It just gets worse... For decades, filing my taxes online and getting my refund directly deposited into my Sierra Central (SSCU) account has been a smooth process. This year, as of March, however, has been a nightmare. My direct deposit didn't go through, and what followed was weeks of confusion and frustration. I initially thought the issue was with my tax filing service or even the IRS. After countless hours on the phone with the IRS and wading through additional paperwork, I finally uncovered the truth: the IRS informed me, "We didn't direct deposit your refund as you requested because the financial institution didn't honor the deposit request." That's right - Sierra Central (SSCU) rejected my tax refund direct deposit! This single decision by the bank has forced me to wait over 10 weeks for my refund to arrive by snail mail. This in addition to the time and effort it took to identify the issue. All because SSCU wouldn't accept my deposit. This is absolutely unbelievable. I am beyond speechless at their lack of service and the hassle they have caused. P.S. Yes, some representative (No, not Ron S.) contacted me about the previous posts and then forwarded the credit card reversal issue to their IT. In the meantime, my payment deadline looms, and I am just beside myself. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS BANK??? read more

Can never reach a person on the phone without a 25 minute wait for just a simple question. The worst!

They could make it easier to pay a loan payment. I've been making payments on an auto loan for over 6 years with no problems up until the last few months. They changed the payment portal and started charging to pay online. Plus it's next to impossible to log in. They keep changing the requirements of a password and no customer support. I'm going to the branch this Monday 6/23/25 and taking cash in to pay my loan off because I'm done doing business with Sierra Central Bank. It should not be this difficult for a customer to simply pay them. I'd give a negative number to rate them if I could! read more

This is the worst bank you could possibly go to . They want all payments in cash or else they charge a giant fee, if you try to use the pay online function they are constantly changing it and do not inform you through any means of communication. read more

I'm shocked that such a small company would treat their customers so poorly. I've been making credit card payments as usual through their online app and just recently it started to reverse my payments. Me, being unaware of that, I was charged late fees and a notice to the credit bureau which lowered my credit score by 96 points. I was aggravated by the situation, and I was also promised that I would receive a call from customer service within the business day, which I never received, which made me even more aggravated. I was met by their customer service with defensiveness instead of understanding. The lack of accountability in the corporate world is absolutely disgusting. I asked if they could honor my expired rewards for compensation for my inconvenience, and they were unable to do it. They obviously don't care about keeping me as a customer and they will lose another one permanently. As soon as my account is back in good, standing. Zero stars for this institution. I now know why there's never anyone in there. read more

Been banking at SSCU since 2012. They used to be great & gave a five star experience but no more. Every week its something. Where do I start! Extremely late posting my credit card payments. Plenty of cash in the checking acct yet 3 times was "declined" at Shell, Raley's & Target in the same day. Called about it & got a bunch of attitude from the cust. no service 800#. The back office is innefficient, the ATM cards go bad after a month & hold times have become unacceptable. Today I pulled all but $5.00 from my savings acct & moved it to B of A where I also opened a checking acct to re-route my two direct deposits away from SSCU. My credit card will be paid off tomorrow & will no longer be used. I'll use my Safe America CC. The bottom line is, SSCU is behind in every way & it shows. The cashier at Shell said she has the same problem & just closed her acct. Word is getting around on this place! A big thumbs DOWN! read more

I have nothing but great things to say about not only The Grass Valley branch but Sierra Central as a establishment in general As a bank as a whole I have gone to several branches and have always been served timely, and with the most friendly and professional of service. Be it the Auburn, Tahoe, or Grass Valley branch they are always amazing. The Grass Valley branch being my home branch. They are always friendly, timely, professional, and attentive. Not only do I use them as my personal bank of choice, but I use them for all of my business banking needs as well. I am a pretty high maintenance banker and require a lot, especially with my business. However, every single teller knows me by name and can recall the small things like my kids names and their hobbies, what we talked about the last time I was in, or whether it is a payroll week or not. They excel at the personal touches. I even enjoy talking to the wonderfully helpful lady (not sure she would want me to blast her name here) in the lending department. Way to go Sierra Central, you've really nailed what it means to be a personal "small town" bank. Thank you read more

Sierra Central financed my truck. I've paid on it for 61/2 years (almost paid off.) I was 72 days late on a payment, never missed a payment before, when I woke up to them repossessing my truck. I called them first thing in the morning they informed me that I need to pay that payment in a actual branch and that's when they will give me the tow information so I can pay their fees to get my truck. They said they would call me by the end of the day with that info. i called them again at 3 pm to ask if they got the information and they said they hadn't but will call me when they do. Never got a call, now my truck, which I need because I commute 50 miles daily for my job, is held captive until hopefully Monday. I will have to take the day off from work to take care of everything. IF THEY CALL ME!!! This is criminal! read more

The people who work in this office are so rude. It is genuinely surprising how rude they are. I had opened an account here in the past, and closed it the next week due to the "customer service". Today I considered trying again, I went in with the idea of opening an account and the staff have only gotten worse, more disrespectful and more rude. read more

These people and this establishment are both incompetent. I have not had access to my business account for a few weeks now because of their website change. NOT OKAY!!! read more

The branch is understaffed and if you have any even remotely out of the ordinary request the teller is too inexperienced or new to know the answer. After that you sit around hoping for a more experienced staff member to not be out for lunch which seems to be an all day possibility. Friendliness is not their gift. I am leaving the bank. read more

Very slow service. Wasted my morning at this bank cause it's atm doesn't accept cash deposits. Poorly run financial institution.

I know you've heard it before: if I could rate lower I would. I live off a disability check yet I showed I could afford monthly payments for a car loan, credit score over 700, supplementary sales from a book I self publish, excellent references from local business owners and they turned me down. First US community credit union in the same town of Grass Valley approved me at a 6 percent loan. SCCU is currently charging me penalties each month because I can't guarantee I'll have over 500.00 in my accounts every month. If this sounds like a plug for First US I guess it is but only because I'm so pissed off at SCCU. They recently (and not for the first time) froze my account for an online purchase I made for two weeks without even notifying me. The same account tied to all my auto bill pays. I had to call them to find out WTF and they didn't even bother to provide an explanation or apologize. Incompetent? Or they just don't give a fuck. If your struggling to get by these are not your friends. They will not work with your situation. I just received confirmation my SSA direct deposit will be transferred to First US. Can't wait to axe SCCU from my life. Not that they care if I leave. I'm not rich enough. I, however, am going to a credit union who actually seems to give a damn about their customers. read more