I am reluctant to give the place much lower than 3 stars as my family has banked here for ages and the customer service (at least back in the day) was top notch. While the credit union seems to be expanding, it still seems that my banking needs have now surpassed the services they can offer. I mean, I appreciated (and use a lot) the addition of online banking, although now I do find some of it quite limited now. While I first noticed problems when I moved abroad, even when I returned to the states, I continued to have some problems.
When I call to ask a question/get information, most staff seem to be really unsure. In one case I was having money transferred to an international account (my card had expired and they refused to send my new one abroad so I was kind of stranded without money) and the lady on the phone got really snappy with me because she insisted that I wasn't giving her the correct information even though that is what the other bank gave me. No offense, but I think I trust the bank that does more international banking in a day than the credit union that might match that... in one year.
The latest issue that they have not provided any assistance with is that I am abroad again, my account was debited but the ATM did not provide the cash that I requested. I flipped my card over to see if there was a number to call... there is only a 1-800 number on the back for lost or stolen cards. If you've been abroad, you know that a 1-800 doesn't work and if you see European cards you will see two numbers, one for in-country and one for international. My brother called the credit union to see if they had a number or if they could help me dispute the charge. They told him the number on the back is the only one they have and no they couldn't dispute the charge and that I would have to call Visa directly.
I have had a couple of other issues, which at the time I think I overlooked, but as the number grows and the reluctance on the part of staff to help in anyway seems to increasing. I kept my account there because I had a number of payments being directly paid through my account and because it was easy to transfer money between me and my family members. However, I recently found out that my brother got fed up with the credit union and has stopped banking with them and I am considering canceling my account and transferring it to my international account, however, it might be difficult with some of the payments that are coming out of my account.
They were great when I was younger and didn't need much for service outside of Cedar Rapids, but unfortunately I think I may need to cave in and consider a larger bank with more international banking services. read more