Citizens Equity First Credit Union
Reviews and Complaints

Since graduating university, i've been making student loan payments to different companies for a year now and have had no problems - except for with cefcu.

When I was 19 and started my account with them in preparation for 4 years of student loans they failed to mention that I would be looking at $584 in monthly payments for the next 12 years. This is one one of the companies I have student loans with. It's 25% of my income and every representative i've talked to could not care less. All they do is threaten to hurt my co-signer (dad) with credit score damage. Since I missed the first payment due to not being properly notified (a letter was sent to my co-signers address where I do not reside, no email, no phone call and no app notification) I was delinquent one payment of $584 and now I was looking at a second payment of $584 due in just a few days. I was advised by cefcu to apply for a consolidation loan to lower the payment by about $50 so I did so. 2 weeks later I got the notification saying that due to my insufficient income I was denied the request to consolidate. Meaning: I 't make enough money to make the payments. So their genius solution is to make me stuck with the $50 larger payments. Brilliant. So now I found myself 2 payments behind (due to waiting for the consolidation process that I had no idea would be denied) and I tell them "well all I can do is give a little bit extra every month to try to pay off those 2 delinquent payments". On top of this - I am getting charged $70 in late fees every month until i'm compelled out of the delinquent status. I am doing my best to earn enough money to make these payments and I go to my app to do so and I find out the my external bank account has been disassociated from my cefcu count and after speaking with countless employers from both cefcu and my bank who both are blaming each other for the problem, I have still not been able to reset up my external account to make payments. I then call and speak directly to my specific account student loans officer and she says the easiest way to settle this is to make a payment over the phone. I call to do so and she now tells me she has to transfer me to someone else. She, in fact does not do so, and sends me back to the main calling line where I have to wait in line again. I finally get through to someone (apparently even a small credit union like cefcu has a waiting cue longer than chase bank. I speak to someone who informs me that over the phone payments are $5 each payment (and I have 7 to make). Thanks to kim, my loan officer because you did not tell me that. So I finally get back in touch with her and ask her about the fee and she says "oh yeah... I was going to wave that for you". But after all of this I would bet my empty wallet that something would "happen" and I would still get charged. No one at this company seems to know what's going on or have any information to help me. Chase bank - who i've also had to call many times has told me they have no idea why cefcu is unable to help me get my external account set up.

At this point I am making it my goal to make sure as many people as I can reach on as many platforms I can get on know that cefcu is an unprofessional and poorly run company. Do not give them your money. Do not take their money. Save yourself the hours of phone calls and being placed on hold. Save yourself the credit score dings. Save yourself the ridiculous amount of interest costs. Save yourself the headache.

I put money in cefcu that belongs to me! Getting tired of getting locked out of my account even when I put in the right password and they refuse to unlock my account because i'm angry that this happens all the time and curse, although not at them, just about being locked out again! I just got it unlocked a few days ago even though I had the right password then too! Oh, i'm sure they'll say I must have the wrong one cause I keep getting locked out.

And if I have a password long enough to remember it then it's time to change it... No choice on the matter, so here we go again.

That money belongs to me and it is illegal to arbitrarily lock me out because I cursed when talking to them on the phone so i'm taking my small amount of money and refinancing my house through someone else and you won't have to worry about me cursing because i'm angry that I keep getting locked out.

Further more you put a freeze on money that belongs to me as payment from my insurance company. I made payments to them for 10 years for insurance and when something happens I have to jump through hoops to get my money. It shouldn't matter if I take the money and burn it... It my money.

I'm tired of being treated like some kind of thief and i'm tired of getting locked out of my accounts, and i'm tired of you thinking it's your money and telling me I can't have it unless I make you happy.

But i'd like to make as many waves as possible on the way out.

Have a camper on loan. Selling it. Local branch (Canton) won't lift a finger. They won't deal with the other bank. They only fax paperwork between other CEFCUs. At least that is what we were told by even the manager of this branch. We have to be what the bank should be. We have to do the legwork. All of it. So, if you're wanting to buy something that is already financed through CEFCU, don't...hopefully they are just a branch that needs retraining and the information provided is wrong.

If I could give this company a 0 star, I would base off of its customer service alone. However, as it stands and because I did get a quick and satisfactorily assistance on my account from one of the collections managers, Troy, I am willing to give this company at least a star.
When I first signed for the auto loan from this bank, I opted to pay my account online as that is much more convenient for me (and it’s a plus that I’m helping to save loads of papers). The first few months of payments was fine until CEFCU decided to introduce this “middle step” of a CEFCU savings account, which I would need to transfer my car payment from my bank account to this “savings” account, wait a day and then transfer from this “savings” account to the actual car payment. I wasn’t aware that I had to transfer manually the next day, thus I was nabbed with delinquent payments for two months. I then decided to just authorize an ACH withdrawal, so I would not have to deal with any of these headaches. I was told that I would not be able to do an ACH until I brought my account up to date, which I had proceeded to do along with instructing the person who was processing the ACH request to change my due date from the 10th of every month to the 22nd.
Months later and I get these letters from CEFCU saying that I am now delinquent of $400+ plus almost $67 in late fees! Now, one with even a small midge of brain cells would be able to connect the dots and think – now, how was it that I became delinquent with ACH withdrawals per month? I asked myself the same exact question. I then proceeded to call CEFCU collections center regarding this very confusing issue and was basically given the run around about my supposedly delinquent account. The first person to “help” me (if you can even call it that), Lindsey, mentioned that I never called to change my due date from the 10th to the 22nd, thus my account has been accruing these late payments because I’ve technically paid past my “due date” the past couple of months. How was that possible when I scheduled my ACH withdrawals on the 22nd? Who would be stupid enough to do that if my payments were really due the 10th? She then told me that I had an outstanding balance of $21.98, which again I questioned as how was I able to set up an ACH withdrawal with CEFCU if I hadn’t been “up-to-date” as they had stated? And I would have appreciated a letter way earlier in the stage of doing the ACH withdrawal that I had an unpaid balance. Had I known, I would have paid it off without accruing these damnable late charges from the bank. Lindsey then proceeded to put me on hold and then hung up on me. I called again, unfortunately, and got a hold of the most incompetent agent I’ve ever had the misfortune to speak do. Unfortunately, I didn’t really catch her name, but this very rude and incompetent person proceeded to tell me that I missed a payment even though I insisted (based off of the statements from my bank account) that all the months have been accounted for. She then told me to call my bank and get copies of the “checks” sent from my bank to CEFCU. At the moment, I was so shocked by her incompetency and ignorance as I was well aware that each and every payment made by me to CEFCU was either through online payments or automatic withdrawals from my bank account, which do not involve checks of any forms as they are all ACH withdrawals. She also sounded really patronizing to me and I told her so. She then informed me rather rudely that she also didn’t like the attitude that I was giving her. Excuse me lady, but you’re the one who’s calling me a liar and telling me that I missed a payment and I’m the one with the attitude? Zero customer service skills from this one.
I then called again and was finally given the help needed from another collections agent, Sergio and then finally Troy. I paid the damnable outstanding balance and settled with the two late payment fees from CEFCU. After I pay off the car, I’m never dealing with CEFCU again. I had to go through so many hoops and bad customer service before getting the help I needed.

First i have servale compalaints of this dishonest Obama funded Bank.
1.When I join I was told i would get a $50.00 pre-paid visa card, all lies never got one.
2.Harassment from their mangers, calling me up, calling me dirtbag teabager, one slander me saying i was going to take a gun&go to a branch, i never said that, nor do i own any guns.

3.I don't work for these crooks, nor do i owe them any money, what gives their employes right calling my house, being hostle, rhude,
4.I would like to take legal action on these crooks.

Had a problem with my car loan, got it all straightened out and Selena from the collections department put a freeze on my checking and savings account. I had a check written to CEFCU for the amount of 2000 that amount went towards my car loan plus I had to put an additional $2000 cash in to cover the check until it cleared. A CEFCU employee called the bank the check was written on and verified that it had already cleared the issuing bank, even with this knowledge Selena refused to unlock my account therefore denying me access to my $2000 in cash I had put into my saving account, .

Was denied a debit check card because they said I had too low of a credit score. My wife and I have had Visa Debit cards attached to our checking account at a Virginia Credit Union for over three years. when I explained to the CEFCU rep. Leah Richardson, that I was a Disabled Veteran who had his I.D. stolen out of the V.A. computers years ago she was absolutley less than sympathetic. VETERANS BEWARE...THIS CREDIT UNION DOESN'T GIVE ONE HOOT THAT IT WAS MEN AND WOMEN LIKE US WHO SERVED AND FOUGHT FOR THEIR RIGHT TO BEHAVE LIKE JERKS.

two weeks ago cefcu had approved my husband and I for 10, 000 dollars to buy a old truck and when I called back the women i talked to was rude and just plain baligerant. they told me they never said we could have the money but the statement was made in front of two other people besides myself. I feel that since they had already gareentee me the money that they should still have to allow me to buy the truck. honesty doesnt exsist with cefcu of peoria!