have a branch in San Jose. Ive always received excellent service from them. The only thing I don't understand is why I continue to be charged an ATM plus a bank fee for withdrawals. Initially, when CEFCU opened in San Jose, I wasn't charged anything. I think it will take a while for some people to get used to the switch. No one likes change, but Ive been a loyal CEFCU customer and they never let me down!!! read more

the merger has been a disaster! i could not agree more with the other recent postings. i have been banking with VallyCU for years before they merged. i never had an issue with Valley and was always impressed with their service.unfortunately, i cannot say the same for CEFCU. the one good thing i can say about CEFCU is that their staff have been friendly and patient with my stressed-out self during the merger. i had many of the same issues as others (no immediate online access, unable to transfer funds, couldn't reach someone on the phone, etc.). but before the official merger, i did not receive the new card for my 2nd account, only my 1st account and had a tough time and long wait to get the 2nd card. as soon i regain strength from all the exhausting work of getting my accounts straight, i plan to move banks. i miss Valley and wish this hadn't happened. what a hassle. :( read more

I have been with this credit union for 10 years and I love it. I am so sad to see the poor reviews. Everytime I communicate with any of the staff they are super friendly and treat me like I am a friend. I love their low interest rates. I know the merge was a mess but that was a while ago. My only complaint would be the lack of credit unions however it is completely understandable knowing that they are a smaller company. I have heard about the nightmares with banks and I am so grateful that I have found a credit union that is truely exceptional. read more

Tried many banks and was tired or hidden fees , banks taking money from your account , anyhow the bank is pretty good so far , this goes for service department. Antonio here at this location is awesome, respectful person who goes out his way for helping customers. I opened and account with him . Told him my situation and he directed and set up my account explaining everything clearly. Not like other banks who want you in and out . And was on top of things . I had a minor issue with an extra charge from a store . And quickly he taken care of the situation and said don't worry about it we'll take care of it. And following through with it. Most people hate there jobs doing same thing everyday which is understanding . He could easily gave me the number to call there department but instead said I already made a report took care of it .The people here are great . Some people leave bad experiences maybe it's them I don't know but this bank is simple and help you build credit . And from walking in with money from last bank I'm pretty happy on the services. read more

I've been in the manufacturing business for 37years and probably 5 different banks,this credit union has been the best experiance Ive ever had. The people are friendly ,the on line banking is great and once they get to know you they don't hold your funds like other banks. read more

I became a CEFCU card member in April 2011. Right from starting, each and every small thing, getting the credit card to even getting online banking set took lot of time. I had to call them so many times to check the status of my credit card application. One worst thing to note about CEFCU is that your call can never go through in a single shot. Infact you will be very lucky to get your queries resolved in just 2-3 calls. So finally after many calls, I got my card. Now starts the biggest nightmare for me. I would check my bills online and see how much is the minimum payment due and pay it off. Did the same for Nov 2011. However it showed payment due as $0.00. I hadn't used the card much in that month, so that amount didn't surprise me. Worst happenned to me when last week I got a bill from CEFCU with a late fees applied to it. I called them up many times, finally my call got answered. I told them this is what happenned. The lady with whom I talked, understood my problem and waived off that late fees. My main concern was that if it had impacted my credit history. She gave me another number to verify that. It was not easy to reach out to even those people. The call directly ended up in their voice-mail. I tried for another 3-4 times, but finally left a voice message for my query. After around 2-3hrs, I got a call from CEFCU's credit dispute department. I told him the whole story and asked him about my credit history impact, to which he said that no impact at all. I went to the branch in the evening and made the whole payment even for December 2011. To my shock, even after making the payment, today I got a letter from CEFCU stating that they have reported it to the various Credit Departments. Even on the other day, I told them that I don't see online bill payment tab in my account. They had no answer to it and just requested me to drop my payment in the drop box. I am totally irritated now and certainly will not advise anyone to become a credit union member. Their online banking is pathetic and is no-where near the other banks' online banking models. For my issue, I called each and every number they gave, explaining them the whole situation. Everyone assured that I don't have to worry and everything is set regarding my bill problem. But still they ruined my credit history. Pathetic...totally disappointing banking..there is no star for '0'..otherwise I would have chosen that read more

Customer service sucks. I am going back to chase. At least if you need to talk to a representive you do not have to wait on monday to do so. Please do not pay your bills through bill pay because unlike a bank your money does not come out of account right away. Cefcu talks a big game about not giving us customer service fees but do not be fooled by that. I was tying to be cheap and it has cost me dearly with cefcu. We as customers may not like what big banks are doing but i suggest you use one and stay clear of credit unions like cefcu. read more