Sarai was an incredible banker, and I have nothing but positive things to say about her. She was professional, respectful, helpful, and genuinely the one bright spot in an otherwise very disappointing experience with Desert Financial. Unfortunately, my experience with Desert Financial above the branch level was completely different. Everyone I dealt with beyond the branch treated me in a dismissive and condescending way, as though I was not capable of making my own financial decisions. I was attempting to complete a documented business transaction, but Desert Financial created a narrative that I might be the victim of a romance scam and used that as the basis to interfere with the transaction. That explanation was inaccurate, insulting, and deeply frustrating. The transaction involved a real business, formal documentation, and available verification, but instead of handling it through a serious diligence process, Desert Financial treated me like a child. To be clear, this review is not a criticism of Sarai. She was excellent. If the rest of Desert Financial had handled the situation with the professionalism and respect she showed, I would have been happy to remain a customer. Unfortunately, the conduct above the branch level made that impossible. read more

I went in yesterday to sign papers closing my loan. I have had a line of credit here for years and recently had a pop up on my app suggesting a credit. I applied and it asked if I wanted a personal or signature loan, I think that is what my options were. The closer I got to the end, it asked if I wanted a new line or to increase my current. My current one had been serving me well, so increase was my choice. It took about a week from application to signage. I was late for my appointment, but they still got me in and out quickly. They let me know the money would hit my account in the evening- and it did. I wanted to increase it because it is a good account to fall back on when I am in need of funds and it connects to my bank account to protect me from overdraft fees. I stick with Desert Financial cause they have been good to me all these years. There are not many physical locations as compared to regular banks, but they have convenient locations. read more

My review is solely based on the wait in line for a teller. They are very slow. There are at least 5 teller booths and always only 1-2 open. It doesn't seem to matter what time of day I go. Long story short, be prepared to wait and wait. I'm still waiting as I type this review. read more

We opened up accounts last week for myself, my daughter and my boyfriend. I was amazed at how wonderful the customer service was. It was fast, easy and the staff was wonderful. All the information needed was provided and we were told of all the perks of each account. He thoroughly explained how to link external accounts, send and receive money and gave us some tips for saving. I highly recommend desert financial. They also have many locations and drive up ATM's. read more

It's been several months since they had closed my newly opened account and they still haven't sent my $25 deposit back to me.

I went into the credit union on my day off. I needed help signing up with the online banking tool. Melissa member services rep. helped me with my frustrations and was very pleasant and friendly to me. She called for help with technical support and Jabcar Ellis was very savvy and thorough and saw me through it's entirety.They both showed professional work ethics. They made my decision to continue my membership easy. They made my day with their dedication to helping others navigate through the banking system. Keep up the good work. read more

I had an account with this bank for over 20 years. The man who helped me named joe and the branch manager who's name I don't remember, they are fraudulent and dishonest and lied to me. They said my minor child's info wouldn't be saved in the computer if they did a status check to see if she was eligible to open an account since she is a minor. I went against my gut, I am obviously stupid for doing so, and I gave them my child's info including social security number. And of course they lied to me and did not remove my child's info from their computer, even though they said the computer wouldn't keep this info. So this bank doesn't care about protecting my minor child's very important social security number and private information. I closed my account there. This bank is not like Desert Schools FCU. This bank has gone down hill. It's ghetto and low budget now. read more

This one is convenient if you're traveling on the I-17. Located just south of Glendale Ave and the I-17, it offers lobby and drive-thru services. Tellers are courteous. read more

They no longer have shared banking. I was never informed of this change. There is no way to do banking when you're out of town. Pretty useless. I closed my account. read more

Nice clean place, just off the I-17. Easy to find. Services my credit union from California, very easy to work with. No problems at all.

Tellers & Reps are super friendly on top of being quick and efficient with my transactions. Also, everyone wears a mask and is social distanced, thank you! read more

Went in to pay off a loan via shared branching. Needed to have them fax confirmation of cash payment to my credit union to expedite a title release. I've now called five times and still not had the confirmation sent to the proper receiving party. When I called the fifth time, I reached a central hub and spoke with an extremely rude female who hung up on me when I requested to be transferred to someone at the specific branch I'd gone to earlier in the day. Long story short: I will NEVER do business with this institution again. I know financial institutions are notorious for bad customer service, and I've dealt with my fair share of banks and credit unions in the past; this one takes the cake for absolute worst customer service. read more

I am amazed that an institution can continue to sink lower and lower. I went to DF this morning to try to meet with a customer service rep. I was told that the wait would be at least 30 minutes. Nope. DF seems to understaff their sites with only the least knowledgeable people who are willing to work for pitiful wages. These people seem who have no training and are trying to learn their job skills at the expense of customers. DF has always had customer service issues. Once it was worth putting up with that as it was financially worth it with good rates on deposits and low fees -- not now. I still have a couple of CDs there and will be happily leaving upon their maturity. I hope that is before DF fully sinks into a black hole of greed and inefficiency. Go anywhere else if you value your time and money. read more

This is the worst credit union in my opinion for customer service anyways, I've banked with chase since I was in HS and came here to apply for a small business loan and the customer service was absolutely horrible. We literally weren't able to sit down they took our application at the receptionist table. read more

Desert Financial Credit Union - Banks & Credit Unions Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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A review is one person's experience, so this is mine: Desert Schools is improperly trained, deceiving, and manipulative. I tried to get an auto-refinance at 9 months, just seeing the timeline if it was too early. I was declined, which was not a problem. I was then told it was because I had only two types of credit, and they generally want to see three. I was then offered a credit card FROM Desert Schools, which would "help auto-refinance in three months" where they told me I could apply after a year and it should go through. So being the sucker and new to credit, I agreed. Three months later to TODAY I reapply, and am told that I was declined because I need 24 months of the car. Are you kidding me?! I purposely went with them because I was told it would be a for sure deal, now I'm told that's no where true. After talking to a manager telling me "Well, sorry you were told that. Nothing we can do" I have found their true colors. They just want to sell credit cards and sucker people into their business. I was so offered several offers from other credit unions, which I will be taking along with closing my credit card account from Desert Schools. Do not waste your time with this company. They aren't there to help you, they are there to help themselves. read more

This DS is in a sketchy area, but the inside is nice and the line moves quicker than some of the other locations. They also have a drive-thru with an ATM. read more

I cannot wait to get my funds moved from this credit union. HORRIBLE service; poorly trained staff and just as bad as the big banks in adding fees, charges, etc. I always believed in credit unions, esp. because of Sat. hours, but I've had it w/ Desert Financial. Your name change does nothing to change your image, lack of service, etc. read more

Your money is not safe here! Do not bank with them. I went with desert schools first of all because it is a credit union. Second reason is that I had 2 bad experiences 20 years ago with banks, and vowed never to use one again. I needed an account due to the fact I finally got awarded social security after a 3 year battle.I am disabled and have been unable to work for 5 years, and my condition is terminal. Social security has 2 classifications. SSI, and SSDI. I am classified as SSDI. That means that I am retired disabled, and that I worked for a living. I am not SSI which is for persons with mental, and physical limitations that can not work, and who probably never have, or ever will. These people are incapable of caring for themselves, and have been declared so by the courts. They are a ward of someone else, and someone else known as a payee is responsible for their money. I was informed after already receiving thousands of dollars of my own money in back pay, that I now needed a payee to accept money I worked for all my life, and payed in to this lovely system. The social security based this decision on the medication that doctors give me to stay alive. They needed to make sure I wasn't a drug addict. I had a friend who agreed to be my payee. He was approved and when I was too sick to meet up with him one day so we could create a second account that could be used to accept funds from SSDI payments he walked in to a desert schools location, and was allowed to just add himself to my account. He had only a basic statement on standard letter head from social security, and they not only added him to an existing account, but stopped completely all my access, canceled my debit card, and even wiped out my pin to so much as check my own personal account balance. After being sealed off from my existing account I contacted desert schools, and they stated that when someone comes in with a court order giving them power attorney we are bound by law to include them. But what he showed them was a simple statement saying he was my payee. It was in no way a legal document by any court system. Anyone can make up a statement like this and completely take over your account. That is very scary. Over a year ago I was given custody of my son who at the time was a year old. Social security removed any payee status after agreeing that since the medicine dosage has never increased, and since a judge felt I was capable of raising a baby that a payee would no longer be needed. The account has been inactive for almost a year. I don't use them since they couldn't ask my permission and just let someone take over the account. I went to social security and got copies of 2 documents that clearly state the friend has not been my payee for close to a year, and that I am clearly and legally my own payee. They claimed its more than enough to get your account turned back over to you. Since I was not able to get my friend to meet with me or just to go to a local branch and just remove himself from my account. Armed with these documents and even after a phone call to the main branch I was told come on in and the documents are all you need and you can have your account back. They even talked to the manager who said it was fine but I had to bring the forms in to verify. They also claimed that if it was a court order they can just take my word for it over the phone. But it wasn't so I had to physically come in. Which I did. I was told I need a court order to get him off my account. An account they just let someone take over without my permission. They made me so upset it caused me to have a seizure requiring perimedics to come to the main branch. They refused to accept or even read the documents. I was even denied the ability to just close the account. At one point with cellphone on speaker I called social security in front of the bank manager. The rep from social security kept asking," to the people at the bank tell me what more proof you possibly need to show he is his own payee. The manager raised her nose in the air and shook away her hands and would not respond to their questions, or take my phone to get it worked out. After having my seizure, and treatment by paramedics the manager gave a friend who came to pick me up my ID. Funny that I specifically remember the documents along with ID being in front of me since the manager kept pushing them back at me. However they were not returned along with my identification. They stole the documents! I asked the manager after coming to my senses, what she had found out. I said I went through all this for a reason so tell me what you found out. She said," we have your phone number we will call you and let you know. My response was the account has been inactive for a year how do you know if the info is still the same. I have a new phone number. My friend gave the number to the manager, and was promised a call, and that was over 3 weeks ago. I have not received any call. read more

This was literally the worst experience I have ever had with a credit Union and the only experience I have ever had with a credit Union and I will no longer have an experience with any credit Union because they have ruined it. They put my account in the negative said they were helping me charged me 4 $35 fees for insufficient funds if they never would have let my transaction go through I would have not had any $35 fees at all show. instead of helping me and having my back they stabbed me in the back and then took my money. worst feeling I ever experienced in my life was dealing with desert financial credit Union, it's all about the money and that's what big business is all for the money but sometimes it's not what you can do for the client but with the client can bring to you. I almost gave them a 0 star rating But I had to choose a star and 5 stars is definitely not what I was choosing so I chose one and it's not even worth 1 star 1 stars overrated and that's a shame their institution should be shut down that money should be given back to all the clients. read more

When you walk into the building turn right. That's where the tellers are and they are very helpful and friendly. A nice, easy, fast transaction. Don't bother to turn left, this is the area where you would open a new account. In my experience, customer service in this area needs some work. They were slow, did not anticipate my needs, and did not make me feel like a valued customer. read more

Let me start by saying we are new members and so far that is why the 5 star review. We have a small group we meet with and it is a donations only group and our large bank we have dealt with for over 35 years would charge us $10 a month fee and our donations barely covered that fee. When Desert Financial advertised free checking, we decided to give it a try. We first met with Christopher S. and he went over the services of the CU and he couldn't have been nicer. I saw the reviews mentioning slow service, etc, but we have not experienced that yet. Every time we enter the branch at 5690 W T-bird we are greeted and asked if we need help. To me, it has the feel of a small town branch with personal feelings that we were used to many years ago in our home in Pa. We are slowly migrating some our other accounts to DFCU and will update things as they progress. By the way, Christopher told us they have a large remodel coming for this branch soon and for those in a hurry, many drive-up ATM's are there and elsewhere in the valley. Just thought we would share our opinion at this point. read more