We have banked here since around 1984 when it was Kern Schools. We have had mortgages, auto loans, etc. Ever since it changed to Valley Strong we have had problems. Our account has been compromised twice during the last few months and getting it taken care of with new cards, etc. has taken MONTHS each time. The last time we were told we would be mailed new cards and we STILL haven't received one of the cards and that was MONTHS ago. Just today when I got a text that I'm thinking might be from fraud and I call the bank I'm told I'm "Caller number 50" I have been on hold twice, each time over 30 minutes. WHO has time for that every time they call? Spoke to a customer service representative today and told her we would be closing our accounts. She said, "well I certainly can't talk you out of that and you're welcome to close your accounts if you like" Well THANK YOU for telling me I can close my accounts, sooooo helpful. Good-bye Valley Strong! Update: after receiving the response from Nicholas I did call the number he provided. No answer so I left a message. Ms. Whitmore called me back. She was apologetic and I believe sincere. She said the call would be reviewed and the customer service agent spoken to and gave me a direct line to a branch manager so if I had further questions/concerns I could call him directly instead of going through the call center. For now, I will keep our accounts and appreciate her willingness to resolve this. read more

UPDATE: Our account was compromised AGAIN on Feb 1st as someone took our routing numbers, about 26 days later after this review was written. We had to obtain a whole different account. However, my husband spoke up and told the representative that it's unfair as customers we get penalized unlike banks. We were pessimistic that we would ever hear of them again. I just received a call from my husband that the branch manager refunded us the checks in full for the inconvenience. We were also able to open a Rocky Raccoon Account! We greatly appreciate that gesture as they still care. ---------- I've been a loyal customer for 12 years and used to genuinely love this bank. What stood out was the value it provided--not just in terms of competitive features, but also in how reliable and easy the services were to use. I could always get a representative quickly, and I felt like my loyalty was appreciated. Unfortunately, that sense of value has diminished over time. My husband's card has been compromised multiple times, even after getting a new number. Once, over 60 people at the branch were dealing with the same issue. This points to a breach on the bank's end, but there's been no transparency or clear resolution. It feels like security isn't being prioritized, which is concerning for customers like us who trust the bank to protect our finances. Then, there was the issue with my checks being sent to the wrong address--even after confirming the correct one several times. Now we're being told to close the account entirely and open a new one, which requires updating numerous autopayments. The inconvenience this creates is significant, and it's disappointing that no compensation is offered for the error. It would be nice to offer free checks for the inconvenience, showing they value the business and recognize their mistake. Even smaller things are becoming frustrating. Yesterday, I tried to open a Rocky Raccoon account for my son (such a cute idea!) but when I saved the application, it was marked 'abandoned' this morning, despite a 30-day save period. These things add up, with all occurred in the last 30 days, led me to creating this review. We've had issues for the past two years, but it's been overwhelming these past two months. This bank used to excel at providing excellent service and value by making things simple, reliable, and convenient. Now, it feels like they've outgrown their ability to maintain those standards. I hope they take steps to restore what made them great--valuing loyal customers and ensuring they deliver the quality we've come to expect. read more

Used the Ming Branch, Jorge helped us and was patient, polite,and very kind helping us with the information we needed to make the best decision for our situation! Thank you Jorge for guiding us along .. You're the best! In the future Jorge will be who I will reach out to for our banking needs! Yvonne & Vincent read more

So I've been banking with valley strong for a few years. I see a few comments saying they liked it better when it was kern schools. To me everything is the same, you're still banking with a small, homegrown credit union. I've gone negative on my account because I needed gas and they give you a week or so before charging you a fee. Today I went in and Devin at the front desk was so helpful. He immediately solved my issue with my card not working. Great service. Great personality. read more

We had an appointment at 10:00. Obviously they had overbooked and after waiting 15 minutes, we left. There are other banks in town.

I was given excellent customer service by Karla at member services. I was just before closing and I had quite a bit to get done and she took her time and was very friendly and did not rush me at all. She was knowledgeable,friendly and I was able to get everything done and out the door just before closing. Great job , Valley Strong ! read more

Oh 'Valley Strong'... I likes you guys better when it was Kern schools! I've had accounts with this place since I was born. Raised in Bakersfield and was so loyal to them until I moved. I purchased my car loan through them and come to find out they charged me auto insurance for 5 months when I had my own already at the time! The excruciating process to get my money back took all of almost half a year. Valley strong didn't call my current car insurance to confirm my plan. I continuously called over this period of time for them to refund me but no one could give me a straight answer as to what was going on and why. This credit union is absolute garbage. The customer service is always terrible. This branch only ever has two people working and the line is ALWAYS LONG. On top of the fact that your tellers don't even know their way around the website and the app. I had inquired about paying my car loan online to avoid this place and he couldn't even help me... I will not be banking with this place ever again after my car is paid off. read more

Recently purchased a car and the process was seamless with no issues. I have use them for other things also and always a joy to work with. Thanks for being so incredible as I really appreciate the great service and friendly attitude. Keep up the great work. read more

Kern School = Valley Strong is one of the best Credit Union Bank when I have my first loan they qualify me in around 30 minutes or less , and I do t have any relation with them , I open my first personal account , later again after I pay my truck I need some quick money to payoff one of my houses and I refinance my truck again in less of half or around half hour I have my check of $45k to pay my house , and until now with the years I have my Bussiness account there and 2 car loans plus my credit card with enough credit to me they are the best bank in the Bakersfield CA and around where they are because I'm in Wellsfargo for over 15 years and they never!!! give me a credit card with good credit score over 740 that's why I'm loyalty to them and my 3 sons and wife we there plus nieces and sister law , always I told everyone about Valley Strong Credit Union is the best Bank in the Kern County area see you guys soon for my next truck loan ! read more

Did a refinance with Valley Strong almost a year ago and because my mortgage is over their transfer/bill pay limit of $2500, I have to call in every month to make my payment. Not only is this a time suck but they have the nerve to charge me $4.99 EVERY TIME. I told them that it's not my issue that their technology isn't built to 1 - take transfers over $2500 and 2 - have a simple "make payment" button. I had the displeasure of speaking with their call center supervisor, Cedric, yesterday who was of zero help nor did he care one bit about waiving this ridiculous monthly fee. His supervisor, Xochitl, really should so a better job teaching their employees customer service! I will be refinancing into another lender as soon as rates drop. Get your technology up to speed Valley Strong!! read more

Horrible customer service. I've been waiting in line for more than 15 minutes in the member services line, which almost never has anyone. The teller is there doing stuff and hasn't even acknowledged me once. How rude. She shouldn't be in a member service teller if she can't commit to lifting up your head and acknowledging waiting customers. read more

There's always something wrong here... I always had the best service and everything when they were Kern Schools. But once they turned into Valley Strong everything went down hill. The ATMs never work. They're always closed down for some reason. And even when they're technically service, for some reason the same 2 are never available to take my cash deposits. Nothing is genuine quality anymore. It's a shame that I even call this my bank. Will definitely be taking my service elsewhere. read more

So, I have a vehicle loan with this financial institution. I do not have a checking account. In fact I don't even have a debit card form here. I do have a savings account. I also have direct deposit from my regular bank to this joint so that I can make my payments on time without worrying about it. I have extra $ going to the savings account. This money is usually used for Las Vegas or to pay for my speeding tickets. The problem is that I never know how much money is in the savings account. So, on occasion, I will stop in here to gather the extra funds. It is during these trips that I see and experience professionalism in a clean and appropriate facility. My only complaint would be that there is sometimes quite a line of people waiting to see a teller... i would recommend this joint to family and friends. read more

Wonderful customer service from Marcella ! Keep that beautiful smile b/c you made my day w/ your great attitude and helpful advice. Very patient and knowledgeable read more

Amazing customer service and loan services! Their team went above and beyond to help me purchase a car for my mom who lives out of state!

This is probably one of the locations most convenient to the downtown area. There is a parking lot on the Southern side of the building where there is a walk up ATM. (Although there are 3 drive through ATM's just across 25th on the same side of N Chester if you'd prefer not to have to get out of your car to get cash. The inside of this branch is very clean and well air conditioned, critical in the Bakersfield summer heat. The tellers were very friendly, and there was no line when I arrived twenty minutes before closing on a weekday, so I deemed it a very pleasant experience. read more

Manager Tosha Pequeno made my visit AMAZING. She turned what i thought would be a boring day talking about credit to a great day. I could genuinely tell she cared about my wellbeing when it came to this subject. She gave me all the pointers on how to keep my credit A1 and was so courteous and confidently answered all the questions I asked. Most bankers/bank MGRs could care less about the clientele. She turned a scary process into a pleasurable one and I'd recommend 10 out of 10 people to come here and talk to her if they are wondering about building credit. Thanks again. read more

Valley Strong is filled with compassionate people who make Members feel like royalty. It is an honor to bank with them.

I have banked here for 19 years now and they have always been good to me with at least 6 auto loans and 2 rv loans , the branch manager happened to help me with my wife's auto loan a few days ago which was private party and we were in and out in about 1 hr. It was awesome . Darryl read more

I am giving Valley Strong a one for refusing to hear out my explanation of why my daughter was also on the phone assisting me, her senior mother, and that it was impossible for her to have been "impersonating" me since I was on the line as well, and hanging up on us both and putting in some file they have on me, that because someone had been impersonating me, I now had to come to the bank in person, despite COVID-19, with my ID before I could receive any help at all, without inquiring or caring about what help I needed. My daughter is more than just a daughter, she's my competent, loving personal assistant, who frequently represents me in matters too stressful for me and that are familiar and easier for her to deal with. I was two days recovering from a 10 day illness, one of my beloved kittens who is on a special diet and is due for follow up vet care this month, has been suddenly missing, and I'm very worried about him, and now a gym, which is closed has debited my bank account for fees, two days apart and may decide to make me their new ATM, and all the 3 bank staffers I spoke to are concerned with is who Is on the phone rather than how to rectify theft from my account by this gym, whom I later discovered had no authority to extract funds from my account at all since my membership expired in 2000! Valley Strong's tunnel vision of believing that grilling customers by continuing a series of questions until an answer is misspoken due to how long ago it took place, is the best and only way of protecting their accounts is wrong, lacking in common sense, humanitarian logic, and decency to the public welfare. Changing the name from Kern Schools Federal to the dumb, meaningless name of Valley Strong brought about more changes in their personnel than I plan to deal with, if such lack of respect happens again. I will, in the future, advise that my daughter will be on the line to help me as needed, and under what circumstances could that be a problem for the bank. read more

This KSFCU was ridiculous we tried 3 ATMS to deposit cash and none worked!!! Had to go the Ming branch!!

Excellent customer service! Always helpful with a smile, even when I'm in a jumble with my finances. I felt relieved yesterday when I chose to go to this kern schools instead of my usual Mt. Vernon one. read more

Excellent customer service. Have had some rough times with new changes to the online banking system. All in all they are good people who are doing good things.:-) read more

Out of all the ksfcu locations , this one is the best . They have great customer service and long lines move fast .

Kern Schools Federal Credit Union Online "Bill Pay" if you want to make a payment on line through Kern Schools " DONT"get an account with Kern Schools - I had all of my bills set-up with Kern Schools and everything was good until they changed their program now all of my bills are unable to be processed and paid. - I did have one Cal Water and now I receive and error code and it will not process this bill. Kern Schools Chat online worked with it on line with me for an hour and a half and, I was assured that it would be resolved and if not someone would contact me, so I might pay my bill prior to deadline guess what??? no contact and now I have to pay a late fee - I am pulling all of my money out and moving to CHASE !!! Thank you! read more

A great place to get a savings/checking account and a loan. The staff at this place treats me better than the major banks. The only problem I have is: not enough tellers during the afternoon. read more

Great interest rates for loans but they charge you for an account. The charges can be waived if you have monthly direct deposit and 15 debit card purchases but their competition, Kern FCU, will never charge you for an account and rewards you monthly just for being a member. Kern Schools also doesn't issue credit for incoming ACH deposits, which is okay if they deposited your paycheck at 12:00AM. They don't. They deposit your money at your payday but at 7:30AM. By 7:30 AM most of my billers already charged my card and the payment is denied because of insufficient funds. By the time it's 7:30AM I have to call each of those billers telling them the funds are finally available. This is the main reason of why I left. It's frustrating to do this every time I get paid. read more

I needed to get a new ATM card after getting mine eaten by the ATM. I have class from 8am -3 pm so I came at 11 during the 20 min lunch to get a new one and they weren't even open. I know have no way to get gas for work this week because I have no time to go to another branch. read more

Excellent customer service. Ask for Angie macias if you ever need a loan she's friendly and she takes the time to actually help you not try and get you out of the chair for the next customer . read more

Hello Bakersfield, Ca.... am posting this very bad review because my friend and his wife got screwed over at kern schools ming ave... it all started with husband wanted to refinance his vehicle to get a lower rate and payments...he did not get a loan because either his credit or work history was messed up so cher the loan employee told him he needed a cosigner to try and get a loan....So his wife try to help him get refinance of his vehicle.. Well they ran her credit and denied the loan... the reasons where in 2016 she still had a lease or loan she was responsible for she did not paid a payment heard from the dealer ship or the loan company she leased from 2016... thats 3 yrs ago took car back got canceled contract back she signed in 2016...And hes been a loyal customer for 5 yrs.....he got a loan through chrysler so why he denied a loan..and had 3 loans with kern schools before this...bad people bad service... so he closed his account with them....too bad loan department is all about them not there customers so watch out there ...KERN SCHOOLS CREDIT UNION ARE NOT THE BEST CREDIT UNION... IF THEY TREAT PEOPLE THIS HOPE THEY ARE HAPPY FOR WHAT THEY PUT THEM THROUGH....... read more